If you want to produce the best written content, you must be a world-class writer, right?
Wrong.
Admittedly, it doesn’t hurt if you possess a God-given talent with the written word. Yet effective content is more than simply the writing side of things. There is also a large slice of marketing that goes into producing articles that will draw eyes to your business.
For help with both aspects, here are six essential tips for crafting killer content:
1. Understand your audience
You cannot deliver engaging content without knowing your audience. It’s that simple.
When fully aware of your audience, the rest of your content marketing strategy can blossom. You will know which general message to focus on with your articles. You will understand what gets your audience talking. You will realize the type of voice to get the audience on your side.
2. Find your voice… and don’t avoid being bold
Who wants to read a mundane, run-of-the-mill article? There’s a simple answer to that: nobody.
There’s so much content out there on the internet – the type to suck people in from the first word until the last – that you cannot just throw out any old piece of content. You require articles that will not only be enjoyed by the reader, but they will also go out of their way to share your words of wisdom.
This all starts by finding your voice. Do you have a conversational style? Do you like to inject humor into your work? Perhaps you like to dabble in some controversial topics? Whatever is the case, stay true to you, and generate content that reflects your own voice.
3. Content structure that’s easy on the eyes
The way you structure your content is imperative. You could be the most accomplished, witty writer, on the planet. Yet none of this will matter if you leave readers facing a massive wall of text. They will take one look at it, realize it’s not worth their time, and look for an alternative article to read.
This is why skimmable content is so important. You need to break up the flow of the article with the likes of:
- Frequent paragraphs
- Subheadings
- Bullet point lists (like this one!)
- Images
- Videos
Of course, the formatting of the content can only go so far. You must produce headlines and subheadings that will grab the attention. The headline is particularly essential, especially when attracting potential visitors via Google search results. You only have a second to make a positive impression that will cause someone to click on the article, and that begins with its title.
4. Utilize AI to your advantage
Artificial intelligence isn’t just here to stay – it’s going to revolutionize the way the business world works.
Large organizations are already making use of AI, and in virtually every way you could imagine. This ranges from AI chatbots having realistic conversations with customers, to being able to analyze masses of data within seconds. The AI specialist Xyonix at www.xyonix.com has even displayed the predictive ability of artificial intelligence when forecasting disease rates.
Fortunately, the growth and development of AI makes it accessible for even small businesses these days. This is reflective of the amount of AI tools available for enhancing your content marketing strategy. For a starting point, you can:
- Automate content editing.
- Track the interests of a visitor to create personalized webpages.
- Generate simple, straightforward content.
- Analyze webpages to detect potential keywords.
5. Stick to a schedule
A schedule is an essential element for anyone that is in the content marketing sector. Not only does it give you a chance to develop themes and map out articles, so specific topics avoid being oversaturated, but it also supplies you with a routine. It is essential that, when crafting content, you do it regularly. You want to feed your audience a steady flow of informative and enjoyable articles, giving them more reason to return to your website again and again.
Admittedly, there are challenges when it comes to maintaining a schedule. Other work might get in the way, for example, and you’ll struggle to sit down and type up your latest masterpiece.
There’s also the very real issue of writer’s block. You never know when it’s going to strike, but it can put an instant stop to your productivity. Fortunately, there are various proven methods – like the Pomodoro Technique – which can help you overcome any blockade that gets in your way.
6. Edit, edit, edit… and then edit some more
When you think about it, your content represents your business. If it appears professional and grammatically correct, people will view the brand favorably. If the content is sloppy and full of mistakes, however, potential customers will feel less inclined to trust your company.
It might sound severe, but it is these fine margins that can make or break a business venture.
The editing process can go through different phases. As a starting point, you might want to run the text through the digital writing tool Grammarly. While you don’t want Grammarly to eliminate your tone of voice in favor of a stifled, strait-laced one, it is useful for picking up on issues such as spelling mistakes and improper sentence structure.
Moreover, and rather than pressing the ‘Publish’ button straight after you’ve finished writing the article, it’s recommended you leave it alone for a few hours. Then you can return to the content with a fresh pair of eyes, ready to spot any potential problems with the article.