Intro.

Are you struggling with writing content that converts, that grabs a person’s attention? I certainly had this problem and I was seeing the poor outcome through my results. I needed to know how to write website content where my visitors would take action.

I found my bounce rate was fairly high and the main reason was, I needed people to read what I was writing. Surely I can’t be that boring! Okay, don’t answer that.

The point I’m trying to make here, is that to convey the message your trying to get across, you need to make it readable and enjoyable. Certainly informative.

Is this easily taught? Well, it can be learned, but much of it comes with repetitive writing and experience. The good news is, I’ve got some tips you can follow, that will hopefully help you out.

Remember this, there are millions of websites currently doing the rounds. You need to grab your audience’s attention and make your visitors stay on your site until you’ve made an impact.

Chances are, you’ve created a website to make money. Whether this is for pocket change or a ‘new online career’, your intention is to sell something, or direct your visitor somewhere else to make a purchase.

So, come with me and let’s get into some tips and tricks.

Set a Structure

Nobody wants to read content that jumps from topic to topic. Keeping your readers engaged via a set structured layout will pay off. A general article can be structured down like this:

• Introduction
• Article idea 1
• Article idea 2
• Article idea 3
• Article Idea 4
• Conclusion

This can change depending on the type of article you intend writing. You may be writing reviews in which you’ll be giving different information to your readers. If this is the case, your breakdown structure may look more like this:

• Introduction
• Product Details
• Product Features
• Pro’s
• Con’s
• Testimonials
• Conclusion

You’re articles or reviews can change structure from this, but you want to keep your common theme consistent. If you choose to use this structure, use it for every post. If you modify the structure to suit the way you think your visitors will appreciate it, keep all reviews consistent with the first one.

Consistency is what your audience will come to welcome and expect. If they know how your reviews look, and like the format you display, along with informative content, they will come back and expect more of the same.

Be Informative & Captivating

You can’t afford to have a visitor arrive to your website, only to leave because you’re not writing what they expect to be reading. This is especially true of your first few lines.

The first few sentences you write, need to be persuasive and capture the attention of your reader. If you cannot achieve this, you may find they will go elsewhere.

Grab their attention immediately, and they will stay to read what you have to say.

Once you get into the meat of your article, be informative and show your readers how they will benefit from what you are offering them.

If you don’t write enough descriptive information for your visitors to make a purchasing decision, they will look for additional information elsewhere, and another site owner will get the sale.

Here’s a great video article about writing content with intent.

Research the Topic for Answers

When writing information or reviews on a topic, be as accurate as possible. Base your information on fact rather than guessing. If you’re doing a review of a program, sign up and try the program. Many of them have free memberships, so sign up for this and see what they have to offer.

If reviewing products, from Amazon for instance, read the reviews and the Q & A’s. You can find a lot of factual information from verified customers.

The internet is full of information where you can find out about anything. Use it to your advantage to research your topics to present a precise article or review.

Less Chunks, More White Space

This has more to do with the layout of your post than the content itself. DO NOT make your readers scroll through slabs or chunks of written text. If you saw a paragraph of 10 lines or more, would you read it all? Probably not.

Your visitors are too busy to read long posts full of text. Search engines recommend writing over 1000 words, so you need to break it up.

It’s about displaying 1 or 2 sentence paragraphs and having white space (or whatever colour background you use) between them. Some may call this ‘bit sized’ pieces of content.

And as we’re mostly visual by nature, images are also recommended to break up your content. Like this!

Focus – Don’t Get Sidetracked

When you start writing about a particular topic, make sure you focus on that subject and don’t deviate into other areas. It can sometimes be easy to get sidetracked into other sectors that have a minor relationship with the main topic, but doesn’t add any real value.
If you’ve implemented a structure with headings before you start, this will keep you concentrated on the subject at hand.

Don’t Push Too Hard

We all like to get our message across but you want to be aware not to shove the message down your readers throat. Try not to use harsh language or be too forceful. This can be a bit of a balancing act as you still need to be decisive, positive and not sound wishy-washy.

You also want to give your opinion on things and not sit on the fence. Your ideas and thoughts may not be in line with everyone else. That’s fine, just don’t force your opinion to the extent that you audience feels threatened or uncomfortable about your message.

Psychological Tricks

The first point I’d like to make, is that your article needs to be all about the reader, not you. Relate to your reader and try to get them to relate to you.

Remember when you were in their situation and explain that you’ve been there before, so you can understand where they’re coming from.

Now, when it comes to selling a product or service, such as selling watches online, and you intend showing the price, don’t put the cost price in large letters, bold or colour. You want your potential buyers to think the price in minimal to the awesome product.

On the flip side, you do want to emphasize any savings which can be done with strikethrough text on the original price. Then show the savings as a percentage.

There’s also the scarcity trick which tells your visitors if something is only available for a limited time or there’s only a few left in stock. As long as you’re not just making this up, it’s amazing how many people get emotionally attached to this type of wording.

It’s Not All About Selling

Okay, okay, I know you want to sell and you feel you need to get this message out. But just hold on a second grasshopper!

Your visitors will know exactly what you’re trying to do, if you tell them to buy something in the first paragraph or two. Don’t take your audience for fools, they’re smarter than that.

The rule here is…Don’t sell too early!

You’ll have plenty of time to get the selling part of your article across, and it’s best to leave it until the end. Especially if you’re writing a review. You have to show a visitor what’s entailed in the product or service your reviewing, before you can offer a deal or suggest a good buy.

So, think about how you’d react if I was selling something to you in the first paragraph of this article. What if I was to say ‘here, go to Fiverr and get your content written for you’, before offering you any advice. You’d think I was just sending you away to buy a service, and you’d probably go elsewhere.

Wrapping Up

Your greatest asset when starting a blog is your audience. They are the ones that will allow you to make money, but only if you nurture them and guide them with care.

Informative content is what’s going to make them return, detailed information in reviews and articles is what will make them purchase. But you need to be genuine and helpful.

Writing content is an art form which can be learned. Remember to engage your readers and bring them along with you. Relate to them, put yourself in their shoes and don’t just tell them that a product or service is ‘great’.

Explain why it’s so good, and how it can help solve a problem. Show them the benefits and how it can improve their lives.

Once you’ve been writing like this for a period of time, it will come more natural and the prosperity will follow.