Why Clear And Simple Writing Always Wins In Marketing

It can be hard to quantify what makes an article great, but people often recognize good writing when they see it. Similarly, it's easy to identify a badly-written piece. Within the first few sentences, most readers can see if the writer took the time to put his thoughts together or just threw paragraphs onto the CMS and hit Publish.

One of the hallmarks of bad writing is wordiness. The primary goal of composition is getting an idea across, and if your piece has unnecessary words or grammatical inconsistencies, it can muddle your message. In copywriting, short and sweet works best; here are ways you can ensure you're delivering the best content to your readers.

Edit Down To The Core Idea

Leonardo da Vinci, arguably one of the best artists of all time, was a big fan of keeping things simple. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication," he said, and it is understandable why he thinks so. If you keep things simple, you can focus on refining and perfecting the few things you do. 

Also, it ensures that newcomers would find it easy to explore a website. If you are a landscaping company wanting to drive more organic traffic to your website, you might go to a business providing SEO. Suppose the owners know nothing about SEO other than it helps increase the number of visitors to a website. They would probably appreciate articles that provide an overview of search optimization instead of technical matters like improving a website's first contentful paint.

Good writing is about prioritizing the essentials. When you construct an article, strive to focus on the vital details and elaborate only when necessary. An article about marketing trends might explain why it matters to watch marketing developments, followed by several paragraphs focused on the different trends. It's unnecessary, for example, to include paragraphs about the history of monitoring trends. Conciseness will help readers follow your point, and people appreciate what they understand.

Have An Outline For Your Copy

Although it is necessary to keep things simple, you must also ensure that things move well from one point to the next. You don't want to distract readers with jarring transitions or cluttered ideas. Before you start writing, make sure you have an outline guiding you.

One way you could arrange your thoughts is by thinking of your blog post as a story. Humans tend to think in terms of narratives, and if you write your outline like you're writing a story, it brings at least two benefits. First, you help yourself organize your thoughts better and see connections between concepts that you wouldn't have otherwise. Second, it helps you produce an article that flows naturally for the readers. Like a traditional narrative, a good article has a definite beginning, middle, and end. It also strives to resonate with the reader and has an overarching theme.

Get A Second Opinion On The Article

When you have the concept in mind but cannot find the words for it, you can ask for help from another writer or a colleague. At times, our life experiences render certain things invisible, or they are inadequate for the writing job at hand. You do not need to be an equestrian to write about equestrians, but you need a certain amount of technical knowledge about horseback riding to produce a well-written piece.

If you aren't that confident about your article, you can seek help from someone with more writing experience, or even just someone who can provide critical, constructive opinions on texts. If you don't have any resource persons for the post, it is alright. Sometimes, people who have no preconceptions about a topic is the one who can speak most objectively about it.

Don't Knock Real-World Experience

Often, people who look for sources for blog posts go to white-collar experts. If you're writing about pay-per-click advertising, you will tend to look for marketing managers, PPC specialists, or people trained to do paid advertising. It makes sense since they are the ones expected to have the most experienced in the topic.

However, don't discount insights from business owners who have found success in PPC. An owner might not have an MBA or formal schooling in paid advertising, but they have real-world, firsthand experience in implementing, troubleshooting, and recalibrating campaigns.

Take A Break When The Ideas Dry Up

Walk away from your article when you are struggling to think of what to say next. Allow your subconscious to put your ideas together; read things unrelated to your piece, do some chores, and get your mind off the article. Repeatedly thinking of the same things causes brain fatigue, and if you are mentally tired, you will not come up with the creative connections your articles need. Just make sure to come back to the article and honor your deadlines!

Conclusion

No matter how seemingly uninteresting a topic is, a good writer can make it attractive to his audience. As long as an article is clear and straightforward, it will win over most readers. Simplicity and clarity, however, are not synonymous with effortlessness. It takes a considerable amount of time to identify the best words and angles to take for any topic.

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