Do you consider yourself an authority on your own business? It would be a little strange if you said, “No,” so let’s just assume that’s the case.
You know your product or service offering(s) well, I have no doubt. The problem is that without great content – stellar content – the people you reach through your website and social media might. The solution comes in the form of generating content that not only suggests but out and out proves that you are the expert you say you are. More to the point, you need your brand to look like the expert.
This is why I’m such a firm believer in long-form copy. It’s the best way there is to position yourself as an authority in your industry or niche. Well-developed long-form copy not only gets your readers more engaged, it actually helps more of them find your content. How? Keep reading…
What Is Long-Form Copy?
Long-form copy consists of articles that go beyond the average length of a blog post. Many marketers opt for shorter articles – around 350-500 words – and they opt for it for at least two key reasons.
First, they like the fact that they can generate a lot of articles on various subjects and optimize them for engagement and reach. Anything over 350 words is typically cataloged by Google and the other search engines when they analyze your content. That base word count is also good for seeding with keywords (which remains the cornerstone of most marketers’ SEO efforts).
Second, it costs less to produce shorter, less-involved articles, and one can typically enlist the help of a freelance copywriter or custom writing service to do some research and deliver an article that helps boost SEO. They can get four 500-word articles for the same price or less than they can for a 2,000-word article and subsequently have four pieces of content to market instead of just one. It just makes good investment sense.
Still, there are decided advantages to utilizing long-form content that many of your competition are either too near-sighted or too overwhelmed by the task to consider. This is why I think it would be a valuable addition to your site: Your competition probably isn’t using it, and that gives you a clear and decided advantage in the expertise, engagement, and trust arenas in marketing.
Why You Should Consider Going Long-Form
There are numerous reasons why you should consider adding more long-form copy to your website or blog, but I’ve managed to truncate the most compelling reasons down to four.
1. Long-Form Copy Answers More Questions
The more information you offer about your product at one time, the more informed your reader is going to feel. There’s a catch here though: Longer articles are expected to be well-researched with links to works cited and sources of various information, like statistics, industry standards, and the like.
If you decide to hire a copywriter to handle your long-form content, be sure that whomever you hire is armed with the information you feel is most pertinent. You should also be prepared to provide a store of knowledge that allows your writer to fill in the cracks where the details are often less engaging or thorough.
2. Long-Form Copy Can Handle More Sales Objections
If you nip those nagging objections in the bud within the text of a long article, you will get more engagement and will likely make more sales. People are more likely to follow a call to action when they feel well-informed.
Addressing their concerns before they have the chance to bring them up tells the members of your audience that you think the way they do and that goes a long way toward establishing and building trust. Just a little hint with this: answer as many objections as you can in headlines and segment titles (or instruct your writer to do the same). You’ll be glad you did.
3. People Who Read Long-Form Copy Are More Seriously Considering Your Brand
No one reads a 2,500-word article on anything if he or she doesn’t have some kind of invested interest in the subject. If you can deliver engaging longer blogs, articles, reports, e-books, and sales letters, the ones who consume your content have typically already made up their minds about the product or service.
Once you’ve attracted a likely client or customer, your job then becomes convincing him or her that you are the best source of both the product or service as well as information about it. Deliver quality, and your job is nearly done. The only thing that remains is getting it seen by more people, which leads to my final point…
4. Long-Form Copy Is a Favored Format for SEO
Articles of 1,500 words or better are considered long-form by the search engines. 2,500 words with about 1.4% keyword density are ideal, and they get the most attention. The more long-form content you produce (and the more comprehensive it is), the more likely Google is to deem you an authority and up your rankings based solely on how much you know about your business (and how often you produce top-quality content that is always fresh and engaging).