I used to be a sucker for New Year’s resolutions. Go to the gym, lose weight, eat healthily, give up chocolate. I’d kick off January with good intentions… but come the end of February it had all gone pear-shaped (quite literally when it came to my waistline). So now I don’t bother. Instead, I make a list of nice things I want to include in the coming year – like a monthly facial, eating at a Michelin-starred restaurant, learning a new skill (I’m going to give sign language a go).
While I’m thinking of nice stuff, here are some lovely things you can do for your content in the New Year. (Yes, it’s a tenuous link but I’m on a Quality Street high and my brain is a mush of caramel swirls).
#1 Be kind to your content
You’ve written a blog/newsletter/web page and you’re so excited to get it out into the world you hardly give it a second glance. It’s only later you realise it’s got a howler of a spelling mistake, is missing a vital bit of information or, um, actually doesn’t really make that much sense. Give your sales and marketing content the attention it deserves by doing this:-
* use spellcheck and Grammarly
* whack up the font size to help you spot glaring mistakes
* print it out, wait 24 hours then read it again
* get someone else to read it
#2 Keep things fresh
Google loves shiny new content. Ever since its Freshness Algorithm Update (yes, it’s a thing) it can’t get enough of freshly written words. If Google comes across content that’s old, outdated or about as topical as an Eighties pop star it’s not going to do you any favours on the ranking front. To stop your content getting as stale as a week-old bread roll, read it through to see if it needs a freshen-up. Weed out any out-of-date stuff and replace it with more useful current information that both users and search engines will love. Oh, and don’t forget to keep your shiny new blog posts coming!
#3 Dare to be yourself
Make this the year you don’t copy your competitors. OK, so I said the same thing around about this time last year when my advice was to Be More Marmite. I’m saying it again because I come across so many business owners who don’t have the confidence to be themselves. They play it safe on their About page with a bland career summary instead of a personal story that connects with their audience. They shy away from being funny or quirky or controversial – or anything else that highlights what makes them different. It makes me sad. And I don’t want to feel sad. So for your sake and mine – could you go all out and really show off your brand personality in the New Year?
#4 Hire a copywriter
Yeah, yeah – subtle, huh? But seriously, one of the loveliest things you can do for your content is to get a copywriter on board. Imagine the relief of knowing your sales and marketing content is in safe hands. That you don’t have to come up with compelling words that fit together beautifully. Or worry about all those weeny bits of text like headlines, straplines and CTAs that you don’t really know what you’re doing with. Or figure out SEO stuff. Or any of the other frankly brilliant wordy things that a copywriter can do.
* Looking for a lovely copywriter to do lovely things to your content? I’m here for you
PHOTO: Henri Mathieu-Saint-Laurent/Pexels