All content is not created equal.
Do you want your readers to turn into leads, leads into customers, and customers into loyal customers? Then, you need to create engaging content that can entice readers and help them move down the sales funnel.
Only conversion-oriented writing can help you get people to share your blog post, subscribe to your newsletter, download your ebook, or buy your products.
But the difficult part is to understand how to quickly (and easily) create engaging content that can help you boost conversions.
Let’s find out.
1. Understand Your Audience
First things first, you need to clearly define who your target audience is. Only when you understand your audience’s interests and preferences will you be able to create engaging content for them.
Conduct market research to find out:
- Who are your ideal buyers?
- What information are they looking for online?
- What types of content do they frequently engage with?
- What are they the most concerned about?
- Can you create content that can help solve their problems?
- Which channels are they active on?
This will help you identify the best content types, channels, and topic ideas for your content marketing plan. You can either do it yourself or leverage professional content services to create a well-documented content plan.
2. Create Infographics
Creating a good infographic is one of the easiest ways to capture attention, get social shares, and build backlinks.
Infographics make it easier for people to consume information, which is why people love them. You can include insights and statistics about your industry to attract your target audience.
And the best part?
There are many design tools and free templates available online that can help you make an infographic on your own. You just need to choose a topic, research statistics and trends, and put the information together.
For example:
Here’s an excerpt from an infographic I created about influencer marketing:
3. Use Power Words
Using power words in your content can help you grab your audience’s attention. You should use them in your ad copy, landing page copy, email copy, and even in your blog posts.
When creating a landing page or ad copy, you can use power words such as:
- Free
- Ultimate
- Secured
- Trustworthy
- Reliable
- Results-driven
- Proven
- Guaranteed
Using words such as “proven,” “guaranteed,” and “results-driven” can help you build trust. On the other hand, giving away something for free can help encourage visitors to check it out. Everyone loves freebies, be it a product sample, ebook, or a quick checklist.
4. Eliminate Distractions
Whether you’re writing business proposals, emails, or landing pages, make sure that you stay focused. Guide readers towards the one action you want them to take, be it checking out your product, downloading a resource, or buying a subscription to your service.
Do not ask for multiple things all at once, else you’ll end up confusing your prospects. You should create content that clearly tells them what you want them to do next.
Include relevant links and call-to-action (CTA) buttons to help users take the desired action. Avoid third-party links or links to unoptimized blog posts to keep your prospects from getting sidetracked along the way.
5. Leverage Visuals in Place of Words
People may find it boring to read long-form blog posts but they will most likely watch an entertaining video and like an impressive photo while scrolling through their social feeds.
That’s why brands are using visual content to generate awareness about their products and services, promote offers, and engage prospects. You can do the same.
Social media platforms like Instagram allow you to:
- Publish high-quality photos and videos to increase impressions and reach.
- Showcase behind-the-scenes stories to build emotional connections with your audience.
- Tell your brand’s story in Live videos.
- Host polls and Q/A sessions in Stories and Live videos to encourage interaction.
- Create entertaining Reels to leverage humor and entertain your audience.
You don’t need to hire professionals to plan your social media content. There are many design tools and video editing apps that can help you create engaging visual content for your audience.
6. Add a Sense of Urgency
Want to create content that converts?
One of the most effective ways to do that is to add a sense of urgency. Marketers usually leverage the fear of missing out (FOMO) technique to compel people to take the desired action faster.
For example:
If you want to offer a discount coupon to increase product sales, you should add an expiry date to that discount. You can send emails to selected prospects who have previously shown interest in that product.
If your email copy says, “20% off using code SHANE20 till February 8th,” recipients interested in buying the product will try to make a decision before the coupon expires.
Other words that can help add a sense of urgency include:
- Limited period offer
- Grab your free copy while the offer lasts
- Early birds will get 10% off
- The first 50 buyers will receive up to 50% cashback
7. Focus on Providing Value
Readers will only engage with your content if they find it valuable.
You can optimize your content for better conversions if you define a specific problem and provide the best, easiest, or quickest way to solve it.
Your value proposition should be direct and clearly defined.
For example, check out two versions of an SEO landing page below:
- We are the best SEO agency that can help take your website traffic to the next level.
- We have helped numerous brands rank for 5,000+ keywords on page one.
Which agency are you more likely to hire for your brand’s SEO?
The second one, of course.
That’s how value proposition works. Instead of using vague words such as “next level,” you should clearly define what results can your prospects expect to achieve if they hire you.
Make sure that you write all of your content in easy-to-understand language. Don’t use fancy words that are difficult for laymen to understand.
Also, check out this content writing checklist to learn more.
Ready to Boost Conversions with Engaging Content?
The majority of companies invest in content marketing. They plan the number of blog posts, infographics, and videos they will publish each month along with the topics they’ll cover.
One thing that many companies fail to understand is that content marketing is not just about outranking the competitors, budget, and getting clicks. Every piece of content you create is an opportunity to engage readers/viewers and bring them one step closer to taking an action.
You should use the tips I’ve mentioned above to create engaging content that can help increase your chances of driving conversions.
Author Bio:
Shane Barker is a digital marketing consultant who specializes in influencer marketing, content marketing, and SEO. He is the co-founder of Attrock, a digital marketing agency. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, influencers with digital products, and a number of A-List celebrities. Connect with Shane on Twitter, LinkedIn & Instagram.