Writing content, particularly online marketing content, is no easy task. There is a reason that only a few of the thousands of article marketers out there actually end up breaking through and making it big. Content is dynamic and variable, and without a dedicated strategy and game-plan for ensuring that your content is quality, it is unlikely that you will ever see any positive marketing results.
However, while great content is difficult to produce, learning to create great content is not. From imitation strategies to sheer determination and one-after-another article creation, learning to become a great content marketer is something that takes time and willpower. The payoff, however, is definitely worth it. These five tips will help you take your marketing content from something that is passable but ineffective, and hone it into a dedicated and proven marketing tool.
1) Minimize fluff and padding.
If there is one thing that separates great writing from amateur scribbles, it is the amount of fluff and padding that separates the content from the piece itself. Think of writing as a high quality whisky – the most water, cola, or ginger ale that gets added, the less visible the original taste is. While newbie writers often think they need to piece together their marketing content in an accessible way, the best way forward is by creating writing that quickly gets to the core of the issue.
2) Write with a purpose.
Do not linger on thoughts endlessly and end up getting nowhere. Writing marketing content is not an exercise in thinking and pontification. If you need to validate yourself with endless writing and purposeless debate, make sure it’s in a piece that is not sales-driven.
3) Remember that marketing content is a tool, not a solution.
Your goal as a content marketer is not to have the best and most intriguing content around. Sure, it might help if your goal is to write for Time magazine, but it is unlikely to help you sell products. The most effective writers are not always perfect with grammar and syntax. What pushes them ahead of other writers is that they view their writing as a piece of the sales puzzle, not the end solution.
4) Don’t overwrite, underwrite.
Just like fluff can alienate an audience and diminish the value of your main points, overwriting can lead your audience on for too long and end up rendering your message ineffective. Whenever you are stuck between taking a short and simple writing option or a long and arduous second paragraph, pick the first and spare your audience the annoyance of reading something that does not go anywhere.
5) If you are pitching, give it structure.
Your article should not be built on a one-paragraph introduction, four-paragraph body, and one-paragraph pitch. When your goal is to sell a product or service, your entire article should reflect it. Whenever you are pitching a product, service, or action, do so in a way that is weaved in and out of your article, not stuck at the end like an unscheduled advertisement.