How to Write Content That “Sticks”

Over our brief series about content writing we’ve introduced a few simple rules:

1. Write like you talk
2. Publish regularly
3. Use a writing model

And we went over some of the technical and practical ways to go about doing these things. However, this post tackles a more conceptual issue at the core of most content writing: writing content that sticks with your reader.

Keeping The Purpose In Mind

Before any writing begins, it’s best to have a clear idea of the purpose of the writing. For example, if you have a brick and mortar store, you may start writing and shooting a vlog in order to generate more foot traffic to the store. This is an example of purposeful content, or, content that keeps the purpose first and foremost. No matter what kind of content you’re producing, you must never lose sight of the purpose.

Use Powerful Nouns and Verbs

This guideline applies across the board: headlines, body copy, email subjects, and more. Wherever your writing appears, make sure you’re powerful nouns and verbs. Remember your basic English schooling: nouns are words for people, places, and things; and verbs are words for actions. Look at this sentence: dogs hunt. “Dogs” is the noun and “hunt” is the verb.

Think about successful marketing campaigns that had an impact on you. (A whole handful may have just rushed to your mind, so I don’t need to name any.) Notice how these campaigns use strong words that evoke emotion. Strategic noun and verb usage open the gates to those emotions.

Try this: search for a random word generator website. If you can, narrow a search for nouns. Then do the same for verbs. As you read through, notice which words contain more raw power.

Use Real Calls to Action

If you don’t know what you want your reader to do then how will they know? This is why any extra time you can spend working on your Call to Action (CTA) will be rewarded. What do CTAs look like? They can range from the basic…

• Subscribe
• Like
• Buy now
• Share

To the specific…

• Donate now to support your local shelter
• Stop by your nearest store location
• Fill out this form for your free e-book

The point here is that while calls to action may vary, the important thing is to have one and make sure your content is connecting your readers to it.

Putting It All Together

We’ve given a few tips and tricks to get started, but this is only the beginning. Stay tuned to the BoldGrid blog as we continue to bring you new and insightful builds for building more powerful websites. We believe you can do it. Be sure to let us know if you have any comments or questions.