Make Your Website More Press Friendly

Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help Not Hype

As a freelance writer, I’ve written thousands of stories about businesses, events, and people. So, I’ve done my fair share of scouring websites, Facebook pages, and other content to piece together what I need to put together a story. Plenty of times, I’ve banged my fist against the desk and shook my head in disbelief at how downright difficult some companies make it to find the simplest bits of information.

As a business owner, you are thinking “customers, customers, customers” when you create your website–or at least, you should be. But, there’s another audience out there that you should think about when you create and update your website: press. The bonus of considering what a writer or editor would look for on your website means that there’s more content for your target audiences to read, too.

“Who’s going to sit there and read a bunch of pages on my website?” you ask? Well, according to the New York Times Bestseller Youtility by Jay Baer, a lot of people. In fact, the tipping point for number of websites is 101 pages; companies that have this number of website pages “generate 2.5 times more leads than companies with 50 or fewer pages (Youtitlity, 87). Studies also show that B2B customers are typically 60% of the way through the purchasing cycle before they reach out to a business, and B2C customers need over 10 pieces of information before they will make a purchase decision.

So how can you capitalize on this behavior? Here are 5 ways to make your website more press (and customer!) friendly:

1. Have a robust About page for your company

There’s lots of reasons businesses have skimpy about pages. Maybe they feel like it’s bragging, or they’re terrible writers. Maybe they think no one would be interested, or it’s a new company and they don’t feel like they have a lot to say. Whatever is holding you back, you need to let it go and get to writing, or hire a writer to do it for you. People who are writing an article need lots of details about when you started, what drives your company, your mission, and your differentiators. If you own a plumbing company, what makes you the plumbing company I should chose out of all the plumbing companies in my area? Highlight your assets, include some testimonials, and don’t worry about having “too much content.” Press will thank you, and interested customers will browse if they’re interested or move on to another page if they get tired of reading.

2. Provide details about your founder and staff

This about section can be underneath the company about page or a separate page entirely (remember, your goals is 101 pages, so why not make it separate?). Either way, giving information about the founder is important to understand the reason this business even exists and what problems the business offers solutions to. In addition, sharing who the current owner/CEO is humanizes the company. Don’t be afraid to share some details about your personality, maybe your favorite sports team, where you grew up, your favorite beer (mine is St. Bernardus 12). Don’t just regurgitate your resume here; tell a story. And if you don’t want to list every single employee or have a business where employees are somewhat transient, at least share a group photo and what kind of people work there. People like supporting a business that takes the time to share about their employees because it shows you care about your people and in turn, likely care about your customers.

3. Have a blog

If you still don’t have a blog on your website, you need to change that, like, yesterday. There are endless amounts of studies and statistics showing why you should have a blog. Above I mentioned that Youtility states that your goal number of pages on your website should be over 101, and having a blog will help you get closer to that number. Youtility also states that “companies that blog 15 or more times per month get 5 times more traffic than those that don’t blog.” Still not convinced? Read these two articles: “5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog” and “Top Blogging Statistics: 45 Reasons to Blog.” And watch this quick video by one of the top social media experts, Gary Vaynerchuk, about why you need to embrace being your own media company.

4. Prominently display your social media links (and make sure they actually work)

Sometimes websites are created and then left untouched. And while continuously adding new pages and new blogs should be one of your goals, you won’t be updating your website daily. This reality means that oftentimes writers will go to your social media profiles to find out the latest about your company. Make it easy by sharing your social media links prominently on your homepage and throughout your website. Equally as important, take the time to check the links and make sure they go to the actual social media profiles that you want to showcase.

I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve clicked on a social media link only to find that the link is broken, or takes me to a Twitter feed that hasn’t been updated in a year, but then I search and discover that they have another Twitter handle that they use frequently. And when this happens, I’m tempted to abandon the story altogether because the company comes across as uncaring and unorganized.

5. Make contacting you a breeze

Don’t hide your email address. I want to be able to send an email instead of filling out a contact form. Sure, you can have both, but when I am writing a story, I want to have the email in my sent box so I can be sure to Boomerang a reminder back to myself in a few days or a week so I can followup with you. If you don’t want it to be your personal email, consider having a separate email that is checked frequently like press@yourcompany.com. I will find another business to feature if your business is unresponsive. And before you say, “Well, why don’t you just call?”, realize that most people, like me, hate the phone and writers want to have communication in writing. 

And pick up your own copy of Youtility. It will rock your world (in a good way!). Need more convincing? Read “Three Reasons Youtility Is the Most Important Book You’ll Read.”

Questions? Comment below!