Write Content That Customers Actually Want To Read

Written by Vineet Sethi

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Even if you did your research and created excellent content, people will not read all of it or share it — if it is not relevant to them or boring or hard to read. 

One of the secrets of being a successful author/business owner is writing content that people not only want to read but will actually read.

The internet is bursting with content. It is no wonder that a recent survey found that 77% of B2C marketers are concerned about the relevance and quality of content their company produces. 

Content is king in the digital age, but creating it — let alone good content — is not easy. 

If your business has a website, blog, social media accounts, or other online presence, you certainly have plenty of articles, white papers, and case studies lurking somewhere on the web. But how much of that content do your customers actually want to read?

If the purpose of your blog is to create awareness about yourself or your brand, then you need to deliver content that will engage readers quickly and cause them to want to share.

Do not think about what you like to read — think about what issues your target audience may be facing and how your blog content can help position your company as a solution. 

What is Good Content?

The best content is different things to different people. It may be a funny cat video they stumbled upon while surfing the web for some customers. For others, it is an in-depth analysis of a political event or breaking news. No matter what type of customer you have, they all want one thing: to be entertained, informed, or otherwise engaged by what they are reading. Your content needs to be more than just information; it must be relevant and exciting to your customers. 

What Customers Actually Want To Read?

Customers have a short attention span, especially online. They do not have time to read every word you publish — nor should they have to. Your customers are busy, so your content needs to be concise, to the point, and easily skimmable—for example, the average American reads at a 10th-grade level. So if you are discussing quantum physics in your blog posts, your audience will not get much out of your content.

What Constitutes Good Content?

Creating good content is an ongoing process — you cannot just publish a few blog posts and call it a day. Good writing is not easy to come by. It takes time, effort, and creativity to produce pieces that customers actually want to read.

To help you produce worthy content, here are some strategies that you can follow to ensure that your target audience loves what you are writing:

1. Write relevant and topical content

This should be a no-brainer, but you would be surprised at how many companies write irrelevant or outdated content. Write about relevant topics to your industry and customers, and make sure your written materials are up-to-date.

2. Make it easy to read

Use short paragraphs, headlines, and bulleted lists. No one wants to slog through a wall of text, so make your content easy to scan and digest.

3. Write with a personal and friendly tone

Your customers are people, not numbers or faceless entities. Write like you would talk to a friend, using personal pronouns and a friendly tone.

4. Use powerful words

Avoid jargon and industry speak, and use powerful words that pack a punch. Strong words will grab your reader’s attention and make your content more memorable.

5. Use images and videos

Make your content more visually appealing with images and videos. People are more likely to share things that are easy on the eyes.

6. Use humour

If appropriate for your brand, inject some humor into your strategy. People love to laugh, and humor can make your content more shareable.

7. Bring out emotions

You do not have to be controversial for the sake of being controversial, but people are more likely to read and share things that stir up strong emotions.

8. Be different

There is much content out there, so make yours stand out from the rest. Be creative, innovative, and different.

9. Read More

Reading is not only an immersive, active habit that brings your brain to life; it helps generate new pictures and ideas. It will also help to keep your writing up-to-date.

10. Customise Platform Specific Content

There is no one-size-fits-all strategy. Writing needs to be customized for specific social media or other online channels.

11. Be authentic

Your content needs to reflect who you are and what your company is all about. People often tune into brands that they can relate to and trust. If your content sounds like a corporate advertisement, readers may tune out.

12. Use SEO best practices

You need to make sure your content is optimized for search engines like Google. If you do not, your content will be buried at the bottom of Google’s search results — if it shows up at all. This is crucial to building an online audience.

By following these tips, you can write content that customers actually read, which will help grow your business.

At Beyond The Panorama, we work with businesses to develop their digital brand presence, and a big part of that is content writing for various channels. If you are looking for help to organize this business function, we would love to have a conversation and set it up! Reach out to us at hello@beyondthepanorama.com on our social media channels.

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