The secrets to writing captive content

No one knows your market better than you but writing captive content is as much a science as it is an art.

Here are 5 tips for writing content that will capture attention.

1. It’s not rocket science.

We don’t want to dampen your creativity, but a common mistake that’s made with planning content is thinking every piece of content has to be unique. A lot of the best content doesn’t try to be special, it just sets out to answer the questions that customers and prospects are asking when they’re researching your products or services.

2. Can you read minds? - thought not.

While no-one knows your customers better than you, divide your knowledge in the form of customer personas that dig into the interests and pain points of your target audiences. Personas should detail how your product or service solves their problem and the things they want to hear. Then write about that. It’s an idea when doing this to get input from customer facing people in your company and, of course, your customers.

3. Ask Google.

Align your content with what customers are actually searching for online. Clever consumer insight tools like Answer the Public and Google’s related searches will give you a more detailed picture of the questions people are asking and the language and phrases they use.

4. Not everyone has time to read your content.

Sorry, but it’s true. People now consume more content than ever before so we’ve become adept at quickly scanning content. Make your blog post friendly for skim readers by using bullet points, lists, headings or sub-headings to highlight the key takeaways.

5. Eyes on the prize.

Set a goal for your blog post and measure its success after it’s published. For example, if your goal is to increase sales, use Google Analytics to track people who go on to buy. If you are aiming to increase engagement among your customers, encourage readers to comment with feedback or measure the numbers who click through or sign up to your social pages.