One of the most difficult and valuable things to create on a web site is original content that is regularly updated. You can design a stylized layout that will draw visitors in, but if there isn’t relevant content that is regularly updated, visitors aren’t going to stay long. Yet most business owners did not start their business with the intent of becoming web authors. So most are resistant to the idea of committing to the ongoing task of creating content for the site. After all, how are they supposed to find time for that in the midst of running a business?

For the few clients you work with who do decide they are willing to write regularly, you can help them get the most out of that effort. The word blog gets thrown around a lot today, but what is it really? It’s a just a series of dated articles. Those can be announcements, product updates, specials, or just about anything. It’s just words and sometimes pictures.

What’s a newsletter? It’s also words and pictures with a date attached. They just get emailed instead of sitting on a web page. If you’ve got a client that is willing to do either a newsletter or a blog, you can get more out of that original content by doing both. The hard part is already done. The client created the information. (Or paid someone else to write it.) Providing another channel to disseminate that information is going to help them get the most benefit for the time invested.

It’s probably not the best idea to duplicate the content exactly. Maybe the newsletter just has a few lines and a link to the best blog posts that have been written recently. The point is to help your clients get original content out to their customers via as many channels as you can.

filed under: Dealing With Clients, Finding Work, Web Development