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F: Hi David. Can you give us the background on your book and why you wanted to write it?
M: I’ve always been fascinated with the power of online content and web sites to tell an organization’s story to the market. My background is with online news companies. I worked at Knight-Ridder and NewsEdge, by the way. There had been many books written on ’ how to create a web site’ but all were focused on either the technology aspects, or the design aspects,for instance, logos, colors and so on. I wanted to write about the content of sites-the editorial aspects.
F: For our audience, can you talk about how they can make their web site more ’ action’ oriented for their visitors?
M: First, it is critical to know your goals for the site and to build a site around those goals. If you want to sell a product, identify who the target market is and why they should buy it. Next, one of the most important aspects is to write for your buyers. Most sites are egotistical and they fail to deliver what buyers want. If you are selling a product, don’t organize the site around ’prod uct A’,’product B’, and so on. If people don’t know your business, they won’t care about your products. Instead, figure out how to organize into pages for buyers. That might be based on their problems.
F: You reveal in your book the true importance of delivering great content, are there tips for making certain that any site delivers this?
M: The best content brands your business as a leader. Don’t sell too hard. Instead, show you are an organization to do business with. For example, if you run a catering business, you might be tempted to create a site about your "product" and include various menus and pricing and so on. Instead, how about offering content that helps people who might hire a caterer with their problems? For example, you might create a set of landing pages such as ’ Ten tips for a great cocktail party’ or ’Indoors or out—how to entertain in the summertime’. These sorts of things are great for search engine marketing and they brand your catering business as smart and someone who it would be a pleasure to do business with.
F: Your book also makes the insightful point about providing content about the way a company does business and how it sends a signal that says, ’ We have nothing to hide’, why is this so important today in doing business?
M: I always tell people to put as much content as possible on the site. Some organizations resist because they don’t want to ’ give away secrets to the competition’. Guess what? You competitors already know about your company. But your potential customers do not.
F: How does providing good and friendly content on your Web site level the playing field for small businesses in regard to larger organizations?
M: Every organization is equal on the Web. That is especially true of brands that are not famous already. If I find two surfboard dealers online and I need a surfboard, I will buy from the one that looks the best on the Web-best content, easiest to reach, and so on. I don’t care if it is one person in a garage in Hawaii.
F: Finally, can you briefly cover three of the best practices from web marketers that our audience can apply?
M: 1. Know your goals 2. Build content for your buyers 3. Understand your sales consideration process and build content for people at each stage.