How can you write better copy? Business professionals from every industry struggle with their writing, so you’re far from the only one asking. Even marketers struggle to write focused, compelling copy from time to time. So what is it about putting ideas to paper that trips so many people up? Let’s dig into 4 tips for writing better content.

1. Start With a Plan

If you don’t have a plan, your writing will lack focus. Without knowing what the end goal is, it’s difficult to determine what steps need to take to reach that destination. When you sit down to write, start by outlining your main points and then filling in the supporting details.

This strategy benefits user experience in the end, especially for pages on a website. When a writer starts with a main idea and breaks it down into smaller digestible parts, the writing will also be easier to read. Great online content starts with a title (main idea) and breaks that down into smaller digestible parts (subheadings). This way, when someone goes to read that page, they can quickly navigate to the section of the page they’re looking for.

2. Focus on the Reader’s Perspective

This tip may seem obvious, but when it comes to putting our ideas down for someone else to read, we all too often write from our point of view instead of theirs. Practicing empathy in your writing and trying to put yourself in the reader’s shoes can go a long way. Here’s a mental exercise that may help. Think about your ideal reader, consumer, or audience member and not just your target audience. If you could only get the result you want if they experience the fullest extent of your product or service, what would you tell them?

Considering your audience’s pain points will not only make you a better writer by making your content more relatable, but it will also show that you can solve their problems and alleviate their concerns. And that’s what great marketing boils down to in the end.

3. Be Direct and Be Clear

Have you ever thought, “I’m not sure how to phrase this”? If you’re like most, this thought has surely crossed your mind at least once or twice. The tried and true solution to this dilemma is:

Challenge yourself with another question, “What is it that you’re trying to say?”

Say it out loud, detach yourself from the writing process for a moment and verbally summarize to yourself what the message is.

Next, write that down. It sounds simple enough, but we can get so sucked into typing out the next sentence that we give ourselves “analysis paralysis” and freeze up. Explain it to yourself or someone else, and then write that.

A common trap many writers fall into is that they try to sound “smart” by using uncommon words and phrases or some roundabout way of conveying their message. No one likes to feel confused when they’re reading; if anything, confusion will encourage them to put it down or read something else. The best writers can take complex topics and make it so anyone can understand them.

This strategy doubles as a filter for industry jargon, cliches, and passive voice, which hurt your writing and usually waste the reader’s time.

4. Proofread!

The quickest way to lose credibility with your audience is to make careless errors that make it to the final draft. The great Stephen King said, “To write is human, to edit is divine.” It can be easy to cut corners and skip the proofreading/editorial process, but the writing will always suffer for it. If you’re coming up on a deadline and are pressed for time, save time at the end for proofreading and editing.

• Read your text and reread it
• Read your writing out loud or ask someone else to read it over
• Check for typos, grammatical errors, and inconsistencies (if you’re not sure about a grammatical rule or how to spell something, look it up)

Professional Content Marketing With The AD Leaf Marketing Firm

Writing important, compelling, conversion-focused content is a time investment. Research, planning, writing, and proofreading not only takes practice and years of experience to do well, but it also takes time away from you running your business and spending time with your family. Save yourself the hassle of having to do yet another thing and call 321-255-0900 or email info@theadleaf.com and ask about our Content Marketing services.

Have you ever wondered how websites gain so much organic traffic? There are many different aspects that contribute to gaining traffic, but one of the most vital points is keyword optimization. Keyword optimization or keyword research is the process of studying, evaluating, and selecting the best keywords to target in order to attract the right visitors to your website from search engines.

How To Begin Your Keyword Optimization

To begin, consider the subjects you want to rank for. You should come up with roughly 5-10 subject that you believe are relevant to your business, and then utilize those topics to assist you to come up with some particular keywords later in the process. Think of these topics from a buyer persona. Thnk to yourself what subjects your target audience would look up that you’d like your company to be found for.

Figuring out the monthly search volume for specific keywords will help you see the importance of this word to the audience you are wanting to target. After figuring out what topics you are wanting to target, then you can begin choosing the best keywords for your pages content. These keywords that you choose are going to be vital to rank for in the SERPs (search engine results pages) since your target consumer is most likely searching for these keywords.

Another clever technique to get keyword ideas is to determine which terms your website is already being searched for. You can use website analytics tools like Google Analytics or HubSpot’s Sources report, which is included in the Traffic Analytics tool, to perform this. Take a closer look at your website’s traffic sources and through your organic search traffic to find out what terms visitors are using to find your site.

It is essential that your web page solves the problem that the searcher wanted to solve rather than merely include the term that the searcher used. So, how does this effect your keyword research? It’s easy to accept keywords at face value, yet they can have a variety of meanings beyond the surface. Because the purpose behind a search is so critical to your ranking potential, you must exercise extreme caution when interpreting the keywords you target.

Finding and Choosing Keywords

Once you’ve decided on a list of keywords for which you want to rank, it’s time to narrow it down to the best ones for your website.

You can gain search volume and traffic predictions for terms you’re interested in using Google’s Keyword Planner. Then, use what you’ve learned from Keyword Planner and utilize Google Trends to fill in the gaps.

Use the Keyword Planner to identify any phrases on your list that have too little or too much search traffic and don’t help you maintain the healthy selection we discussed before. But, before you remove anything, check Google Trends for their trend history and estimates. You can assess whether some low-volume phrases are something you should invest in now – and reap the advantages afterwards.

Big businesses often target high search volume terms, and because these brands are already well established, Google typically awards them with authority over a wide range of topics. You should also choose keywords with less competition. Keywords that don’t already have numerous searches for the top rank might give you the slot by default – assuming no one else is competing for it.

Having The Right Team To Back You Up

Search engine optimization and keyword optimization are a vital part of your business. There are so many aspects that go into SEO and can be daunting to the average person. Business owners already have so many other responsibilities on their plate and will choose a marketing firm to do all the work for them while they focus on running their business. The AD Leaf has a dedicated group of individuals that focus on generating these leads and traffic for your company.

The AD Leaf has a large spectrum of what can be done. We work with creating content for your website, maintaining your social media platforms, SEO and Google Ads, graphic design, and much more. The sky is the limit when you have a large team of professionals taking care of all your website and media needs.