If you have a small to medium-sized business, being on the web is absolutely essential to your success. In fact, it could be the best thing you ever did, or better yet - the driving force that is making a real difference in how you compete.

Most new businesses that become small to medium-sized companies are savvy enough to go to the web first. Let’s face it, of all the new businesses out there, virtual companies or e-commerce sites are the fastest growing. But if you own a bakery, a restaurant or a computer equipment store; a “brick and mortar” business, you’ll want to have a web presence as well and then build content - intelligently and consistently so you can “write yourself to wealth” just like the other guys. Remember, local search is a big deal - and will continue to be a big factor (More on that later in the chapter). When Mrs. Jones of Stockton, California, is looking for a great restaurant to take her in-laws to, you want to make sure you are on the first page of the results when she types “Italian restaurant in Stockton” in a Google search!

Of all the companies I work with, 80% of them are small to medium sized firms. Ever since Ronald Reagan led the small business revolution twenty five years ago, it has been a “mom and pop” dominated landscape. That’s a great thing - but you know what? A majority of those companies, maybe even a few who are reading this book right now - could do a whole lot more to maximize their web content and bring more sales in the door. Why aren’t these businesses doing more writing on their websites and through other online channels? Some of these folks would say they are too busy. Others think they have maximized what can be done online. A few don’t care. The rest are probably “old school” in their approach - they just don’t get it.

Perhaps one is an industrial machine manufacturer, like a company I worked with two months ago. This particular company had been around for 50 years and never had more than a badly designed home page with a couple of sentences of copy. Within a week, they had 15 pages of new, fresh content that explained who they were, what they did and how they could help their customers. A partner firm I was working with on the project even started a link building program for them. A blog? Probably not the right thing for them. But it would be for many other companies.

One other thing - there are many large, multi-national companies out there that are spending millions on traditional advertising campaigns, like TV and radio, but forget entirely about the web! And we are talking big names. This is especially true for new segments and trendy niches. As a smaller company, this is a giant opportunity.

So, what can you do with web content if you are a small to medium sized business? What are the opportunities and what do you need to know? How can you use web content as an effective business strategy - or integrate it into current tactics and strategies? Let’s find out.

Compete with the Big Guys for Search Engine Real Estate

Good news! You can compete with the big guys for search engine real estate. There are so many examples of this, it really is mind blowing. So let me ask you a question: when has this opportunity ever occurred? If you answered never, you would be correct. If you don’t think you can write your way to wealth on the web as a small business, you are absolutely dead wrong! You can. To be honest, I was a little surprised when I had the ability to gain such an enviable spot in the online copywriting space in such a short amount of time. Where were all the traditional advertising agencies? Where were the digital advertising agencies? No where.

How was I able to gain a foothold online in the copywriting space when there are literally thousands of agencies out there that had been writing copy for decades? Because the web is a democracy in many ways - it’s open for almost anyone who has a good idea, to do a few certain things right and capture market share. Of course, there are lots of factors at work: the Internet is growing like crazy, there’s enough work out there for everyone, the agencies may not want the business, etc. But, the point is that it can be done.

The other thing is that many people would prefer to do business with a small to medium sized business rather than a big corporation. If you personally write your articles, author your blog, write your site content and put together a few white papers and newsletters, then there’s only one thing that potential clients could say: you are an expert! The issue really is this: not every small to medium sized business knew what to do on the web from a copywriting perspective to make the good things happen. Of course, the other thing is that they have always heard that advertising costs money. You have to spend money to make money. Hmmm, that’s funny. I didn’t spend any money on advertising last month! And I’m talking about the new clients. If this book doesn’t tell you how to do it, then I’m missing the mark. Yes, I know I’m biased - but I know it will.

The only thing separating your business from competing with the big guys and winning is a little hard work and persistence. Start writing your way today.

Content Approval is Easy

Isn’t is great to have your own business and not have to get approval from an endless hierarchy of executives? This may be the biggest benefit of all. Without naming any names, I have worked for companies in the past (And you probably have too) where I had written a sales letter or web page that had to go through ten cycles of review, from five different people who all had different opinions of what it should look like. Is this the copywriter’s hell? I vote for Yes on that one. Meanwhile, while you’re going though all those cycles of revisions, the competition has already met the customer need and is fast at work gaining their business and their loyalty.

