John Chow dot Com

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Blogging is all about writing the best content available because if you don’t, you’re going to have a hard time engaging your readers. I’m a true believer in that with content writing skills, you can add more value to your readers. How? You’ll be able to provide depth that would otherwise be impossible. Today, we are going to be talking about something very special, and it has to do with content writing. Even though we have discussed this topic several times before, it’s important to note we are going to be learning from the best. I have done some research and gathered information that I know you’ll find very useful. I’ll be going over content writing skills that some of the top writers have so you can implement them into your blog. I’ll discuss anywhere from 4-5 skills and then go through some action steps you can take to start using them in your writing almost immediately. Here’s some of the things we’ll be discussing…

Content writing skills that create a buzz through…

• Vocabulary
• Visitors feelings
• Length
• Experience
• Insight and open mind

These might not sound enticing, but I promise, if you stick around, you’ll be amazed at what you have learned. Let’s get started.

Writing Vocabulary

Many writers I know try to impress others by using big words, and this is the worse way to generate a buzz online. I believe writing using your own vocabulary is the best approach when building engagement for many reasons. Let me tell you why.

First, the Internet has allowed you to connect with people all over the world and this means some might NOT have a full comprehension of the English language. This means going out of your way to use big words will just confuse them, which is why I always say to forget writing content that isn’t your own voice. Many of us will agree that we often go out of our way to impress others by using big words, which is fine when you know the person or persons you are speaking to. However, with online content writing, you’ll have people from all over the world who are reading your content to solve a problem. They want to understand what you have written so keep things as simple as possible. Remember, eliminating big words doesn’t mean you can’t provide value, it just means writing in a language where people will be able to comprehend what you’ve written more quickly.

Next,

Not using big words doesn’t mean you don’t understand the fundamentals of grammar or punctuation. Many people think that writing with big words makes your content structure better, but it’s completely the opposite. I’ve noticed those using big words will usually fail to look at the smaller things like grammar, punctuation, and structure. I encourage all of you to focus on writing in-depth content, then focus on structure.

I’ll admit, before, I was the same way and it cost me several readers until I started to understand the demographics of my visitors. Many of them where coming from countries where English wasn’t the first language. It’s not that they didn’t speak English, but they just understood the fundamentals. For me to create some serious engagement on my blog, I had to be careful the way I would write content when adding value. It was important I write in a language where a majority of my visitors would understand.

Visitors’ Feelings

One of the best skills some of the top writers have is their ability to engage readers by tapping into their feelings. Many of you DON’T know that marketing experts are the best at tapping into sensitive feelings then promoting a product or service. However, this can work to promote your content so that it engages your readers, and I’m sure many of you would agree. For example,

Isn’t it true some of the best content available solves a major problem within your niche? Many people are having a problem and need help so when they find a blog that can provide them depth, it’s most likely going to cause a serious buzz online. However, for you to understand your visitor’s feelings, you first have to know what they are looking for and this is where the following coming into play.

Research – This is the best way to really find out about your readers, and understand what they are looking for. By doing research the right way, you can understand what problems they face and what you can do to make sure they find the right solution. Here are a few ways to ensure you get the right information:

• Research competitors
• Research forums (niche)
• Ask the right questions
• Email your existing email list or visitors
• Understand demographic information so you can cater content format to them

By answering all of the questions above, you’ll be able to pinpoint what your readers are looking for. This will help you write content based on their feelings, which will resonate better going forward. In short, when you can understand the reader’s feelings, you’ll be able to provide them value that resonates. It’s that simple!

Content Length

The discussion of content length has been around for years, and there is NO real answer to this question. I believe content should be as long as needed to ensure you get the point across to your readers. However, I also believe that you need to ensure it’s over 1,500 words because that’s the only way you can offer the depth you are looking for. Visitors come to your blog because they are looking for a complete solution and you need to make sure you provide it for one simple reason. There is NO shortage of information available online and if your readers can’t find what they need on your page, they’ll simply go somewhere else. It’s really that simple! So, what is an adequate length for your content?

