Every website has Web copy, Web content, or both. That Web copy and content can help you to earn money on its own, or can help you earn more money than you’re currently making online. First, it’s important to understand the difference between Web content and Web copy.
Web content – Web content by its nature either informs or entertains. Web content consists of most articles on a website. Other forms of content include photos, videos, and audio files. Web content often is what an online business uses to attract visitors to the site, even if indirectly.
Web copy – Web copy generally refers to text on a website that is either trying to get a response out of the reader or visitor, or that works to forward the company’s message in some way. Copy may encourage readers to buy something, to sign up for something (such as an email newsletter), or even to click on a specific link on your website. Copy also includes things such as a company / site slogan, and internal / company pages on a website (about us, contact, media kit contents, etc.), which goes towards portraying an image that you want to convey to visitors.
So how can Web content and Web copy help you make more money? Here’s how:
Web content – Many websites make the majority (if not all) of their money online as a result of Web content. Content networks (such as About.com, owned by the New York Times Co.) are a large example, while there are many smaller niche websites making their money in a similar way. To make more money online with Web content, use content to draw and keep site visitors while finding ways to monetize the website (such as including advertisements or having a membership fee to view the Web content). There are several keys to using Web content to help you make more money online:
1. Only publish high quality Web content. High quality Web content is a natural draw for readers, is often well-optimized for the Web without much extra SEO effort, and also naturally attracts quality backlinks to your website (therefore helping to increase search engine rankings, and its resulting traffic, which is then monetized).
2. Publish Web content regularly. By posting Web content on a regular basis, readers know when to expect new content, and will get into the habit of returning to your website. More traffic means more monetization potential. While ideally you should publish Web content both regularly and frequently, even if you can only publish once per week or once per month, schedule updates as regularly as possible.
3. Publish Web content that people want to read. Keyword research using tools such as Overture and Wordtracker will help you find topics in your niche that are heavily searched for. While quality content doesn’t need to be stuffed with keywords to rank well in search engines, it does need to address a need of your target readers. If they’re searching a great deal for specific information in the niche, a need for Web content on that topic may very well exist. Don’t forget to compare highly searched keyword phrases with the number of results for that same keyword phrase in search engines to determine market saturation.
Web Copy – Copywriting for the Web is usually designed with the sole purpose of turning website visitors into buyers, repeat visitors, subscribers, or whatever your aim is. A very common example of Web copy would be an online sales letter used to sell an e-book, often containing large bold subheadings and flashy, colored copy with testimonials and multiple chances to place an order.
Not all Web copy is filled with hype however. Every online order page contains Web copy designed to convince the customer to either buy more items (such as being shown related items for sale before you checkout) or to finish the order quickly before you can change your mind. Every time you see a guarantee, for example, the idea is to get you to buy now, and think about it later.
Copywriting relies a great deal on psychology, and understanding what buyers and website visitors react to. Hiring a professional copywriter (or even studying copywriting yourself before developing your website or online business) can easily lead to higher conversions from website visitors to buyers, earning you more money online in the process.
