Employing a content strategist in your organization may be beyond your budget. So how can you reap some of the benefits of having someone to look after your content while exercising fiscal restraint?

The importance of having a presence on the web can not be understated, especially in these tough economic times. Your potential customers, donors, and clients will increasingly turn to the web to find information about you, your products, or services. The information, content, and descriptions they find will either encourage them to contact you/buy now/donate/sign up or it will discourage them. What kind of message are you sending?

Big companies and high priced agencies have content strategists on staff, but how do organizations of your size accomplish its goals without one? Here are three simple tips to help you become more invested in your site's content:

1. Create a simple process to follow for writing, proof-reading, and publishing content on your website. Even if you're a one-person show you should still follow a few simple steps to ensure your content is error free, clearly written, and consistent with your market position. If there are multiple people responsible for publishing content to your site then come together to agree on a process that works and is realistic.
2. Develop an editorial calendar that describes what will be published and when. This can be a simple document that lists a date, the description of the content that will be published, and who is responsible for writing it. Getting it down on paper will help build accountability around keeping the site content fresh.
3. Edit your existing content to improve readability, consistency, and tone. This may be time consuming, so start with your most popular pages.  Read them with to see if they are clear and concise. Can the content be re-organized for better readability? Are you using bold, italics, and bullet lists properly to increase scan-ability? Does the content have a unified tone or does it sound like it was written by many different people?

There are many different kinds of content strategy deliverables and artifacts that help organizations ensure their content is fresh, readable, and useful to their visitors and customers. It all begins with a few simple steps towards becoming familiar with your content, where it comes from, and how it gets on the web.  For more information about content strategy, read my earlier article from our series "Creating an SEO Strategy." Good luck!