HOW TO WRITE YOUR CONTENT
Thirteen Tips That Will Take Your Writing to the Next Level.
It is imperative to start by saying that there is no wrong way to
write content for your website or blog. However, there are tried and true principles and
techniques that can help you succeed, if you adopt them and practice using them.
The most important aspect of writing online, however, is developing your own
voice. Don't try to fake it. Don't try to style yourself after someone else. Be yourself and find
your own style. That is the secret to long-term internet success.
Without further ado, here are 13 tips that will, if you use them, help you take
your website content to the next level:
How to Write Your Content: Tip 1 
Lead with the benefits,
follow with the proof. This is one of the principles you should use when Marketing Your Website. However, remembering this will help you do more
than be a successful marketer. It will force you to communicate
effectively.
When you write, you should
spell out first and clearly the benefits you and your website or blog provide the visitor and the reasons why he
should believe you. Each article or content page should immediately make it known to the reader what they
will gain by spending time reading your stuff. Then, you have to prove it. Making sure you
accomplish this when you write will take you places.
Fast.
How to Write Your Content: Tip 2
Ensure understandability. Make sure
you write so that anyone can understand the meaning of what you have written. Grammar and spelling are
important, but clarity of meaning is infinitely more vital to the success of your website or
blog.
Check every article before you publish it (or submit
it). Even read it back to yourself out loud. Does it make sense? Are you talking over
anyone's head? Could your mother understand
it?
You get more traffic and business if you write better
and more clearly than anyone else. Learn how to condense the most technical aspects of your niche down into
understandable sentences. This is most likely going to require practice on your part, so practice it by doing
it!
How to Write Your Content: Tip 3
Be dedicated and
productive. Writing is like any other skill. If you don't practice and polish the skill, you get
rusty. One of the best things you can do for both your skill and your website is to determine from the
beginning that you are going to be productive.
If you can purpose to
write at least one article every day, that is excellent. More would be even better. If you can't do
that, shoot for one every other day. At a minimum, write one a week. Frequent additions to your website
or multiple postings to your blog will boost your efforts at Getting Website Traffic and keep your writing
polished.
Plan time to do it.
Consider making it a rule that you have to write an article before you can check your email. Be dedicated and
productive. You are an expert in something. Write about
it.
How to Write Your Content: Tip 4
Use action verbs. Remember, there is no wrong way to
write. But, there are certain things you can do to improve your ability, no matter what your style
is. The use of action verbs is one such technique.
Use action verbs to start sentences whenever you can. This
calls the reader to action and is easy to understand. Write clearly on a 3rd-grade level and every
literate person can benefit from your writing. "See Spot run" is simple and to-the-point. Go and
write likewise.
How to Write Your Content: Tip 5
Use tips. People love lists of
tips. This whole page is one. Offering free tips to people will draw people to your website like a
bug zapper sucks in mosquitoes. Lists of tips are easy to understand and should provide high return on the
reader's investment of time.
Interestingly, odd numbers of tips
seem to work better than even-numbered lists, with the number "10" being an exception. So,
use 3, 5, 7, 10 tips. But, remember that the bottom line is that quality content is what drives the
internet.
How to Write Your Content: Tip 6
Avoid overusing first-person
pronouns. Stay away from using "I" and "me" in your writing. Once or twice is fine, but
excessive use of these pronouns generally turns people off to your website or blog.
Your website or blog isn't primarily for you
(review your Business Philosophy if you need to), so, don't make it all
about you. Serve the needs of your clientele. Don't just use your website or blog as a verbal
preening stage.
How to Write Your Content: Tip 7
Watch your sentence length. There
are no hard and fast rules when it comes to developing your personal writing style. But, many business
writers consider the hallmark of bad writing to be the use of too many words.
The total number of words never really matters
as long as the content is full of quality. But, if it takes you three sentences to say what could be said
in one, you should probably revise it. Sentences should generally be short and
to-the-point.
How to Write Your Content: Tip 8
Write like you talk. Most people
can carry a conversation. Most people also feel that they can't successfully write a website, blog, or
even an article. Overcome this by writing like you talk.
Don't look up big words in a thesaurus.
Just write like you would say it. Use contractions. Use common slang words or readily
understood word substitutions to make your points. It matters most that your readers understand
what you write. Your high school English teacher will not be issuing grades.
How to Write Your Content: Tip 9
Plan first. Work out a beginning,
a middle section, and an end or conclusion for what you write. You don't have to type out a
formal outline, of course, but at least know where you want to go and where you want to
end.
Before you write, put a little thought and
effort into thinking about your immediate writing project. What do you want to convey? Are
there any length requirements? How are you going to present the benefits? Which benefits are
you going to highlight? What is going to be your call to action? How are you going to
present the reasons why action should be taken?
You need to think about these things before
you start writing. If you don't, you will likely write a confusing or jumbled article or
webpage. Avoid this with a little forethought.
How to Write Your Content: Tip 10
Be specific. Use illustrations or
anecdotes that demonstrate what you are trying to communicate. Give examples. Present case studies
or data. Make sure you get down past generalities to the details.
How to Write Your Content: Tip 11
Break up your writing. Every time
you start a new thought or idea, start a new sentence. Every time you transition in any way, start a
new paragraph. Lots of short sentences are easy to read. Don't worry if it seems
choppy.
Every time you can, start a new
paragraph. There should be a lot of white space on virtually all of your webpages or blog
posts. People like white space when they read articles. It allows them to keep track
of where they are easily. Short sentences do the same.
Try to start a new paragraph every time you
write four or five sentences. Sometimes it is hard to break then. But, if you can, it greatly
increases the readability of your content. Massive bloks of solid text can be daunting.
Simplify by breaking up your writing into small sentences and small paragraphs.
How to Write Your Content: Tip 12
Don't worry about length. Some
people say the only good way to write content for websites or blogs is to write tons of smaller articles.
They say 300 to 500 words per article is what you should try to attain.
Bah. Length doesn't matter as long as
you are delivering content that benefits others. If they are benefitting, they will keep reading. It
usually is a good idea to write articles for your website (or blog posts) of varying lengths. However,
different people will implement different strategies, and the success is almost always determined by the effort
of the individual, not hitting a certain number of words in an article.
You can find successful websites or blogs that
use frequent posts of short articles and others that use less-frequent posts of longer content. Some even
post content that runs into the thousands of words. Both can be successful. Pick what works for
you.
It is the content that counts. If you
write quality stuff, the article length doesn't matter. Focus on truly providing a service to others with
your content, and your traffic will grow.
How to Write Your Content: Tip 13
Focus on clarity. Remember the
old advertising truism: clever doesn't sell. It doesn't sell because it doesn't help people realize the
value of the product or service. It doesn't convey the benefits, and it surely doesn't prove anything to
them or give them a reason to take any specific action.
Be clear. Make sure what you write makes
sense. Don't worry about being clever unless your niche demands it.
How to Write Your Content: Conclusion
The content is the lifeblood of a
website. Make sure you can write effectively. Find your voice and refine it. Practice,
practice, practice. The more quality content you can produce within your niche, based on keyword research,
the more traffic is going to find its way to your website or blog. Content is the key. But, you've
got to be able to write it.
There are just a few Website Style Considerations you need to be aware of before closing the book on the Website Development department. Then comes the fun
as the next step is the Website Launch!
Copyright © 2009=2010, Issachar Knowledge, LLC: How to Write
Your Content
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