In the last post, you saw a brief about what is content writing which is a beginner’s guide. In this post, you are going to see the 10 Content Writing Tips for CATCHY and OUTSTANDING Content.

Why do we need to know the tips? Do you know, poorly, bloated and sloppy content will never get on the google page?

So, it’s important to focus both on your website and the content optimized for the search. Remember, you have only 10-30 secs to capture the interest of the audience.

 

 

 

 

 

Content Writing Tip 1 – THINK “BITE, SNACK, MEAL”

Think of the words “BITE, SNACK, MEAL” while writing content. Imagine, if your content is too long, the audience will be too bored and go to the next article.

Offer a brief meta description; it will help people select the right link.

•  Bite = headline, key link and hook information for an audience wanting more with a Call-To-Action.
•  Snack = key message or brief summary. The snack can be a bit at the top of an article or the content page or the first bit of information in a blog post. Usually, it is a separate bold or italicized text highlighted.
• Meal = the key information in detail format. The meal can be the rest of an article or blog post, a deeper web page linked from the snack, or the full content page you created.

A headline should serve by itself as the “bite” that entices audience to have the snack and then the meal.

Content Writing Tip 2 – Inverted Pyramid Style:

What do you mean by Inverted Pyramid Style? It simply means, adding more value at the top. This is the strategy usually followed by journalist. 

Yes, information, information first. Web content is completely different from school papers and essays. People usually visit a site looking for information. Give them what they want.

Be selective about what key information you put on web content to avoid confusing people. Although you can combine topics with linking both, it is advised to keep one topic. This will help you to create a clear and precise outline as well.

One page, one topic: that’s the rule.

If you want to add additional things, the best way is to link to another page with that information. Moreover, it will aid in attaining SEO results.

Follow the below steps while writing content.

• Start with your key message with a hook.
• Create curiosity in the middle to go till the end. Highlight the Key takeaway
• Minor details fall to the bottom but use a final statement, question, and call to action which is the must!
•  AVOID – Click here, More, Read More, etc. give no clue about what will appear. The audience will get frustrated with multiple clicks on your content.

Content Writing Tip 3 – Eye-Catching Headlines:

The third content writing tip we are going to see is, when reading the information, people always look for the title and the headlines which are the deciding factor whether to go ahead with reading the content.

It takes 10-20 secs to get the attention of the user. Hence, use headlines that work well.

Also, the search engine may not place your content high in its results because the title doesn’t have the keywords that is matching.

Eventually, you need to provide what Google wants.

• Use your target audience keywords. Use Emotional Keywords! Eg. Free, Simple, Quick, Instant, Learn, Discount, Everything You Need, Download, Save, Powerful, Secret, etc.
• 5-8 words is sufficient for Headlines
• Each headline with 2-3 content sentences is sufficient
• Don’t use all caps in the headline
• Training resources (weak headline) whereas Discover Training resources for Data Analyst (strong headline)
• A headline should serve by itself as the “bite” that entices people to want the snack and then the meal.
• Start each heading with the action word – Eg: Download, Create, Design, Join, Get, etc., or Emotional words like Simple, Easy, Free, Discount, Guarantee, Discover, etc.

 

Content Writing Tip 4 – Break down Wall of Words in your content:

How do you rate the below content? Not so readable right. Moreover, very large paragraphs are a big no when the audience is watching using large screens, tablets, or mobile phones.

Summarise the key content in the first 2-3 sentences. Subdivide the big paragraphs into smaller bit size sections. Additionally, you can also use a sub-headline if needed.

Check out the two pictures below carefully.

• Break down the Large blocks of text that look like wall-to-wall words
• Short, straightforward sentences
• One or two ideas per paragraph are plenty. More than that confuses people, they can’t see the main point.

• Don’t have all the information buried in the paragraph.
• Do not use jargon or abbreviations.
• Not more than one or two ideas per paragraph.

 

Content Writing Tip 5 – Use simple & plain language:

To be successful in the Content writing journey, you need to get your message to the audience as quickly as possible.

To obtain this, your content should look good and also as lean as possible. Persuade the audience to want to read more from your site.

Remember long paragraphs are bad for mobile devices.

