The Secret to Writing Powerful, Compelling Content

Aside from Florida SEO, content marketing is one of the most effective ways to promote your business, generate leads, and make sales.

Here are some statistics to prove it:

• Content marketing generates three times more leads for every dollar spent.
• 61% of consumers in America made a purchase online after reading recommendations from a blog.
• Content marketing programs convert 6x more compared to other marketing methods.

Without a doubt, content marketing is an essential part of every business’s digital marketing strategy. However, one in three marketers says that their content writing is not so effective.

This means that there's a lot of content out there that isn't really doing what they’re supposed to.

Is your written content attracting leads and converting sales?

If the answer is “somewhat” and you’re looking for ways to improve your content writing quality, then you’re in the right place!

Writing powerful, compelling content that converts is a strong suit of ours. In this article, we will share with you tips you can use to improve your writing and create expertly written content that converts.  

Without any more delays, let’s get started.

Tips on Writing Powerful, Compelling Content

1. Don’t Use Passive Voice

Using passive voice in your written content not only makes your sentences wordier, but also more difficult to follow. And, when your content becomes drawn out and less exciting to read, you can’t expect readers to feel engaged and scroll to the end of your article - they’ll most likely leave your page.

Active voice, on the other hand, instills emotions, motivates your readers, and allows them to visualize what they’re reading. So, if you want to create powerful, compelling content, it just makes sense to write your sentences in active voice.

Here’s an example:

Passive voice: The product was released by the company yesterday.

Active voice: The company released the product yesterday.

The same applies to your marketing copywriting. You also want to use active voice in your calls to action because it helps people picture themselves make a move or react.

2. Set Your Hidden Verbs Free

Action verbs make your sentences impactful. But, sometimes, we bury these verbs by turning them into nouns.

What do we mean by this?

For instance, in the statement, “We will make an advertisement”, adding the word “make” turns your sentence weak by hiding your action verb. When you change it into “We will advertise”, however, your sentence feels more direct and engaging.

Hidden verbs are verbs turned into nouns. They’re usually used to replace more forceful verbs. These verbs usually end with -ance, -ment, -tion, and -sion, and are usually paired with weak verbs, like give, take, make, and have.

Here’s another example:

Verb in hiding: The right SEO strategy can make your content stronger.

Verb forward: The right SEO strategy strengthens your content.

Keep your verbs active and strong to excite, engage, and motivate your readers.

3. Lessen the Use of Connecting Verbs

Linking verbs are verbs that describe a physical condition of a person, thing, or situation. The most common form of linking verb is “to be”. Other examples are appeared, feel, sound, smell, look, and seem.

When writing, it's normal to use both linking and action verbs in your sentences. However, using too many linking verbs can leave your pieces flat or dull. If you want your writing to become more energetic and powerful, then don’t just describe what something is; tell what it does.

Here’s an example:

Jake is the head of the SEO Team.

Jake leads the SEO Team.

As you can see, the second sentence is far more compelling compared to the first one. It’s not that the sentence Jake is the head of the SEO team is lacking in any way; in fact, depending on the context, it could be perfect.

However, choosing between is and a more active alternative becomes necessary when your writing is full of linking verbs.

4. Don’t Use Unnecessary Hedging Verbs or Phrases

A hedge verb or phrase is used to express probability or indecisiveness. It protects your claims from being dismissed. However, using hedging can weaken your sentences by making them feel less direct.

Examples of hedging verbs or phrases are “I feel” or “we think”. When you use these phrases in your writing, you’re softening the outcome or impact of what you’re trying to say.

Here’s an example:

Hedging: I feel like you should consider increasing your ads budget for the holidays because research shows that it will increase your sales.

Direct language: Increase your ad budget for the holidays because research shows that it will increase your sales.

Only use hedging language when necessary. Using it all the time can make your written pieces indirect and uncertain.

5.  Study Your Target Audience

The secret to writing compelling content that resonates is studying your audience and speaking their language.

Of course, you need to know who your readers are. If you don’t, then how do know what topics to write about? How can you create pieces that catch their attention, solves their problems, and answers their biggest questions?

By understanding the people who matter most to your business - your leads and customers - you can tailor content to their interests and needs. You can consistently produce compelling content that resonates, as a result, boost your conversions and increase customer loyalty.

You can use the following methods to get to know your audience better:

• Use data from your Google analytics.
• Conduct surveys.
• Create buyer personas.
• Join community web pages and forums.
• Monitor user engagements, comments, and feedback.
• Use social listening.
• Study your competitor’s audience.

 6. Capture Your Audience Through Your Tone of Writing

Tones in writing convey how a writer feels about what they’re communicating through their choice of words, sentence structures, and punctuations.

Your tone of writing is important because the right tone can make your business relatable and your content more engaging.

So, how do you know which tone of writing to use? Here are the six most common types of tones:

Formal: Used in an academic or professional context. It's thorough and direct, yet polite.

Informal: An informal tone is conversational and expressive, kind of like how you’re speaking to a friend.

Optimistic: This tone conveys a sense of hope and a positive attitude towards the future.

Friendly: This tone can have a mix of both formal and informal tones. It’s lighthearted and you can use this tone to build trust.

Assertive: This tone emanates authority and confidence. It’s straightforward and emphatic. You can use this tone to show your expertise on a certain topic and persuade your audience about a point of view.

Cooperative or collaborative: This tone encourages participation from your readers. It evokes positivity and support.

Choose the right tone for your content to sound like the person your audience will likely listen to or talk to. It should align with your brand personality.

7. Optimize Your Content for SEO

Optimizing your content for SEO in Florida is essential. It increases your website’s online visibility, improves search rankings, and establishes your content’s relevance to related queries.

Here are some SEO content best practices you need to follow:

• Use your main keyword at the top of your page.
• Avoid duplicate content by writing unique pieces and titles.
• Make sure your website loads fast.
• Optimize your images for SEO through image Alt Text.
• Link out to related content within your site.
• Build backlinks to your site.
• Create a positive user experience.

8. Make Your Content Easy to Consume

Compelling content can hold a reader's attention. By writing listicles, ultimate guides, checklists, and other formats that are to easy thumb through, your readers are more likely to look through or read till the end of your piece.

Big blocks of texts are intimidating, which is why you must keep your paragraphs short and direct. Your content should also have a structure. Bold your topics and use bullets or numbers for enumeration or your subtopics. This way, your readers can easily skim through your content and catch important information quickly.

Are You Ready to Write Powerful, Compelling Content That’s Optimized for SEO in Florida?

Writing powerful, compelling content starts with identifying who your target audience is.

When you know and understand who you’re writing for and what they want to consume, everything you write will resonate. Start writing with your ideal customers in mind, then apply the tips we’ve shared above, and chances are you’ll create highly compelling content that converts.

If you're struggling to identify who your target audience is and creating compelling content that's optimized for SEO in Florida, we can help!

At Digital Resource, we specialize in creating expertly written content that will not only put your business at the top of search results but will also put you ahead of the competition.

Curious about wanting to get ahead of your competitors through effective SEO? Contact us today!