Why Sole Traders Need Content Too

November 19^th 2013 Sally Ormond benefits copywriting, how to write copy, website copy for sole traders

Whether you work alone, have a small team behind you or you run a large company, you need content. A lot of content.

Any online marketing strategy is dead in the water without it.

The problem is that many sole traders and small companies don’t have the budget for a good copywriter.

It’s perfectly possible to write the content yourself, you just need to make sure you don’t fall into the trap.

The DIY writing trap

When you’re a sole trader, you are your business.

It’s you people interact with, but that doesn’t mean you are what they want to read about.

They want to know what you are going to for them. And I don’t mean unblock their drains, mend their leaky tap or repaint their house. No, they want to know how using your products/services will benefit them.

So on your website’s home page, delete that great long rambling paragraph about how you’ve been in business for 10 years, that you drive a red van, that your favourite pizza is Hawaiian and that you prefer Coke to Pepsi and write about how quickly you can get to them and the type of work you do.

Look at it this way, if I was searching online for a local plumber, it would be because I had a leak, needed a new bathroom fitting or something like that. Basically, I have a problem that I need someone to fix. That’s why your website copy, articles and blogs must be focused on what you can do for me.

Write for your readers

Separating yourself from your business and writing about it as though you are a customer is difficult.

You have to place yourself in the shoes of your readers and think about what’s important to them.

These form the basis of the benefits of your product or service – the things that add value to your customers. Keeping them at the heart of everything you write will keep you on track.

One final word – to make sure you don’t deviate, make sure you use ‘you’ instead of ‘we’ on your website, even on your About Us page.

Here are 3 take-ways to remember when writing your content: