Creative Marketing Content Writing
No matter what you think or what you’ve been told, creative writing and writing good marketing content don’t have to be completely at odds. In fact, the two skills have more in common than you might initially imagine. If you can craft an engaging, persuasive, and grammatically correct sentence, you can learn how to become an effective marketing writer.
Tips for writing creative marketing content:
Writing marketing content takes discipline. It can also require a balance—especially for a writer whose style is naturally creative. How can a creative writer craft good marketing content? What are some techniques that will help them strike a balance between copy that works and copy that sells? Here are some things to keep in mind
Write simple and easy to read:
Unlike novel or short story readers, marketing content readers tend to scan text as if someone were reading a newspaper. Good content doesn’t bury its main point in the middle of a block of text. Instead, experienced writers break up the message with lists, bullet points, and short paragraphs with easy-to-scan subheadings.
Unique and distinctive content:
Just as few people want to read a novel like last year’s bestseller, few people care to read the same old tired web content. Charlie Nadler, writing for the Content Marketing Institute, compares writing good content to writing comedy. He says both should be original, and both work best if you develop your own niche. Remember, a comedian knows never to steal jokes. Never steal content ideas or content.
Target Audience:
Just as you wouldn’t write a romance for your sci-fi fan base, you shouldn’t misjudge the audience for your content. For example, if a website has a large middle-aged male appeal, you don’t want to use a lot of Justin Bieber-type references or comparisons. If most of your readers are single, you don’t want to talk about babies in every sentence.
Essential Tips for Creative Marketing Content:
Writing blog posts is one thing. Writing good blog posts and polishing them is another, and the difference between the two is editing. I’ve learned the hard way – when I think I’ve written a great post, I find someone misunderstanding what I’m saying, I find a typo in it after it’s published. My readers hate typos. I know I do. I’ve managed to stop being one of those people who corrects with a pencil in the margins of printed library books, but I understand the compulsion.
Neglecting this aspect of your blog writing will ultimately affect your readers, so follow these five tips to edit your posts to ensure they’re not only memorable, but technically correct, too.
Tip #1: Check the technical aspects:
Your first order of business in blogging once you have a draft is to check the technicalities. I usually run a few automated checks before I do anything else:
Copy:
To see if I’ve used phrases similar to something that’s already been published. I know I wouldn’t do this on purpose, but there are so many ways to say things, right? At 5 cents a pop, it’s worth it to have a premium account and use it for everything.
Spelling and Grammar
I write most of my posts in Word, so I use Microsoft’s tool first. It’s not great, but it catches any obvious mistakes. I’ve set it to detect passive voice as well, which is helpful. I also run important pieces through WhiteSmoke or Grammarly — you’d be surprised how well these programs work.
Keywords
If I’m writing about a particular keyword, I use a free online keyword analyzer to check the intensity of my keyword usage. These days, you can get penalized if you use the keyword too much, and lose traffic if you use it too little. It’s a fine balancing act.
I also use Google’s PageRank checker to check the ranking of any site I link to, ensuring I’m not creating links to spammy websites.
Tip #2: Readability
Reading the passage out loud is a surefire way to spot any remaining amusing objects, but it doesn’t work if you’re rambling through it. Focus on understanding the words as you read, or do it in front of a mirror and read it to reflect. Read it out loud to someone else and you’ll realize how different it sounds when you read it to yourself. Make notes as you go and reread any changes to ensure flow and continuity with the rest of the copy.
Tip #3: Use a checklist
It’s very easy in blog writing to wander into each topic without realizing it. Don’t wait for the reader to say “WTF?” halfway through – check your copy against a list like this and make sure your writing says what you intended to say:
Does my content adequately address the title?
My introduction engages the reader?
Is my angle clear within the first 100 words?
Does my conclusion connect the content to the title and introduction?
Evaluate your post against each of these criteria individually – it only takes a few minutes – and you’ll discover the changes you need to make.
Put your blog writing aside and do something else for a while. Make coffee, go to the grocery store, clean the house – each of these is a way to clear your mind. My best bet is to leave it overnight, but that’s not always possible. Whatever you choose to do, as long as you’re not writing it down, it’ll have the same effect. Then go back and reread it again before you finish.
Tip #4: Write Creatively
William Volcker said it and Stephen King repeated it. It’s so true when it comes to blog writing; all those brilliant turns of phrase that tickle your bones – cut them out! It’s a good thing what tickles you is just a cheesy, “smart” sound to your readers. Can you really risk them thinking you’re clever? If you’re after clever, ask someone else for an opinion. For any other format, kill them!
Professional editing gets faster with practice and will make a huge difference in the quality of your blog writing.