Getting your writing right
If content is king, the way you tell it is certainly in line for a noble title. How your chosen words and sentences combine can have a massive influence on your readers. Tapping into a reader’s subconscious is a route to hidden sales and making a connection with a visitor to your site also makes them more likely to react positively to you and spread the word. So here are our six tip top tips on writing engaging copy that will keep your readers entertained and coming back for more. 1. Reason Anybody can give an opinion, but to back it up with proof gives you credibility and gives your argument sense. Telling people what you think and then telling them why you think that gives them a chance to ‘reason’ your argument themselves, although in practice they rarely do, instead natural instinct means more credibility is given to those who offer a reasoned approach. 2. Compare Your chosen words are your tool and the use of metaphors, similies and analogies are the master wordsmith’s tools of choice. By offering examples, comparisons and illustrating your writing in a literary sense you immediately get your reader thinking about what they are reading, gaining their attention and ensuring they read on. 3. Prove Reasoning and comparing are steps towards proving what you say but a customer testimonial or external review adds extra validation. Whatever you say, however you re-inforce it, having another person confirming the same is always going to more strength to your argument and make people sit up and take more notice. 4. Empathise Getting your readers to agree with your thoughts is a perfect way of engaging them, and to do that you need to understand your readership and make them feel you know them well. You also want them to think you know the topic well too. That gives you credibility, immediate impact and with that persuasiveness too. 5. Repeat Psychologists swear by it. Students succeed by it and TV Broadcasters survive by it. Repetition re-inforces your point and triggers subconscious memory points that will make information recall more likely in the future. Use it wisely though. Just repeating the same thing in the same way however will ultimately turn your reader off. Making the same point in different words is easy, as is making it in a different way such as with a second example. Reminding your reader what your aim of the article is about will also make sure they are in the right mindset to read it. 6. Respond A two -way conversation is always more successful. If a reader responds to your piece, either via direct comment or perhaps via social media, make sure you respond back. They have taken time to not only read your piece but also to reply, so give them the respect they deserve and do the same. Picking your words and making them work on the page can drastically improve your engagement scores and ultimately your sales too. Take care, take your time and take note of the reaction when you do finally publish your content and you will quickly begin to see a positive response.
Writing for mobile is twice as difficult
With so many people using a mobile device to surf the net, it’s important to know how to write and organise the content on your site so it’s user-friendly. When was the last time you checked how your site looks and reads on a mobile device? This is not something to be ignored as the number of users getting their daily dose of web information on the move is constantly increasing. This article aims to help you do a better job at writing content for mobile. It’s not scientific, just a few tips that can really make a difference. What do mobile users really need? Most people believe that the mobile version of your site should just condense all the information from your current site. In my opinion, that’s totally false! Why? Because condensing so much content in an effort to make it look better on a mobile device can actually act against you. Users might have an even harder time finding what they’re looking for. The purpose is to keep it simple and give your visitors exactly what they need. You might need to do some research and determine what exactly these mobile users are looking for on your site. Instead of just copy and pasting the content you currently have, work around it and only include the information that’s relevant to mobile users. Focus on their needs rather than on a good-looking site. Remove the unnecessary For mobile users, time is of the essence. They need to find information fast, so be sure they won’t have time to read the About page if all they want to do is buy a train ticket, or check if there’s a delay on their flight. Instead of including redundant content and using a small font so it all fits in, focus on filling that little space with useful information. Don’t overlook SEO It might be a mobile device they’re using to access your site, but search engines work the same regardless. This means that you shouldn’t forget about optimising the content on your mobile site with strong and relevant keywords. Make links visible With so many accessing the web using a touchscreen device, it’s important to make it easy for them to just tap on a link to get on a page. Work with your designer so that links are visible and can easily be clicked. In conclusion, when writing for mobile always think about your visitor’s needs and find ways to make their stay on your mobile site as enjoyable as possible.