11 Simple But Effective Ways to Create Content That Converts [Tips + Examples]
Many businesses are struggling to gain an online following because they are unsure how to create content that will resonate with their target audience. The mistake they are making is not realizing that the content they publish can engage their reader base and convert them into customers.
Good content is more than just well-written content; it's about giving the readers what they came to your website for. Writing content that converts is an essential step in staying relevant for customers in the new normal.
Follow these 11 simple but effective ways to create content that converts and boosts your sales. But first…
Create Your Free Marketing Calendar
If you want to create high-converting content, you need a calendar to help you organize your workflow and process. Luckily, you can now create your forever-free marketing calendar with CoSchedule and take your marketing to the next level!
Table of Contents
- 1. Be Specific About Your Content Marketing Goals
- 2. Ensure Your Website is User-Friendly
- 3. Spy On Your Competitors
- 4. Prioritize Your Content’s Headline
- 5. Tell Stories
- 6. Brush Up on Your Persuasive Writing Skills
- 7. Focus on Quality
- 8. Tune Into the WIIFM Station
- 9. Add a CTA
- 10. Choose Your Promotion Channels Carefully
- 11. Have a Consistent Brand Message
1. Be Specific About Your Content Marketing Goals
The goal of content marketing is to attract potential customers and develop positive relationships with them by delivering content that solves their pain points. Content should target specific audiences that align with your business goals. Many companies focus on the more general aspects of their content marketing, but these days very few businesses have a firm understanding of what they’re looking to accomplish. Your goal should be specific, measurable, aspirational, timely, and relevant to your target market. It must be emphasized here that both the sales and marketing departments must agree on what the goal is. If the goal is to increase the conversion rate, they must agree on the specific rate that they would consider as successful. Examples of specific content marketing goals are:- Achieve conversion rate of more than 10%.
- Grow email list by 5%
- Increase customer retention rate by 15%.
2. Ensure Your Website is User-Friendly
Many people these days will not use a website if it is not user-friendly. Websites that are slow, not mobile responsive, and have poor site navigation negatively affect the user experience. This breaks the ability of published content to convert readers into paying customers. Websites that aim for simplicity and ease of use provide a consistent experience for the user. With more and more people using Internet search engines to find information, it is important to make sure your website caters to those searching for businesses just like yours. A website should be designed with the user in mind. It should adapt to different browsers and take into account the user's screen size. You must consider how a user interacts with a website. You should design your site so it will work effectively for whatever device the users have at their disposal. Image source Website user experience counts factors like mobile readiness and optimization, among other things. This isn’t just for your consumers, either, though that definitely is the end user. Google has since added user experience, which counts factors like mobile optimization and performance, in its ranking factors. So to make your content work harder and stand a chance at ranking on the first page of Google, and increase conversions along the way, you’ll want to make sure your site has great user experience through and through.3. Spy On Your Competitors
Conducting a content gap analysis is important for any business that wants to create great content but sometimes may feel overwhelmed by the task. People are looking for high-quality content personalized to their needs, not just another article about the same topic. Content gap analysis provides a valuable understanding of what topics are missing from your content strategy. One of the most important aspects of content marketing is finding out what your target audience wants to learn. The more you know about their interests, the more you can provide them with the content they search for. Of course, it's not always easy to identify what people want to read or watch because, at times, they don't even know. An effective way to secure this content is by researching what your competitors are producing (or not producing) and filling the missing content or topics. It can help determine how much content your competitors have, what keywords they used, and what strategies they implemented to reach their audience. The information can help you create content that will surpass that of the competition.4. Prioritize Your Content’s Headline
Headlines need to grab people’s attention and make them want to click through and then read your article. It should be something compelling and concise enough that readers will want to read more. You should spend time crafting your headline to make sure it speaks to your audience and will get them interested in reading more. But avoid clickbait headlines that don’t deliver what they promise. CoSchedule has a tool called Headline Studio which analyzes your headlines and provides you with suggestions on how to improve them. Better headlines can drive traffic to your content, increase engagement, and help with search engine optimization. Using the tool couldn’t be simpler. You’ll type your headline ideas in, then get a score for each one. You even receive ideas and recommendations to tweak your headline drafts to improve your score.5. Tell Stories
You can use storytelling to create a connection with customers, create uniqueness in the product, and make customers feel like they are part of something special. It helps engage potential customers and make them feel like they are part of an exciting story. Storytelling in content marketing increases an emotional connection to a product. People are more likely to buy products they can relate to and feel an empathy towards which is why companies use storytelling as a tool to engage with their audience. Modern marketing has changed dramatically in recent years. Consumers are constantly bombarded with ads and requests to try new products. Stories provide an alternative way to engage with consumers, making an emotional connection that can encourage them to make a purchase. Here’s how we recommend you tell stories to delight your audience through your content to get them to convert:- Start with empathy. When you empathize with customers, you show them that you understand the problems they’re facing.
- Highlight problems, but do it kindly. Some customers are problem-aware, but others aren’t. If you can clearly inject real examples of their problems that make them aware they too share these, then they’ll be more likely to keep reading and then explore solutions your business offers. But do this kindly and honestly; don’t blow up the size of their problems if they aren’t really that grave.
- Show customers the “happy ending.” Stories have a beginning, middle, then end. In your content, you can show customers a happy ending where they’ve found solutions to their problems. As you might guess, this is a great time to introduce your own solutions and products in the story.