Did you know that great content improves your online conversion rate by more than 500%? That is why “content” is still king. Incorporating great content into your web strategy will remarkably increase your business growth in no time.
Let's get real. The reason most are willing to invest their time, effort, and energy in creating content is for the “return” they receive on that investment over time. And to achieve that return, it's important to cultivate an awareness in your target audience about your message so that you can generate website traffic to consume your content and eventually convert those audience members into prospects and ultimately close them into paying clients. In fact, according to Aberdeen's study, they found out that companies that focus on content marketing increase their conversions by more than 500%. That potential increase should have definitely grabbed your attention, but how do we really create persuasive, high-converting content? If you want to know the answer, read further to find out.
1. Discover Your Reader's Interests And Preferences
Prospective clients visit your web page to know how your service or product will help them find solutions for their pain points. However, many businesses fall short on understanding how content truly works. Content will only be effective if you know your reader's preferences and pains. If you can reflect these in your copy and content, you attract them with your offered service or product. No matter how short or lengthy your articles are, if they are written with your reader’s interests and pain points in mind, your audience will consume that content.
A great deal of content is created and published online that simply checks off the “wants” column when it comes to the topics such content covers. Some find the task of creating content that reflects an audience’s wants to be challenging. What’s more challenging, however, is trying to discover your reader’s interests and preferences to create just the right content at the right time for that audience. This is what will thrill your readers. Without thrilling them, your chances of producing content that converts goes down. That’s why the Vimagery Team has invested our time and energy in curating this list of some great tips on how to discover and understand your reader’s interests and preferences.
● Know Your Interested Prospects – Reality check; you can't please everyone. Some are not interested in your service or product. That’s just the way it is. Instead of wasting time creating content that doesn’t resonate with your target audience, first determine who it is exactly who might be interested in your services. If you can identify who these audience members are, you can then proceed to discover their respective interests and preferences.
● Sell A Dream – Don't just sell your service or product. Make them excited about your message by telling them how your services can transform their lives. After all, content marketing is all about selling your offers' benefits, not features. Home owners are more interested in buying the perfect lawn as opposed to the perfect seed. It’s all about outcome. To put this into the context of professional services, your clients aren’t that interested in a Will, but are definitely interested in the peace of mind that comes from knowing that their affairs are in order and they won’t be a burden on their children when they are older. Another example is that the parent is less interested in what material the braces are made from when compared to understanding how much better their child’s smile will look down the road.
● Write The Way You Talk – Imagine talking with friends, giving pieces of advice to them. In this way, you'll increase your engagement rate because it creates a personal connection with your target audience. If they find your article interesting, if the content resonates with them and their interests, and is written in a conversational tone, there’s a higher probability that they will want to continue the conversation with you. And that is the goal of every content creator – to persuade to further action.
Tip: Ask questions at the end of your article. Questions increase engagements by giving them something to think about. If you engage with them, you’ll be able to learn more about them including their preferences.
2. Value And Emotions In The Content
It doesn’t matter how perfectly written your content is if it doesn't offer value to the consumer and transmit that value with emotion. That's why a key to writing persuasive content is that it must have both value and emotion.
● Value – When there's value in your copy or marketing asset, the right people will be interested. Where there's interest, there's the opportunity for conversion. There are three types of content value: educational, entertainment, and inspirational.
● Emotions – People are indeed more emotional than rational. Especially when it comes to purchasing decisions. Usually, we base purchasing decisions on our feelings. That's why expressing and evoking emotions in your content is essential. Writing from an emotional perspective offers a sense of connectivity with your audience. When they can see that you understand and feel their pains, based on the tone and tenor of what you write, they'll start believing that you can solve their problems. With that, they are more likely to convert from an audience member into an interested prospect. And emotion helps them continue on to ultimately become a paying client.
3. Compelling Headline
If you want content that converts, one of the most important tips that you must hear is create a compelling headline. After all, if they never continue past your headline to read your content, it’s unlikely they’ll continue through your sales cycle. A headline should be an “attention grabber” marketing element when done correctly. It is the entry pass of the reader's mind. A compelling headline accounts for 50% of your content's effectiveness. So, when your headline isn't good, it borders on useless. It won't get clicks or impressions, and likely will offer no results.
