html

Make Your Marketing Content Stand Out

Your business likely has marketing content that isn’t performing as well as it could. Maybe it’s fluffy, too high level, uninspiring, or boring. Perhaps it’s even redundant. If your content isn't grabbing attention, it could be the deciding factor in a buyer’s sale or no-sale decision.

Here are five easy actions to take to boost your marketing content and make it more appealing to your audience:

Use Customer Quotes, Stories, And Insights

We all get tired of reading content that just regurgitates the same old information. Your prospects are no different. Instead of simply writing based on what’s already out there, get your hands dirty with fresh, relevant content that captures your audience's attention.

• Use customer quotes to give your content a voice and make it more relatable.
• Share stories about your customers and their experiences with your products or services.
• Provide insights that are unique and valuable to your target audience.

Get Close To The Team, Prospects, And Customers

If you want to write better content, you need to understand your audience. The best way to do this is to get close to them! This means:

• Sitting in on sales calls to hear the language prospects use.
• Interviewing customer success folks to learn about their experiences.
• Joining industry-specific organizations to participate in discussions.

Avoid Making Things Up

Making things up to fill in the gaps in your content is a recipe for disaster. Instead of creating unique, differentiating content, you end up producing more of the same generic, uninspiring content that everyone else is publishing.

Eliminate Unnecessary Elements In Your Content

Imagine your readers are astronauts, busy, smart, and expecting just the right information at the right time – nothing more, nothing less. They need your help to get to the crux of the message. They need you to do the hard work of cutting, culling, tightening, and ensuring the message is crystal clear.

• Look at your latest blog post or ebook with a critical editing eye. Is there anything you could eliminate without hurting the message and meaning?
• Remove the first paragraph (or more) from your piece and see if it still makes sense. First paragraphs are often warm-ups for writers.

Turn Groups Of Three Or More Items Into Bulleted Lists

Bulleted lists are a great way to add white space and breathing room to your content, making it less daunting to read and more likely to be consumed by your audience. Use them wherever you can.

Include Less Stuff On Each Page Of Your Content

This recommendation touches more on design but affects how people perceive your content. Perceptions shape reality. If people perceive your content as difficult to read, then to them, it is difficult to read, even if you’ve written at the sixth-grade level.

• Use large images and oversized headlines to break up your content and make it more visually appealing.
• Avoid dense, long-form content for early-stage buyers.

Rewrite Your Content With Real People In Mind

A quick and dirty way to improve the readability of your content is to swap out $1.00 words for $0.25 words. The table below lists a few examples.

Instead of	Write
Utilize	Use
Initiate	Start
Substantially	A lot
Commence	Begin

Don't Be Afraid Of Simple Language

No one will ever tell you that your content is too easy to read. Use simple language that your audience can easily understand.

• Focus on using language that is clear and concise.
• Avoid jargon and technical terms that your audience may not understand.
• Write in a conversational tone.

By following these tips, you can write content that is both engaging and informative, which will help you attract more readers and grow your business.