Why Content is the King

The phrase ‘content is king’ seems to be thrown around a lot these days and, to be honest, I’m not really sure that people understand what it means. Of course it seems easy to comprehend when looking at it blankly, and to some degree I think that it can be fathomed with a bit of thinking, but to truly understand why content is important means understanding how you can make the quality of your writing better. In this article I’ll talk about exactly how you can improve your writing and why it is important in relation to having a website.

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What is content?

Just in case you’re slightly unclear about what I mean when I refer to ‘content’, let me explain. Content is the written material within websites. Of course, you could be pedantic and talk about how everything written is ‘technically’ content, but to keep things nice and simple, let’s keep it refined to the web. Content is the writing on your favourite blog, the text on your websites homepage and the descriptions that appear on the videos on YouTube. Good content is usually considered to be large bodies of text such as press releases, blog posts and articles.

Why is it important?

It doesn’t matter what your website is about, it could be a blog, a news website or a portfolio that displays your services. Whatever it is, it it needs to have good content. Lets look at why that is. Lets say your website is about keeping dogs healthy but your text is dull and full of errors, do you really think that your readers will buy your product, join your mailing list and come back for more advice? Let’s say you’re a builder displaying your different prices and services, do you really think people will have trust instilled within you and your services if they see grammar mistakes and nonsensical information about you and your work? I think not. It is important to remember that the web is comprised of humans, not machines, and humans read in the same way they read 20 years ago. Forget shoddy text and short cuts, content is king.

What now?

OK, if you cannot write, you’re left with two options. You can either learn to write well, or you can hire someone else to do it for you. Below are your different options:

Learn to write

If you want to learn to write you can do so by attending English language classes, which are provided by multiple further learning companies. You can also polish your skills by reading ‘how to’ books, attending online seminars and simply reading books and the newspaper each day.

Learn about context

Always try to remember a word called ‘context’ when writing. It is important because it makes your writing work within different linguistically environments. Basically, it means writing in relation to the style of where your text will be published. For example on a formal website you need to adopt a formal style, but on a casual blog you can afford to write in a less formal, friendly and conversational way.

Hire a writer

You can hire a writer by scouring various outsourcing websites such as oDesk, Freelancer and Guru. You can also perform searches for ‘freelance writers’ in Google. Expect to pay up to 10 pounds for a single article, which could rack up serious costs if you need an entire website completed. Be sure to undertake a full interview on instant messaging programs like SKYPE before hiring anyone, as you could end up spending money for work that is no better than your own.

As you grow and learn and read more you will begin to see how you writing style has grown and matured with you, Writing like everything else in life, the more you do it the better you become, if you are willing to give yourself the time you need to become a better writer then you will have gained a new skill that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

This is a guest article byNeil is a marketer who is currently working for eMobileScan, one of the Uk’s leading handheld computers specialist including the Symbol Mc9090, which has proved it’s self capable of working in any industry.