5 tips for writing content that your future clients want to read

Crickets.

You put a bunch of work into writing an article or a social media post – generously sharing your expertise, insights and information.

And you get nothing.

No one reads it. No one cares. You get no engagement.

You might start to wonder: why bother? (Or question whether what you have to share is even valuable.)

The problem with your content is probably NOT the wisdom you’re sharing.

It’s more likely to be the packaging.

Here are 5 tips to make your content more reader-friendly and attractive to your future clients.

1. Catch your audience’s attention with something they are interested in

We don’t even SEE content that isn’t relevant to us.

Consider your experience walking the aisles in a grocery store: 1,000s of labels call out to you – and only a few catch your eye as you scan the shelves looking for the things that are on your list.

It’s the same experience on social media.

1,000s of posts and articles and ads.

The only ones you see or pay attention to are the ones that are interesting and relevant to you.

Content is relevant to your audience when it addresses something that they are aware of and are interested in.

Begin your articles – especially the title – with something that is “Above the Fog” – a problem your future clients are experiencing or a result that they would like to have.

Sometimes a title change alone is enough to rescue a previously-ignored article or post.

2. Make it useful, helpful, insightful (maybe even so good you think you should be paid for it!)

There’s a lot of noise out there.

Crappy click-bait articles with a snazzy headline, but nothing new or useful to say.

Articles and posts that are read (and shared!) are the ones that provide useful tips or an insightful “ah ha!”

Happy coincidence? These are also the articles that are most likely to prompt some interest in your work.

If you think the content you’re about to share is “too good to give away” – you’re on the right track.

3. Make it easy to read

A “wall of words” is intimidating to read.

Write shorter paragraphs and leave lots of white space.

Follow a logical structure and keep the writing simple.

Use sub-headings, text formatting and images to break up the text.

Pro tip: use sub-headings to make your article “scannable” (if your reader was to just look at the sub-headings, would they get the gist of the article?)

4. Add some entertainment (you can’t bore people into reading)

You can’t bore people into reading!

You don’t have to be funny to be entertaining (although, if you have a sense of humour, use it!)

Tell a story.

Add some personality.

Stories don’t have to be exciting or super dramatic – a simple story about how you worked with a client can be VERY entertaining to a future client in a similar situation

5. Be human and authentic – think of your article as part of a conversation

We have a zillion choices and voices when it comes to content.

Dry, “professional” content – no matter how useful – will get less attention than the same information coming from someone who writes or speaks conversationally.

Marketing is a conversation.

Write like you speak.

Think about a specific person as you write your article – imagine that you are speaking to them or writing an email

Creating content – in writing or on video – is time consuming.

It takes effort and thinking to do it well.

You might as well spend some of that time making it interesting, relevant and a bit entertaining.

As a bonus?

It makes content creation easier – and possibly even fun.