Writing captivating website content is likely much less a product of incredible imagination and skill and a bit more tied to perseverance and a thorough understanding of the best practices for web content writing. While print writing allows the author to slowly build up to the crux of the story, web content dictates you get your main idea out there right off the bat. Web readers have little time to spend on a specific page and almost always have a goal of locating specific, high-quality information in the most expedient manner possible. Writers must be aware of the “formula” and follow it consistently in order to hold their reader’s attention. In part one we discussed the importance of thoroughly researching your target audience then spending the necessary time and effort writing those oh-so-crucial headlines and subheads. Now it’s time to actually write the body of your content. With your headlines and subheads in place, you should have a solid idea of what each paragraph will contain.
The Crucial Hook
After your headline, your immediate hook is likely the most important part of your content, requiring your very best writing. The hook isn’t required to be more than four to six sentences, and if you follow the most widely accepted guidelines, creating the hook can be a straightforward process. In short, your hook is created by artfully describing the symptoms of the issue you plan to solve with your writing. Rather than starting out talking about the actual issue or the subject of your content, seek to describe in great detail the current experience of your intended reader. At the end of your hook, hint that you have a solution to what ails by saying “You don’t have to put up with this…” or something similar. Once you’ve mapped out awesome headings and your initial hook, it’s time to move on to the actual body of your content.
The Primary Sections of Captivating Copy
You’ve hooked your reader with your headlines and the actual hook, now it’s time to detail the actual problem or issue which causes the symptoms you just explained in your opener. Next, you will give more detail about the particular issue and why it might keep cropping up then it is time to offer a solution. At this point you are likely less than halfway into your total word count. While in a print book the actual “solution” to the problem would likely come much further into the book, remember this is the web, and web readers want quick solutions, so now is the time to ante up the resolution. The remainder of your content will be dedicated to telling your web reader how they can turn your ideas into result or how to apply what you’ve just taught them. When you have faithfully followed the above formula you should have solid, persuasive, high quality content which will be highly optimized for search engines, resulting in increased highly targeted traffic.
Summing It Up
In order to write web content which captivates remember to focus on your target audience constantly asking yourself how they can benefit from what you are about to write. Stress the benefits of the information you are offering and make sure you are consistently using action verbs and active sentences. Spend the necessary time on your keywords and headlines rather than adding them as a slapped-on afterthought. Add images when appropriate, but use them judiciously and only add an image when it will both grab the reader’s attention and add another dimension to your writing. Finally, remember why you are a writer, and enjoy what you do for a living.
Tags: Lawyer Website Content
