Creating Content That Converts

You don’t write content for the heck of it. You want the reader to do, think, or feel something as a result of reading your words. You want that content to turn a targeted reader into a customer who will become loyal in the future. That’s why you have to create content that converts. Here’s how.

The Importance of Creating Content That Converts

There’s a lot of clutter online. Take a look at this graphic to understand how much information people are posting online every minute and how online usage just keeps getting bigger. People create about 403 million terabytes of data every day!

Of course, we probably don’t need to tell you about this. Chances are you see it in your own life. If you’re anything like most people, you’re creating and consuming more information than ever.

But when you’re creating content for your business, you aren’t putting information out there just to be entertaining. You’re trying to convert people into customers. 

Benefits of creating content that converts include:

• Generating Revenue. From blog posts to Facebook updates, all the content you post for your business has the potential to make you money.
• Creates Greater Return on Investment (ROI). Content creation involves time, effort, and resources. So, you want each piece of content you create and publish to work for your business.
• Engages Your Audience. Content that converts typically resonates with the target audience. It helps them relate to you and your business, making them want to comment and share, and, hopefully, eventually making them a loyal brand advocate.
• Provides a Competitive Advantage. In a crowded market, compelling content can differentiate a brand from its competitors. It can make it easier for you to attract and retain customers, growing your business while lowering your marketing and advertising costs.
• Reveals Audience Insights. By studying the content that converts, you better understand your audience and what they want and need from your business.
• Establishes Trust and Authority. Consistently producing valuable and converting content establishes your brand as an authority in the industry, building trust and credibility with the audience.

Tips for Creating Content That Converts

So, the reasons for wanting to create this level of content are pretty clear. When you’re using content marketing, you want it to result in customers. But how do you make that happen? It’s not the same as getting your mom to like your Facebook post. Here are some tips for things to consider.

Target Your Content

Content that results in conversions isn’t written for everyone or just anyone. You write this content to speak directly to the people who are most likely to buy your product or service — your target audience. 

Writing to such a specific audience sometimes makes business owners nervous. You say things like, “But we also sell to these people, and we could sell to those people.” Yes! You do and can! And you certainly aren’t going to turn those people away if they try to buy from you. However, they aren’t the people who are most likely to buy from you. 

When you speak to everyone, you address no one. Instead, speak directly to your ideal customer and understand that others will find your message appealing too.

Address Consumer Needs

Knowing who your target audience is isn’t enough. You must also understand their needs and how your product or service meets them. 

For example, you can write amazing content about the recipes your audience can make on their Blackstone griddle, but if they really need to know how to season the grill before they can use it or how to clean it after they cook, they’ll go somewhere else to get that information. 

Know your audience well enough to understand their questions, concerns, and pain points. Otherwise, you’ll be directing them on how to make fried rice before they’ve even oiled the griddle.

Create Quality Content

Have you ever clicked on a post that you thought would give you a ton of clarity only to discover that it was difficult to read, didn’t actually address what you thought it did, or was about as deep as a puddle? You never quite know what you’re going to get online. And if you’re disappointed by the content on a site, chances are you won’t go back or think too highly of the brand associated with it.

This negative sentiment is exactly why you want to use effective content writing practices when you’re creating content to convert. You want your content to be accurate, informative, well-written, and easy to understand, just to name some traits. You never want someone in your target audience to visit a piece of your content and leave your site unfulfilled.

Write Great Headlines

Here’s the thing … Before people even read your content, you have to get them to click on it. That’s where the headline comes in. Your headline will show in the promo for your content, and people will decide in less time than it takes you to read this sentence whether they will click or not.

Want to write excellent blog titles? Here’s a post on how to write the perfect blog post title. We even included some examples to help you out.

Use Visuals

You’ve heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. It’s probably worth a million words online. Know why? Because people don’t go to the internet to read. They go to scan. Images are what makes them stop the scroll. They attract attention, make them more likely to click and read, and in the case of graphics, help them better understand the content. 

Lure Them In

You can only get so many people to see your content by sharing it on your social media and in your network. The real potential comes from organic traffic. Basically, you want search engines like Google to send people to your site when they are looking for the information (and products and services) you provide. 

To get search engines to help you out, you have to follow SEO best practices to get the most traffic possible. These best practices mean on- and off-page optimization tactics that help your content rank in search results and get your brand noticed.

Say What’s Next

Never leave your audience wondering what to do next. If you leave it up to them to decide what action to take, it may not be what you want. Instead, tell them exactly what to do by including a strong, specific call to action in your content.

Not sure how to write a CTA? Here are some examples of calls to action that convert.

Spread It Far and Wide

Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes business owners make is looking for a magic bullet. We want a single product that sells like Coke. We also want one piece of online content to go viral and sell enough of that product to allow us to move to a tropical island immediately.

This single solution isn’t practical. It’s more like winning the lottery than using any type of strategy.

In content marketing, a good strategy means not relying on one form of content to get your message seen. For example, you don’t write a great blog post that follows the rules above, then wait for organic traffic to flow in. You still want to do your part to meet your audience where they are and get their attention. That means repurposing content.

When you repurpose content, you make the most out of every piece you create. You take a blog post and turn it into graphics, videos, and words that you share on social media or other platforms in little pieces at a time. 

It takes a lot of time to create content of any type. To get the most ROI on every piece, you want to use it in every possible way on all the platforms you have. Think broad strokes instead of magic bullets.  

Content Journey Creates Content That Converts

It’s easy to see that creating content that converts takes time, planning, knowledge, and resources. It’s challenging to be able to focus on marketing in this way while you’re responsible for running your business. Content Journey’s SEO marketing services create content that converts for you. We help you get attention and interest while you close the deals. 

Want to learn more? Contact us today.