Content is king

Copywriting is more science than art. While talent always helps, the fact is that the basic steps for creating great content – content that gets you found – are easy to learn.

Let’s take a look at some of the foundations of great content:

Remember that your words should never get in the way of what you’re trying to communicate. As writers we’re often tempted to show off our giant vocabulary and cleverness with the great words we choose.

This is a bad idea.

When we use words (or even punctuation styles) that don’t come naturally to the majority of our readers, we get in the way of their understanding. Even when we use relatively well known turns of phrase, but in a flowery way, we force our readers to step out of the story we’re creating and to think about the writer instead.

it’s never smart to break concentration like that – especially when we’re trying to write persuasive, engaging copy that builds to a logical outcome.

The way you write should support – not hinder – readability.

Short sentences. Short words. Clear punctuation. These factors all support great readability. Long, convoluted sentences … the kind that require a roadmap to navigate … will only confuse and disorient your readers.

Once you’ve written your first draft (of course you write a first draft, right?), head over to EditCentral and drop the text into the handy text box. The useful graphs on the side will show you how easy it is to read your copy.

For each grade increment in readability above grade 3, you lose roughly 10% of your online audience. This means that a grade level of 10 would probably cost you up to 70% of your prospect base.

Each word you use counts – especially when it comes to optimizing the content for search.

Choose your words with care – as if each one is a precious, volatile gem. Imagine, if you will, that each word has the power to make – or break – a potential client relationship. This is because it really, really does.

And if you include your primary keywords and phrases, carefully crafted into readable human speech, you’ll both engage and convert more viewers … and drive more traffic from Google to your site.

When you join the Digital Coach club we’ll show you how to use EditCentral and the other powerful tools available to craft great copy.