Consistent sentences on a text editor sheet that reflect the essence of a given topic are the tip of the iceberg by which everyone evaluates the work of a copywriter.
But copy creation also includes research, information gathering, planning, formatting, editing, and optimizing when it comes to SEO content. It turns out that the process of writing is much simpler than the preparation and subsequent work with the material. And to create high-quality text content, you really need a little more than the ability to express your thoughts beautifully. This “a little more” will be discussed further.
Our article will be useful to anyone who wants to write cool author columns in the media, run their own blog, promote social media accounts or a website using content, or increase sales through “delicious” product descriptions and advertising slogans. This is not a replacement for copywriting courses, but just a short basic guide from the Web promo editors to generate an idea, and write and edit the text yourself. We have tested all the suggested recommendations on our own experience and are happy to share them with you. If you’re ready, let’s get started!
Determine the purpose of the text
Text is not just a set of characters, but an effective means of communication with the target audience. Therefore, before writing, ask yourself – who needs it and why? This will help you further choose the right style, heading, and wording.
The main goals of text content in digital:
- Lead generation. Such texts are written on the basis of the USP of the company and should, first of all, interest the reader (in this case, also the client). They are used to design a website or a landing page, in mailing lists;
- Upsell and cross-sell. The text may contain only one sentence or several paragraphs, be part of another type of text. Such content can be found in brand newsletters, in product cards on the site, on the main pages of landing pages – where the upselling marketing technique works effectively;
- Increasing brand awareness and loyalty to it. Texts written for this purpose are useful and have a unique tone of voice. They should reflect the company’s policy, giving a comprehensive answer to the chosen topic. Often such texts can be consistent, and complement each other. They are used for posting on the website (for example, on the brand’s blog), on social networks in the form of signatures for posts, on mailing lists, and also on promotional products. If we are talking about a website and social networks, then the texts must contain key queries in order to attract an audience;
- Attracting traffic. The most simple, albeit quite a noble goal. In order for the text to be read by more people, it must be relevant, unique, contain user search queries and LSI words, and have an attractive and interesting title. At the same time, consistency and regularity are important in the generation of such content. This means that it is necessary to carefully study traffic-generating topics from all sides, as well as strictly follow the publication schedule and gradually increase the volume of materials;
- Informational. Articles are useful texts on a given topic of an introductory or in-depth nature. These include expert texts on blogs, various research articles, and news in the media. Also, such materials can serve to promote the site, if you use the “keys” on the topic in them.
It is worth noting that the same text can have several purposes at once. For example, be useful to the reader, generate leads and warm them up before selling. We meet such materials in the form of free e-books, checklists, and guides.
Important! When determining the purpose of the text, consider the specifics of your site or business, the portrait of the target audience and its interests, as well as your external goal.
Choosing the right goal for the text also helps to understand the result you want to achieve. Therefore, immediately determine how you will measure it. There are several options for assessing the effectiveness of the text:
- By the number of views;
- By likes/comments/reposts;
- By reading time;
- By the number of conversions;
- By the number of failures;
- By actions on the page (following links, opening photos), etc.
By getting measurable results, you will be able to see progress and improve text content.
What to write about or where to look for ideas for texts
What should the text be about? A brake question that discourages any desire to continue creating content. Therefore, here the editors of Web promo, without further ado, share proven methods that allow you to generate topics for materials.
- Brainstorming. Set aside 15 minutes during each workday to think about topics and sketch ideas. Write down in a notepad or text file all the thoughts that come to mind.
- Ask your audience. Do not be afraid to once again communicate with subscribers or readers to get feedback from them. Anything they write can be used to create content. User comments are the “pains” that primarily concern your target audience. If you are afraid to ask, read the comments on existing publications and find questions that you have not yet answered.
- Research keywords. In a word, conduct an SEO audit of your site or blog and form a semantic core. For each keyword, come up with one or more topics. Use them in your content plan.
- Break down general topics into smaller ones. From the generalized material, you can always make several points. A simple example: our article “How to work with text if you are not a copywriter” can be divided into several texts with a more precise message, in particular, “How to choose a style for an article”, “How to create a media plan”, “How to generate article topics. Practical methods”, etc.
