How to Create Great Content for Your Website
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by Chad Barr and Alan Weiss

6-8 minutes

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August 22, 2012

*In their book, "Million Dollar Web Presence," authors Chad Barr and Alan
Weiss lay out tactical strategies for building a brand and business by
leveraging the Internet. In the following excerpt, the authors describe
tried-and-true methods to develop provocative, engaging content, as well
as the essential elements of a successful website.*

Content may be king, but provocative content is the ace.

Your website has only seconds to capture interest. Think about articles
you’ve read, speeches you’ve heard, books you’ve begun. The initial
exposure helps people determine whether they want to spend more time
reading, listening or viewing. There is simply too much competition for
time to expect that people will invest too much of theirs in trying to
overcome a tepid introduction.

Provocative content for an accounting firm may include six reasons
you’re paying too much in tax; why the top line is more important than
the bottom line; and how to get your clients to offer to pay you more
than you ask.

You have to be edgy, but not poke someone in the eye. You have to be
willing to challenge and amuse, while not bragging or boasting. Your
site, and particularly your homepage, should be provocative enough to
be memorable and cause others to tell colleagues, “You ought to visit
this site."

Let's explore some of the best ways to get the provocative ideas you
need:

* **Read books** and relevant publications and summarize your reading
and document your ideas.

* **Brainstorm with others.** Engage a team of trusted advisors. Being a
part of a powerful mastermind group and trusted advisors is a great
way to improve your ideas and creativity.

* **Invest in self-development.** A Japanese proverb says: "I will master
something, then the creativity will come."

* **Question basic assumptions.** This applies not just to your own
assumptions, but also to those of your advisers and clients. You gain
new insights to arrive at the proper solution.

* **Take a contrarian view.** Discuss a concept's pros and cons. Clients
hire us not necessarily to agree with them, but to question their views
and basic premises in order to improve their business.

* **Create a story.** Using a story to convey a particular concept forces us
to develop ideas to make it more effective.

* **Interview others.** This is a terrific way to learn, gain new ideas and
leverage effective marketing while developing new audio and video
content for your website and that of the person you are interviewing.

* **Social networking.** When joining effective and smart online
communities, you may quickly gain knowledge of what is being asked
and discussed, and how you may be of help to others.

Among our own content "musts" for your website are a homepage that
includes typical client results, at least one video testimonial plus
revolving text testimonials (at about seven-second intervals) and a
dramatic and attractive value. Menus should include case studies,
client list, position papers, biography, contact information, product and
service offerings and video explanations of various offerings. Give
every page a different look.

Upon review of probably thousands of websites over the years, we
have come to the conclusion that in order for your organization to be
successful on the Internet, three key elements must be accomplished:

* **Design.** Your site should be professionally designed, attractive and
engaging, and be easy to navigate in order to quickly gain the visitors’
attention and interest. Good use of images is important as well as the
use of action shots of you with your clients.

* **Content.** Your site must focus on your visitors’ interests and address
the question of what’s in it for them and how to improve their
businesses and lives. To accomplish this, strong content must be
developed in the form of products, services and intellectual property,
while constantly evolving.

* **Strategy and tactics.** Determine what the business should look like,
how it should position itself online and what Internet components are
critical to making the business a success. Decide how you should
reach and communicate with customers: will they purchase products,
read articles, subscribe to newsletters, communicate through blogs and
online communities?

Without all three, your site’s effectiveness is greatly diminished. For
example, a site that is well-designed with great content but has no
defined strategy and tactics is like driving a great car without a GPS
system or an effective map. You’ll be wondering why you are not
reaching your destination. If you’ve got great content and effective
strategies and tactics, yet poor design and navigation, visitors will
either close their browsers or press the back button to go to their
previous site.

Don't attempt to tag, label, and identify every single item. Focus on
those things that are most important for your credibility. If leadership
is your strong suit, don’t worry about highlighting blog entries on your
movie reviews. Use a device such as Google Alerts to let you know
how you’re being perceived and detected. If your positioning is for
issues that are only peripheral to your real value, then change what
you’re emphasizing.

**Chad Barr and Alan Weiss**

Chad Barr and Alan Weiss are authors of Million Dollar Web Presence
(Entrepreneur Press, 2012). Barr is president of The Chad Barr Group,
an Internet-consulting firm based in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Weiss is
president of Summit Consulting Gro...
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source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223752