In today’s digital landscape, content reigns supreme. Whether you’re a burgeoning startup or a seasoned enterprise, the ability to captivate your audience with compelling content is paramount to success. Crafting content that engages and converts is the holy grail of marketing endeavours. However, achieving this elusive goal requires more than combining words and images. This comprehensive guide will explore the principles that can elevate your content marketing efforts to new heights.

Understanding the ultimate goal of the content

From this point on, the work on the text begins. Only by imagining the result will it be possible to build and organise your further actions correctly. 

Before crafting content or deciding where to start, ask, “What result do I want to achieve in the end?” The answer will depend on the type of content.

Articles for social media

Articles on social media aim to engage the audience from the very first sentence, capturing their attention and fostering interest. These articles must provide valuable and relevant content that addresses the needs and desires of the target audience. They should spark conversation, encouraging likes, shares, and comments to amplify their reach across the platform.

SEO texts

SEO texts are created to promote content, bring the site to the top of search engines, and show the company’s expertise in a particular topic. The peculiarity of writing such an article is the mandatory presence of keywords. In addition, it is necessary to fully disclose the topic so that the reader has no desire to resume searching for answers on other sites. Such texts purposefully lead the user and should 100% meet his or her request.

Sales articles

Sales articles resemble SEO content in many ways. Their structure is based on the AIDA model, and the tasks differ slightly. The main requirement for writing an article is to motivate the reader to take a targeted action (buy, register, leave a review, etc.). Such texts should increase conversion rate, draw attention to the product or service, and familiarise Internet customers with the company’s unique selling proposition (USP).

Informational texts

Informational texts are designed to highlight an issue or event, describe the product on the site, etc. This can include press releases, news, and light texts to fill the web pages. Such content should interestingly reveal the issue’s essence, motivating readers to share the content and causing a “viral” effect. The writing style here is conversational, without complex words.

Recrafted content

Such content is considered the easiest to create, but the result should still meet the main goal – 100% preservation and transfer of the essence of the source. Recrafted content excludes adding your thoughts, new facts, or misinterpreting terms.

What task should solve the content is often specified in terms of reference. Suppose this point is not specified. Then, in addition to the correct structure and literacy, it is also worth remembering the main purpose of Internet content: attracting as many users as possible to the site and selling the company’s products (services).

Studying the target audience

When crafting any content, whether an article for social media or SEO text, the content creator must understand for whom the material is created. An accurate representation of the target audience helps the creator choose the right style and manner of presentation and use the right words.

More experienced content creators analyse the target audience with the help of special services, such as Google Analytics. But a novice author should not get into such a maze. It is enough to study the customer’s site.

Examples of studying target audience

Here is a simple example. You need to write an article for an online store selling women’s clothing. Look at its assortment. The catalogue of short dresses, sundresses, and small skirts in 42- 46 sizes suggests that the collection focuses more on young people. 

What is important for young fashionistas? To be on trend, look stylish, effectively emphasise their figure, etc. These points should be emphasized. In addition, describe the fabrics, patterns, and colours. Make the lady feel herself in these clothes. If the conceived succeeded and the purchase is made, the article has fulfilled its function 100%.

Suppose you write an article about luxury cars or branded household appliances. Your readers will likely be wealthy people who primarily prefer originality and quality products. So, the text should emphasize presentability, status, durability, etc.

Let`s discuss one more example. Suppose you are crafting an article for social media of a wellness app’s social media. Consider the target audience`s lifestyle: long work hours, desire for work-life balance, and interest in health trends. Develop articles focusing on quick, effective exercises that can be done during breaks or before/after work. 

Highlight the importance of mental well-being and stress management, addressing common concerns of this demographic. Use engaging visuals and testimonials from users who have successfully integrated the app into their busy schedules, inspiring others to prioritise their health amidst their hectic lives.

Such an analysis of the target audience helps establish closer contact with them during writing. Having a specific person in front of you (gender, age, financial situation) makes it easier to understand what benefit will bring him or her the product you describe. 

In your article, you should not only show the benefits of buying such a product but also dispel customers’ doubts and fears. To learn about them, go to several thematic forums discussing products. Understanding all the buyer’s requests will help you write an influential text.

Analysing other content on the topic

You should look through 10-15 content pieces on the topic. Then, choose a few of them, the most suitable on the subject, with specific data, figures, and characteristics. It would be awesome if you could find a video review of the desired product or service. Seeing the principles of operation or use of products makes it much easier to describe their features and real benefits.

The necessary material for crafting content can be found on the Internet:

• On competitors’ sites (often customers themselves drop a link to such content)
• On the pages from the top results of search engines
• On the official site of the manufacturer
• On all sorts of forums on the topic (sometimes there is beneficial information there)
• On YouTube channels in reviews of bloggers or online stores

From the information received, you need to choose only the most important. Make sure that the data from different sources do not contradict each other. Fundamental parameters are better written on paper, so they will always be “at hand”.

Planning the content

The topic has been studied. The goals have been defined. It is time to move on to crafting the content. If you are a beginner, imagining the material already prepared immediately is challenging. Therefore, to avoid getting confused about the information and repeating the same thing several times, you can use the help of an Essay Writer to make a detailed plan for creating content.

Here are 2 main points in favour of making a plan:

• Data sorted into paragraphs in advance can save up to 25% of working time
• Precise plan connects all parts of the article, making it readable, logical, and more meaningful

In addition, having outlined the “backbone” of the future text, you can be sure you will not miss anything. You will also be able to summarise the collected material correctly.

Please consider an important detail: do not inflate your plan to 100 points. Designate one short sentence for each part of the article thesis, revealing the essence of the whole section. An ideal plan should tell about the material even before it is written (or read).

