Websites and blogs need compelling content that compels readers to take action. Simply putting words onscreen doesn’t do it, which is why AI-generated content is so bland and ineffective. You need content that grabs the reader’s attention, makes them want to keep reading, and inspires them to do more.
How do you create content that is compelling? The best way is to hire a professional writer who knows all the tricks of the trade, like Express Writers’ professional content creators. Our writers know how to create compelling content—and are eager to share some of their most useful tips.
Informative
The first key to creating compelling content is to ensure the content itself is useful to the reader. That means creating content that contains the information the reader wants and needs.
People read articles, blog posts, and white papers because they’re looking for specific information. People want to know what’s going on in the world around them, how things work, and how to do certain tasks. They read to get the information they need.
If a post or article doesn’t contain useful information, readers will abandon it. A post or article without detailed content is like snack food—it may be entertaining but it doesn’t deliver any value.
Engaging
Including useful content isn’t enough. Content must also engage the reader and pull them into the copy. They have to feel compelled to keep reading after the first sentence or paragraph. If the content isn’t engaging, you lose readers’ attention and they click away to other sites.
How best to engage the reader? The key is to speak directly to the reader. Write as if you’re talking to a specific person. Write in the second person (“you” and “your”) rather than the more formal third person (“his,” hers,” “their”).
For example, instead of writing “It’s a great deal,” write “It’s a great deal for you.” Don’t say “Our customers will enjoy it,” say “You will enjoy it.” Make your content personal.
You can also engage the reader by asking them questions. Start an article with a question that pulls the reader into the piece, something like “Do you know the seven reasons why this thing works?” People will keep reading to find out the answer.
Compelling Content is Targeted
Compelling content is not generic. For content to be compelling to a given audience, it has to be targeted to that audience.
Readers aren’t interested in content that is of no value to them. You don’t want to try to sell an AARP audience on the benefits of pimple cream—or tell a teenage audience about a new retirement home. Your copy should be written for a targeted audience, the more specific the better.
Knowing your audience is also important because it tells you what information to include—and how to include it. Different audiences not only have different wants and needs, they have different knowledge and expectations.
You need to figure out who the audience is, how much they know, and how much they don’t know. You can then provide what they want at the level and in the style they want—and not write over or under their heads.
Gets to the Point—Quickly
Most people don’t want to read long pieces online. People today have very short attention spans—and those attention spans are decreasing.
According to a recent study, the average attention span is used to constant distractions. Human beings now have shorter attention spans than goldfish!
This is clearly evident online. Internet users don’t read articles, they graze them for key information. The average online reader will not repeatedly press the Page Down key or click the Next Page button on a long web page or blog post. You have their attention for a single screen, at best, so you need to make the most of it. Keep your content short and concise or your readers will lose interest.
Organized and Hierarchical
One way to deal with the attention span issue is to organize your content into small chunks. Use a copious number of section heads to break your content into two- or three-paragraph sections. This makes it easy for readers to scan the headers and graze the short sections.
When organizing your content, you should always put your most important information upfront. This way readers will get your key points quickly, even if they don’t read the entire post or article. Think of your content as an inverted pyramid. Tell readers exactly what they want to know in the very first paragraph, and then fill in additional details through the rest of the post or article. Don’t make them sludge through a long web page or post to find what they’re most interested in. Give it to them upfront, and then tell the rest of the story and provide additional details.
You should also strive to use short paragraphs, sentences, and words. This is, to some extent, practical, as small smartphone screens make reading lengthy passages difficult. It’s a matter of adjusting your writing to the medium and to the audience.
Captivating Copy is Easy to Understand
One of the most important ways to make your content compelling is to speak in the language of your reader. You need to choose the right writing style for your target audience—which, for most content, means writing in a conversational style.
If your writing sounds overly technical or uses too much insider jargon, it’s going to turn off the average reader. Instead, you should write in a style that is not too formal, too stiff, or too technical. Your writing needs to feel genuine and natural, just like you’re having a conversation with someone in real life. Use the right style for your audience and everything else will fall into place.
In most cases, that means translating complex terms and topics into plain English. Don’t use industry buzzwords and three-letter acronyms, use language that average people speak every day. It should be like you’re sitting in a coffee shop talking about the topic to a friend. Be casual, be conversational, and use plain English. Explain things that you might otherwise assume people know, in language that is unintimidating.
Includes a Call to Action
Finally, compelling content should encourage readers to take action. Maybe you want them to click to read more, to download additional content, to leave their contact information, or to place an order. Don’t leave it implied; you have to explicitly tell readers what you want them to do.
This is called the call to action and it typically comes near the end of an article or post. Everything in the article should lead up to the call to action. If your content was informative and engaging, readers will want to do more, so lead them there and ask them to do it. Use simple and direct language and include action words such as “call” or “order” or “click here.” Directly ask the reader to do a specific thing—and, if your content is compelling enough, they will.
Content Comes from the Experts at Express Writers
It takes professional writers to create compelling content. It’s not something you can expect from buck-an-article amateurs or AI generators. Whether you need blog posts, web pages, white papers, or other content, the Subject Matter Experts at Express Writers will research your topics, evaluate your needs, and provide content that compels your audience to take action. Contact us today to learn more—and start creating compelling content for your target audience. (See how that call to action thing works?)