Content writing is an essential part of curating an online brand and developing a strong presence. Exceptional copy writing can make you stand out from your competition and encourage audience interactions.

Perceived Value Versus Actual Value

Whether you’re a fresh face in the online-marketing space, or you’ve had skin in the game for a while, here are 5 useful content writing tips that will be sure to enhance your engagement and improve your SEO (search engine optimization), no matter your subject matter.

1) Research everything

Everyone online is vying for the top spot on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Whatever you write has to be better than what your competition is doing, so always keep an eye on their progress. By typing in the keywords you want to use in your own writing, you’ll be able to see which competitions have similar ideas to you, and how successful they are. You can take inspiration from them to help boost your own content. 

Similarly, make sure you have a strong list of keywords to use in the first place. Online packages and softwares such as Clearscope, Moz, and Semrush will help you here, as they can instantly analyze what your content is about and which direction you should go in to stay on top. They also provide feedback on your readability and content structure. 

2) Draw people in

The most important thing, however, is to try not to clickbait. Even if your blog’s popularity and view-count has increased, overall audience reactions will be negative, which will impact your SERP score as a result. Keep these tips in mind instead:

• Know what your audience is looking for and keep your most important keywords in your headline. 
• Make your headline accessible to general audiences – don’t use fancy jargon that will leave readers confused.
• Numbers and lists give readers a sense of what to expect, and it keeps you in line when delivering on your points.
• Keep things short and sweet; every word needs to count.  

Good headlines are important regardless of what your content is about. Whether you make informational white papers and educational documents or personal blog posts and high-frequency articles, make sure to really spend some time developing a great headline. Try to keep them to between 60-90 characters where possible for the maximum effect. 

3) Understand your target audience

How you present your copywriting depends massively on who your audience is. You need to make sure that your tone, register, and language is all correct and in line with your brand before you can publish anything. 

Google Trends and Analytics are useful tools here, allowing you to see the popularity of searches over time across the globe, and which demographics are interested in specific search results. This way, you can solidify your understanding of your audience and tailor your content towards the types of people you wish to attract. 

Social media is an indispensable tool. By interacting with your audience first-hand in an online space, you can change your writing style in your copy to suit different audiences at different times. It also gives you an opportunity to connect with people and gain feedback. 

With this knowledge in place, you can work on creating a consistent voice that is designed to keep your reader’s attention. Think about:

• The types of words you use 
• Your sentence structure 
• Use of jokes, quotes, or personal anecdotes 
• Use of first, second, or third person 
• Active or passive voice 

4) Engage your reader within the text

Calls to Action (CTAs) are essential for engaging copy. Content marketing is made up of equal parts networking as it is letting your website roll along passively. A CTA implores your audience to do something. For example, you could ask them to:

• Go somewhere on your website 
• Leave a comment under your post 
• Sign up to your mailings list
• Provide a review  

You should aim to strike a balance between promoting your CTA, but not shoving it in your audience’s face. You don’t want to make people jump through hoops to close a tab or pop-up – that will only result in annoyance and dislike for your brand. Instead, it can be a good idea to weave CTAs into the bulk of your text by using hyperlinks to other articles you’ve written or products you’d like to promote. 

5) Check readability

There are few things more frustrating than seeking out information only to be met with walls of useless text whose only purpose is to bulk up a word count. By using clear headings and sub-headings, shorter paragraphs, and sticking to the facts of the matter, you can ensure a streamlined experience for your readers.

Here are some general tips: 

• Break up big chunks of information with bullet points. These are easier to skim through and add texture to your content.
• Make use of relevant graphs and images. This will let you display any statistics in a more colorful, engaging format, and add some variety between paragraphs. Make sure that the graphics aren’t too jarring, and that the colors match the rest of your blog to reduce eye-strain or visual discomfort.
• Add a contents section at the beginning which anchor link to relevant parts in the article. This is particularly useful for longer articles, as it lets audiences skip right to the part they need.
• Use free editorial software like Grammarly or Hemmingway to check your content before you publish. 
• Use a professional, readable font.  

In conclusion 

How you decide to present your content is up to you, but the internet is full of useful tips and tricks to get you started. There are also dozens of free website-building sites that are fully customizable, letting you create the perfect domain. 

At the end of the day, your main concern should be making sure your audience feels satisfied once they come to the end of your article. Did you cover all the main points you set out in your introduction? Did you stick to relevant keywords and not go off topic? Have you got an area for your audience to contact you with feedback or questions? If the answer to these questions is ‘Yes’, then you’re good to go.