Tip: You also need to ensure that your content matches its headline. Failing to do so, is a promise broken to the reader, and it will reduce conversion rates.
4. Add Urgency
Another effective way to grab attention is to add urgency to your content. Implementing limited time offers makes people feel the fear of missing out on a great opportunity. And that is why it is an effective way to increase conversion rates.
For example, provide a free eBook or webinar for a set, limited time-period. Doing so, as long as the content is persuasive and offers value, helps to motivate the reader to action. When paired with no risk, you have the perfect combination. Think … "Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime. Join Free for a month. - Netflix"
Tip: Add urgency in moderation. Don't overly use urgency; it can have the potential of putting too much pressure on your audience and prospects, making them back away from your message entirely.
5. Be Clear And Concise
What makes a website easy to navigate and better positioned to be consumed by your audience and prospects? The answer is clear and concise content. People hate wasting time and jumping through a lot of hoops to get to the information they desire or to find the entertainment that they are looking for via your content. Clear and concise content perfectly positions you to help your audience and prospect find exactly what it is that they are seeking.
Moreover, clear and concise copy is often the best method of demonstrating your business’s expertise to your target audience. If you are able to take complex topics that impact people’s lives, and boil it down into content that is clear and to the point, your audience will be much more inclined to engage with such content. After all, you don’t really have all that much time to capture someone’s attention. A study by Microsoft found that a person's attention span lasts for only about 8 seconds. So to best deal with the reality of short attention spans your copy should have a logical, orderly flow.
● Introduction
● Explain how you can help your readers
● Explain your recommendations
● Explain how implementing your recommendations impacts your readers
● Conclusion
● CTA button (if you don’t ask for something, you likely don’t get something)
In this way, your content is easy to navigate, increasing the chance of getting more visits and attracting more people.
Tip: Write copy for your audience and prospects. Make it easy for them to understand by using simple words that are widely understood by them.
6. Add Tips Not Pitches
People don't like the idea of being sold. They prefer to buy. That's why it’s really difficult for people to trust someone who just gives sales pitches. If your content is more on promoting rather than helping, people will leave your site. This will result in an increase to your bounce rates, which will build a bad reputation on Google, making your ranking decline.
On the contrary, if your content is educational, entertaining, and inspirational, it gives your readers the impression that you are going to solve their problems and transform their lives. You're not just after their money, but you are willing and able to help them.
Tip: If you want people to share your content consistently, write unique and informative content. Remember, if it isn't unique, it’s more difficult to standout.
7. Remove Frictions
As much as possible, remove all elements that cause frictions in your content. Your content should be distraction-free in order to be clear on the message you want to present to your audience. Focus on the things that are essential and relevant, like the headline, details, additional tips, and visual content such as videos, infographics, and images. Actually, you can put quite a lot in your content as long as it's related and necessary. Just avoid putting too many details that aren't needed because it will only distract people from reading, making them leave your site.
Tip: While different sources of information support your content, any unrelated details will only discourage your audience.
8. Close With A Powerful Call-To-Action
You are more likely to get something if you ask for it. You may be using call-to-actions now. But, you may be wondering why it doesn’t result in as many clicks as you would like. Often, that’s because it isn’t powerful enough! Powerful CTAs are clear and direct. They encourage a prospect to take a specific action. That's why you should ask your reader to LEARN MORE, DOWNLOAD NOW, ORDER, SUBSCRIBE, WATCH, or take any particular action that will help them.
Tip: You need to put your call-to-action in “hot areas” areas relative to your content making it easier for your audience to see it. Also, make it visually distinctive using color, fonts, font sizes, and animation.
Bottom Line
If you want your professional services business to improve even during tough times, create content that converts. These 8 tips will help you create content that promotes organic growth, that will be more effective, and will therefore lead to more positive results for your business. Creating great content is just one piece of the puzzle. In truth, there are many factors that help lead to improvements with your cultivation and conversion efforts. However, great content needs to be positioned at the beginning of that funnel to ensure the right people progress through your sales cycle.
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If you're still struggling to create content that converts for your business, allow us to help. Click here to see if you qualify for a Vimagery Strategy Session. Together, we can help you to gain an unfair advantage regarding your efforts to cultivate, convert, and close new clients in the weeks and months ahead.
