Content is a key aspect to marketing and spreading a message to engage your audience. Content can also become difficult to produce when there is little time and resources are running thin. Content creation can be a daunting task for many people, we get it! To help you get your creative juices flowing and start writing effective content for your business, we came up with a list of 10 surefire tips: 

1. Always begin with direction and purpose. First, understand why you’re creating content. What specific business goals will the content achieve, or what problems will it help solve? Second, decide which formats will best meet your goals, and draft your content accordingly. A website page, for instance, requires a different style of content than a sales letter or a Facebook post. Lastly, know your audience. Think about who will read your content, what they should get out of it, and what will motivate them to share your work.
2. Optimize for search engines. Effective content isn’t just engaging to read; it must also be easy for viewers to find. Do some research and come up with topics highly relevant to your industry, brand, and the interests of your audience.  Try to anticipate keyword phrases your visitors will type in a search bar when they’re looking for your product or service within a topic. Then, write the piece of content around one topic using keyword phrases, be it for your website, your blog posts, or your social media status updates. This will keep the content focused on a single idea, and help boost your search engine ranking for that keyword. 
3. Use calls-to-action. Whenever appropriate, provide your readers with a clear call-to-action that clarifies the aim of your content and directs readers to the action you’d like them to take next. Once they’ve read it, what should viewers do next? The action can be as simple as “Like us on Facebook,” or something larger-scale, like submitting email information to download a white paper or ebook. Whatever the context, it’s important that readers know how to take the next step. A well placed call-to-action helps establish your value proposition and guides readers to the top of your sales funnel. 
4. Don’t let your content get stale. Keep customers and prospects up-to-date about new product and service offerings, unexpected closings or special holiday hours, and anything about your business that will help them stay informed and interested (but without making it seem like a constant slew of self-promotion).
5. Never go silent. Nothing speaks louder than empty space. When you’re dry on original content, fill in the gaps by sharing content from trusted sources – particularly industry-relevant pieces that can position your brand as one that’s well-informed and up-to-date. 
6. Be real. Your customers want to know that they are interacting with a real, relatable human being on the other end of the computer. Keep your online interactions professional, but bear in mind that you are writing for people, not web crawlers (robots). Don’t overuse keywords or technical jargon. Write for your audience, and edit for search engines. Speak to your audience in a language and tone they understand, with material they find relevant and valuable. Reach out to them with helpful comments, questions, and answers.
7. Mix it up! Content can be presented in a variety of ways, and diversity will help you reach a wider audience — so be creative. Post blogs, how-to articles, news updates, infographics, project updates, photos, polls, videos, discussion topics, and more. Keep your followers interested by recycling content and constantly re-presenting it in new and exciting formats with different perspectives.
8. Analyze. Find out what works and what doesn’t. Use tools like Google Analytics to figure out the kinds of content your readers best respond to and incorporate more of it into your campaigns. Dig into metrics to find out how your best performers, and how much measurable impact they have on your business goals.
9. Plan ahead. Develop an editorial calendar for all of your regular content, including social media posts, blog entries, articles, and press releases. Decide which different kinds of content you want to produce, and how often. Think about common themes that may connect different pieces, or any work released as part of a series. Make sure you’re writing content that your customers what to read about. Once you’ve established a timeline, stick with it.  
10. Don’t neglect quality control. Even if your content is brilliant, careless mistakes can undermine your credibility as a professional. Edit your work carefully; read it out loud if necessary. Better still, have someone else read it and provide feedback. Details can speak volumes, so be sure to cross your “t’s” and dot your “i’s” before you consider your magnum opus done!

Fresh, engaging content goes a long way toward improving SEO, drawing traffic to social media pages and websites, and forging a stronger connection with existing customers. 

Looking for more information about content writing? Pulse Marketing Agency’s founder and director, Cintia Miranda, is hosting a FREE seminar on August 8th, titled Writing Compelling Digital Copy.