What’s amazing is how the top bloggers in the world know what it takes to grab the reader’s attention through their content writing. This is a true skill and works magic because it’s the defining point between someone who converts after reading your content or not. To me, content marketing is the new trend and by writing engaging content, you can not only transform your business but your brand. Have you ever wondered why almost every brand now has a blog section? It’s because content marketing drives more sales and leads than any other form of marketing. Long-term, content marketing is very cost effective because once you start ranking in the search results, it’s nothing but free quality traffic. However, the true challenge is in the beginning when you start to create a copy-writing strategy. The true challenge is to engage the reader through your content, so they don’t gain the value they need from your competition. Copy-writing is a skill that’s learned and perfected over time.
Today, we’ll be exploring 5 copy-writing secrets to help you write insanely addictive content. We’ll be exploring strategies to write content that keeps readers coming back and taking action each time.
1) Power of Questions
It’s human nature to be attracted to questions. They interact with our minds in magical ways because they get us excited. They make us feel valuable when someone else is asking for our opinion. It makes us feel like we have something important to add and our knowledge is considered valuable. Some of the most successful copy-writers ask questions in engaging ways. But, the secret to asking the right questions is to make sure they are relevant and get us thinking. Remember, the most challenging questions give us a sense of pride and connection with the content. So, how do you create the right questions to add to your content? Here are a few tips –
a) Understand what you’re writing about and the different angles. By approaching your content using a broad point of view, you leave it open to various interpretations. You don’t need to write broad content and can still focus on the points you outlined earlier. But, know there are other angles to your content too. Leave the other angles to be answered by your readers. For example, if your writing about weight loss you should focus on nutrition, best times to eat and what foods to consume. However, in the end, you can ask your readers about the best exercises to accompany your nutritional schedule.
b) Provide two answers to a question so you can ask readers which one they agree with. Find an open-ended question so you can leave it open for other answers.
c) Ask a “What Should” question. In the end of my content, I ask my readers what should be included in my content or what’s missing. This shows them I care about their opinion, but provides me with other topics to write about later.
Key Takeaway: Engage your readers by asking questions. This makes the reader feel important and respected that their opinions do matter.
2) Power of Examples
Have you noticed how I’ve provided 2-3 examples in my writing above? If you’ve read my other content, you know I always provide examples when writing. I don’t do this by accident but it’s a strategy that’s worked for years helping more people engage with my content. To me, engagement comes through understanding and the more my readers understand my content, the higher my engagement. This is even more important now ever since social media has become a vital tool in content marketing. But, when providing examples, you need to add them at the right time. I like to provide examples of key points helping my readers understand the point I’m trying to get across.
This does two very important things –
First, examples help re-emphasize the point I’m trying to get across. It helps me guide the reader’s attention helping them stick to the main text not the clutter around it. Secondly, providing examples gives me an alternative way to explain my point. This is helpful for those who need a different angle to understand the value I’m providing.
Never under-estimate the power of examples. They are exactly what you need to keep the reader engaged. Remember, the reader must understand your content to engage with it.
Key Takeaway: Always include examples when explaining your main point. This will help divide your content giving you a way to zone into your main points.
3) Power of Images
Images are highly addictive especially when you show the value of your content through an image. With content being able to touch the corners of the world, it’s important you engage those readers located in non-English countries. E-commerce websites use images to showcase their products, and bloggers use them in the form of infographics to illustrate their value. Even colors can be very inviting when selling a product. You can induce feelings showing before and after type content. If you truly want to understand how important images are in content marketing, you need to look at the history in front of you. For example, have you ever seen any content published nowadays without images? Skim through the most popular blogs in any niche and you’ll notice how images are an important element in building engagement.
Key Takeaway: Include images in your content to engage readers even more. Images are a great way to help illustrate your point.
4) Power of Headlines
Addictive content means you need to entice your readers from the second they lay eyes on your headline. Remember, around 40% of your readers will come from search engines so you need to stand out. In the search results, you’ll be displayed up against 9 other competitor websites, so you need that edge. With an attractive headline, you’ll be off to a good start because you’ll build up suspense, excitement, and curiosity. Copy-writing is all about being able to increase conversions by writing engaging content. Without engagement, you’ll not only lose readers but lower brand awareness. The perfect headline also creates the feeling of “wanting” building up to complete addiction once the reader arrives on your page. With that said, let’s look at the power of a perfect headline in copy-writing.
