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“Investors, both individual and professional, want more than just the data that independent services can provide. They want the company’s own story and investment vision. What they don’t want is to wade through complex or irrelevant information.” Investor Relations on Corporate Websites, Nielsen Norman Group

Understand investor jobs-to-be-done

Primary users of investor relations areas on a website include, obviously, investors themselves but also analysts and financial journalists. There is an important secondary audience of potential customers and employees too. But the core audience is generally looking for:

• Company background and overview
• Press releases
• Stock exchange filings
• One-page financial overview
• Annual reports
• Quarterly reports
• Historical financial information
• Executive biographies
• Share price information
• Press and IR contact details
• Corporate governance information

Of course, each company will go beyond statutory reporting to add content and user journeys specific to their needs. For example, if they are dealing with specific events in their company history, such as acquisitions, crises or if they are approaching an IPO.

Interestingly, according to NN/Group, some of the fancier functionality that you often see on an IR site, such as webcasts, slides and investment calculators, were less important to real users. “People research company financials are more interested in getting facts quickly than in the technology used to deliver them.”

Best practice examples

GE Aerospace does well with very clear navigation on a fast-loading site that is designed to get people to the information they are looking for quickly.

Microsoft’s IR site clearly surfaces stock price information with a tidy design and recent company news, but we are not fans of carousels as a user interface solution.

In contrast, Alphabet (Google’s parent company) has the leanest, text-only IR page, which, like GE’s, aims to get visitors to key information as quickly as possible. Notably, they offer HTML and PDF versions of key reports, and we think this is good practice. PDFs are not great for usability but have an important role in communicating statutory information in a compliant way, so it’s important to find a user-friendly, SEO-friendly parallel structure to sit alongside them.

Michelmersh combines Microsoft’s visual approach with direct access to the most important information.

Core and optional functionality

We use a tool called Octopus to collaborate with clients to design a website’s information architecture and the high-level structure of individual pages.

For investor relations areas, the following site map templates from NN/Group are good starting points for high, medium and low-priority content. But each client is different and so understanding client needs and their users’ needs is always a project in itself.

Don’t forget basic website usability

For more information about how Articulate tackles the website design and development process, including information architecture and user journeys, see How we build websites at Articulate. For the end results, take a look at our Portfolio.

We think all sites - and all visitors - deserve a well-designed, easy-to-use website that helps them find the information they want. In particular, this means that IR areas need to be:

• Mobile-friendly. The widespread use of PDFs makes many IR sites difficult to use on mobile devices, representing an opportunity for forward-thinking companies to improve the user experience by offering HMTL options.
• Searchability. IR information should be searchable alongside other site content, either with a domain-specific search box (i.e. just the IR section) or as part of an integrated site-wide search.
• Accessibility is a basic requirement for a modern website, yet 97 percent of websites have fundamental accessibility issues. Designing for accessibility is good for every visitor. For example, our blog’s speed reading mode and audio player help people engage with our content whether they have specific needs or not. See our article about why accessibility is crucial for website design.
• Loading speed. Google and GE prioritise loading speed and ‘time to find’ for visitors over fancy imagery and functionality. This is in line with NN/Group’s user study findings. Some clients prefer more fizz and ginger on their IR sites as part of their investor brand, but this should never come at the expense of loading speed. For more on improving Core Web Vitals (as Google calls them) see: Don't lose traffic because of Google’s Core Web Vitals.
• SEO. Investors, journalists and advisors, like most of us, use Google to find information. IR areas should get the same SEO attention as the rest of the site. For more on our approach to SEO see: The ultimate SEO guide for B2B technology companies.
• PDFs vs. web pages. IR pages are loaded with PDFs for annual reports, statutory filings, and other important documents. It may be the case that these files have to be in PDF format—we’re not lawyers, so we can’t say for certain—but we think it would be valuable, as with Google, not to also make them available as web pages, even if it is a high-level summary page with a link to the downloadable PDF. There are strong usability reasons to avoid PDF files if at all possible.
• Carousels. We strongly recommend against Carousels. Buy us a pint, and we’ll bore for England about why.
• Use of videos, webcasts and podcasts. IR pages often feature investor briefings and other content in video format. This should never be a substitute for clear, scannable, searchable text. Where possible, provide transcripts or summaries. Where possible, provide short (<4 minutes) highlight reels as well as longer content. Videos should have captions and chapter headings so that people can find what they need quickly. Never autoplay videos.

