You know you need to create content for your website or blog in order to build your audience and promote your business, but you’re stuck because you think you can’t write. Well, don’t give up yet, because you don’t need to be a great writer to create compelling and effective content. Try a few of these ideas.
[Read more…]
Creating Outstanding Online Content
Online writing is a specific skill. Getting it right takes knowledge and practice. Of course, anything that makes your writing more engaging and entertaining offline generally should work well online. It’s just that there are some additional factors to bear in mind and some unique pointers that can help your web content be even better.
Don’t Waste My Time!
Long introductions are great for setting the scene and they can give depth to your writing. That said though, you don’t want to meander around the point of your post – especially online where attention spans are famously short. The sooner you start delivering on the promise of the title, the fewer people you’ll lose and the less ‘boring’ your writing will seem.
Break it Up
Remember those short attention spans? (If not, you may be a victim of a short attention span. I just mentioned this three sentences back!) Keep readers interested by breaking up your articles with headings, sub headings and bullet points. Don’t be afraid of white space. The right typeface also goes a long way in making content readable and understandable. This way people can quickly skim the text on your site and get an overview. They’ll then be able to quickly decide whether it’s for them or not.
Share Your Sources
One of my favorite statistics is that 68.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot. (Think about that for a second. Yeah, that’s right…I made up that statistic.) Be credible by showing your work. Where did you get that statistic, fact or anecdote? If your aim is to develop trust and authority through your writing, then telling them where you got your information is a great way to get people on board – especially if you can link to studies, surveys or authority sites to back up your points. Google also likes it when you do this, so it’s very good for SEO. And it is good netiquette to link to sources.
Be Conversational
You want to sound professional and authoritative, but you also want to make sure that your writing is easy to read has good flow. Don’t fill your writing with jargon that the average reader won’t understand.
While you are writing, imagine that you’re talking to a friend and write the way you would normally speak. You might need to be more or less colloquial (e.g., removing contractions or slang) than you would in conversation, but this is a good start. The best way to ensure that your content flows well and is easy to read is to read it out loud before hitting “publish.”
Make your writing inviting and readable, and you will naturally attract more readers and fans.
Think you don’t have anything to share? Maybe you don’t think you are enough of an expert to help other people learn. Think again. Your life experiences along with what you are presently learning can make great content. All you need to do is take notice of it, seize it before you lose it, and transform it into an article, blog post or video.
You hear the advice time and time again – write great, interesting, exciting, sharable content. But what if you’re in a boring niche? Or writing for a client in a boring niche? How do you get readers excited about mundane topics like locksmiths or plumbing, or topics like personal injury lawyers or rash creams?
Think you can’t create an information product because you are not an “expert”? The truth is that if you have been working in your field and learning for any length of time, you probably know more about your subject than 90% of people. Those are your customers.