The other point is that you don’t have to worry about the IT and Marketing departments agreeing. This can be close to impossible in many cases. Why? Because they see the world through different eyes. If you are the marketer, you want to fully explain the features and benefits, and you may want to use a little bit of flowery imagery to do it. The engineer or webmaster? They want just the facts. Not all of the time, of course, but it’s definitely an issue that I have seen personally many times. If you are a medium sized business, you may still have to deal with this, but it will be a lot easier because you only have one guy in Marketing (you) and one gal in IT. That’s not bad. It makes things a lot easier.

Looking Big When You’re Tiny

Being virtual has incredible advantages, right? Even when my company was tiny, you couldn’t tell by my website. I looked big. Why? Content. Lots of site content and lots of links pointing back to my site because of articles I had written (and for other reasons). Think about it - how many sites have you seen that had page after page of great content; white papers and newsletter archives, online articles and pages for every product or service and then found out somehow that it was operated by one guy from his apartment in Cleveland? There are thousands of sites like this all over the world.

The bottom line is that people want to feel they are dealing with a reputable organization that knows what it is doing. They really don’t decide to go with your small business because you look big necessarily; they just want to feel confident that they will get what they pay for. All those pages of content that you write will have a positive effect on your business - in ways that you can’t even begin to imagine. You’re going to get calls from all kinds of companies that you never thought you would have the benefit of working with.

After all, when you start a company and start writing online content, you don’t really know what business you are going to be in. Your customers will tell you that, over time. I got into this business because I liked to write, plain and simple. I thought I would be writing ad copy, direct mail copy and other traditional copywriting type projects. A year into my business, guess what I was doing? Hardly any of the above, but tons of web copy, email content and online articles. Within two years, much to my amazement, I was getting these types of requests:

“Do you do web site design?”

“Can you also design my ad for me?”

“Do you guys also take care of the site’s monthly SEO?”

“How about distribution of the articles? Can I pay you to do this too?”

The answers to all of them were YES! Of course we do that!

Pretty soon, you won’t just look big when you’re tiny. You will most definitely, certifiably be big - or on your way to being big. That’s the way it goes on the web. You simply have to dust that computer keyboard off and start the writing!

Using Blogs, Press Releases and Articles to Fast Track Growth

Well, if I had written this book four years ago, a discussion on blogs wouldn’t have made it into the table of contents. Who would have thought that a vast collection of “online journals” filled with thoughts, opinions and ideas would have been almost as big of a revolution as the web itself! The fact is that it has and you can definitely use it to your advantage. Remember what I said in the Introduction of this book? I commented on the fact that writing is going through its second revolution - the first being driven by the printing press. This one is being driven by the rise of the web. Like those early publishers that took advantage of the press, you can take advantage of the web to become a serious player. How successful do you want to be? The sky is the limit.

Don’t let the “blog mob” take you over however! Don’t start writing one just to have one, and don’t think that’s all you have to do - or can do to make your small or medium sized business stand out. Get on those press releases and articles too! Use the releases to announce important company events, product launches and service notices. Use article writing to gain valuable, free online exposure. For more information on these specific seo copywriting strategies, take a look at the individual chapters in this book that discuss each one.

Keep Growing Your Content

Your content is never finished. Don’t forget that! I know how easy it is to forget about it. I have made the mistake myself. I have, without a doubt, missed out on business opportunities that I could have had. I realize that. The good thing is that you can always pick up where you left off. If you haven’t updated your site for a few months, simply take a look at where you could build out the content and start brainstorming ideas. Put together an outline of what you could write in the new space and when you are ready, begin writing.

If you are not sure what to do to build new content, check out your competitor’s websites. What are they doing? How does your site compare? Go on to LinkPopularity.com and see what articles or press releases they have out there. Doing this will definitely give you a ton of ideas. If you hit a wall, simply use the same angle/topic they have used and translate it into your own experience. If they wrote a “top 10 ways my clients benefit from my service,” do the same thing for your site!

The other great thing about growing your content and continuing to write, write, write is that the search engines love it. You will absolutely, without a doubt, get a boost in search engine rankings when you make a commitment to write more and follow through with it. If you are a small online retailer or mid-sized manufacturer with a web presence, this is a fantastic way to go up against larger competitors and win every time. You can and will out-write them!

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