High street shops have been having a tough time of it recently with lots of chains going to the wall. On the online side of things however sales have increased again this year. As shoppers have become more comfortable with buying online and ecommerce shops more sophisticated it has become a very handy way to buy.
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Each year , around this time, we have been reviewing our blog and seeing which are our most popular posts that year. We started this in 2009 after reading an article over at ProBlogger called 69 questions to ask to review your blog by Darren Rowse. Read more…
As a web design and internet marketing company we sell our fair share of ecommerce websites. A question we get asked without fail at the beginning of any build is “which payment gateway should I use?”
While we don’t say ‘use X’ or ‘use Y’ we do give out clients the most popular gateways that our existing clients use to help them make a decision. The most common gateway that we integrate is Worldpay with a ‘pay by Paypal’ option which seems to cover all bases. Read more…
One of the things that you will hear again and again when you first meet your web designer, during the build of your new site and just before the launch of your site is – content. Content and more content it’s the heart of your website’s functional body, sure the site may look pretty but does it really communicate with your customers? Does it explain to them why they should buy from your website? Does it let them know why you are so much better than the competition? This is all down to the content of the website.
We know that writing and creating good content is not an easy task. It takes time, consideration and planning but it could be the one element that makes all the difference in fact I would say it does make all the difference. Not that it is the single most important element there is of course the original concept, design, the build, the products and the platform but it is essential.
One of the first things you should consider when creating/writing content way before you put metaphorical pen to paper is the purchasing process that consumers go through especially as part of online shopping. E commerce is the perfect solution for retailers it does omit one crucial aspect of buying, face to face contact and the immediacy of conventional shopping. It’s not so easy for them to ask the staff, where is this, does this go with this? Would you recommend it? Why does it differ from X, Y and Z? You may not be there as the owner physically but let the content that you have created take your place and answer all of these questions. Well written copy will assist in taking the procrastination out of purchasing on the consumers behalf and make sales.
What’s the Difference between Copywriting & Content Marketing?
When I’m talking about creating website content it is a definite umbrella term meaning it covers a broader range of functions that just writing text. Content marketing is also more than just writing and strategising on where to place it in the site; it also encapsulates social media marketing and the sharing of what you’ve created. In order to differentiate between the two I will leave that task in the capable hands of Copyblogger.
Copywriting
“Copywriting is the task of delivering words that get people to take some form of action.”
Copy writing is creating text that is going to serve a definitive purpose, whether that is to increase traffic to your website or to sell your product.
Copy writing serves a clear purpose to get visitors to your site and to clearly communicate the desired call to action. Buy, sign up, register, read, download, subscribe etc…
Content Marketing
“…delivering requested information with independent value with the purpose of increasing trust, credibility and authority for the business.”
Content marketing centres on the creation and sharing of informative content it has in common with copy writing the goal being to turn traffic to your sites into sales. The slight difference is that through the improvement in trust content marketing is more long term focussed. Content Marketing should not only turn prospectives into sales but also aim to create loyalty and return custom.
To conclude, this article was written to hopefully bring some clarity as to why the creation of quality and unique content is so important to the future success of your website. Customers will immediately be able to tell when they land on your website if no effort or thought has went into the creation of the content/copywriting on it.
Don’t let this be the reason why you are not converting traffic into sales. Stay posted to the PoLR blog for the next article in this series that will provide you with tips and actionable plans to help you create quality content and copywriting especially for your e commerce website.
It’s here fear not, the long awaited (ahem ok I decided myself that it was) second installment of my travels to Manchester for the 2011 eCommerce Expo. I did say I would have this up a couple of Fridays ago and although in theory it’s late it is still up and it is a Friday so….
Anyway, just to recap the eCommerce Expo was held in Old Trafford football stadium and I have to say having little to none real interest in football and losing my other half to the beautiful game multiple times a week I was still very excited to be there. It is absolutely huge and also there enjoying the stadium and all it has to offer multiple international school trips making the cafe and restaurant busy to say the least. The expo was held to ‘meet all of our ecommerce, advertising and marketing needs.’ It was however mostly focused on selling online and the ecommerce side of things as opposed to marketing and advertising in saying that they do of course have an important part to play in ecommerce. Read more…
“It’s nearly CHHHHHRRRISTMMMASSS!”
Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it does it? Anyway it is nearly Christmas whether we like it or not the Christmas trees are creeping up, the mince pies have settled into their place on the supermarket shelves and there are a plethora of ‘best of’ and ’101 greatest hits’ available to buy and download. Us mere mortals are just beginning to notice the commencement of the Yuletide frenzy but the retailers will have been preparing for this since last Christmas. So what are you waiting for?! Read more…
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