Marketing Content Writing that Yields an Exceptional R.O.I. through Clear Messaging and Compelling Value Propositions
Content writers frequently describe content writing’s strong influence on SEO by repeating the old digital marketing adage that “content is king”. And while SEO is obviously of great importance, pleasing Google search engines is just part of the overall value of marketing content writing.
The true value of marketing content writing is measured by its ability to compel readers to do what the author wants them to do. (It usually entails spending money.)
For this site, I’ve showcased 3 exceptionally-compelling content writing projects, as measured by revenue generated:
1) By way of localization campaigns, I helped an international tech support company expand its market reach into the NE United States and gain sales from a number of Wall Street firms. (Previously, the company had no clients in NYC and little presence in the NE U.S.)
2) By way of a messaging overhaul, I helped increase an international logistics company’s sales by more than $3 million in less than 2 years. I also created a localization campaign that allowed the company to profit from Algeria’s multi-billion dollar telecom infrastructure modernization project.
3) Through strategic content creation, I’ve effectively branded myself as the native landscape designer of record for the South Carolina Lowcountry. The core pages, blog posts, and other assets I created for Lowcountry Vistas Native Landscape Design articulate my almost-spiritual connection with the native natural environment…they’ve been bringing a steady stream of business from newcomers to the Lowcountry (who are both unfamiliar with–and intrigued by–the native natural environment) since 2015.
If the above 3 projects don’t compel you to take the plunge and contact me, please read on to better understand the value I can bring you as a marketing content writer. 🙂
The true value of marketing content writing is measured by its ability to compel readers to do what the author wants them to do.
In a business setting, “compelling readers to do what the author wants” usually means compelling readers to give their company money as opposed to giving it to a competing company.
As such, the value of marketing content writing is ultimately measured by the “king” of business metrics: return on investment (R.O.I.).
High-yielding marketing content writing establishes clear messaging and makes potential customers receptive to your value propositions.
Messaging defines your brand and establishes the framework from which you present your value propositions. As a showcase of your mission, values, and culture, messaging is a “magnifying glass” that allows potential customers to look into your brand.
Effective messaging “brings into focus” the thoughtful branding that visitors expect to see from a leading organization in your industry; it makes potential customers more receptive to the value propositions you present.
If your messaging doesn’t “bring into focus” the thoughtful branding that visitors expect to see, they may “bounce” before you even have a chance to make your value propositions.
This could be thought of as a different kind of “bounce rate”…it might take the reader a couple of pages to see that your marketing writing is content mill garbage your messaging isn’t compelling.
What’s more, bad messaging can even compel potential customers to do the opposite of what you want them to do: It can convince them to give their business to your competitors. (Where do you think “bounced” potential customers go?)
Establishing clear messaging requires hiring a marketing content writer who possesses a strong business mind and an exceptional aptitude for marketing strategy.
The tremendous importance of clear, thoughtful messaging is one of the key reasons the highest-yielding business writing is produced by the handful of content writers who possess a strong capacity for marketing strategy as well as a command of the written word.
Effective messaging is, after all, an integral part of an effective marketing strategy.
For example, the messaging I created for my landscape design business brings me sales by defining me as the native landscape designer of record for the South Carolina Lowcountry: It demonstrates my breadth of knowledge of local landscape design concepts, it radiates my passion for local landscape design, and it highlights my almost-spiritual connection to the unique local ecosystem from which I came.
The clarity of Lowcountry Vistas’ “native” messaging is one of the primary reasons that the site yields an outstanding 90% conversion rate (as defined as sales per contact form sent), despite the Great Google Reviews Purge of 2022-3.
Because the messaging is as clear as morning dew on spartina salt marsh, 9 out of 10 people who contact me through the site have made the decision that they want to hire me before they speak with me. (Which is fortunate, as I’m terrible at selling over the phone.)
In fact, the site’s messaging is so effective at “magnifying” my branding as the native landscape designer of record for the South Carolina Lowcountry that the fact that I don’t even live on the same continent anymore has had little material impact on sales.
High-yielding marketing content writing is made of compelling value propositions.
Ultimately, good marketing writing is good written salesmanship. Once a solid foundation of clear messaging is established, a company can make compelling arguments as to why potential customers should give them money instead of competitors.
In addition to my writing for Lowcountry Vistas, I’ve showcased two content writing overhaul/localization projects for which I created compelling value propositions on behalf of my clients: an international post-sales logistics company and a Latin American tech services company.
Both projects required me to make compelling value propositions for the companies as a whole, their customer verticals, and their customer verticals within new markets.
In order to achieve the desired results from both of these projects (increased sales), I had to quickly learn the companies’ respective industries, conduct market research, analyze data, quickly learn the inner workings of the respective companies, and effectively define (and communicate with readers) their value propositions on 3 levels:
1) On a macro level:
I explained why any potential customer should choose these companies over their respective competitors.
2) On an industry level:
I explained why potential customers from specific verticals should choose these companies over their respective competitors. (Stay with me, now.)
3) On a local level:
I explained why potential customers from specific verticals in specific, newly-targeted markets should choose these companies over their respective competitors.
Explaining why potential customers from specific verticals in specific, newly-targeted markets should choose one company over another might sound like playing 5D chess while balancing on a unicycle, but it’s not really that complicated…if you show the right data (plural). For example:
For R.O.I. Content Writing & Copywriting, I define “customer success” by sales.
Although organic sales often take years to grow (“SEO is a marathon, not a sprint”, as they say), my content writing has already bore fruit for both the tech services company and the logistics company.
As of this writing, the content writing project I completed for the logistics company has brought in approximately $3 million in new sales.
(They paid me $50k…the R.O.I. to-date is $2.95 million.)
Also, as of this writing, the content writing project I completed for the tech services company has brought in approximately $1 million in new sales.
(They also paid me $50k…the R.O.I. to-date is a little less than $1 million.)
None of my writing for either company has had much relative uptime…my creations will likely serve as multi-million dollar sales funnels for years to come. (“The internet is forever,” as they also say.)
The bottom line of this Pat Conroy novel: High-yielding marketing content writing is comprised of clear messaging & compelling value propositions.
While SEO is of tremendous importance to any content writing project (Emperor Google commands thee!), the greatest attribute of high-yielding marketing content writing is the writing’s capacity to compel.
Effective messaging makes readers receptive to your value propositions, and compelling value propositions convince potential customers to give your company their business instead of giving it to your competitors.
Thus, the true value of marketing content writing is literally the bottom line: the customer’s return on investment, their R.O.I. (The logistics company’s $2.95 million return on my writing, etc.)
So, wouldn’t it be better to trust your marketing content writing to an actual businessperson?