Again, this question has been asked so many times that I’ll provide my true answer…

Personally, the more research you do, the better because you’ll be able to gather even more information before going forward. Whenever I write content, I ensure I go through a series of steps that will help me write even lengthier content going forward. The more depth I can provide will depend on the questions I’ll be answering. For example, when writing about strategies to “make money online”, I’ll make sure I cover everything so my visitor will be able to find everything they need on my page. I’ll cover such things like:

• Making money through content marketing
• Making money through product reviews
• Making money from guest posting
• How to convert readers through effective anchor text
• The niches in the MOST demand because that does equal profits going forward

If I write approx. 500 words on each topic, my content will be roughly 2,500 words, which is a lot of information. Right now, the longest content I have is approx. 10,000 words; however, it has generated a huge buzz online, which is obviously my bottom line.

Next,

Another way to add enormous depth is by reaching out to authority bloggers who’ll provide even more substance to your content. Authority bloggers have been around a long time and have a lot of value to provide so why NOT tap into their head about your topic? This will do two very important things for you…

First, it will add more content and value to your article. This will even increase the engagement and social shares because of the value it provides. Secondly, it will help build a relationship with the blogger, which will come in handy later on. Since my outreach program, I have been able to network with 10 authority bloggers within my niche, which has helped me build some serious momentum overtime.

In summary, it’s important to make your content as long as possible to provide value. From my experience, this usually means 2,000-2,500 words. However, you can always include images and videos instead of words because they’ll provide some serious value, too.

Experience

Many of the top content writers have enormous experience, which has allowed them to know what resonates with readers. In addition, with experience, your writing becomes much better, which is always important because it’ll help you get words down faster with very little errors. Anyway, we need to discuss what experience is important.

First, knowledge will allow you to provide more insight to your readers. With this, you’ll be able to translate your thoughts faster and in a way that it’ll be understood by visitors. Next, people will trust you more than others in the same niche because of your knowledge and experience. For example, think about the blogs you read and how long you have been reading them for. You’ve probably noticed many of the ones you read are those that you believe provide the best knowledge because their writers have years of experience. Their content is much easier to understand than others because they know how to put it down in a way that resonates with you as the reader.

For you to gain the experience you need, focus on the following in your niche. It’s very important to be active on the following:

• Other blogs
• Forums
• Magazines
• Case studies
• Watch videos
• See what’s trending

Insight and Open Mind

These are two of the most important things, and you’ll soon know why. These two combined create a strong mind, especially one that is full of creativity. What do I mean by writers having insight and an open mind?

For you to be an expert writer, you have to know how to put things together. You have to combine life’s challenges, and be very creative in all your adventures. Some of the best content I’ve ever written comes from being able to combine different elements together. I’ll write about “making money online” and use examples from businesses that has excelled using strategic marketing. I was able to do this because online marketing can be tied to offline business marketing. However, it takes knowledge and creativity to put all this together in a way your readers will understand.

If you want to write extraordinary content, then you have to write freely, bringing in life’s experiences. When writing, use examples that tie your content together and keep building from there. Soon, it’ll be a breeze to write content that resonates with your readers.

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed my content above and will implement what I’ve written into your content writing going forward. However, I always leave my readers with actions steps they can take to help them get started. Let’s go through a few…

First, I want you to go through the content again so you fully understand everything I have written throughout. I understand when people read content for the first time, they usually skim through, NOT fully grasping some of the important factors discussed. Go through and really understand the content.

Secondly, while going through, it’s important to create a list of the important factors in point form. This will serve as a guide that you can follow and will be very direct. For example, you want to make sure you can look at it and completely understand the content. The list should include some action steps that you’ll be able to apply quickly when needed.

Third, research some topic in your niche that you know will be special when you are done. For example, go through, finding a very important problem your readers are having. Then, go through finding answers, which you can present to them in a structured manner. This will help you write valuable content, and help you build brand awareness. When you provide value, you’ll be able to build loyalty much faster.

Forth, start writing your outline and keep the content writing skills in mind. However, here’s something else…

Valuable content is always structured and includes the following:

• Introduction
• Subheadings
• Body
• Conclusion
• Action steps

When you are done writing, then you can go back and look for the steps discussed in this article. Did you follow through and add the elements? The list should always serve as a guide, no matter what, so you can improve your content writing over time. Soon, you won’t even have to look at your guide because you’ll be able to write from experience.