Getting Your Website Content Together for Launch; Website Content GrowthWelcome back everybody to episode 003, which is part two of a five-part series on building a website for your small business, kicking off Web and BeyondCast. I'm Ray Sidney-Smith and if you haven’t yet listened to episode 002, which is part one in this series, with Ryan Cleland of W Street Design, I highly recommend that you hop back an episode and check it out. I’m pleased to bring the voices and intellect of this expert panel of content writing specialists on the show today, to discuss getting your website content together for launch and planning your website’s content growth.

(If you’re reading this in a podcast directory/app, please visit http://webandbeyondcast.com/003 for clickable links and the full show notes and transcript of this cast.)

On this episode, we discussed and answered the following questions:

When approaching a new website, what are some good suggestions for getting organized to write your website content?What other collateral needs to be written alongside the website content?What should you plan for when it comes to your website growing? Blog? Resources? Podcast? Etc.?What are the pitfalls you see website publishers make when launching a small business website? And what solutions can you suggest?What are the most common errors you see people make before and just after their website launches?Should you write your website content yourself? Should you hire a writer?If you hire a writer or an agency to produce the website content, what information should you be prepared to provide to them? What do writers need to know to create your web copy?

If you'd like to discuss this episode, please click here to leave a comment down below (this jumps you to the bottom of the post). If you have a question about today's episode, please contact us here!In this CastRay Sidney-Smith, Host

Beth Lawton, Canoe Media Services

Beth Lawton is a recovering digital journalist who has worked in the Midwest, Caribbean and the Washington, DC area, where she now resides. She is now founder and owner of Canoe Media Services, a content marketing firm that focuses on helping small and growing businesses become better known, more liked and more trusted by their current and potential customers. Her team handles social media, blogging, email marketing and website redevelopment for businesses in the DC area and beyond. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and Northwestern University.

Stacey Morris, Focus Copywriter

Stacey Morris , of Focus Copywriter, has been in sales and marketing since she was 16 years old, when she started traveling around the country demonstrating kitchen gadgets at state fairs.

She’s settled down since then, preferring to write copy and content from a comfortable office. But a few of lessons stuck from those years:

It doesn't start with what you sell - it starts with you. You've got about 7 seconds to get someone's attention before they disappear...forever.And educating your prospect is about the best investment you can make in building your base. That's where content marketing comes in.

But, she hasn’t fully left behind her roots in direct sales. She still travel to a few fairs, coaching salespeople and marketing new products.

So she really means it when she says helping small businesses grow has been a lifelong passion for her.

Tara M. Clapper, Express Writers

Tara M. Clapper, Content Development Specialist, Express Writers

Tara is a prolific content creator and an accomplished editor, having written and edited thousands of blog posts, small business websites, and other inbound marketing content. Tara enjoys blogging about quality copywriting, content management, corporate culture, personal branding, and networking. She runs an online community about women in geek culture and keeps her storytelling skills sharp through LARP (live action r...