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5 Step Guide to Creating Impactful Content

Have you ever written the perfect article and had it rejected by the editor for no fathomable reason? Or are you regularly publishing content and are unable to get the audience you desire?

You’d be surprised to learn that you aren’t the only one facing this issue. One out of every ten writers struggles with the same, actually. 

The problem? 

They try to perfect their content but forget to make it impactful. 

Here, we will help you craft impactful content in 8 simple steps, along with tips on things you need to look out for. 

Digital content remains the undisputed king of digital marketing – and therefore the best way to promote your business. From product manufacturers, service providers or retailers all the way to healthcare providers, home restorers and even if you’re NASA, content plays a major role in enhancing your digital footprint and promoting your business/cause.

However, not all content is created equal. The writing style, search engine optimization and supporting content, all play a huge role in determining whether the content you write is subpar or excellent. How to determine that, you ask? 

Well, take your pick. A recent study shows that globally, the number of leads generated, readers and conversions are what good content is supposed to tackle. However, that isn’t set in stone. You write content for your own goal. 

This article, for example, is to help you learn. Someone else may be writing an article just for the sake of likes or views – not conversions. Here are the results of said study.

Important metrics to measure content engagement
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If done right, the results of the content you write will not just improve readership, but can also lead to increased inflow of leads, conversions and social mentions.

So, let’s jump right in!

Step 1: Start With the End in Mind

Looking at the start and finish
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You will have an easier time creating bespoke and engaging content if you know what the end goal is with your marketing campaign. See the graph above? Take your pick and move on from there. 

A good starting point lets you set out a mission statement for your content strategy, defining your marketing goals and the actions you should take to achieve them.

Clearly identified marketing goals give you two main benefits. 

First, they give you a direction to work. This is always useful for crafting content that relates to your business goals. The more streamlined your direction, the more focused you will be when writing. This gives you an edge over others that can help you create high-quality content. 

Second, a pre-defined goal helps you analyse the content to see how closely it was created to meet your goals. It is easier to analyse results from your blogs, articles, web copy and social media marketing if you have an objective to compare them with.

Having a goal makes it much easier for you and your article writers to focus on what’s important and what’s not. This is crucial for a successful digital marketing strategy.

Speaking of ‘beginnings’, keep in mind that people only read the first paragraph of your content before determining whether it’s for them or not. And even then, it’s not as much reading as it is scanning. Readers usually scan content unless they find that it is worth their time, so write a beginning that speaks to them, and then some! 

Step 2: Study Your Audience and Write for Them

Studying your audience
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It is important to have a good idea about who you’re writing for. The demographics of your site visitors, their numbers, who they are, what they prefer, what device they’re using and even the frequency of visits; all of these will add up to help you create better content.

The more you know about them, the more you can tailor your content and write content that leaves a good taste in their mouths once you’re done. The interesting thing about writing for your audience is that the more you write for them, the more you understand them. The more you understand them, the more you tailor your words and content. The more you tailor content, the more you attract them to your site.

And eventually, the more impact you’ll have on them.

For example, suppose you are into fashion, makeup and beauty tips. You write and publish articles and blogs on these topics on your website fairly regularly. In time, you will attract and build an audience that is interested in similar topics. Okay, scratch that – in a few years, they’ll be interested in what you write on. 

Writing on fashion, your readers will mostly be women between the ages of 12 and 60 who are into fashion and beauty topics.

To retain your audience, you will need to give them more of the content that they want to read. To make it impactful, continue writing regularly and build a fanbase. If you suddenly started writing about truck rallies or high-tech gadgets and robots on your blog, your audience would lose interest.

The lesson here is that any type of website can be successful, as long as you attract the right audience to it and give the visitors what they want. 

Step 3: Create an Engaging Experience

Engaging your audience
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Even the best-written articles and product descriptions can be rendered useless if you don’t engage your audiences. If you fail to engage, how will you influence or impact? What separates average content from great content is the level of interest and engagement that you build with your readers. That rapport you build with readers, urging them to continue; that’s what helps you make an influence. 

Remember, anyone can write an article filled with necessary information about a product or service. But it takes more than just informing your readers about a product that makes you stand out from the rest. Plus, if you really want your audiences to buy something, you need to do more than just inform them. 

The trick is to have a conversation with your readers in articles. You can ask questions, tell a joke, share experiences and even remind your readers about past events or blogs, all in the breadth of a single article. All of this is meant to create a lasting impression in the minds of your readers.

The purpose of content marketing is, after all, to leave a memorable expression for potential customers. A strong piece of content achieves just that.

Pro Tip: Try to communicate with your audience by writing your article in second-person format. The more you talk to them, the more engaging your content is. This way, you’re basically establishing yourself as a friend and an authoritative figure in their subconscious mind. 

Step 4: Go Fishing With a Catchy Title and Strong Headlines

Appealing to audiences
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Your content title must be captivating; one that gets users to click on your blog or web page. In most cases, the title is the only thing that users will see and decide whether they want to click on your website/blog or not, so make it something they can’t resist.

Headlines are necessary to organize your content and break it up into meaningful sections. Each headline gives you an outline of what the underlying content is about. Some readers prefer to skip over sections that they don’t want to read and the headlines help them focus on the right information.

Titles should be no more than 10 to 12 words. Headlines are generally shorter and 4 to 5 words long at most. You should always capitalize the title and all headlines as it is standard and makes your content look more polished.

Step 5: CTA – Adding Final Touches Necessary for Feedback

Looking for feedback
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A CTA is your gateway to what audiences are thinking. It helps you identify whether they like what you wrote or not, and whether you’re on your road toward impacting them. 

They allow your readers to interact with you and your business. It should ideally be included twice, once in the middle of the text where you drive the point home, and once near the end of the content.

CTA can be anything from a click to your product page, a purchase order option, a request for feedback or a popup window for an email subscription. If your content has been really good and impactful, it is more likely to get clicked and you will get the desired response from your reader.

You can post content from time to time without a CTA to raise awareness about your business and build goodwill. However, website copywriting, blogs and articles won’t meet your business goals if you do not put a CTA within the text.

The purpose of well-written content is to get a response from your users and you should include it to gauge visitor response rate.

Steven Dean is Sr. Editor at Content Development Pros. He leads a small army of blog and article writers that help small and large business get results through amazing content. With more than a decade of experience, he has the trust of hundreds of regular customers from all industries and parts of the world.

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