The Keywords – searchers always have keywords in mind. This is obvious when they perform “targeted” searches in Google. For this reason, you need to have your keyword either in the beginning or end of your headline.
Length – The perfect headline is short and right to the point. Think about how you skim through the results when searching in Google. You skim through looking for the keyword in the headline. The entire headline must be readable at first glance without you having to stop scrolling through the page. The headline should not be any longer than 160 characters.
Relevance – The content should match what the headline promises to do. If my headline is the following – 10 Ways to Become a Better Leader, and I write on 10 Social Media Blogging Tips, then I’ll lose trust with my readers. Think about when you click-through to a specific content. Now, think about what you do when you don’t find the information you’re looking for? You’ll leave and never come back to the blog again…well I know I won’t. Always match the content with the headline.
Key Takeaway: Include the keyword in the headline. The headline and content should correlate with each other. The content should provide what the headline promises too.
5) Power of Problem Solving
If you want to create addictive content, then you need to know what type of content to write. There have been numerous case studies done on the most addictive type of content when marketing. The results are very clear with people expecting to read content that provides them with a clear solution to a common problem they’re having. But, you can’t just solve any problem because engagement depends on how common the problem for people in your niche. For example, I’m going to have an easier time engaging people knowing 90% of them require the solution I’m writing about. This will be way better than writing about a problem only 10% of the people in my niche are having…right? So, it’s important you do your research before you start writing. Next, copy-writing is a skill so when writing your content, you want to add specific keywords to entice the reader to continue reading.
Let’s explore how to create the perfect problem-solving content.
Research – if you’ve read my previous content, then you know the emphasis I put on research. Through research, you can find what’s trending and what’s not. Through research, you’ll also start to notice a pattern of the questions being asked by people related to your niche. For example, I spend a lot of time in niche communities because as I’m skimming through the questions I start to see a pattern. If a question is asked too many times, then I know it’s a hot topic. This is especially the case when a clear answer hasn’t been provided yet. So, do your research starting with Google then broadening your scope.
Gather the Facts – Now that you’ve found a common problem, it’s time to gather the facts. If you’re an expert in your niche, then maybe you know the solution. If not, do research again and put the pieces of the puzzle together. To stand out with your readers and online with Google, create a complete solution so it’s the best piece of content online. This type of content does well with readers and on social media.
Write It Out – Avoid clutter and keep the content smooth. Your readers are looking to pull out value and unorganized content won’t do that. Add images where you can and don’t forget to look for grammatical mistakes. Once you’re done, you can go live with your content.
The more common the problem, the more engagement your content will receive when you provide a solution. The most important step when creating problem-solving content is research.
Key Takeaway: The more common the problem, the more addictive the content. People flock to content which they can’t find anywhere else. Do your research, find a common problem and provide a solution.
Final Thoughts
I believe content writing and copy-writing go hand in hand. Copy-writing is a skill that makes your content better or addictive. Great content writing includes strategic copy-writing and I believe you can’t have one without the other, especially, when you’re trying to outshine your competition. Above, I’ve outlined 5 ways to make your content more addictive. These strategies are not hard to apply once you understand your purpose and what you’re trying to achieve. For example, whenever I write content I start by evaluating the following –
- My audience and who I’m writing for.
- My website and what goes well with the rest of the content.
- What I’m trying to achieve or my purpose
- How to achieve it so I obtain my end results.
Once you’ve answered these questions, you can proceed with the 5 tips above. Asking questions makes the reader feel special and they get to ask the questions they want too. Providing examples is a great way to steer readers to your main point. It’s a great way to reiterate your purpose. Adding images will allow you to connect with those people who pull out more value from images than text. The perfect headlines will allow you to filter out all the people searching on Google using specific keywords. Having your target keyword in your headline is important for this reason because it will increase your CTR compared to your competition. Finally, always solve a common problem because any content which makes someone’s life easier is worth reading and sharing…do you agree?
Good article, sharing it. But…Typo alert!
“These strategies are not hard to apply once you understand your purpose and what your trying to achieve.”
Thanks Laurie for the share! Making the fix right now.
Hi Mike – You’ll find the link in The Travel Vertical, a free weekly trade newsletter for our community for digital tourism marketers and their media partners.