Examples of investor-specific functionality

Company overview

“Offer a brief company overview that highlights a few significant facts, along with a link to more detailed corporate information.” For example, Causeway’s website has this succinct summary right on its homepage as well as more detailed information in a ‘Why us’ section.

Biographies

“Provide information about the company’s high-level managers, including each person’s name and job title, a recent picture, and a link to a full biography,” advises The Nielsen Norman Group. For example, HealthHero has a really easy-to-use, highly visual, and on-brand biographies section on its About Us page.

Press information

Journalists don’t just need press information, they need relevant, high-resolution images, logos, PR contacts and company information.

Press releases

Your news page should look like high-end news site or blog with all the support infrastructure such as the ability to sign up for alerts, search for specific information, filter and sort the information, as on this example from TCN.

ESG reports. Your investor brand goes beyond statutory reporting. Increasingly, environmental, social and governance information influences investment decisions and build investor confidence. HPE does a great job of communicating its progress in this area, and, ahem, we think our own Impact Report is pretty good, too. (Related to this, see our guide to establishing a strong ESG tone of voice.)

Security, availability, access controls and approvals

• Security and access control. IR areas often include market-sensitive information such as earnings announcements or new product introductions. For this reason (and others), it is important that any content management system (CMS) used for IR pages should have robust security and access controls, meaning that only authorised users can add or modify IR pages. We recommend HubSpot Content Hub which has granular user permissions, access control to specific assets (e.g. individual web pages) and (with an Enterprise tier) SSO integration and role-based permissions.
• Content approvals. HubSpot also has the option to require approvals before website changes are published. This may be valuable to ensure that legally responsible people, e.g. directors, have a final review and approval of statutory updates to the site, even if they delegate the content creation to others.
• Scheduling for publication. With time-sensitive and embargoed information, it is important to be able to set a specific publication time and date for content so that you can prepare the pages in advance but make sure they are published at the right time. With HubSpot, this is possible for pages and blog/new posts.

How Articulate can help

We design and code signature websites using our proprietary Nucleus technology, which are hosted on HubSpot Content Hub (CMS). See our website services page for more information.

Brochure websites are old-school. Instead, our team will build you a marketing engine that drives traffic, leads and customers, all while telling your brand story.

If you’d like an SEO, usability, or content review of your investor relations website or if you’d like us to help build a new one, please get in touch.

Every website project starts with a leap of faith.

Peter Drucker, ‘the founder of modern management’ said:

Customers are some of your best leads. According to a 2022 HubSpot Blog survey of more than 500 sales professionals, more than 70 percent said that upsell and cross-sell drives up to 30 percent of their revenue.

Content may be king, but data sits behind the throne and has the king’s ear. 

You want to be informed by data before you make changes to your marketing strategies. This is never truer than in the case of your website, which is a rich source of behavioural analytics and, therefore, a valuable insight into your audience’s interests.

Advanced marketing techniques such as Account-based Marketing (ABM) and 1-1 marketing require a more individualised approach than traditional inbound marketing tactics. No longer can we paint with a broad brush, as marketers. We must find ways to speak directly with individuals, rather than an audience.

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way,” - John C Maxwell, best-selling author, speaker and coach.

Genuine thought leadership is a powerful differentiator for any business.

Articles and reports that demonstrate true expertise, authority and insight stand apart from your competitors’ me-too blah-blah. They build trust, enhance your brand, help close deals and defend your margins.

High-quality content also avoids the Google penalties that come with spammy or AI-created content. Don’t take our word for that, here’s what Google has to say about creating helpful, reliable, people-first content. (See our take on AI in marketing too.)

What is high-quality content?

Thought-leadership copywriting provides unique insights, presents new research and uses data. It covers complex subjects in a new and engaging way. It is designed to expand readers’ understanding. It manages to be persuasive but not pushy.

Everyone can write, but not everyone is a writer. High-quality marketing content requires expert copywriters. (Read more about what a copywriter actually does.)

To get it right, writers require a deep understanding of their audiences, clients, products, the wider context of the industry, and the current shape of the market. For businesses embracing thought-leadership content, that’s where the true value lies.

