One of the questions we hear most often from home performance professionals trying to keep their websites up to date is how to keep a website fresh if you don't have time to write.
The truth is, you don't need to rewrite the encyclopedia (or the BPI handbook) to keep your site fresh, and you don't need a video crew to be able to deliver good interesing information. That said, good content can be remarkably helpful—for increasing site visits, for keeping "Mother Google" happy (i.e. for keeping your website easily searchable and findable), and for developing lasting relationships with customers.
With that in mind, here's a list of 8 quick, easy ideas for content creation.
1. Case studies.
Don't forget that what home performance contractors do all day—evaluating and fixing houses—is interesting stuff. Quick, simple descriptions of recent projects (maybe including a few photos) will add a huge amount of value to your site.
2. Question and answers.
Your customers are asking questions all the time. Why not write them down and answer them in a simple post? Short, sweet, and extremely helpful for your customers. (If you're not sure where to start, check a forum like Yahoo answers and search around for what people are asking about your topic).
3. Short lists.
Lists are great because they can be short, easy to write, and are easily digestible by your readers. The fact that I wrote this one, and you've made it this far, should be a case in point. Think topics that would be useful for your readers, things like "5 easy ways to save water this summer."
4. Quick tips for homeowners.
Even shorter, even sweeter than lists. You could do a "quick tip of the day," or a "quick tip of the week," with fun facts like "You can save money by insulating your water heater," or "Your basement could be filled with radon, you might want to check that out."
5. Use social media.
Tweet. Update your facebook status. Get a widget on your site for all your tweets and updates. Quick blasts about your work ("spent all day in a crawlspace, 100 degrees, looking forward to some lemonade"), and your industry ("found a great article at Energy Circle") put you on folks' radar. Link back to your site often, and build karma by linking to other great content sites as well.
6. Photo galleries.
People love photos (they tell a thousand words each): so tell the stories of your days fixing buildings with images of recent projects. Update them whenever you get the chance. Uploading photos only takes a few minutes, and adds a lot of value to your site.
7. Youtube videos.
Shooting your own videos can be intimidating (although it doesn't have to be, but that's a subject for another post). So look to Youtube. There are lots of people creating great videos about energy efficiency, and these videos are generally available to use — a short video showing the benefits of installing attic insulation, you can imagine, could be extremely helpful for your customers. (Just be sure to give credit where credit is due.)
8) Testimonials
Let your happy customers do the talking!
(Oh, and P.S., if you find that you're having trouble getting the functionality you want out of your current website, the Energy Circle PRO platform is specifically designed to accomodate each of these routine challenges. If you think you might be interested in a short demo, sign up here.)
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