- Write a continuation of the “bestseller”. Analyze the articles that have already done well on your site, and write a few more articles on the topic after that. If you talked about women’s haircuts, then continue to develop this thread with articles about haircut trends, Hollywood stars’ haircuts, and haircuts for different types of faces. Don’t forget to link the materials with each other (the SEO specialist will thank you).
- Analyze competitors. Be sure to visit competing sites and study the content. Take note of topics that you have not yet told your readers about.
- Get inspired on YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest. These platforms are a treasure trove of invaluable content. Therefore, look for pages with content that suits you and write out topics that are most discussed by users and collect views. Also, watch out for uptrends.
- Use Western sources. In many matters, foreign resources are the primary sources, so it is reasonable to look for useful information there and be inspired. Subscribe to authoritative publications or interesting blogs in your niche and track trends.
How to choose a text style
It seemed that after Maxim Ilyakhov introduced everyone to the info style of the author, the problem was solved. But this is not a plantain to apply to all texts without exception. Therefore, we want to briefly recall what styles exist in the language, how they differ, and how to use them.
What is a speech style? Speaking scientifically, style is an established system of various linguistic means and methods that has developed during the development of the language. Each system is characteristic of its environment, including the media, the scientific community, fiction, official business communications, etc.
Speaking simply and clearly, the style can be compared with a men’s business suit. The overall image will depend on the choice of its elements, colors, and cut, although in essence, the suit will remain a suit. Similarly, with the style in which syntactic constructions act as elements.
To choose the right style for your text, ask yourself a few questions:
- To whom is it addressed?
- Where will it be published?
- What is his purpose?
- What is the way of presenting the information?
Based on your answers, you can easily choose the appropriate style. So, the info style is great for writing useful articles, notes, and posts, news in the media, selling texts, guides and checklists, and various manuals. Its difference is the lack of water and strains, consistent structure, and honesty. It contains enough facts to give the reader complete and reliable information about the subject. That is why the info style has become so popular and beloved by authors in the digital sphere. However, we recall that there are other options for presenting the material.
The journalistic style is great for online media that aims to garner traffic and reader reactions. It may contain an emotional color, appeals, as well as imagery, and value judgments. At the same time, all the material has a logical structure, and facts. Of the minuses, a large number of strains can be noted, although many media outlets are trying to move away from them.
Over time, the journalistic style runs the risk of completely dissolving into the info style, since they are very similar, but the latter is the leader in terms of usefulness and truthfulness.
The artistic. style also has a place to be on the Internet. Such texts are appropriate in personal and impersonal blogs, on thematic sites, on mailing lists (if the chosen tone of voice requires it), and even in advertising campaigns. The style is characterized by a large number of epithets, comparisons, metaphors, and allegories.
Scientific and official business styles will be appropriate only in their highly specialized areas. They involve a dry presentation without emotional coloring, epithets, and comparisons, as well as the use of thematic vocabulary. Conversational style is found only on forums and social networks. Slang words from it can often be found on the personal blogs of celebrities and influencers.
Why do you need a text plan and how to write it?
Having a plan is the key to a good structure for the future text. You will definitely not lose your thought, do not jump from topic to topic, and the reader will read your work to the end with interest.
The outline of the text can be simple or complex. The Web promo editors prefer to use both options at the same time, as this allows you to fully reveal the topic. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make such a plan:
- Be clear about the topic you will be writing about.
- Divide the text into main parts that will help to open it.
- Give a title to each part and you’ll have a simple outline.
- To expand the plan, ask questions for each subheading. Write them down in a logical order.
- Formulate the main idea of each paragraph based on the answers to the questions posed. Write down key points.
- Check how closely the abstracts correspond to the subheadings. Add missing paragraphs and questions as needed.
Thus, you will receive not only an outline of the entire article but also small plans for each paragraph. It remains only to write the text, answering the questions posed.
Advice! Properly format subheadings and do not forget to use keywords when compiling them. If in print this is not such an important factor, then in digital without key queries, the page with the article will rank poorly in the search and users will not be able to find it.
