Every website owner wants more traffic, and content creation helps you achieve just that. By providing your prospective customers with useful information, you not only give them a reason to frequent your website, but you also build loyalty and trust for your company.
If you’re not blessed with a talent for literary composition, lack the time or are struggling to find new angles and topics for your subject matter, consider one or all of these options for opening the pearly gates to content heaven.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is a terrific option, especially for those who have more money than writing skills. Plenty of websites, such as Elance and oDesk, connect freelance writers with publishers like you. Simply post a project, such as for writing a single article, and freelancers will bid for the job.
This method often provides many candidates as well as a wide payment range. Some writers may bid as little as $5 per article, but remember that typically, you get what you pay for. Be wary of authors whose first language is not English because their unfamiliarity with the language could result in awkward sentence constructions.
Don’t be afraid to request edits or make them yourself. A long article does not equate to a quality article. You are an authority on your topic, so ensure the article contributes valuable information and not just bulk to your website.
Your local college can also be an excellent source of guest contributors. The close proximity allows you to interview candidates if you choose and the opportunity to discuss the project in person.
Talented writers are available, but you may need to test out a few before finding a winner. You may have to be willing to pay a little more too.
Private label rights resources
Private label rights (PLR) content is written material, such as articles and ebooks, that you can purchase the rights to, allowing you to claim authorship, revise and repurpose as you desire. Some PLR content may come with different restrictions, but typically, the author relinquishes almost all rights to the content upon purchase.
To obtain PLR content, you can purchase a membership to a PLR website, buy content by the pack, or seek other sources. With buying a membership such as on PLRpro, the cost per article is low, but you may not find content specific to your particular niche.
With purchasing PLR content by the pack, as is available on the non-membership site PLRProducts, the upfront costs are lower, but at the individual level, you often end up paying more per article. Without members, the provider has less incentive to keep customers happy, which can result in lower quality work.
PLR content is also available on forums and eBay, but there are no guarantees of the quality. If you’re willing to make some revisions, bargains do exist.
Article directories
Free article directories such as EzineArticles.com offer a wide range of articles, reviews and other content for reposting. With this option, the content and links within the content can’t be altered, and the author’s information must be included.
Due to these limitations, search engines will penalize your website for duplicate content. Plus, the content quality can be lacking, but if you’ve just launched your website and want some substance in place while you develop your own content, this may be an adequate temporary solution.
Blogging
Anyone able to compose an email is competent to blog. Because of the nature of this format, your writing can be much less formal than that of articles or ebooks. Not only is it acceptable for your personality to shine through, but it is even encouraged. Many readers find the conversational tone and personal anecdotes of blogs intriguing.
By allowing comments on your blog posts, you can even have your visitors help add content to your website for you. Be sure to monitor the comments though to address any complaints and remove anything overtly offensive.
Interview
Not even experts know everything on a given topic, so interview people in your field. You can conduct the interview via email and simply post their responses in a Q&A format, or record the interview in-person and post the video.
If you’re more comfortable talking than writing, you can even have a friend interview you and either post the video or audio recording or have the interview transcribed. Elance and oDesk connect you with more than just writers; these platforms also have members who transcribe interviews. A one-hour recording usually costs $25 to be transcribed and can yield 40 pages of content, which could be broken up into multiple entries on your website.
Whatever your content method, take the time, energy and wisdom to produce quality content; you alone are responsible for what makes it onto your website. Even if you dabble in all five options suggested here, you won’t increase traffic to your website if readers don’t find the content compelling and valuable.
Simon Slade, CEO and co-founder of Affilorama. More than 200,000 members consult Affilorama for its 100 free video lessons and articles and suite of marketing and website monitoring tools, all designed to help your e-commerce venture thrive.
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