Content writing is hard.
Not only do you have to get a point across, but you also have to captivate the audience.
You have to be able to teach your audience, with an authentic, authoritative voice, and make them want to continue reading.
You can do that in a few simple ways. Bullet points are great, but they also have to follow a prescribed method.
- Bullet points need to be uniform in appearance
- Bullet points should be the same sentence length
- Bullet points need to be concise, but again, get your point across
- Bullet points should make it easier on the reader
There you have it. If this were content writing on bullet points it’s pretty simple. But this isn’t about bullet points, it’s about content. In addition to teaching you about bullets, we also need to teach you about forming sentences and having interesting, impactful content.
So, what are the keys to impactful content?
Well, that’s easy. Look at my writing. No paragraph is more than four lines. Everything is in basic vocabulary. And I make sure there are a lot of transition words, no difficult sentence structures.
Designing writing to be read, and be insightful, is beneficial when writing copy. This allows the reader to pick up the important parts without needing to understand the writer’s “style.”
By writing in a way a ten-year-old would understand, the reader doesn’t have to spend time figuring out the writer’s unique way of getting the point across. Instead, the reader can concentrate on the product being sold. The focus should be on the product, not the writer.
Now, you know how to write bullet points, and to keep writing simple, but how do you get better at writing?
Well, that’s easy too. Write. A lot. You need to start developing the thoughts in your brain into words on a page. Without that ability, you’ll never be able to write well. It takes time, and practice, but eventually the words will flow.
Content writing is a little different. Although it may be easy to let the words flow, it gets a little harder when you want to drive one point home, say selling an online course. Since you have to keep the reader’s attention while providing information about the online course, you really need to think about the message you’re putting across.
So, how do you get better at getting your message across?
My vote is writing, then editing, then re-arranging, and then writing some more. Get your ideas down on paper, read through your ideas with the intent of getting the best content to the reader, edit and re-arrange, and then finish by writing more. After the first go around, do it again. Rinse, lather, repeat.
It’s not natural to write content as a copywriter. That’s why the greats can make $50,000 in a one-hour session.
The only way to get better is to keep writing and keep experimenting.
One way I suggest to keep writing is daily blogging. Although you might not be writing about a product you’re trying to sell, it teaches you how to turn thoughts into words and concrete ideas.
My other suggestion is to start experimenting. Get on a freelance website, like Upwork, and try to pitch a service to an interested party. You don’t have to be an expert on the subject, but you’ll at least learn to speak to the buyer. This will help frame your content.
Overall, copywriting isn’t an easy thing to master. If it was everyone would be amazing at it. But with hard work, dedication, and an appetite to keep learning, eventually, it’ll become another tool in your toolbelt.