People do not want to read long drawn out paragraphs

Content Writing Tip 6 – Don’t stuff keywords in your content for SEO:

Audience type keywords when searching. That is the first step in connecting with your audience. So it is important to give Google what it wants. It is as simple as that.

Search engines like Google, Bing find pages with matching keywords in your content. Search engines first create a list of site links based on the keywords. Then it will show the summary in the search results.

• Use more keywords that site visitors are looking for and that search engines can match
• Think about your target audience searching for your page. Who is the audience? who will get the benefit? Where will they be coming from?
• Which words would they type?  Which words would get a successful result?
• Understand the Difference Between Short Tail Keywords and Long Tail Keywords.

• Your jargon is not their jargon
• Incorrect Content length and format — readers searching for short videos won’t read a massive ultimate guide, and vice versa
• Don’t repeat the same keywords. Paraphrase the words

Short Tail and Long Tail Keywords:

Short tail keywords are also called narrow keywords. They are the keywords with 1 or 2 words. They are not specific at all. As they are general keywords, they attract lots of traffic. Narrow keywords grab traffic from all over the world and they are vast.

Keywords with 3 or more words are known as Long tail keywords. These keywords are specific. They are used to target an audience in your segment with a particular niche interest.

Below are a few examples to make you understand them.

Content Writing Tip 7 – Distinguish Titles from Text Paragraphs:

The next content writing tip is about making headings easy to see at a glance. If required, make the hierarchy or the headings (different levels) obvious.

• Type size for the headline <H1> should be bigger than for the headings <H2>
• If you use <H3> headings and don’t change the placement, make them smaller than your <H2> headings.
• About 3 points difference is often good.
• Don’t center headlines or headings.
• The headline should not have less space after it.

If you find yourself writing the same heading over different sections of content, it probably means the material is not well organized. Reorganize it to be logical for your site visitors.

Below is the example of Headings in WordPress.

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5

Content Writing Tip 8 – I vs YOU vs YOUR vs WE vs US

When writing the content, you should keep in mind using pronouns appropriately. Let’s see two scenarios.

One is Contact Page on any website:

When the AUDIENCE asks the question to the CONTENT – How can I reach out to? How can I Volunteer?

“I” and “my” in the question (the voice of the AUDIENCE).

“you” and “your” in the answer (the CONTENT is talking to the AUDIENCE).

“we” and “our” for the COMPANY that is answering the question.

Another example is Sign In form:

When the SITE asks the question to the AUDIENCE – Sign In details

Use “you” and “your” in question (the CONTENT asking the AUDIENCE)

“I” and “my” in the answer (the voice of the AUDIENCE)

“we” and “our” for the COMPANY that is asking the question

Content Writing Tip 9 – Must use of Lists:

There are two types of lists. Bulleted list and Numbered list. Let’s see the usage appropriately.

Use bulleted lists for items or options.

Use numbered lists for instructions or steps.

BULLETED LIST	NUMBERED LIST
SKIM & SCAN	See immediately how many steps or items there are.
See how many items there are	Read one step, do it, and find the next step easily when they come back to the list.
Check off items mentally	Do the steps in the correct order or ensure the total number of items match.
Find a specific item quickly	Be sure you have not left out a step

 

Content Writing Tip 10 – Writing Meaningful Links:

The last content writing tips about the links. The post headline and link headline is not matching? Is there any effects? Yes. Definitely.

• Think ahead: If the link and page name don’t match visitors may have a moment of confusion.
• People can become frustrated if they didn’t get the content they were expecting.
• Both should have almost all the same words but most certainly the same keywords.
• Launching and landing on the same name helps your SEO.
• Some algorithms may lower your SEO score if the headline as a link and the headline on the page don’t match.

People will first notice pictures first, then the links and then the headlines, and finally the text.

Hope you found the post interesting and informative. Do understand that you may not get to follow everything the first time.

However, with consistent effort, practice and dedication, you can excel at content writing skills.

Don’t forget to check out the What is Content Writing – A Beginner’s Guide. & Discover 25 Easy & Best Content Writing Rules

Your valuable feedback, question, or comments about this post are always welcome by leaving me a message on the contact form is truly appreciated.