You don’t want to publish any piece of content on your blog that isn’t screaming to be read.
But it can also be hard to keep churning out new, insightful content every month.
That’s why we’ve put together this concise, 7 step guide to help you craft awesome, readable content.
1. Start with the basics
Before you sit down to write, think about the following questions:
- What do you want them to know?
- How do you want them to feel?
- What do you want them to do after reading your content?
The third one is SUPER important. What action do you want your readers to take? Read another post? Buy a ticket? Download something? Keep that in mind from the beginning.
2. Start as you mean to go on
- Start with something funny, or punchy.
- Find what’s hidden in the middle and if it’s important move it up to the beginning. Don’t let it go hidden.
- Facts, statistics and numbers are always engaging
- The beginning of your text is a promise you have to keep – just like your headline.
3. Write the perfect headline
- Active verb tense
- Speak directly – ‘you’
- Are you solving someone’s problem? Tell them in the headline!
- Make it clear why your reader should do something
4. Beginning your post
- Start with what’s important
- Be clear and straightforward in your writing. Don’t use 10 words when 2 words will do.
- Make sure it brings value for your reader
5. Structure your post/piece
- Your piece needs to have a clear beginning, middle and end (regardless of whether you’re writing 100 words or 1000 or 10,000)
- Your piece needs to have an angle – something that makes it unique and different.
6. Don’t forget about: storytelling
- Did you know that the optimum length for Google texts is 1,800 words? If you’re writing long text like this then you really need to work on the structure. Make it as easy as possible for your reader to follow the texts.
- Google also likes texts that are updated – so think about whether this information is going to go out of date, and leave a little reminder in your calendar (e.g. if you’re written about 2019 trends, put a note in to update it for 2020)
7. Keep it simple
- We tend to write in a complex way when we want to show ourselves as experts – it’s a common mistake. But when you’re talking about something that’s complex it’s even more important that your language is simple and easy to understand.
- Use short sentences, check your work for clairity
- Avoid difficult words and complicated sentence structures
- Vary your sentence lengths – don’t only use short sentences, but vary them for tempo and rhythm.
- You need to keep a thread running through your work. If you lose your thread then you’ll lose your reader. Your thread is what connects the beginning to the end of your story.
- Be brave – leave things out! If it’s not important to your thread, leave it out. If there’s a lot you’ve left out, you can always write a second post on that topic, but your title and your thread should be following a straight line. Don’t meander off and leave the reader guessing.
Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.
Contact us any time for penguin chats via email:info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to our website: www.penguinintheroom.com
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