There. You have just finished your masterpiece.
You smiled after reading what you wrote. You followed the grammar format your teacher taught you in school. You made sure your piece was original. You liked the way the words sounded when strung together. You were very satisfied, so you published your work online.
However, you received no comments, no likes, no tweets, and no shares. You’re not even sure if someone bothered to read your painstakingly written post. Somehow, it failed. Why?
How different are you from online marketing experts? Are you really not good a writer? Calm down, don’t punish yourself yet.
Writing copy for the web is quite different from writing for print. And with so much going on in the web today, writing a web copy like a brochure or flyer won’t really assure you of getting anywhere.
So, how will you make sure your copy gets the acknowledgement it deserves? How do you make it captivate your readers? What spell do you need to cast to make your copy stand out?
There are simple ways on how to overcome that predicament. Below are 5 of them:
Create a kickass headline.
Let’s say that your copy is the cake and your headline is the icing. A beautifully decorated cake will automatically entice anyone to take a bite, right? Just like headlines.
The headline or post title is the front liner of your article, as it is the first thing your readers will see. It will be the first factor that can influence your audience to click and read your post or painlessly skip it.
Take your time in writing headlines; don’t let your article be put to waste!
Break up long paragraphs.
This isn’t your research paper, honey. This isn’t a note of ramblings, either. Don’t give your readers an eyesore by putting a ten-sentence paragraph. Keep it short.
Breaking a heavy paragraph is one way of inviting your audience to read on. Three to five sentences are definitely better than ten or more. One idea per paragraph is the key.
Use Subheadings and Lists.
Readers will find it very convenient, believe me. Using subheadings will make your article easy to scan. It will give them a hint on what area they would like to read first or what part of the article is useful for them. It also hooks readers by giving them a small glimpse of what your paragraph is about.
Using lists or bulleted points also gives you a bigger chance of holding your readers’ attention. Why? Lists are straightforward and direct. Tell your reader what you really want to say. It saves your reader time and effort.
Formatting helps.
Remember, your readers are very busy people with short attention spans. One minute they’re checking their Facebook account, the minute after, they’re replying a message from Skype. There are a lot of things that can distract them once they’re browsing the net.
Once you format your text, you give emphasis to certain points. Use bold, italics, underlined, CAPITAL letters to make them stand out.
Weave a tale.
Everyone loves a good story, especially one that he or she can relate to. Since you are writing for your readers (and not for yourself or for some search engine), using a narrative technique will most likely keep your audience reading through the entire article.
Tell them about the time you first earned your million, or when you got duped with a fake Rolex. Share the time you made your own shelf or when you adopted your cat.
But then again, make sure that what you write is useful for your readers, and not just plain blah. Give them tips and tell them how you did this or how you overcame that. Give them something to ponder on, may it be inspirational or informative.
With these simple yet important methods, you can definitely make your masterpiece worth reading! Do you have other tips to impart? Share it with us!
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