Content is still king. No matter how many times you hear that phrase, it’ll still ring true.
Content can persuade people on an issue and it can help people avoid big mistakes. As long as it’s effective.
Regardless of the type of content you write, it’s important to write it well, make it reader-friendly. You don’t write for search engines, you write for people who use them to find your business.
You need to give your readers interesting, engaging, and fun material. And you want them to read all of your text, not just the headlines. And to make this happen you’ll need to understand how to humanize your content. This means making your content friendly and engaging to the human eye.
Just like a novel writer, you need to keep readers engaged. You want readers to want more, and your job as a content creator is to give the people what they want. This is not always an easy task, however there are plenty of tactics and tools available right at your fingertips.
There’s no point in writing 1,000 words if those words don’t connect with your reader. Avoid wasted time and effort, and check out the following ways to better humanize your content.
Ready to put these tools and tips to work? Come up with a stellar content idea using these strategies!
1. Emotions are key
Marketers sometimes get in the habit of using a highly formal tone. We write strictly business information, and sometimes forget to add an emotional level. In order to make people really like you, and really pay attention to your content, you need to give some of yourself – your emotions.
Try to incorporate your emotions into your writing and start developing a real relationship with your viewers. For example, instead of just listing your product’s features, give them personality and characteristics humans can relate to. Think about how it makes a user feel. Even if it’s a sponge, you can create a feeling towards the sponge if you use your words creatively.
One way to do this? Incorporate a story that everyone can relate to. Touch people’s hearts and you will win their undying support. You want to provide links to your products or services and weave them seamlessly the story.
Build the story and then add the product or service, not the other way around.
2. Use smart content creation tools
When you write every day and need to come up with new and fresh content consistently it’s important to know about the tools available that can help. Here are some apps I like to assist in brainstorming and overall productivity:
- CoSchedule Headline Analyzer – people will read your content only if the headline is attractive. If your title is boring, people might skim past your material. This app will analyze your headline title for things such as uniqueness, uncommon words, emotional words and more. You should aim for a score of 50% or higher.
- Hemingway App – this editor will quickly highlight phrases that are considered not powerful enough. It focuses on eliminating hard to read sentences, adverb reliance, and repetitive language. It also offers a readability score that’s useful when writing marketing content.
- Piktochart – in order to make your content more attractive, you also need to include more visuals. Infographics help communicate a lot of information in a more attractive manner. These aides can help people understand more quickly what your brand represents and what it is you want them to know.
While these tools won’t write your content for you, they can help you take your great idea and helpful information, and polish it into a piece of content that accomplishes your goals.
3. Find professional proofreading
Good content is not only about the idea, emotions, and visual appeal. The text on your website or blog needs to be perfect, without grammatical mistakes, stylistic errors, or editing glitches.
The best thing you can do for your content is hiring a professional proofreader or editor who can ensure that your text is 100% free of such mistakes. You might have the skill to do the work yourself, but it may be hard to find enough time or you may find yourself too close to the material.
But you have a few options when it comes to cleaning up your content:
- Invest quality time into research and look for a professional and reliable writing service company.
- Look for editing & proofreading automated solutions.
- Contact the experts and get a quote first, then discuss any other potential services you might need.
Before hiring someone or buying a tool, make sure to read reviews online. You’ll want to make sure that the editor is not just experienced in writing, but also in your topic or industry.
4. Seek inspiration and ideas
One of the most challenging parts of creating content is coming up with a topic. It can be difficult to find consistent inspiring ideas and topics. You don’t want to be repetitive and you want to substantial. The best place to start is to see what is trending and where competitors rank.
Explore and discover what other people are talking about. Find out what people want to discuss, then you can offer them much more engaging and creative content. You want people to like and share your material, which means you need them to be inspired to do so.
- Twitter hashtags – check the trending hashtags and see what people are tweeting about the most.
- Google trends – yet another extremely helpful tool that is a quick way to discover the most important topics online during any given day.
- Random thoughts – use your own brain! Start by simply brainstorming from one word or phrase. Use mind mapping or post-it notes, it doesn’t matter. Get the words flowing and your creative juices flowing.
- Addict-o-Matic – this application searches automatically for live content posted across different niches, industries, and interests. Within minutes you can find several links that can help inspire your own perspective and ideas.
5. Build content marketing pyramids
The content marketing pyramid is an important strategy for every marketer and content creator.
According to its principles, in order to get the best results from your content, you need the following:
- Invest time and effort into writing thought-provoking pieces. These pieces must be well researched and written at a high standard of quality. However, you want to write these types of articles bi-monthly or once per month.
- Use the rest of your time on the smaller, shorter (yet still engaging) content. This includes infographics, blurbs, posts, and daily content for your site and blog. These also need to be well researched, but they should include much less text and copy than your longer pieces.
For example, schedule small blogs under 500 words five days per week, and schedule longer pieces once per month. Create an editorial calendar and stick to your goals. This not only helps humanize your content, but also to maintain your workflow.
6. Organic call-to-action
Call-to-action phrases don’t always have to directly persuade people into making a purchase. They can also simply engage the readers.
Ask your readers questions, get them thinking about something. Offer subscription deals, but also offer a question to be answered. You want to start a dialogue, not just a one-sided marketing ploy. Make your readers want to reach out to you and the company directly.
You can organize contests through your call-to-action phrases or even create a discussion board based on opinions and testimonies. Use your imagination and learn how to truly connect with the people reading your content.
Conclusion
Humanizing your content is of the utmost importance. You may write an error-free and educational piece of content, but just because an automated editor says it’s great doesn’t mean you audience will feel the same.
We are humans and we are all different. And the best way to connect with your viewers is on a human and emotional level. Don’t let your content fall flat. Do more than just describing your products or services.
In order to make people like your brand and ultimately to become your faithful customers, you have to give them an interesting reason why. Understand human relations and interaction before creating content. Use the above tools and tips today and start publishing content that attracts new readers like a magnet.
