If you are doing everything right, you get results. It’s one of those “if you build it, they’ll come” moments that grabs everyone’s attention, draws them in, captivates their interest, and then sends them off to do what you told them to do. Your call to action makes the article work, but everything else makes the call to action work.
1) Focus on one thing
You really can’t put all the information you have in the same article. Do not try. Focus on one thing. And do it right.
2) Less is more
White space really matters. Without it, you just have a jumble of letters on a page. With it, you have a framework that celebrates your topic and focuses on your call to action. Not really. Blank space. Works.
3) Great copy
Working copy is more than just the facts. They’re details. It’s fun to read. Appearance matters, as with the white space above, there are just some paragraph styles that look better than others, in any given article… Find what works best. Design and copy should work as a unit.
4) Direct Traffic
Bold, italic, underline, bullet, numbers, and quotes have different purposes. Your reader only has a little time, a fragment, really. You want to use that time well and not waste it.
- The title draws them into your work or drives them away, make sure it relates to what you write and the action you want them to take.
- Subheadings reveal the real content of your story and reveal the heart of your content, use them well.
- Other format encoding serves a purpose, and you’ll want to use it appropriately. Don’t overuse them.
5) Write for readers
“Hey look at me!” It might be a cute way to get attention, but it’s probably not the way you want your readers to think of you. When you put readers first and offer them what they need and want, they appreciate what you give them. They see you as helpful, encouraging, motivating, and as their solution provider. You want to provide solutions. That is your key job when writing for readers… Offer solutions.
6) Maximize landing pages
When they click on your links, they are looking for something specific, if they can’t find it, they click. Make sure they find what they are looking for when they click on the link.
7) Call to action