CrazyLeaf Editorial Creating a marketing strategy that works for your IT solution business is an intricate, multi-level process. It requires extensive off-site advertising with a robust on-site content plan.
Businesses who utilize content writing often see a higher engagement and enjoy a more well-rounded reputation.
Of course, not everyone out there considers themselves to be a strong writer. For some, sitting down and writing content may be a nightmare, even!
But we’re here to tell you that content is a great way to increase your brand awareness, as well as increase your SEO ranking.
Ready to create some great content? Here are six content writing tips that will help you pull ahead of the competition.
1) Content Writing is Contingent on Your Goals
If you’ve never written a piece of web content before, you may think it’s pretty simple. Just sit down, write about a topic, publish, and then reap the benefits. Sounds good, right?
Well, not so fast. Creating content is a lot more intricate than that.
First, you’ll need to establish a goal for each piece of written content, as well as make sure it fits with your overall marketing goals.
There isn’t necessarily a “right” or “wrong” goal, per say, but again, it needs to fit into your general marketing strategy.
Start by asking yourself what you want your audience to take away from your content.
Are you writing copy for a new product? Are you trying to inform your audience on a topic?
Maybe you’re trying to generate hype around your new Onsite Technical Services offerings.
Or, maybe it’s a bit of all of the above.
Whatever the case, strong content can be boiled down to one word: intention.
Keeping your intention in mind can solidify your content writing and ensure that you have a thorough piece of copy that gives something to your audience while still marketing your business.
2) Each Article Needs Keywords
Now that your content has a clearly-defined goal, it’s time to move onto the next step and learn how to find relevant keywords.
In the marketing world, a keyword is a specific word or phrase that a user is likely to type into a search engine. Some examples may be ‘Content writing’ or ‘Online marketing’ or ‘IT solutions and management’.
They’re short, simple, and best of all, they’re a great way to help boost your SERPs.
Finding the right keyword for your content writing is going to rely primarily on two different factors:
First, the content itself. Keywords need to be relevant to the article. Imagine coming to an article about router security and seeing the phrase ‘hot air balloon’ over and over.
It’d take you out of the content, wouldn’t it? That’s because it wouldn’t seem natural or relevant to the content.
Second, your keywords should be well-researched. This part can get a bit tricky, which is why plenty of businesses enlist some outside help.
If you’re dead set on researching your own keywords, you’ll want to utilize a research tool like Google AdWords’ Keyword Planner. This helpful tool can show you which keywords are ranking, and which are sinking.
Keyword relevance and effectiveness fluctuates on a constant basis, so make sure to check your research before writing every piece of content.
3) Outline Before Writing
Remember how your teacher used to make you outline your essays and projects in school? It probably felt really tedious at the time.
While it may not have been the most exciting lesson, your teachers were trying to instill some great content writing habits upon you. Outlining your writing is a great way to give your thoughts structure and coherence.
Whether you’ve forgotten how to outline your writing or just want a refresher, here’s a quick guide to help get you started.
Start by jotting down simple ideas. Don’t worry about things like article titles or even keywords, we’re talking about the general idea of your article.
Now, create a skeleton for every section of your content. This includes your intro, body, and conclusion.
Next, go back and flesh out those outlines with thoughts, relevant facts, and links, which help establish your authority.
Finally, double check that your structure makes sense. It’s okay if you need to move stuff around! Just make sure that it reads in a cohesive manner.
4) Write For Your Audience
Unless you’re primarily marketing toward other IT professionals, you shouldn’t expect your audience to have a strong familiarity with everything you talk about.
Understand that your audience may have a rudimentary — or even non-existent — understanding of the subject.
IT can be intimidating to people, which presents a big challenge when it comes to content writing. You’ll want to inform your audience without talking down to them.
Typically, you can achieve this by writing in a conversational tone. Write like you’re talking to a friend, basically.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t use technical terminology. On the contrary, you should in certain cases! But make sure that if you do, you clearly define those terms so your audience can keep up.
5) Understand The Editing Process
Writing in and of itself is about half the process. You’ll need a strong team of editors or a trusted set of eyes to help you look at your content writing for mistakes.
Don’t edit yourself during the writing process, however. It’s easy to get stuck in your head and spend hours trying to find the perfect phrasing. Understand that you’re only hurting your own productivity.
Save the editing for after, first and foremost, you should get your thoughts down on paper.
When you’re ready for an edit, have someone read your content and provide a critique. You may even want to get a few opinions. Generally speaking, the more feedback you get, the stronger the end result.
If edits are needed, it doesn’t mean your writing is bad. Set aside your ego and think about what’s best for your marketing.
6) Publish Consistently
Finally, make sure that your website is publishing content on a consistent basis.
Not only will you become a stronger writer, but your website will rank higher and you’ll accumulate a wide breadth of content.
Ideally, publish few pieces of content per week. You may even want to write ahead and store your extra articles on a content calendar for later.
Content Writing Made Simple
Content writing may not be everyone’s cup of tea. And at CrazyLeaf Design, we understand!
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can craft great content or just want some nice freebies, don’t forget to check back with our blog. We’re constantly updating our site with new, informative resources for businesses.
Loading…