Inform Your Readers, Do Not Preach!

Posted by Vaibhav

August 3, 2008

You may have come across Web articles or posts that have an interesting headline, but the content simply does not serve the purpose. While writing articles or copies, it is essential that the copywriter provides some breathing space for the reader to understand what the text is all about. In short, the content should inform, and not preach.

Understanding the reader’s behavior is the key for any copywriter. If you do not know what your target audience wants to read, there would be fewer chances that your content will ever get noticed.

In an effort to stretch the length of the text, often the copy is filled with repetitive sentences and words, providing no value to the reader. Secondly, it is believed by many that more number of words enhances the chances of search engine spiders crawling through it and display the page in the search list. However, this is not always true. In fact, search engines give more thrust to content that speaks quality with the right mix of keywords and key phrases. The size of the text is indeed important, but is next to quality.

Keep in mind the following three points to ensure a pleasant experience for your reader:

• Break the content into appropriate paragraphs, each describing a particular subject in short and clear sentences. For example, if the topic is regarding ‘search engine optimization (SEO)’, you may start by introducing the topic stating the meaning of SEO. Then, the next paragraph may include the two types of SEO techniques – ‘Black Hat’ and ‘White Hat’ techniques, and so on.

• Generate a proper sequence while breaking up the text into paragraphs. This will allow the reader understand the topic systematically, thus making his job easier and faster.

• Add value to each part of the content. Avoid redundancy or unnecessary repetition of ideas and words. This will only waste your as well as your reader’s time.

• If possible, use sub-headings and bullet points wherever necessary. Sub-headings will give the reader a basic idea about what he or she will be reading next, while bullet points will help in easy accessibility to the information.

Content Writing