How To Make Your Content Cause A Wow Effect

As a content marketer you want your content to not just hook in readers, but to impress them enough that they keep coming back for more.

You want to create a wow effect.

However, online content creation is different than writing in other venues.

Simply put, people are in a bigger hurry online. And although good writing is always appreciated and a necessity when trying to entertain or inform either a specific audience or a large mass of people, the truth is that the majority of online web surfers are more likely to scan over a piece of content as opposed to book and magazine readers who really dig into what they’re reading.

This is why there’s plenty of good print writers who have a tough time trying to transition their talents onto the web.  It’s a different arena that emphasizes understanding and pleasing an online audience over traditional writing depth and style, and a lot of print writers don’t get that.

In essence, the wow effect for online content writing is vastly different than it is for print writing.

A big reason for the difference is that with online content, there’s a vastly higher level of instantly accessible alternatives at your fingertips.  So if you buy a $5 magazine, take it home and aren’t thrilled with it, you’re probably not going to run back to the store to exchange it.

But in the online market,  all it takes is one unsatisfying second for a reader to get bored and with a single mouse click, move on to a competitors site – and if wherever they land doesn’t do the trick, they can simply bounce off to the next site.

So with a nearly endless ocean of websites providing virtually the same content, it’s crucial for you to know exactly what you’re doing to create content that makes the impatient world of online readers happy. 

To get started doing this, it’s vital to understand what your potential audience wants and how to present it to them. And while this might seem like an obvious thing to do, good or great writers can be pretty rigid when it comes to their writing and won’t change their style to suit the online market.

When it comes to creating killer marketing content, style, writing talent, vision and depth play second banana to simply pleasing the audience.

All the proof you need of this in the analytics tools, and if getting rid of your rich, vivid descriptions and brilliantly structured philosophical thoughts will help lower your bounce rate and increase conversions, you do it.

So with all of this in mind, here are 5 ways to create content that will get you your wow effect.

1)  Make It Short and Sweet

With 8 seconds being the typical adult’s attention span, you literally have zero time to waste when trying to impress a reader with your content.  That means no dragged out example, unnecessary allegories, or needless metaphors.  Your singular goal to give your readers what they want, and to do it very quickly.

Now, to all the great, serious writers out there, this might seem hokey, maybe even a bit offensive, but the fact is that the majority of people who visit your site aren’t looking to kick back and enjoy your content.  They’re looking for information and answers that can help them make a decision about whether or not to purchase your product or service.  It’s just that simple.

So don’t write your content in a way that makes you say “wow”,  write it in the way that will make your visitors say “wow”. Sharp sentences. Short paragraphs. Bullet points and fragments.  That’s what sells online.

2)  Create Scannable Content – Lead Off With Your Big Hitters

With most readers wanting to be satisfied instantly, the last you want to do is force them to look all over your post to find the info they need.

You can essentially break down your online audience into two groups:

1. Visitors who only want raw facts.
2. Visitors who like to have a touch more context and information.

Now you absolutely want to keep both types happy, so when you’re creating your content, you want to use images, headline, gifs, and what’s called the ‘inverted pyramid’ structure for your writing.

Now if you’re now envisioning an upside down pyramid, you’ve got the right idea.  By putting the most essential facts inside the lead paragraph, and inserting the less important info in the later paragraphs, the ‘inverted pyramid’ structures your work in a way that shows the stuff your readers most want to see as soon as they start reading.

3)  Benefits > Features

People don’t want a hammer, they want to drive a nail into something.

What this means is that those who visit your site are looking for something that will give them the results they want.  Droning on about features your readers don’t care about will only bore them and that means they’re off to the next site.

So focus on telling them that your product or service will give them the results they want, not dwelling on the features or nuances that no one really cares about.   

4)  It’s Still Boils Down To the Call-To-Action

If your content has attracted and kept a consistent audience, the congratulations, the hardest part is done.  However, the most important part is making your audience say “wow” loud enough that they convert.

This is where a strong, clear call-to-action comes in.  Your call-to-action needs to amp up the pace of your message and make your visitors feel like they need to have your product or service right there and then.  If you don’t tap into the sense of urgency, there’s a good chance they’ll bounce off your site with the vague idea that ‘they’ll come back’ in mind. If it seems to be a problem for you, you can try searching for some custom writing services or using content creation tools like Grammarly and others.

Also, ice any unnecessary frills that just clutter your call-to-action up, and position the “Buy Now” button in a spot that instantly see-able and accessible.

And remember, no matter how great and persuasive your content is, marketing is marketing and you need to effectively tell your visitors to convert or they might wander off never to be seen again.

5)  Headlines Hook Them In

First impressions when meeting people in real-life are powerful things, and the same goes for when people first come across your headlines.

A powerful headline can get them to read your article, a weak one can drive them away.

This is why headline creation deserves the most time and thought.  Captivating headlines are crucial and while it might only take you an hour to write an article, it’s quite acceptable to spend 3 or 4 hours coming up with a killer headline.

So check out some of the best formulas used for headline creation – your conversion rate will thank you for it.

Summary

While there’s a creative aspect to great content writing, creating work that makes your audience say “wow” is more science than art.

By sticking to the tips laid out above, you’ll create content that’s built on time-proven fundamentals for pleasing readers and that will soon lead to lots of conversions.

From there your audience and business will only grow.

Guest contribution by:  Steven Mehler, an experienced writer, blogger, SEO specialist and social psychologist that works as an editor at a local newspaper and a freelance writer. He has a long-term experience in writing articles based on blogging, marketing, SEO and social psychology.