Strategic writing tips below! So your content is not converting. How annoying! If you ever asked yourself this question, I’ve got the answers for you here:
- No strategy or plan
- No style and flair to your content
- No emotional connection
- No logical structure to the content
- No calls to action or content promotion
How many did you tick off just now? 1, 2, all of them?
Don’t worry, help is here … this week I’ve written about the 7 strategic writing tips that will guarantee more leads and clients.
So let’s get you the answers to your problems and how to fix them so you can start attracting your business besties!
Strategic writing tip #1 – Listen to your audience and customers
Build your brand on social media around listening to your customers rather than promoting to them.
Think about this – you are closer to your customers than in the past. Never before have businesses been able to communicate and engage with customers as we do today.
And it’s viable if you keep it that way!
We see enough of “Buy our amazing product now!” and “Check out our services today” everywhere we look.
If you scroll past these salesy posts, wouldn’t your audience do the same to you?
Now, if you’re still thinking, “What do I write then?” – don’t overlook the fact that your customers are the best source of inspiration for content.
Lots of businesses are sitting on an endless gold mine of content ideas by simply looking at their FAQs, or what people are asking or talking about on social media.
If you’re stuck on what to post, here’s something you can do: ask your customers what they want to see more of!
* Strategic writing tip #2 – Write passionately every time!
Do the world a favour and only write what you are passionate about. Passion is one thing you simply cannot fake, and it can make or break your content.
Success with online content is a journey – which means it could take you months or even years to get to where you want to be if you have no strategy or steps to follow.
The first step is to inspire your readers to care, to get invested in your story and feel closer to your brand.
As a business owner, pick a set of topics YOU are truly passionate about and would love to share your opinions on AND choose topics that your audience is passionate too. When you start looking and researching, you’ll find noticeable similarities in those topics. Start now, today, with what you’ve got!
* Strategic writing tip #3 – Write regular blogs to get more website traffic
Using blogs can be very effective for getting more business; at the very least, they will start the content journey for your followers and audience. However, there are a few tips to make it work more effectively for you.
1) Use your keywords – have your keyword research done professionally … then use the keywords your audience is using to find someone like you and the services you offer.
2) Use social media to promote your content – Getting involved in social media is a great strategy to get more people to your blog. When used right, they can be very effective.
3) Always provide tons of value – You want to use social media to get people to come to your blog, lead magnets and website. Once you get people to your blog, you have an opportunity to convert that traffic into leads, sales and new clients. This is where a lot of businesses fail!
One of the main reasons they fail to get conversions is because they don’t give people the opportunity for the next step … a freebie, test product or taste of your services.
Do you know your next steps for people who visit your blog and website?
SECRET TIP: If you don’t – check out our Content Planning 2022 training – it’s extremely helpful for your customer’s journey with you and how you position your content to get better results.
* Strategic writing tip #4 – Tell more stories; the sure-fire way to engage your audience
It’s no secret that the more value you deliver, the more people will be drawn to you. However, you also want to deliver that value in an interesting and exciting way, and you must make sure that you have a strategy in place to get the best results.
One of the best ways to do this is to tell a story. People are always interested in stories, especially if they can relate to them! So if you make your marketing more story-based, it will do much better. Using personality in marketing will really boost your results.
* Strategic writing tip #5 – Use calls to action on all your content!
Do you consider calls to action “salesy”?
I was talking to a business owner the other day who simply refused to put calls to action on their content because they didn’t want to be seen as “salesy” and the calls to action “don’t work anyway!”
- Guess what this person’s biggest struggle is? Getting more clients.
- Guess what was keeping this person up at night? Not having enough clients coming through the door.
- Guess what could happen if they learned how to write a structured piece of content with a specific and helpful call to action … MORE CLIENTS!
Here’s an example of what happens if you don’t use calls to action:
{SET THE SCENE} You are an avid animal lover and you chance upon a Pet Adoption Day event posted by a small business in your area. You read on to understand why they’re hosting this event and you want to go!
But as there’s no mention of venue, date, time or booking link. You can see a price – $97 for dinner and the fundraiser – you’re ready to buy now, but you feel disappointed because you don’t know what you need to do to attend this event and there are no contact details there at the ready.
Now, you might bookmark the post or save it for later, you might make a mental note to find out more tomorrow when you have more time, or you might Google the business running the event, but in the end, you will probably move on to the next thing in your life and simply forget.
If a call to action redirected you to a site where you could confirm your attendance and pay for your ticket, things would be different for you and the person selling the tickets!
Don’t be this person – be the business owner who puts a call to action on their posts, so you are not doing a disservice to the people on the other end of the post wanting to support you.
The competition is fierce when it comes to getting your audience’s time and attention. But when you do succeed – that’s when you will see better results from your content and happier experiences for your audience and potential new clients.
SECRET TIP: The lesser-known secret is that your customers actually want and expect a call to action. Without one, most people will not take any action, even if they enjoyed it and derive value from it.
Strategic writing tip #6 – Create content to give away and try a download
Many business owners turn to digital downloads as lead generators because they can offer prospects instant gratification and they are easier and quicker to pull together. All your audience has to do to access the free information is hand over a few contact details, like a name and email address.
Digital downloads can be something as simple as a free report. They can also be:
- Interview (transcript and audio)
- Video
- Downloadable course
- Audio file
- e-book
- Worksheet or workbook
- Checklist, blueprint or template
Don’t let this list limit your imagination. Look at what your audience needs and then brainstorm how you can solve their problems with a giveaway.
Strategic writing tip #7 – Use social media correctly
Social media is a fantastic tool for getting more leads and clients. But you must know how to use it correctly. You have to get involved in the community and answer people’s questions.
People won’t buy from you until they know that you are interested in helping them. If they can tell you only care about your wallet, they will avoid you.
Therefore, you want to get involved and answer people’s questions without expecting anything in return. When you do this, you build up the trust factor. When people realise you want to help them, they will then want to know more from you.
Get involved, talk to people, share your value and see the results unfold before your eyes! It’s a beautiful thing!
Conclusion
These 7 strategic content writing tips are still often overlooked and forgotten by business owners who write their own content. This usually comes down to three factors:
- You don’t know you need them
- You don’t have a strategy in place
- You don’t follow a proven writing structure so you remember to use them
Next steps – It’s time for strategy and planning!
Check out my Ultimate Content Strategy and Planning Kit to kick off your 2022 content with your aligned vision!
Here’s what we cover in the short course:
- How to strategically get more engagement from your No.1 asset – your target audience!
- How to write your magnetic messages to draw more people to you!
- How to choose and use your juicy keywords to create content that speaks to your ideal clients (without sounding salesy)
- How to consistently come up with great ideas for your social content
- The Content Creator: A done-for-you 12-month content plan and interactive template that’s aligned to your business goals
+ FREE income-generating 5-day planner + daily activities to increase revenue
+ BONUS: 7 Writing Habits of Super Successful Writers
+ BONUS: Lead generation planner and 50+ ways to increase your leads and get more clients (with writing examples you can use today!)
