5 Tips for Effective Content Writing

Content is King.

To compete for your market you have to stand out and the best way to do that is through the content that you produce. The content you make should not only be readable but also unique. Using the following content writing tips will help you to break away from your competitors and stand out from the crowd.

1. Write Using Your Own Voice

When trying to write content for you or your brand, write using your own voice. Don’t worry about it sounding like an essay, this when you can get to sell yourself and your brand. At the same time, it is within the best practice to avoid humour and profanity. You don’t know who might be reading your content and they might misunderstand your humour. After all, the internet is not the most forgiving place!

Don’t forget to play around with font type, size, and colour. So that your BIG ideas stand out and create an everlasting impact.

2. K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

When you are very excited about a new idea or product it’s easy to want to talk about it for a long time. To get people as excited as you, you want to keep the message short – only sharing important details. Additionally, when writing it’s important that your layout is neat and the message is clear. Readers are likely to scan through the content and want to pick up on keywords right away Here are some ways you can keep you content to the point:

• Use clear, concise headers to help separate your ideas.
• Keep your paragraphs short and direct, the same with your words. For example, rather than saying “in order to” use the word “to”.
• Get the message across in terms everyone understands. Avoid the use of jargon. You don’t want to limit your audience to experts who use that vernacular every day.
• Take advantage of bullet points and create lists (like this one!).

3. Understand Your Audience

The biggest content writing tip I can give you is this: deliver content that you know your audience will be interested in learning more about. There is no point in wasting your time putting together content that your audience does not want to see. By understanding your audience you will know who to deliver to.

You always want to know how they are going to find it. Critical to the entire process of content creation is making it accessible. Where is most of your audience’s online activity occurring? Text can be very well-written but if you don’t optimize your content for SEO it is unlikely people will see it.

Another question to ask yourself is, what are some key terms that my audience would type into a search engine? A question like that will help you determine the language and keywords to use.

4. Use Visuals

Graphics are a powerful medium to get your message across and also support your text. Visuals are best when there is minimal (or no) text. Take full advantage of adding in some images, videos, and infographics. People are four times more likely to retain information when there is a visual component included in your content.

5. Edit, Edit, Edit!

The importance of reading over your work cannot be stressed enough! Misspelled words and faulty punctuation can deter your viewer from reading the rest of your message.

Sometimes it is hard to spot the error when you have been working on the same document for a long time. Take a break from writing, go for a walk, work on a different task, or grab a coffee. It’s also helpful to have someone else take a look at what you are writing. They can help spot any missed errors, but also make sure that the message you are trying to get across is understood.

Additionally, there are a plethora of tools online to help ensure that your content is authentic and readable, including the following:

• Grammarly is a FREE, online application that checks for grammar and spelling mistakes. It offers a premium service that checks for plagiarism. It works to make sure your content is 100% authentic.
• Hemingway App is a great editing tool that looks more at sentence structure and grammar. It points out if your sentence is too complicated. It also identifies words that need changing.
• SelfControl This is an application for macOS. It blocks you from using sites that you deem to be unproductive. After you identify the sites you want zero access to, you set a timer that will restrict your access to those sites for a set amount of time. This is a great tool when you want to focus and be productive.

If you can apply all these content writing tips into practice, your content will definitely be successful. If you have any other questions regarding content and the digital space, check out our blog or reach out to us!

Now, go on and create some mind-blowing content!