With the proliferation of content on the internet, it’s easy to think that mediocre is good enough. However, when you keep in mind that everything you write is a reflection of your brand, you need something a little bit better to make a good impression. So what do you do? Great writing, like anything else, takes a lot of time. But there are a few techniques you can employ to make your content stand out above your competitors’.
Important: Spelling and Grammar
Don’t expect a pat on the back when your grammar and spelling are sound. The point is that it should remain unnoticed; errors tend to distract from the actual message of the content, and diminishes trust in your ability to do deliver on your promises.
Word processors are a good starting point to pick up on your mistakes, but shouldn’t be trusted to be 100% accurate: using pubic instead of public, virgin instead of Virgil, and so on, are mistakes that easily fly below the radar of your spellchecker – they’re spelled right after all.
Automated grammar proofing can be worse. While the broad strokes of grammar are pretty much set in stone, you’ll find discrepancies among different software packages regarding the actual structure of a good sentence, what a run-on sentence is, where contractions should be used, etc.
Learn to do it yourself, and you’ll become a better writer much faster.
Get creative with the layout
One very common trait you’ll notice among other writers and even professional content writing services is that they produce essay-style copy. Strictly speaking this isn’t wrong – sometimes that’s perfect for the purpose of the copy. However readers tend to skip pages with paragraph after paragraph of copy, sometimes even before they start reading.
Learn to segment your copy – one idea per paragraph or content block. Adding font styling can increase the visual attractiveness of your copy, thereby drawing page visitors into the content.
Don’t get creative with the words
Visitors would much rather read entertaining content than boring content. However, they would also prefer to read content that gets straight to the point as opposed to content shrouded in an attempt to be clever or funny. By combining topical information with the values of your brand, your content will be unique enough to do the job you need it to do.
Does that mean creativity is a no-no?
No. If you’re sure your copy is entertaining (in other words, you’ve used a few random people as a focus group), and if ‘entertaining’ or ‘clever’ suits the purpose of your copy, go for it.
Edit, and edit again
Editing takes mediocre content and turns it into professional, polished copy. Do you think companies that offer content writing services get it right the first time round? No way. Whoever is responsible for the copy probably edits, edits, and edits again before passing it on to an editor. Only after the editor is done, and it has been proofread a few times, then only can it be considered ‘final’.
Although this approach might be a bit time consuming, it’ll greatly increase the quality of your published copy. Readers will have more trust in your business, and it will be easier for them to remember and promote your brand.
It’s important to remember that, despite all the writing tips above, there’s no substitute for practise. Writing as much as you can, as often as possible, automatically trains the brain to avoid previous mistakes, thereby decreasing the time spent both writing and editing. If you don’t have the time to write, rather invest in a content writing service and get trained minds to produce the words you need.