Content is king, but only if it can capture and hold the attention of your audience. Whether you are writing a blog post, a social media caption, or a landing page, you need to make your content concise and catchy. Here are some tips and tricks to help you do that.
The inverted pyramid is a journalism technique that puts the most important information at the beginning of your content, followed by less essential details. This way, you can hook your readers with a strong headline and a clear summary of your main point, and then provide more context and examples as you go. The inverted pyramid also helps you cut out any unnecessary or redundant information that might distract or bore your readers.
Short sentences and paragraphs are easier to read and understand than long and complex ones. They also create more white space on your page, which makes your content more visually appealing and less intimidating. To write short sentences and paragraphs, avoid using too many words, clauses, or modifiers. Instead, use simple and direct language, active voice, and strong verbs. Break up your text into logical sections with subheadings and transitions.
Power words are words that trigger an emotional response in your readers, such as curiosity, excitement, urgency, or fear. They can make your content more persuasive, compelling, and memorable. For example, instead of saying "You can save money by using our product", you can say "You can slash your expenses by using our product". Sensory details are words that appeal to your readers' senses, such as sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch. They can make your content more vivid, descriptive, and immersive. For example, instead of saying "Our product smells good", you can say "Our product smells like fresh roses".
Is this ad copy or informational copy? Using words like "slash your expenses" in a content piece usually means the writer is making claims that cannot be substantiated. Instead, they're relying on cheap, meaningless cliches or puffery. Wild claims don't encourage brand trust even in ad copy (especially if it's B2B ad copy). A better substitute for the "You can save money by..." sentence if it's promotional copy would be to include some realistic numbers ($$ or %) a user can expect to save.
Questions and stories are two powerful ways to engage your readers and make your content more conversational and relatable. Questions can spark curiosity, challenge assumptions, or invite feedback. They can also help you address your readers' pain points, goals, or objections. For example, you can start your content with a question like "Do you struggle with writing engaging content?" or end it with a question like "What are your best tips for writing engaging content?". Stories can illustrate your points, show your personality, or inspire action. They can also help you connect with your readers on an emotional level. For example, you can share a personal story of how you overcame a challenge, or a success story of how your product helped a customer.
The final step to make your content more concise and catchy is to proofread and edit it. No matter how good your content is, it can lose its impact if it has spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors. These errors can also damage your credibility and trustworthiness. To proofread and edit your content, use tools like Grammarly or Hemingway, read it aloud, or ask someone else to review it. Look for ways to eliminate any mistakes, improve your clarity and flow, and enhance your tone and voice.
Don't be afraid to use AI! ChatGPT or similar tools can help you shorten or bullet content, make it more dynamic and compelling, and can change the focus of your content based on the purpose.
Consider your audience and the intent of the piece before writing the first word. What tone would be most appropriate? Is the content intended to answer a question, provide insight, inspire action, or simply describe a product or service? Know who will ideally read your content, and match the style, word choices, and messaging to that audience.