Posted on: April 3, 2013
Posted by: Chelsea Oliver
Categories:
Copywriting
Creating content that engages the reader is a copywriter’s job. But how do we get and keep the attention of the instant gratification generation and the generations that follow who are likely to have even shorter attention spans? A few things are worth keeping in mind.
- Know your media. Today’s web and mobile are built on the premise that their users are on the move – they want/need to grab information and go. You have to write with that fact in mind. Never bury the lead, your audience will never see it. Push the important stuff out front and keep the rest short and simple.
- Know your audience. True for every media, truer for digital. Digital enables communicators to target audiences to profound affect. It is no longer possible to keep it generic and succeed. So drill down. Talk to your audience on a meaningful level about the subjects they’re interested in.
- Really talk to them. Whenever possible keep it conversational. Make them feel part of the conversation. And by all means, put some personality into it.
- Talk visually. Format your words in a way that is visually inviting. Snappy headlines, short paragraphs, bullets, text inserts, sidebars – break it up but keep the flow.
- Adapt to the changing rules of SEO. Crafting copy that meets its objectives is every writer’s #1 goal. However, writing copy that ranks high with search engines without sounding like it was written for that exclusive purpose runs a close second. Take note of that phrase “changing rules of SEO” as search engines do continuously modify their processes and consequently your chances of being seen and heard. So keep up. A very good source for latest and greatest is the SEOmoz blog.
Lest I break the short and simple rule I’ll leave it at that. Happy writing.
Creating content that engages the reader is a copywriter’s job. But how do we get and keep the attention of the instant gratification generation and the generations that follow who are likely to have even shorter attention spans? A few things are worth keeping in mind.
- Know your media. Today’s web and mobile are built on the premise that their users are on the move – they want/need to grab information and go. You have to write with that fact in mind. Never bury the lead, your audience will never see it. Push the important stuff out front and keep the rest short and simple.
- Know your audience. True for every media, truer for digital. Digital enables communicators to target audiences to profound affect. It is no longer possible to keep it generic and succeed. So drill down. Talk to your audience on a meaningful level about the subjects they’re interested in.
- Really talk to them. Whenever possible keep it conversational. Make them feel part of the conversation. And by all means, put some personality into it.
- Talk visually. Format your words in a way that is visually inviting. Snappy headlines, short paragraphs, bullets, text inserts, sidebars – break it up but keep the flow.
- Adapt to the changing rules of SEO. Crafting copy that meets its objectives is every writer’s #1 goal. However, writing copy that ranks high with search engines without sounding like it was written for that exclusive purpose runs a close second. Take note of that phrase “changing rules of SEO” as search engines do continuously modify their processes and consequently your chances of being seen and heard. So keep up. A very good source for latest and greatest is the SEOmoz blog.
Lest I break the short and simple rule I’ll leave it at that. Happy writing.