But you have to invest time, money and marketing effort to realise this value. That can be challenging when business leaders and decision-makers can’t see the return on investment (ROI).

Let’s explore the ROI of copywriting and thought leadership to help you build a business case for their value.

What are the likely costs of copywriting and thought leadership?

The short answer? It depends. The long answer? There’s no one-size-fits-all cost and most writers will offer packages or tailored pricing. According to a study by Clutch, the average UK digital agency charges approximately £98.10 per hour. Research by DDIY suggests that a monthly content marketing retainer can cost between £1,805.78 and £23,551.50.

Of course, an hourly rate doesn’t tell you much about how long something will take or the required level of expertise needed to do an outstanding job.

That’s why, at Articulate, we charge for copywriting on a fixed price basis related to the length and complexity of the piece.

For maximum transparency and flexibility, we have a tariff—a kind of menu—of common writing deliverables such as case studies, white papers, or thought leadership articles. Our fixed prices include research, interviewing, writing, project management, editing, proofreading two rounds of revisions (if required), keyword optimisation, and, for blog articles, meta descriptions, a featured image and a couple of social posts.

Our marketing retainers start at £4,100 per month and one-off copywriting projects start at £5,000 for things like a case study library or a lead generation campaign centred around a flagship report or ebook.

We charge for website copywriting slightly differently, on a per-word basis, because of the additional complexity of integrating it with design, search engine optimisation and the rest of the development process. Also, in our experience, writing website copy for clients is like writing poetry and demands a high level of experience and client knowledge for your most important marketing asset.

Broadly speaking though, the cost of a content project will vary depending on the following factors: the who, the what, the when, the where and above all, the why.

The Who

Freelance copywriters and marketing agencies will charge different prices because, of course, their overheads and offerings are different. An agency may cost more but brings benefits such as editing, additional skills (e.g. SEO, research), better availability and turnaround times.

Then there are factors such as years of experience, location, specialisations and so on. You might also consider an in-house or staff writer who will require a competitive salary.

There are specific skills required to be a good marketing copywriter, including:

• Marketing know-how
• Business, sector and client knowledge
• Interviewing skills
• Research and analytical skills
• Search engine optimisation, e.g. writing with keywords
• Agility with tone of voice and messaging
• Self- and pair-editing
• Proofreading
• Social media writing skills
• Content planning and ideation

It’s helpful to put a good marketing copywriter with a reasonable level of skill and five or more years of experience in the same bracket as, say, a lawyer or an experienced, professional journalist writing for a trade magazine or reputable newspaper.

Typically, in an agency, they will work in teams that provide complementary skills and coverage for illness or holidays. All of this is hard to replicate in-house. (For more on this see our article: Should you hire a marketing person or a marketing agency.)

The What

The nature of your business and its content can impact how much copywriting will cost you. For technical or niche businesses, you’ll need to work with writers who understand your industry thoroughly or who have the skills and processes in place to learn about it efficiently.

You might not need to work with specialists if your company wants more generic content. But generic isn’t going to cut through the noise. Similarly, the length of your copy will affect the price, too. Some providers charge per project, others per word.

The When

How quickly and how often do you need copywriting and thought leadership content? Time-sensitive projects may incur additional costs to help you meet deadlines. And the more content you need, the more it will add up. A freelancer will struggle to produce tens of thousands of words in a short period of time but an agency can bring a whole team and a well-oiled production process to the challenge. You can, however, explore these helpful tips from the Articulate Marketing team on how to make every piece of content work harder for you.

The Where

Where are you posting, hosting or submitting the writing? The platform will impact the word count and, in turn, the price. A detailed report, an eBook or a long-form pillar page will set you back more than a 750-word blog post for your company website, for example. Similarly, copy for your home page might be short but it is very important and getting it right might take longer and cost more on a per-word basis than a more general piece.

The Why

Here’s where it gets interesting. You might know who you want to work with, what you want them to produce, when you need it and where it’s going. But do you know why you’re doing it? Have you considered who you want to read your thought-leadership content? And what you want them to do once they’ve read it?

From top-of-the-funnel content for brand awareness and lead generation to bottom-of-the-funnel content for conversions or customer retention, your copywriter needs to know what role your content plays in the context of your wider business.

