How to Make Your “How-To” Content Perform Better

Include Your POV to Encourage Conversion

Imagine how differently we'd see Star Wars if it was told through the eyes of a stormtrooper trying to get his next promotion or through Chewbacca's point of view. The reader of a story interprets the tale through the perspective of the narrator. Choosing an engaging and valuable point of view (POV) is essential to the narrative. You may not think of your content as a novel or a movie, but you're still telling a story through your blogs, email newsletters, videos, and other forms of digital content. Offering a unique POV with your online content can help make your brand stand out.

SEO Strategy Tips from Presenters at CMW 2023

According to a LinkedIn report, professionals can expect their jobs to change by 65% by 2030 due to the implementation of Artificial Intelligence. AI tools are making their way into every industry, including SEO and content marketing. Don't fire your copywriters just yet though – you need them now more than ever before! Content Marketing World asked its presenters and experts to provide their best tips for 2023 to incorporate AI into your content strategy. Here's an overview.

Here's An Idea on How to Handle this Latest Change

Remember the football gag from the Peanuts cartoon? Charlie Brown goes to kick a football and Lucy pulls it out at the last minute, causing him to fall on the ground. There's a number of punchlines, but the bottom line was that he shouldn't have trusted Lucy. SEO is kind of like that. Just when you think you're winning the SEO game, Google changes the algorithm. You're knocked back down in the search rankings, wondering what happened. Recently, Google made an update that changes how some content is viewed in the rankings. Learn more about the latest update to the search engine algorithm that changes the way HowTo content is displayed in search results, to understand why it matters.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,…” The opening paragraph of “A Tale of Two Cities” is considered one of literature’s greatest openers. Back in 1859, in times when reading books was possibly one of the few indoor entertainment activities people engaged in, Charles Dickens had the skill to hook the reader right at the start. Of course, he also had the skill to finish with a flourish — “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” That closing line is among those most praised in literature.

Getting back to the point—you can transform every introduction into an irresistible hook that commands your audience's attention. Here are some ideas for creating an opening that will resonate with your audience and stay with them. 

Your Audience Cares about Smart Content (and so does Google!)
The length of content has been hotly debated for years. Ask the experts and you’ll get opinions that favor either side. It's like an ongoing arm-wrestling match between two equally fierce contenders. In the blue corner, we have the heavyweight champion of information, the Long-Form Content. With its vast word count and lengthy videos, it's like an all-you-can-eat buffet of knowledge. In the red corner, we have the nimble and attention-grabbing Short-Form Content. Like a swift and satisfying snack, it quickly captivates your audience. Think hors d'œuvres (or amuse-bouche if you want a ‘fancier’ analogy!).

Long-form content has benefits of keeping your reader engaged. Short-form content can grab the reader’s attention without a big commitment. Which one suits your needs? Let’s dig deeper to answer that question. 

Borrow Success Tips from Netflix!

What's the most common backup plan for winding down? Umm… Netflix and couch time?
It's fun, relaxing, and fantastically, never gets old.
What if you brought that same magic to your content? Content marketing revolves around engaging and retaining the attention of your audience — and no one does that better than Netflix. It's not enough to simply produce content; you need to create an experience that keeps your audience coming back for more. Our experienced copywriters have some useful tips to tell you how.

Create Content to Engage Your Technical Audiences

Hey there, manufacturing mavens! Welcome to the wacky world of digital marketing, where creativity reigns and humour is the secret ingredient to winning over your technical audience. We get it, and we do understand—your industry may seem as serious as a CNC milling machine, but your content doesn’t have to be the same. There is a way to break the monotony and loosen those bolts of seriousness. Here is our simple guide into the realm of conversational content that will engage even the most technically inclined folks. So, grab your safety goggles and buckle up for a whimsical ride into the world of manufacturing content marketing!

Picture this: you're out on a beautiful sunny day, casting your line into the deep sea of marketing. But instead of using a regular old worm, you're armed with the mighty power of content. Content marketing is like the perfect bait that attracts your target audience and hooks their attention.

In the past month alone, our team has worked with more than a few small businesses all fired up to jump on the content marketing bandwagon. Because guess what, they have heard of ChatGPT and other ‘magical’ content creation tools that fill them with confidence that they too can dish out content like a pro. Of course they can, with one caveat though—digital content, whether created using generative AI or by professional copywriters must serve a human audience for whom it proves undeniably valuable. So, we’ll take this opportunity to go back to the basics and cover the essentials of how to function effectively in the realm of digital content marketing.   

What Kind of Material Should I Read for Business Insights?

Reading is like the spinach of the writing world, except instead of bulging muscles, it gives you bulging vocabularies! The more you read, the more you absorb the written word and the better equipped you are to string together coherent sentences that engage, convert, and transform. It's like a superpower, except instead of flying or shooting lasers out of your eyes, you can craft an epic tale that will make people laugh, cry, and question their existence all at once. So don't skip your literary greens, folks. Your writing muscles will thank you!
Are you struggling to write compelling content for your business? Don't worry, you're not alone. But before you hit that panic button, remember what Stephen King said, "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that." Yes, that Stephen King. The horror writer. If he can dish out writing advice, so can we! And the advice is simple: read. Here are 3 reasons to build a reading habit.