It’s a simple truth: better content is better for business. Good content lets your brand and your voice stand out from the competition, thereby converting more customers.
The goal is simple–you must (and you can!) write great content to make your business better. Here are five tips to help you get the job done.
1. Know your Audience Well.
Make sure your audience knows you are writing to them–not just anyone. Identify their problem and empathize with it.
Know them well enough to speak–write–their language. Would they appreciate humor or do they want “just the facts.” What tone, descriptions, or word choices will resonate with them?
What questions is your audience asking and what issues are they discussing? You can discover those questions quickly and right at your fingertips–Reddit, Quora, Amazon reviews, and Twitter are abundant sources of intel!
2. Keep Your Writing Concise and Accurate.
Your audience is busy and won’t waste time reading something that doesn’t serve them from the start. Begin with a strong headline to pique curiosity or promise valuable information. Use the introduction to set the tone and hook your audience with a relatable story, scenario, or question.
Then, keep the momentum going. Sentences and paragraphs should be short with lots of white space in between. Writing that appears dense will turn today’s busy readers away. Your content must be easy to digest, so avoid flowery language, SAT vocabulary and general wordiness.
Use reader-friendly headings to organize your content and make it scannable. Headings should give your audience the gist of each section and encourage them to read on through the details. Include appealing images to break up your work and emphasize takeaways.
Edit your work. Read it aloud, cut unnecessary words, and proofread. Then run your work through a grammar checker, such as ProWritingAid, to give it a final polish. You won’t regret this move. Grammar errors and clunky sentences reduce credibility, turning clients away from you and toward your competition. Check your grammar and keep those clients!
Because a captivating web copy drives traffic and convinces leads to convert, you might want to consider working with a website copywriting service if you feel your team does not have the necessary expertise in the field. Not all copywriters are familiar with SEO, though, so make sure you hire the right one so you’re not losing out on potential leads.
3. Highlight Specific Benefits and Satisfied Customers
How will your product or service benefit your audience? Be specific and don’t just focus on features.
If your cleaning product is made with 100% environmentally safe ingredients, that’s a great feature to describe. But don’t forget to explain how those ingredients disinfect, add shine to surfaces, and have a fresh scent to keep homes looking and smelling great.
Use the power of social influence! Research reviews and social media posts from happy customers and include them as testimonials.
4. Give Clear and Inviting Next Steps.
“Call now!” and “Buy Now!” commands are enthusiastic, but aren’t the most effective calls to action when left on their own. They can feel pushy rather than convincing and obnoxious rather than inviting. Use your calls to action to emphasize specific benefits; then add your easy-to-recognize clickable command.
“Access exciting, practical teaching strategies from other educators every week with our newsletter.” (Subscribe Here)
“Make your mornings better with our smooth, invigorating coffee. You deserve it.” (Click here to Treat Yourself)
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5. Read Widely to Improve Your Content
Reading others’ content informs your content, so read widely and learn! Evaluate what works and what doesn’t.
What sentences flow and which get stuck? What formatting choices keep content moving? Does the style and tone appeal to the target audience? Does the message come through? Is there a convincing call to action?
The amount of content available for consumption is limitless! Consider it a source of free education. Reading with intention and evaluating with care will increase your content-writing expertise.
Don’t stop there. Evaluate the content you’ve put into the world. Is it producing results? Whether it is or isn’t, the answer provides useful data. Use it to help you make positive changes to your content and bring profitable outcomes for your business.
Interesting Related Article: “Why is copywriting key for successful marketing campaigns?“