6 Tips for Becoming a More Effective Content Writer
There is a big difference between someone who writes content, and a Content Writer. Just about anyone can write content — filling in their blog or website with enough sentences to fill the page — but becoming an effective Content Writer is more than that. When you’re a content writer, you can write unique and compelling content that serves a purpose, and which gets your writing noticed. If you want to take your writing to the next level, follow these few simple tips.
Solve A Problem
There’s a good chance that someone is reading your content because they have a problem that needs solving. This problem could be they need a place to order flowers from, need to learn how to sew, or are looking for someone to fix their computer. When writing your content, you need to think about the reader, and what problem they are likely facing. Make sure you address this problem in your content, and provide an answer by the end of it. By focusing on the problem you’re solving, you’ll be less likely to stray off topic, and you will keep your information concise.
Pay Attention To Layout
While the words that you use are the most important aspect to writing, no one is going to notice them if you have a poor structure. You want your article to be easy to read, and to do this you need to think about the layout. Consider two different web pages, each of 500 words — one is a solid block of text, while the other is broken up into 5 different paragraphs, all with their own subheadings. Which one do you think will be easier to read? When writing content, try to break up your paragraphs into no more than a few lines if possible, and give yourself a few subheadings. It will end up looking much nicer on the page, and as a result your readers are more likely to get through the content. Here are a few additional tips for how to format your content.
Be Authoritative
Since your readers are coming to you for an answer, they want to be confident that you know what you are talking about. You might be an expert on a topic, but unless you can prove this in your article, you’re going to have to provide some resources. Linking to other websites throughout your content will provide your readers with additional information, and show that you’ve done your research on the topic. This way, they don’t have to trust to your general knowledge, but can see that you’ve looked at other sources. Even if your personal website is dedicated to a single topic, and you’ve clearly demonstrated you’re an authority on the subject, it is still a good idea to link to some other sources. Not only will you improve your credibility, but outbound links are good for SEO purposes as well.
Short And Sweet
One mistake common to new content writers is that they provide too much filler content. They believe that they need to reach a certain word count — or one is assigned to them by a client — and they repeat themselves or provide information that is not useful in order to reach it. If you want your content to be effective, you need to stick to the point. Once you have gone over something, don’t go over it again. An effective content writer will make their writing short and sweet, so that your readers can get what they need without having to sift through it all.
If you’re having trouble meeting a word count requirement, look for new ways to explore the topic that you haven’t gone over yet. You can also provide some personal examples related to the subject in order to make things clearer.
Talk Directly To The Reader
When you want your content to be persuasive or personal, talk directly to the reader. Use words like “you” and “we” that include the reader in the content. This direct approach makes the content more personal, and as a result, is more likely to convince a person of the action you want them to take. Using words like “someone” or “a person” puts a distance between the reader and the content, making them feel like the content is not for them, even it is.
For example, rather than saying something like “I would recommend all people check out Paul’s Diner”, change it to “I would recommend that you check out Paul’s Diner.” After all, the person reading it is likely reading it to themselves, and not to a group of people, so gear it towards themselves.
Brush Up On Grammar Rules
While you don’t need perfect grammar in order to be a content writer, you can’t have bad grammar. The rules of grammar help us to construct sentences in a way that sound right, and having poor grammar will make your content stick out in a bad way. More than likely your readers will not recognize if you make a few grammatical mistakes, but if your writing is clunky due to a lack of grammar understanding, this will stand out. Readers will then have a lower opinion of your website or work, and as a result your authority is diminished. If you haven’t studied grammar in a while, brush up on the basics to make sure they are covered.
Being An Effective Content Writer
If you want to be an effective Content Writer – or if you want to improve the content on your website – you have to put in a little bit of work. Becoming a good writer takes time, and there are a lot of small details that can transform bad content into good content. But if you follow the advice above, and keep working at it, before long you’ll have brought your writing skills to the next level. Then you can watch the conversion rates on your website improve, the amount of readers engaging with you increase, or even get started as a freelance content writer and earn some money. It’s all open to you once you become an effective content writer.