3 Simple Tips for Writing Value-Based Content

Tip 1: Be empathetic and never talk about yourself

Instead of writing “we” or “our”, write “you” or “your”. 

Bad example:

“We help save hours of tedious work by automating email campaigns.”

Good example:

“You will save hours of tedious work by automating your email campaigns.” 

There is always a way to turn a “we” into a “you” with a bit of thinking and effort. This will take some practice, but stick with it and it will start to feel more natural.

Tip 2: Don't write about features, write about the value

Understand that when exploring a new product or solution, nobody cares about what the company has built and how it works as much as they care about answering the question...

“How will this help someone?”.

Before you write content with the intent to convince a customer to buy, ask yourself:

“What problems and pains do the readers have in common with each other?”

“How can we help solve a problem for them?”

“How can we prove it?”  

The goal is to make the reader visualize their ‘before and after’ scenario. Have them feel the pains associated with their current problems and have them think of the soothing after-effects of the solution your company can provide them with.

Bad example: 

“Our ‘Fast Plus’ feature makes email outreach easier and quicker. Simply connect a Google account to the Acme Automation Tool and skip the coding! This game-changing feature takes the HTML out of marketing automation.”

Good example: 

“Say goodbye to the painstaking hours of effort that you are putting into coding your emails. Connect your Google account directly to the Acme Automation Tool and cut out the annoying HTML middleman. Work Corp has saved 10 hours a month on email coding since they started using ‘Fast Plus’.”  

The more customer testimonials you gather, the easier this tip becomes to execute. 

If it’s impossible for you to write a 'before and after' scenario that demonstrates the value of a feature, you shouldn’t be mentioning it in your content. 

Rule 3: Be like Hemingway...less is more, cut out the fluff

People only spend an average of 17 seconds reading a web page. There’s a good chance that most people who open this article, won’t even read this paragraph.

This means that you should be focusing on your value messaging in the first 17 seconds of your written content. Make your writing ‘skimmable’ and use as many images as you can to tell the rest of the story. 

The more you focus on answering the question mentioned in Tip 2 “How will this help someone?", the less you will feel the need to rely on fluffy writing.

Here are some examples of fluffy sentences that make me want to punch a wall: 

“Boost growth and streamline your processes.” 

“Change the game and be an office hero!”

“Get the best value for a good price.”

All of these fluffy statements can be implied by the reader if they understand the true value of what you are writing about and selling.

...and that just about covers it.

Be sure to leave your tips in the comments below.