Great content is your best friend! It’s the driver of your online traffic and it builds your website’s authority, which helps you improve your organic search ranking. Your online audience will want to keep coming back for more if they see relevant and updated information in your content. We know that not everyone loves to write but content writing doesn’t really have to be stressful and complicated. Here are 10 awesome writing tips that are so simple anyone can use them.
Write an eye-catching headline
It all begins with the headline. Your reader will first look at the headline and if it doesn’t catch their interest, they’re not going to read any further – meaning you’ve lost a potential lead. Know your audience and what will stir their emotions. Include relevant keywords that will rank high in searches. Keep yourself updated with the trends in your industry because people love new ideas. Make sure that the title is snappy but informative, so your audience knows immediately what your content is all about.
Focus on just one key message
Ever heard about the phrase “information overload”? You only have roughly three seconds to keep your reader from heading off your website, so make sure that your first sentence is relevant to what they want and need. Too much information will bore them and will not be able to identify the main point that the content is heading to.
Be conversational
Great content is all about having a conversation with your audience. Don’t overthink it. Make your reader feel that you are actually talking to them and include content that is relevant to what your audience commonly search for.
Use simple words
Unless you offer a highly technical niche service, no one is going to be searching for overly complicated words that they wouldn’t use in every day language. Use simple and familiar words because that’s what your readers will be searching for.
Write for busy people
Just like you and me, your readers are busy people so make sure you write short paragraphs that are quick to read. This will also keep them interested in moving on to the next thing you have to say. Use short and simple sentences that are direct and to the point. Don’t use jargon that may not be easily understand. Avoid repeating words as much as possible.
Don’t overstuff your content with keywords
Yes, it’s true, keywords are key in order for your content to be found in searches. They make your content readable and more relevant but when there’s too much of it, it’ll hinder not help your search rankings. That Googlebot is pretty smart and if it catches a whiff of keyword stuffing you can kiss goodbye to a decent search rank. Again, don’t overthink it, just use the words that your audience are looking for.
Make it visually pleasant
Let’s face it, if it looks good, you’re more likely to read it, so try to make it visually interesting. Use images instead of text where relevant and try using different font styles, highlight colours, bold text or caps and italics. Use quotation marks for customer testimonials to add credibility. Break your paragraphs with numbers or bullet points. De-clutter and keep it neat.
Do your homework
You can’t just write anything just for the sake of having content. You have to know what you are talking about. Research about the niche of the industry you are writing about. Include customer testimonials, statistics, and data to build your credibility and maintain it. The more you do your research, the more that you’ll improve your expertise about the topic that you’re writing about. Eventually, you’ll find that doing research is pretty simple and easy.
Be honest
Always stick to what you know to be true rather than what you’d like to be true. Don’t overstate the benefits of your service and never say anything that you’re not 100% confident you can deliver on. Words can carry many different shades of meaning. The use of aspirational words such as “world-class”, “premium” or “leading” without any valid proof to back them up can hurt your content’s credibility and your brand’s authority in the long run.
Don’t forget your CTA
Lastly, make sure that your content leads to a call to action (CTA) - but make it compelling enough that your readers want to click that link, sign up now or pick up the phone.
The last word
So, there you have my top 10 DIY content writing tips. No doubt about it - delivering high-quality content and adding it regularly into your website requires time, hard work, and the right skills. If you want to add more content to your website but just don’t have the time to do it, Word Dynamics is here to help – just contact Pauline here or give me a call on 0400 514 579 for a chat.