Don’t Let the Fear of Writing Crush Your Profits
I teach business owners how to create content for their digital marketing efforts. Many of them have never written much after college or high school. The biggest hurdle for many is lack of confidence in their communication skills.
Although there are many variations in media choices for content marketing, there’s still a fundamental set of rules for effective delivery. Some people in my industry frown on the idea that regular folks can learn to write quality content relatively quickly. I like proving them wrong.
Let me lay out a simple four-part structure that you can follow for nearly every piece of digital content that engages an audience. This is important because just putting up a set of pages with information on your site or blog isn’t really going to work if people aren’t interested in what you have to say.
Without engaging content on your site or social media platform, you’ll easily get overlooked by search engines and visitors. No visitors, no profits.
Therefore, it’s vital that you follow a proven, well-structured content creation formula that ensures your material is helpful and easy to understand. You’ll be able to crank out interesting content that builds trust, rapport, and covert prospects into sales.
Here is the simple process:
· Preview what you’re going to tell the reader.
· Tell them the complete story.
· Recap what you told them.
· Get to the call to action.
Create a content that is appropriate for the medium and purpose. Keep it short (a simple tip for cleaning the lead residue from your hands after firearms maintenance). Make it longer if the steps are a little more complex (taking apart a Ruger SR1911).
Creating educational material that target beginners. People who are interested in a new topic may definitely want more information, since their interest is at its peak. However, be sure to spoon feed them, not overwhelm them with too much information.
Great content helps to build trust and rapport. This puts visitors in a perfect position to recommend products and resources to others. Helping beginners through the initial stages of a hobby, for example, will allow them to achieve their goals more quickly.
Preview What You’re Going to Tell the Reader
Give them a heads up on what you’ll be teaching them. Keep it brief. This primes their interest. The best way to begin your article or video is to tell your viewers exactly what they will learn by engaging with you. An effective way to do this is to present the main points that you are going to make in the beginning.
Your title should broadcast your main point. That’s the thrust of your message. The supporting points of your topic become your subheads.
Your opening tells the visitor what to expect once they’ve been pulled in by your title. Here’s an example of an opening. “Today, we’ll be looking at several important concepts relating to personal firearms maintenance. These include:”
1. Understanding the importance of weapon maintenance.
2. What steps are taken to ensure proper cleaning of handguns and rifles.
3. Safety and hazards in routine maintenance.
4. Proper storage of maintenance equipment and firearms.
There’s no set way to do this. The point is to get the audience warmed up. More crucial for you is the fact that you’ve just outlined your topic.
You now have four subtopics within your principal topic. The bulk of your content will expand the information you’ve just outlined. Take your time and think it through.
Start Chunking for Clarity
The best way to explain complex topics is to use “chunking”. This is when you break down a process into less complex parts. Define each part and their relationship to each other.
It’s the act of grouping together connected items or words to represent a single concept according to psychology (or linguistic analysis). Chunking is like a recipe. Tell them what you’re making. Lay out the ingredients. You show how all the components fit together in order to get the result you want.
Tell Them the Whole Story
Start with a brief paragraph that explains a concept or idea as clearly as possible. Next, offer the story behind the idea. You can use an example, a set of statistics or an allegory or case study. Remember that stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. You can work your points in as you create your outline. We all love stories.
A Word About Subheads
Subheads are amazing. Second in importance behind the title; they are the backbone of your article or script. Your subheads lay down your ideas in order before you expand your thoughts. Consider these your milestones.
Here’s an example of a blueprint for an article using this system.
Title: Handgun Maintenance: How to Avoid Your Gun Blowing Up in Your Face
Introduction:
· Paragraph 01
· Paragraph 02
(Subhead) Understanding the importance of weapon maintenance.
· Paragraph 01
· Paragraph 02
(Subhead) What steps are taken to ensure proper cleaning of handguns and rifles.
· Paragraph 01
· Paragraph 02
(Subhead) Safety and hazards in routine maintenance.
· Paragraph 01
· Paragraph 02
(Subhead) Proper storage of maintenance equipment and firearms.
· Paragraph 01
· Paragraph 02
Summary:
· Paragraph 01
· Paragraph 02
Call to Action:
· Sentence.
The Summary — Recap What You Told Them
Now you wrap up your article by summarizing your main points. The last part of your article is a recap of the main ideas that you put forward. A good way to do this is to just let your audience know what they learned from your material. The recap is very short and to the point.
Reach back into your subheads for your recap. Subheads are great for a lot of things. This is by far one of the main reasons to have them. You’ve told them how important cleaning and maintenance of firearms are. You’ve gone into great detail in cleaning and the proper tools for the job. Finally, you showed the importance of proper storage of both cleaning equipment and firearms.
Close with your Call to Action.
Now, the reason they call this content marketing is the pitch that comes at the end. You’ll ask the reader or viewer to do something. It could be to read more material, subscribe to your list, buy your product or share the content with others.
It’s a simple blueprint for a 500 to 700-word article right there. Your article can also be turned into a video script as well. If you really want to be a pro at content repurposing, have a designer turn your articles into infographics.
So, for each of your main points, your aim should be to make a statement that explains an idea, and then immediately back it up with an example, story, metaphor, or statistic that helps clarify and reinforce the concept. Chunking is a powerful approach that takes all the complexity out of writing content for your audience.
The process can be simple or complex depending on your material. You can use the system to create longer articles, Video Sales Letters or more complex white papers. I’ve even created eBooks based on this framework. Practice writing this way for a few projects to see if it works for you. Essentially, you follow this formula:
Preview What You’re Going to Tell the Reader
Give them a heads up on what you’ll be teaching them. Keep it brief. This primes their interest.
Tell Them the Whole Story
Lay the information out in neat packets for them to consume. Tell an engaging story. Wrap it up, leaving them wanting more.
Recap What You Told Them
Briefly go over the salient points of your message to ensure that your reader has snippets of information that they can hang on to. This reinforces your story as well.
Your Call to Action
Hit them with your pitch after you impress them with your knowledge.
That’s all there is to the system. There are online apps that can help you with grammar, spelling and punctuation. These tools are available to help you become a more competent writer. As with most skills; the more you practice, the better you’ll get.
Learning how to create content for the web may seem like an overwhelming task if you own a small business and want to succeed in digital marketing. Having learned how to write interesting articles and video scripts doesn’t mean you will have to do it forever. However, if you’ve done it yourself, you’re more likely to pick competent people to write for you in the future.
If you want more tips and simple hacks for making content marketing work for your business, follow me and check back every week. Stay profitable.
