So, you want to write content that grabs your target audience’s attention and keeps them on your site just dying to get more? The online world has gotten really noisy and is only going to get noisier.
You are competing with some of the biggest and baddest marketing specialists for your audience’s attention and money. So, how do you write engaging content that will grab and keep your intended reader’s attention?
Here Are 5 Things Every Content Creator Must Bear In Mind:
1. Know Your Audience
It’s not just enough to think you know them. Go where they go, spend some time interacting with them and describe them as thoroughly as possible. One great new tool to use is Facebook’s Graph Search Tool. You may discover that the folks who like your page also like sushi or mountain biking… you may find new places to target in your AdWords or organic searches.
2. A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
Except online, it’s worth much, much more. Make your posts and content scan-able. Help your readers ‘see’ your point with great images. Infographics, visual guides and great imagery will help get your message seen.
3. Consider Your Competition
Know what they are putting out and be at least a little better! Find what is working for your biggest competitors and duplicate then expand upon it. Don’t copy, but you don’t have to reinvent the wheel either.
4. Create Lists
- They draw the reader’s attention much like an image.
- They break up long paragraphs and make it easy to make points.
- They give the impression of something important.
- They can sum up important concepts you want to get across.
5. Research, Research, Test and Research Some More
It may seem as though I am beating a dead horse here, but what content creators must do is find what motivates their ~ audience, target market, readers, whatever you may call them ~ Setting a specific goal for each piece whether it is to send them to the next landing page for more information, to download a free resource, to set up a user account or to purchase something.
Define your goal for that particular situation. Finding what your visitors respond to and what they don’t, will help you hone your content and increase engagement.
Take advantage of the skills, ideas and creative minds that are available for content creators. Get inspired now!