Creating compelling content consistently every week can be a challenge, especially when you first start out on your new online business. We want to stand out from all of the noise in our niche, while branding and building authority, and trying to draw traffic, and convert visitors. All while the average reader has about an 8 second attention span.
And…
“Every piece of your content should be excellent, enough that customers are compelled to share it.” Joe Pulizzi
Additionally, the numbers don’t lie for the importance of compelling content:
45% of marketers say blogging is their #1 most important content strategy. (Source)
69% of marketers say they plan to increase their use of blogging this year. (Source)
The average word count of top-ranking content (in Google) is between 1,140-1,285 words. (Source)
Well, no pressure there!
How do we do that if we can’t get the visitor to stay long enough to read the content and possibly engage with us?
I’m an avid reader and maybe you are too – think about what makes you want to read a book or article and not be able to put it down. I like how it grabs me from the very beginning and I have to know what happens, I just can’t put it down.
So there is something about the content that is drawing me in. Probably a catchy title, and/or the story might be something I’m interested in or can relate to. Then, of course, there’s the writing. How is the author drawing me in? How is the story being told?
The same concept can be applied to your content.
Is Your Title Catchy?
Let’s take a look at your title. Is it grabbing your audience? You want it to be something that they could relate to and would be interested in. Hopefully you would already know this from the initial research you did when you were defining your brand and knowing your target audience.
Using numbers in your title is also eye-catching, for example, “5 Simple Tips for Writing Catchy Titles.” Using adjectives like “simple,” “important,” and “easy” are a big draw. Of course there are many more you can come up with as you do your own research.
Try this blog post title template tool for ideas here.
Let’s Converse
What about the content itself? Are you writing conversationally? You want to write like you are talking to a friend so it feels personal. Your friend being your audience that you have become familiar with through your research. You can empathize with them and understand their problems and present them with your solutions.
You’ll use words like:
- You
- Your
- You’ll
- You’re
- if you’re writing a blog post you’ll also use “I”, “Me” and “We”
Readers can also relate to stories. You may have a story about your own experience or someone you know that can help drive the point you are making.
Spend a few minutes creating the outline for your content. Write a rough headline and subheadings. Then fill in the content. Remember we’re making it personal. Don’t worry about grammar and spelling on the first draft. You can go back and edit for clarity later.
Embrace You!
You have a personality and voice that are your biggest assets. They help distinguish you. They help you create and strengthen your brand.
If you’re sarcastic naturally, then your content can and should be sarcastic too – when relevant and appropriate. If you’re sentimental then your content will reflect that.
It’s much easier to embrace your personality than to fight it. And it makes great content.
Study the content and writers you like and read often. How do they share their voice and personality?
Make Content Easy To Read And Understand
We’re talking formatting here. Many people tend to get a bit carried away with formatting. There are so many underlined, bulleted, and bolded words that you’re not sure where your eye is supposed to go. Instead of enhancing the reading process, it makes it more difficult. It’s distracting!
Simple formatting is best. Simple formatting may include bold or underlined subheadings. You might have either bullets or numbers but probably not both. (Sometimes both are okay depending on the content and information). I’m a bullet girl myself!
Pay attention to the content you find easy to read and the content that seems distracting. Is there too much formatting? Not enough? When the article isn’t easy to read, what would you do to fix it? What would make it easier to read?
Once you have your thoughts down on paper, polish. Add your keywords in to optimize for the search engines, make sure it’s neat and clean then publish it. Test and track your blog posts and content to evaluate what your readers respond to. With a little confidence and a plan, you can write content to build and grow your business.
Creating compelling content doesn’t have to be hard. Take the right steps and make sure you put some personality into it. I know you have one! Just be your unique self.
I would love to encourage and help you realize your dream so…
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