How to Write Content That Drives Sales

 

How to write content that drives sales is the dream of every writer today. However, actually getting it done requires a few key essentials.

Writing good content for sales isn’t easy, but it’s not rocket science either. Many writers struggle with the thought of selling something to someone they don’t know—i.e., the reader on the internet. However, all it takes is understanding a few things.

It involved learning how to form content funnels to lead the reader on a journey, converting them into a buyer, and so on. But, all that requires writing prowess and a thorough understanding of the objective. In online marketing, objectives hold a greater value than we know. That’s why every writer should understand their objective before they start writing. So, is there a formula, or is every marketing writer aiming in the dark? There’s definitely a formula and a tactic, so let’s find out what it is:

Types of Sales Content

Sales content comes in many different shapes. The first type of sales content you might think of is a website’s copy. This type of content belongs on top of the funnel, but there are two other content funnels as well. Each one of these funnels deals with varying goals, as each one guides the target customer through a deliberate buyer’s journey. That’s why it’s important to understand these funnels to formulate the type of content that attracts sales. Here are three of them:

·         Top of the Funnel

Top of the funnel content will be your first contact with your target audience. This content needs to be about questions and awareness. For instance, it needs to raise the right questions. Then, this content needs to educate your target customers—building awareness around certain topics.

·         Middle of the Funnel

Middle of the funnel content is where your ideal customers will learn more about your business. This funnel includes the values that drive your company and the pillars of your product and services.

·         Bottom of the Funnel

This type of content will be required usually when a brand is up and running. So, it will use success stories, product usage, examples, and how-to guides using a certain product or service.

7 Essentials of Writing Content That Drives Sales

Writing content to drive sales requires you to tend to a few key essentials. This includes understanding what you’re writing about, aka your topic. Then, regardless of the content funnel, it needs to talk about the common problem while avoiding plagiarism. Continuing on that track, you will have to present a solution and do it while portraying your expertise. So, how do you go about writing original content? Whether through paraphrasing or rewriting, you have to tend to each element thoroughly.

So, let’s dive in and break down the process into 7 essential steps:

1.      Pick Unique Topics

Unique topics are your best friend when attracting a certain audience. Bear in mind that the first step towards sales leads. So, you need to write topics that generate leads and then convert. The easiest way to find unique topics is to look for problems that exist within your buyer’s community. Among these problems, you might find queries and questions that might go unanswered. For instance, here’s a generic topic:

“Writing Good SEO Content For A Business”

It’s generic and uninspiring. So, let’s try to make it better:

“8-Step Process of Writing Marketing Content For SEO Ranks”

This headline has everything you need, an 8-step procedure, along with the indication of higher SEO ranks with the intention of writing good content.

2.      Agitate a Problem

Your readers will click on your topic because you promised a solution to their problem. You need to agitate that problem during a good chunk of the first third of your content. Describe how this problem is common or often unnoticed—depends entirely on the topic’s context. Therefore, make sure you understand this problem and its implications in the mind of your target reader/customer. Through this, you will be able to understand this problem yourself, and it will allow you to write about it better.

3.      Present a Solution

Your task won’t just be to agitate the problem, as you will have to present a solution eventually. In fact, a good chunk, around two-thirds, of your content needs to be about the solution rather than the problem. This solution needs to be long-bearing, or in other words, a viable solution. It needs to include two major elements:

• Affordability or the reader must be able to do it without breaking the bank
• Viability, as the solution needs to fix the problem for a long time

So, whether it’s through your product or service, make sure you mention it somewhere in the content—ideally during the latter half.

4.      Portray Your Expertise

Writing content like that requires you to do one thing emphatically: portray your expertise. It won’t be a problem if you’re an expert in the niche or industry you wish to drive sales from. However, if you’re not, then research about it. If you’re unsure, talk to an expert and gather information that would baffle or impress the uninitiated mind. So, make sure you rely on skills and expertise throughout your content.

5.      Ensure Integrity & Originality

When you’re done writing your content, you need to ensure it doesn’t have any accidental plagiarism. It can hinder your chances of high ranks; therefore, you can’t hope to generate sales. So, make sure you use an online plagiarism checker.

Then, you have to rephrase your content for better originality. So, whether you use a paraphrase tool or do it yourself, ensure your content’s originality and integrity before you post it.

6.      Make Complicated Things Easy

Regardless of the niche or industry, your readers won’t be fans of complicated elements. Even if the topic you’re trying to address is intricate, try simplifying it for the casual drifter. One good piece of advice that every reader should follow is writing for the common reader. In other words, not everyone reading your content will be an expert, so write accordingly.

7.      Tell Them Why Your Solution Is the Best

Your readers must understand that your solution is the best for them. For instance, if writing an SEO article is difficult, then the solution shouldn’t be like this:

“Because this is what SEO experts do”

This type of content is assumption-filled and relies on a washed-up technique. Try something else like:

“Top-10 SERP results employ this technique and look where they are”

It indicates the ability of this solution to put the user in the top 10 results of search engine pages.

Conclusion

These key essentials can help one write content that drives sales. It’s all about understanding your reader’s problem then, writing a solution that pushes them towards your desired sales.

 

 

original article - How to Write Content That Drives Sales - The Digital Sales Institute: