In 2022, digital marketing is a highly efficient method of creating brand exposure and promoting awareness. Content marketing is one of the most lucrative ways in which for conducting digital marketing. It is considered a subset of the latter.
This means that there is considerable demand for content writers. As such, the industry has seen a huge influx of freelancers and full-time employment seekers trying to become content writers.
The good thing is that even newbies in the field can get hired because there are plenty of online start-ups that need writers. However, this also means that there is too much competition and the content writers need to be very competent and creative in order to thrive.
That’s why in this article we are going to discuss some basic tips that can help a writer create great content.
Basic Guides to Writing for Content Writers
- Catchy Headline/Title
Content used for marketing must be very catchy, otherwise, it will fail to capture the attention of its intended audience. The first thing that any potential reader sees in an article is its title.
Thus, the title must be interesting enough that it makes them want to read it. But…. take care not to make it a click-bait title, that is a bad tactic and while it may get you the click, it will also increase the bounce rate.
People find articles and content usually through organic searches, the title shows up as a search result. If it is clickbait, the reader will simply go back and this will count as a bounce. Bounces are bad for SEO and thus they are bad for marketing.
A great way to make an interesting title is to say something outrageous in the title, but you can only do that if you address the outrageous issue and back it up with facts. If your content does not justify the title, people will not read it.
- Create Understandable Content
Content creation for marketing requires that the content itself is readable and easily understood by the readers. The challenge here is that the readers vary drastically from one person to another.
The audience may consist of children, adults, postgraduate students, college professors, and foreigners. The point here is that the education levels and proficiency in English vary a lot from person to person.
If you write difficult-to-read content, then only highly learned people will be able to understand it. That means you are excluding a large portion of your potential audience.
Thus, writers should always try to write readable content. What you can do is go through the content again and rephrase any parts that are difficult to read. Paraphrasing is your friend when making the content easier to read.
You can get help from a paraphrasing tool that has the option to make the text more readable. There are plenty of free online tools available that can do so, a quick Google search will help you find them.
The audience can only engage with your content if they are able to understand what you are trying to say. Thus, always make sure to paraphrase any difficult sentences in your content.
- Adequate Research
Before you can start writing you should make sure that you are up to speed on the topic you are writing about. To write about something and make it interesting is not easy. The only way to make something interesting is if you are comfortable talking about it.
And the only way to do that is to have knowledge about it. That’s why it is very important to do adequate research about it. Research is also important to avoid plagiarism.
We already know that the content marketing industry is kind of saturated because of the large demand. This makes it easy to commit accidental plagiarism, especially when writing about a popular topic.
However, with proper research from multiple sources, all of these issues can be solved. There will be minimal plagiarism, and the content would also be interesting. Thus, researching your topic is an important step in creating interesting content.
- Write For the Audience
Content writing is for the purpose of making people read said content and gain some insight. This also serves to spark their interest in the brand that wrote that article.
However, not all content is made for every type of person. It is common sense that a few topics are interesting for some and not for others. So, before you can start writing, you need to know what kind of people your audience is.
Audience research can be done in a variety of ways. The first method is to see what kind of registered users are using your brand’s platform. You should take note of what kind of people are using the platform, their age, their gender, and what kind of products or services they are engaging with.
Other methods include holding surveys and taking interviews or simply reading the comments on your blog. All of these methods can yield a large amount of data that can be used to create audience personas.
These personas are used to create content that is relevant and interesting to them. This makes the engagement rate of your content very high.
- Formatting and Images
Visual stimulus is very important when it comes to content writing. Thus, the way the content is presented needs to be good.
Reading giant walls of text is mentally taxing and visually unappealing. Even if the content is very good and interesting, just the thought of having to read too much can turn people away.
Nowadays, people always scan the article first to see if it might have what they need. If they see uninterrupted walls of text, they can become intimidated.
This is where formatting comes in. Formatting refers to adding headings, subheadings, and bullets. Headings and subheadings have the advantage of making the text more scannable. If readers find the stuff, they want to read in the headings they are more likely to read the entire article.
Adding bullets and images to the text break the walls of text and add to the visual appeal as well.
- Proofreading and Editing
The final step in creating great content is to check and proofread what you have written. Writers make many small mistakes when they are writing. This is just a fact at this point and is nothing to be ashamed of.
You should accept that your draft will be bad and will need improvements. It is only after multiple cycles of proofreading and editing that the shiny final draft is created.
Proofreading entails that the content is read thoroughly by either the writer or an editor. Grammatical mistakes and tense inconsistencies are some of the most common mistakes that writers make.
Other problems can include accidental plagiarism and wrong facts. During proofreading, all such issues are detected and rectified. You can employ tools to make this process easier on yourself, especially if you don’t have a dedicated editor.
Conclusion
Content writing is not an easy task, however, simply due to its large demand many people like to try their hand at it. It is an undeniable fact that many people just aren’t built for writing and they may fail. But for those who persevere regardless, these tips can help them out.
Researching your topic and your audience will give you an edge when writing the content. Making a catchy headline will attract attention to the article and formatting the contents correctly will make it easier for readers to stay.
Editing the article before publishing to iron out any kinks will increase the chances of it performing well.