In our opinion, the ‘why’ separates good writers from bad ones — and both kinds from the likes of ChatGPT. This is why we call our writers ‘marketing copywriters’ because they understand how to weave their work into broader marketing objectives.

So, what’s the ROI of copywriting and thought leadership?

Whether you choose to go external or in-house, there’s significant value in investing in the art of copywriting. Here’s why.

Demonstrate relevance and expertise

A study by Edelman and LinkedIn found that 73 percent of decision-makers say an organisation’s thought leadership content is more trustworthy for assessing its capabilities than its marketing materials.

The same study found that 80% of respondents want to see third-party data included in it, and 44% believe the highest-quality content helps them better understand a business's challenges and opportunities.

Decision-makers want to know why they should work with you. And your knowledge, experience, and expertise are your differentiators. The ROI? As many as 60 per cent of decision-makers say they’re willing to pay a premium to work with a business that produces good thought leadership.

Establish your brand and raise your profile

While thought-leadership and content marketing materials are busy showcasing your expertise, they’re also putting you on the map. Readers get to know your brand and tone of voice (TOV). Decision-makers may even share your content online, quote your research in their content, and reference your work conversationally.

The front of a buyer’s mind is a powerful place to be. Especially when we consider that 70 percent of C-suite executives said thought leadership content made them question their current B2B relationships — with 54 percent realizing other vendors might better understand their needs, according to a study by Edelman and LinkedIn.

Reach new audiences

A key part of establishing your brand with thought leadership is connecting with new audiences. Businesses often have a clear idea of who they want to work with and who wants to work with them. But growing your brand presence with thought leadership content means you’ll start to appear in new places online.

For example, when Basecamp founder Jason Fried tweeted about his company’s new ad, which called out Google’s paid ad strategy, he subsequently received over 1,000 backlinks to the company’s website. Depending on how you value backlinks, that could be worth up to $500,000 in SEO benefits.

This kind of thought-leadership content will help you rank for new search engine queries, generate more backlinks, appear in different social media feeds and so on. You might even find that your successful written content creates entirely new opportunities for you — podcast appearances, webinar invitations, the chance to speak at industry events and so on.

Build existing customer loyalty

Your written content doesn’t just serve the purpose of attracting new audiences. It’s a valuable tool for staying connected to your existing customers (and re-connecting with previous ones, too).

According to Accenture, 80 percent of businesses spend less than a third of their time and budget on customer-focused messaging. This presents a clear missed opportunity when considering loyal customers' ROI.

On average, a loyal customer is worth up to 10 times the value of their original purchase, according to the Office of Consumer Affairs. And, Bain and Co found that increasing customer retention by two percent has the same impact as reducing costs by 10 percent. Remember: the grass is greener where you water it!

Content is still king

Powerful, engaging, well-written thought leadership content has a functional role to play, too. Of course, establishing your brand, growing your audience, and giving your customers something to talk about are important. But high-quality written content is necessary to get discovered online. For example, brands that regularly update their blog get 67 percent more leads than those that don’t, according to Absurd Insights.

Similarly, search engines are starting to prioritise the quality of the content they promote to users, cracking down on misinformation, clickbait, spam, and AI-generated content. For example, Google looks for content showcasing experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. This is called E-E-A-T content and thought leadership is precisely the kind of writing that reflects these crucial areas.

Recent Google updates penalise companies that fill up their site with cheap AI-generated SEO content. This tactic is just empty calories and now it’s creating marketing heart attacks for companies that tried it. The need for high-quality EEAT content has never been higher.

The final word

The ROI of thought leadership is going to take a lot of work to prove. That’s because it’s about more than just numbers. It’s about value. An AI-generated blog post will save you time and probably be fairly accurate. It may even generate a small amount of traffic (before Google recognises it as AI and penalises you for it, that is). But well-written thought leadership is a conversation starter. It’s the kind of content people are still thinking about after they’ve logged off. It makes potential customers think — and start questioning whether they’re working with the right providers. It’s full of insight, personality, colour and expertise. You can’t put a price on that.

There are two words that every writer needs to know if they're going to learn how to write well: lede and kicker. Most writers will be familiar with these, but in case the terms are new to you, let’s define them.

Personalisation in marketing works because personal connections matter. That extends beyond your customers, too. Personal connections include the relationships you have with your suppliers, your stakeholders, your employees, industry peers… the list goes on.

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