Just like your favourite cakes and biscuits, your content will go stale after a while if neglected.
It can happen without you realising.
Once day your website is performing pretty well and the next, nothing. Your rankings drop off, and your enquiries reduce. Suddenly, your words aren’t inspiring anyone.
It’s not a case of ‘suddenly’. It’s been happening for a while, but you’ve been so busy you haven’t noticed.
You see, content (in all its forms) isn’t a ‘do it once’ exercise.
You have to maintain it’s freshness to continue to compete, to stay in touch with your customers’ evolving needs, and to show you’re a business that’s changing with the times.
Just think about all those major High Street brands you grew up with that have now vanished.
How often should you reassess your content?
That’s a bit like asking how long is a piece of string.
It’s all going to depend on your business, industry, and customers. A good habit to get into would be to review your content at least every six months. That doesn’t mean it will need changing, but it’s an excellent way to assess what’s happening and identifying any week areas in your marketing arsenal.
Should you do it in-house or use a copywriter?
It won’t surprise you to hear me say use a copywriter. I’m not touting for business (but if you want to talk, my details are at the end of this post), but it’s easier for someone external to your business to see what’s missing and what needs changing.
Writing content for your business and customer is tough. It’s difficult to distance yourself from what you do and see things from your customers’ point of view.
Effectively, you have to clear your mind of any knowledge about your product and service and take a look at what you’re offering from a layman’s standpoint.
Trust me that’s not easy.
That’s why it’s easier for an external copywriter to come in and create the content for you.
They are not influenced by your company politics, jargon, or assumed knowledge. They will be able to produce content that’s designed for your readers.
Initially, you’ll probably scoff at what they come up with for those very reasons. However, remember, the content your business uses is not for your benefit (not directly), it’s for the benefit of your readers.
Content is not for life
When creating your marketing strategy for this year, remember, the content you have is not for life.
It must evolve. It was never meant to be a static thing.
If you want to remain competitive and continue to inspire your customers, review your content in all its forms – brochures, website content, email marketing, case studies, and reports.
However, if you’re going to commit to doing it, do it well and use a copywriter.
Sally Ormond is a cake and biscuit loving international freelance copywriter. Call her on +44(0) 1449 779605 to get your words freshened up.