According to Ann Handley, great content is less about what you write snd more about how you write it. The 3 main elements to make your writing compelling are utility, inspiration & empathy. Utility means that your content needs to be useful to the user. Like the copy for Apple products. Inspiration means that your content needs to be creatively or statistically inspired. It should make it easier for your readers to understand the point with the help of evidence. Lastly, empathy means writing content that solves your customer’s problems.

Quality Content Is Made From Utility, Inspiration And Empathy

Quality content means content that is packed with clear utility and is brimming with inspiration, and it has relentless empathy for the audience.

Writing without planning may not serve the purpose. You need to plan ahead in order for your content to be compelling. You don’t know how many writers still skip this step because they are trying to churn content faster than anybody. But writing content without a purpose or a mission may not resonate with your readers. However, even if you are short on time and can’t plan everything in advance, you should at least have a general sense of direction and frame your thoughts around it and then reframe your thoughts to put into your writing.

Quality Content Has A Purpose

Before you begin the writing, be sure you know the purpose or mission or objective of every piece of content that you write.What are you trying to achieve? What information, exactly, are you trying to communicate? And why should your audience care?

With ChatGPT, click-bait headlines and tons of irrelevant hashtags, putting thought into writing something engaging may not seem too convincing to you but trust me, the author absolutely disagrees and in the next few ideas you’ll discover the value of putting in work and efforts when writing compelling content

Engaging Content Never Goes Out Of Style

Lastly, being a content writer myself, I would also advice you to practice content that intrigues you. If you have a swipe file, do try to dissect the content to understand the purpose, mission and objective of your content. In no time, you’d be able to come up with a structure of your own for your writing style.

The truth is this: writing well is part habit, part knowledge of some fundamental rules, and part giving a damn.

Do you know what distinguishes good writers from other writers? Well, good writers have a “unique voice”. You do not have to be known as the writer who can fit in the most buzzwords in a small piece of writing. Instead, you can grow by focusing on having a unique voice that resonates with your audience. In fact, Neil Gaiman also suggests you to start telling the stories which only you can tell. Don’t care about the better writers out there. Instead, focus on finding your unique voice and honing your skill. When working for a brand or company, show your unique voice and let the audience connect

Have A Unique Voice?

Learn the insights to writing compelling content that will not only keep users coming back but also keep them engaged.

Finally a go-to guide to creating and publishing the kind of content that will make your business thrive. Everybody Writes is a go-to guide to attracting and retaining customers through stellar online communication, because in our content-driven world, every one of us is, in fact, a writer. If you have a web site, you are a publisher. If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means that we are all relying on our words to carry our marketing messages. We are all writers. Yeah, but who cares about writing anymore? In a time-challenged world dominated by short and snappy, by click-bait headlines and Twitter streams and Instagram feeds and gifs and video and Snapchat and YOLO and LOL and #tbt. . . does the idea of focusing on writing seem pedantic and ordinary? Actually, writing matters more now, not less. Our online words are our currency; they tell our customers who we are. Our writing can make us look smart or it can make us look stupid. It can make us seem fun, or warm, or competent, or trustworthy. But it can also make us seem humdrum or discombobulated or flat-out boring. That means you've got to choose words well, and write with economy and the style and honest empathy for your customers. And it means you put a new value on an often-overlooked skill in content marketing: How to write, and how to tell a true story really, really well. That's true whether you're writing a listicle or the words on a Slideshare deck or the words you're reading right here, right now... And so being able to communicate well in writing isn't just nice; it's necessity. And it's also the oft-overlooked cornerstone of nearly all our content marketing. In Everybody Writes, top marketing veteran Ann Handley gives expert guidance and insight into the process and strategy of content creation, production and publishing, with actionable how-to advice designed to get results. These lessons and rules apply across all of your online assets — like web pages, home page, landing pages, blogs, email, marketing offers, and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media. Ann deconstructs the strategy and delivers a practical approach to create ridiculously compelling and competent content. It's designed to be the go-to guide for anyone creating or publishing any kind of online content — whether you're a big brand or you're small and solo. Sections include: <ul> <li>How to write better. (Or, for "adult-onset writers": How to hate writing less.)</li> <li>Easy grammar and usage rules tailored for business in a fun, memorable way. (Enough to keep you looking sharp, but not too much to overwhelm you.)</li> <li>Giving your audience the gift of your true story, told well. Empathy and humanity and inspiration are key here, so the book covers that, too.</li> <li>Best practices for creating credible, trustworthy content steeped in some time-honored rules of solid journalism. Because publishing content and talking directly to your customers is, at its heart, a privilege.</li> <li>"Things Marketers Write": The fundamentals of 17 specific kinds of content that marketers are often tasked with crafting.</li> <li>Content Tools: The sharpest tools you need to get the job done.</li> </ul> Traditional marketing techniques are no longer enough. Everybody Writes is a field guide for the smartest businesses who know that great content is the key to thriving in this digital world.

ANN HANDLEY

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