Where to start the text: the rules of a good introduction
The first paragraph of the text is the most important not only for the reader but also for search engines. Its goal is to interest the user so much that he wants to scroll through the material to the end and perform the target action if such is expected of him. At the same time, the introduction should not be too long and contain strains and complex syntactic constructions.
Optimal parameters of the first paragraph:
- Length no more than 500 zbp;
- The passphrase is contained in the exact occurrence;
- The key phrase is organically inscribed in the environment of the words that set the topic;
- The text touches on the main “pains” of the reader;
- Tells what will be discussed in the article and intrigues.
Editing and proofreading tools
Punctuation, syntax, style, uniqueness, readability – there are so many indicators of text quality that it is impossible to track them in the process of writing material. To do this, we recommend using special sites and services.
Diploma. A reference and information portal for the Russian language, where you can check the spelling of foreign or compound words, find the right punctuation rule and ask for help from a specialist.
Spelling. Ukrainian-language resource, similar to Diploma. Here you can find all the rules of the Ukrainian language. The main plus is that the service is regularly updated and gives up-to-date recommendations.
Glavred. A useful tool to clean the text from strains, passive verbs, biased assessments, and other verbal garbage. The best score is 8 points out of 10. To correct mistakes, just click on the highlighted word and read the recommendation.
Tekst.ru. The free service is designed to check the uniqueness of the text, spelling, and SEO analysis. He sees typos and double spaces, misspelled words, and constructions. The service also highlights the most frequently repeated words that contribute to the spamming of the text.
Advego. Another effective tool for semantic text analysis is the detection of stop words, and template phrases without semantic load. The service is absolutely free and available for desktop users without registration. The number of checks is unlimited.
Spelling. A simple service for checking Russian text for literacy, style, and SEO. There is a free trial version.
Language. DNA of the nation. Online service for checking Ukrainian-language texts for possible errors. Unfortunately, he sees only the grossest spelling, punctuation, and lexical violations. However, as an additional check, it is very useful.
Etxt. Free service for checking text for uniqueness and common mistakes. Without registration, it allows you to check up to 3000 Gbps, after registration – up to 5000 Mbps.
Turgenev. Assesses the risk of falling under the “Baden-Baden” filter, which operates in the Yandex search network. The optimal value is considered to be up to 5 points. The service also gives recommendations on style and spelling. When checking, sentences and constructions that are difficult to perceive, strains, estimates, and other “water” are highlighted. Works correctly enough. Upon registration, new users receive a bonus amount to their account in order to test the program. Further use is paid.
Chronometer. If you plan to read the text or you need to specify the reading time, as is done in our blog, then the service will help you calculate the timing.
Title Generator. A free service that creates selling designs. We ourselves have only recently learned about it and are just starting to master it. Rather, it is more suitable to be inspired by fresh ideas or take a fresh look at a given topic. The final version always requires editing.
Pixabay, Freepik. Free photo stocks to diversify your text with licensed images.
Seolib. Meta tag generator for a page with text. This is necessary for those who not only write themselves but also typeset materials for the site.
Text formatter. Free online text formatting service. It removes extra spaces and hyphens and clears HTML tags.
About the importance of a content plan
We believe that in digital you should rely on a content plan, and not on inspiration. Where there is one text, there must be a second and a third. Only this approach will help you effectively achieve your goals and expand your audience. If you publish one text per month or year without any schedule, then you should return to the block about who needs this content and why?
What is a content plan? This is a schedule for the release of content on a website / blog / page in social networks or any other resource. Everyone has their own, as it pursues different goals and consists of different content.
If we talk about resources whose main content is texts, then it is enough to make a table in Google documents with the dates and topics of articles that will be released on that day. You can also add columns with the heading title, keywords, and statistical indicators.
A content plan will help to make the content consistent, not to forget about the existing headings on the site, as well as generate new ideas for texts – it will encourage you to consider existing topics from a different angle, expand or, conversely, narrow them.
Important! Content should not be of the same type, otherwise the user will quickly lose interest. Alternate useful texts with promotional ones.