Content planning tips

Several universal requirements must be observed:

• The plan must be logical and consistent
• Paragraphs can not be duplicated
• No repeated information

Any text consists of 3 parts: introduction, main part, and conclusion. It is worth starting by expanding the plan depending on the topic. For example, if you have taken on writing an article for a new iPhone 16 website, then your plan may look like this:

• Review of the model: when it came out, the manufacturer
• Appearance of the phone
• Characteristics of the mobile device
• User reviews and the main features
• Why should you buy this model in this particular store?

Remember, each section should contain at least three paragraphs of three to four sentences (about 1000 characters). If the information is insufficient, combining the sections or completely excluding them is better. The main thing is to maintain the thought and essence of the narrative.

Writing the content

Here, the most important thing is summarising thoughts and collected material in a finished text. But first, let’s learn a few important points:

• Each article should have a title and subheadings. The latter divides the canvas of sentences into separate semantic blocks. The optimal volume of the section is 1000-1500 characters.
• Choose a readable font when writing. We advise Calibri, size 11.
• Numbered lists or tables are also mandatory for easy perception of content. A few “closing” sentences should follow them.
• Use figures and only verified facts. This sounds more convincing than beautiful but meaningless words.
• It is better to make small sentences. When listing products or names, we advise you to use lists rather than writing them through commas on half a sheet of paper.

Keywords are mandatory when writing sales and SEO articles. Search engines find the article with their help, offering it to the reader at the appropriate query. You can also use keywords for articles on social media, like LinkedIn. With their help, people can find your social media article.

Of course, the specific requirements for writing an article depend on its type. Such requirements include the number of characters, style of presentation, text structure, and mandatory sections (e.g., benefits of cooperation, purchase guarantees, etc.).

General recommendations for writing content

We want to offer you general recommendations that are suitable for writing any text:

• Headline. We advise you to come up with it at the end when the article is ready. The headline should be capacious and attractive. At the same time, you should write commercial headlines for SEO texts and articles on social media. We mean those that immediately indicate the advantages of buying.
• Beginning. This is the most important part of the article, and you need to pay special attention to it. These 2-5 small sentences help you “hook” the reader, intrigue him or her, or touch his or her pain. It all depends on the topic and type of text.
• Main part. This section answers the article’s main question, revealing the essence of the content in detail. It is important to provide as much useful information as possible. Consider what is important to the person wanting to buy this dress or order such a trip. What would be important if you were in the customer’s shoes?

We will add one more useful tip to this treasure trove. If you need to describe the range of goods or services, always use pictures. Such a presentation of information will help the user quickly decide on the right product. Whether you list categories or single products, spell out only the most important parameters for the customer: colour, smell, size, technical characteristics, manufacturers, etc.

Do not forget about the end of the article. It should logically complete the thought or make a brief conclusion. In selling articles, a Call to Action (CTA) is mandatory.

Checking the finished content

Writing a text is only 80% of the job. The remaining 20% involves proofreading, editing, and checking. We advise you to proofread the written material after a little rest. This will help you look at the article with “new eyes”.

The ideal option is to have an editor. A competent person should reread the text after you, slightly improving it as needed. Here is what you should definitely do during the proofreading of your article:

• Remove extra spaces and wrong letters, check the spelling of complex words and the placement of punctuation marks
• Emphasise dates and figures, checking them against the source
• Separate too-long sentences or paragraphs or dilute a solid sheet of text with a bulleted list (so it is easier to perceive visually and easier to read)
• Review keywords (in SEO texts), whether all of them are included, and how correctly
• Remove words without semantic load or too “fluffy” phrases (without them, the text does not lose meaning but looks more solid)
• Correct tautology (similar words), as well as repetition of phrases and individual words
• Check the compliance of the article with your terms of reference, how correctly the requirements of the customer are met

Always reread the article aloud. This technique helps to better catch the essence and all the errors written. In addition, such a check of the text allows you to understand how it “will see” the reader.

Visualising your content

What is a text without visual content? Bright, eye-catching pictures immediately attract attention, making the reader stop at your article. However, the visual component, as well as the textual material, should be unique.

You can achieve this in one of the ways:

• Take a collage of several pictures from the Internet
• Change the background, size, and angle of the image
• Add a company logo or a watermark with the website address to the picture
• Create infographics using the tools offered by Microsoft Word

You may ask what this is for. If the site has unique images, it has more opportunities to get traffic from image searches, which often account for the lion’s share of all visits.

Another way to embellish your text is to use an illustration. The main difference from ordinary pictures is that an illustration can be represented by any element, from a beautifully designed quote or table to a chart or graph. The main thing is that it continues the author’s thought.

Conclusion

That’s all for today. Finally, we would like to summarise the above, having condensed the above material into a brief memo. So, to craft a good content, you need to:

• Visualize the ultimate goal of the text (promotion of the page, increase sales, etc.).
• Understand for which audience the future article is intended; consider their pains, fears, doubts, and benefits of the product.
• Collect as much information as possible on the topic, summarise it, selecting the most important.
• Make a detailed but brief (thesis) plan, dividing the future text into logical blocks.
• Write the material, keeping in mind the structure, mandatory sections, readability, and sequence of thoughts.
• Proofread the text, correct errors, and check for uniqueness, SEO, and other parameters.
• Add unique pictures, illustrations, and infographics on the topic.

We are sure that if you follow these tips when writing an article, the result will not make you wait. You will quickly learn how to craft high-converting content texts, filling the Internet with quality content.

Get started on selling your high value content on Selar today.