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The Fundamental Five – The Basics of Creating Original Content


Regardless of who you’re trying to reach or why, good writing matters. Here are five basic ingredients to get it right.

HubSpot has been publishing a summary of marketing and sales data as compared to pre-COVID-19 benchmark levels. Two numbers in particular jumped out to us:

Email volume is up 33%. Which means there’s a LOT more email coming at you now days. Email engagement is also up 20%. Which means your email is more likely to be opened.


 

Bonus: Search engines also prioritize original content, and it bolsters your reputation. 

 

 


Here are five ingredients for good original content. Using them correctly is a recipe for solid results.

 

1. Use an active voice.

Active voice is when the subject of your sentence performs the primary action. It’s the difference between:

  • “All the pizza was eaten by us.” (passive) and;
  • “We ate all the pizza.” (active).

Active voice strengthens your writing, gives it a firm foundation and solid backbone, and warms up what may otherwise be a cold or impersonal message.

 

2. Focus on the benefits.

The tendency in copywriting is to play up the features of a product or service. Instead of focusing on what your product does or how it can serve your customers, play-up the benefits. Customers better engage with products when they fully understand how those products will benefit them, both in the short and long term.

 

3. Say more with less.

Successful communication requires brevity. If you can explain yourself in ten words, don’t use twenty. However, don’t forsake your company’s tone and voice to keep your headlines short.

 

4. Carefully measure punctuation.

If it’s a sentence, then use punctuation. Remember, too, that punctuation equals inflection and meaning. While it may seem like a small detail, your content’s meaning exists within the subtle difference between a question mark and an exclamation point: seriously, purple? or seriously purple!

 

5. Bulleted lists make life – and reading – easier.

Bullets draw in the eye and clarify key terms and concepts. If you block off text and align it to bullets, your reader will automatically read that piece first. This tactic showcases the information you absolutely want your customers to read.

When you understand the ingredients of good writing, you can rest assured that your content will stand out among the noise.

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