Is your business dealing with abysmal bounce rates, social media snubs, and lackluster lead-generation? We live in an era where monetization is tough without internet marketing success. Fortunately, many of the problems business owners experience have to do with uninspired content, a condition that is highly treatable.
At the request of our readers, we’ve put together another booster-shot of content writing tips to help your team members meet their Muse. Read on to learn 3 tips to increase audience engagement with your brand’s content writing campaign.
Start Strong
Compelling content has to start with a bang. Internet marketing companies are working in an era where audiences have an attention span of about 3 seconds. There’s just too much content out there for readers to waste time with something imperfect. If you don’t grab them by the brain stem with your opening line, your brand message will go unheard.
That said, our content writing team recommends starting most articles in the middle – not at the beginning. Blank pages petrify talented writers, so it’s important to get something down as soon as possible. Torturing yourself to produce a compelling introduction only leaves the page blank for longer and eats up work hours. Besides, it’s significantly harder to write a pertinent opening without a crystal-clear idea of how the content will look. Unless your notes are basically a “rough draft” of the article, it’s in your best interested to work backwards. When this guide was being created, we started with the “meat,” then worried about tidying up the intro and conclusion once the mainstays were in order.
Ground Your Reader with Topic Sentences
Topic sentences are the road signs your readers use to navigate the unruly landscape of your content. When you’re writing for high-tech blogs or clients whose brand meaning is bogged down by industry-specific jargon, things can get very complicated; topic sentences give your readers something solid to grab onto.
Topic sentences are simple: they appear at the start of every paragraph to outline the basic subject matter. Readers should be able to absorb the basic idea and flow of your content just by skimming topic sentences. They should signal every new thought, and “set the table” for you to dive into deeper ideas.
When first drafting your content, start by writing out your topic sentences in order. This will give your writing a perfect roadmap. All you’ll need to do is expand on each topic sentence to fill out your paragraphs, and you’ll have a perfectly cogent piece of writing that transitions seamlessly from thought to thought.
Express Yourself (Appropriately!)
In the world of fiction, finding and maintaining a voice will make or break your story, and the same is true for internet marketing company content. While promotional copy doesn’t depend on rich characters making believable choices, a strong and industry-appropriate narrative voice is needed to engage relevant audiences.
Imagine how a user would react to snarky, sarcastic ad copy when they’re trying to find a personal injury lawyer to fight for their family’s physical and financial future. You may be presenting compelling legal advice and offering inexpensive counsel, but the voice you chose didn’t resonate with your audience – it may have even offended them.
Use a little common sense and talk to your clients about the tone their demographics respond to. Work boot re-sellers don’t want to publish poems, and tax advisers don’t want to sound casual and carefree.
Beyond getting the client’s tone right, it’s important to find and express your voice whenever possible. Writing must be expressive in order to be engaging, and that’s just not possible when you’re writing in choppy, bare-bones sentences. It’s why ghostwriting fails when the “front man” is too assertive: neither side ever has a chance to find their voice, so the content comes across as only partially-realized.
In the same way that you can “taste the love” a cook puts into their food, your readers will feel when you’re having fun with your writing – and they’ll bounce off the page anytime things feel forced. Do whatever you can to have fun with the copy you’re creating: alliterative wordplay, vivid metaphors, and references to things you enjoy make a big difference.
Take your content marketing to the next level
If you enjoyed these content writing tips, you might want to explore content writing options with our internet marketing company in Markham. You can learn more about our content marketing here, or by calling (416)-619-7935.