Even in the age of new marketing channels, like YouTube, Facebook Live and Instagram, the ability to write engaging content on your site is still the reigning King. If you want to create successful campaigns that will feed quality leads to your sales funnel, you need to have quality content on your website.
What is good content anyway?
But what exactly do we mean by “good content”… Well, think of it like this: The reason why a business would publish content is to attract the right leads and convert them into customers. Makes sense, right? So, good content needs to serve that goal which is twofold.
First off, you want your web copy to attract organic traffic from Google and other search engines;
Secondly, because that content will be the first point of contact with your business, you want it to be valuable for the reader, and eventually, convince them to try out your product or service. Good content is content that converts.
How to create content that converts
Now, how do you craft content that captivates the reader and converts them into a lead or, even better, a customer?
Long gone are the days when a short blog post would do the trick. There’s too much competition among companies that offer the same products. Each piece of content competes with hundreds if not thousands of others.
Furthermore, your goal though should be to create content that can be found in Google Search. No matter how much value you’ve put into your article, if no one can find it, then it’s less effective. In this context, the first element of a well-written article is keywords.
Keywords are important and need to be the pillar of your content creation strategy. Successful content that converts requires some effort and careful thinking before you actually start writing. In fact, you need to do know exactly what keyword and buyer persona you’re targeting if you want to funnel traffic to your website for the long-term.
After you’ve figured that out, your concern should be how to write good copy that will catch the user’s attention and keep their eyes glued to their screens.
Creating content is easy! What about good content?
We can all agree that creating content is easy. Anyone with a half-decent command of the English language can write a post. But not everyone can craft interesting and engaging content, and not to mention content that converts. In fact, creating truly enticing content that is both search-engine optimized AND that has an impact on your ideal customer is hard work — even for copywriters.
Why? Simply put, you need to satisfy a bot and a human being by creating content that ranks well and converts readers into leads or prospects. And although Google’s algorithm can be predictable to some extent, human emotions and behaviors are far from it.
Best tips for creating content that converts
As you start to create high-converting web copy, keep these points in mind:
- Writing sales letters is both an art and a science.
- Quality, as we defined it in this post, is more important than quantity.
- Always write copy with your customer in mind.
- Writing for your readers is more important than writing for SEO. However, you need to keep both parties happy.
- Your copy should be captivating, mind-boggling or entertaining.
- Use stories or case studies or examples to help people relate directly to the topic.
- Your content should address the reader’s questions, give practical tools and demonstrate your authority.
- Also, your content should be engaging and have people react to it in a given way, such as commenting or sharing the post. If nothing else, people should at least want to read more of what you have to say.
- Use a straightforward layout. Nobody likes clutter, so keep in mind that “clean and organized” works best.
- Last but not least, each piece of content on your site should entice the reader to take a pre-planned action, like subscribe to your newsletter or sign up for a free webinar.
What type of content converts better?
In order to discover what type of content converts well, you need to work your way backwards. Identify exactly who you want to attract as a customer and what they care about. Do extensive keyword research to find out about any pressing questions they might have which you’re not aware of.
Additionally, check out your competition to find out what kind of content they’re publishing. Look for content that ranks well in the search engines or content that becomes viral on social media. Find out what they’re doing, and do it better! You could write your own spin on the issue and include or throw more light on the topic from a different angle. Take notes as you do your market research so you can keep track of any ideas that might spring up.
Another easy way to create better content than your competitors is to explore the comments below a popular article. Also, look at comments for the same post on social media. This type of direct reader feedback can be a goldmine of knowledge and will help to shape the value-packed content you create.
Readers’ feedback would tell you exactly what additional information you should include in your own article if you were to hit all the points a reader might expect to see.
This is especially true if you see the same type of comments multiple times. Taking note of how often you come across a particular pain point or comment will help prepare an epic post.
By studying your competitors’ content, focusing on the comments it receives, and on the level of distribution it gets through sharing on social media, you will have a better understanding about the type of content that would be most appealing to your average prospect.
Finally, when you sit down to write sales letters or any type of web copy, make sure your content is well-structured and is easy to read and apply. Add different forms of visual elements, like images, videos or infographics. Easy-to-follow and pleasant content will make your visitors want to stick around much longer.
And a parting piece of advice…
It is essential to publish the type of content that you would personally enjoy and share, but you must also make sure this content is right for your target market. That’s why it is important to research extensively before you start writing.
Have you run out of ideas for content that converts? Do you want to craft blog posts in minutes, not days? Do you want readers to keep coming back for more? This tool might be the solution you’ve been looking for. Curately will help you create content that converts.