11 Ways to Completely Revamp Your Content Writing — People First Content
Looking to take your content writing to the next level? You’ve come to the right place!
We know that can gain tons of reads while others will flat out flop. Don’t worry it’s all part of the process. But, if it’s happening more often than you’d like, then it’s time to make a change.
Content writing is a skill like any other — you have to keep honing and developing it in order to master it. Whether you’re new or an experienced writer, there’s always room for improvement.
So how can you revamp your writing skills?
11 Tips to Improve Your Content Writing
Here are eleven excellent tips to sharpen your writing.
1. Simplify your sentences
There’s no need to make your sentences excruciatingly long. If anything, long sentences make it harder for the reader to follow along. Keep it simple. Make your point as succinct as you can. Not only will people understand it, but it quickens the reading pace — which enhances the reader experience.
2. Chop up your paragraphs into chunks
Who likes reading essays? Exactly. Sure, you probably packed tons of valuable information in it. But, you’re inserting multiple ideas all at once, which can overwhelm the reader.
Plus, people nowadays don’t actually read, but they scan. They briefly scroll through the article and search for keywords. A quick fix for that is to break up your paragraphs into smaller bite-sized chunks. That way, the reader can easily find what their looking for and properly digest each idea.
3. Use active voice
This is an essential element in content writing. In the spirit of simplicity and conciseness, writing in active voice is a great way to achieve that. In this voice, the subject acts upon the verb. As opposed to passive voice, they’re direct, short, and clear — which is everything you want your blog post to be. While passive voice is good in some instances, you should always aim to write in active voice wherever possible.
4. Conversational tone
You’re not writing an academic paper. So leave those fancy SAT words at school. In content writing, it’s all about building a personal connection with the reader. The best way to do that is to write like how you talk — use simple language, contractions, and even add a little personality to it. Make the reader feel like they’re engaging with a human.
5. Read a lot
This one’s a no brainer. To be a good writer, you have to know what good writing looks like. Surf the internet for popular bloggers and observe how they structure their content. You can even read books from your favorite authors. Plus, it’s good for the soul and your mental health. So read, read, read!
6. Use vivid language
Don’t go all Friday The 13th with it. What we mean is to use words that help visualize your idea in a way that readers can easily understand. Think of it as painting a picture with your words. This is especially beneficial when talking about abstract concepts. Sometimes definitions alone aren’t enough. That’s when metaphors, adjectives, and anecdotes can come in handy and make sense of a complex topic.
7. Outline your content
An outline is the content writing version of a game plan. It’s helpful to have a bird’s eye view of how you’ll organize your article. You might start with a working title, introduction, couple of body paragraphs, and a conclusion. This is just an example, of course, but you can get creative with it. Knowing what topics and questions you’ll talk about provides you guidance and direction in your research.
8. Write eye-catching headlines
Before the reader can even get to the meat and potatoes, you’ve got to grab their attention with an interesting and engaging headline. They act as a teaser that gets people wanting to learn more. This is important because if you don’t get them here, then you won’t get them at all. Be sure to write an eye-catching headline that makes them stop dead in their tracks and read what your article is all about.
9. Read it out loud
The expression “it sounded better in my head” rings true in content writing. More often than not, our sentences may look good on paper, but out loud, it may sound a lot different. So put your content to the test and recite it as if you’re giving a Ted Talk. Did anything seem off? Did the sentences flow smoothly? Maybe you’ve repeated the same word twice in the same sentence? It’s better to know what needs fixing than to hear it from yourself.
10. Anticipate readers’ questions
Remember that your content is meant to help people. They clicked on your article because it discusses a topic that interests them. So, it’s a good idea to use your blog and answer any relevant questions that the reader may have or may not know they need. You want to be their one-stop shop for everything they need to know about the subject. To help you, think from the reader’s perspective. What questions would they have? What other information might be valuable to know? It’s all about putting the people first.
11. Keyword research
Before your fingers tap that keyboard, you should always do research on the most popular keywords or phrases on the internet. You want your content to not only reach a massive audience but the right one as well. In addition, it helps your overall SEO, increasing the chances that people will find your article when they search for it on Google. So be deliberate and intentional when it comes to selecting your keywords.
Start Revamping Today!
All eleven tips are tried and proven methods to uplift your writing to new heights. These best practices worked for numerous bloggers, writers, and especially for us here at People First Content, so they’ll most definitely work for you.
Still need assistance? Let us do the heavy lifting for you. Our team of professional writers are happy to assist you in the revamping process. Contact us to learn more!
Originally published at https://www.peoplefirstcontent.com on February 23, 2022.
