1. Stay On Target
Ever heard of the Bystander Effect? It’s a strange phenomenon where individuals in a large crowd refuse to help someone in danger. The more people present in the midst of the victim’s plight, the less likely it is they’ll receive help. In a similar way, your writing can fall on deaf ears if you’re addressing anyone and everyone with your message.
One of the most subtle, yet most effective, content marketing tips and tricks involves simply being personable with your audience. Write in a way that addresses each audience member as an individual, rather than part of a group.
2. Make Your Audience Feel Special
People love being different. Set them apart from the crowd in your writing and blogging. They’ll have no choice but to keep reading. Have you ever wondered why so many ad banners congratulate you for being a website’s 1 billionth visitor? It’s because the principle of exclusivity sells like crazy.
Whether you’re handing out beta invitations to a new social media platform or giving away a few prizes at a convention, you’ve created a pull for your audience.
3. Write Like a Human
Selling the world’s greatest product will only get you so far; you’ve got to make your audience want it. As important as research and statistics are to a great marketing campaign, people crave one thing even more so: emotional benefits. There are few content marketing tips more powerful than a person’s primal instinct to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
To get your copy right, give your audience the tools to do just that. You’ll have so many buyers that you’ll have to start turning some away!
4. Play Jazz With Your Blogging, But Keep Your Message Clear
The most powerful content marketing tips come from taking a common idea and making it seem strikingly unique. One of the most powerful pieces of writing that inspired generations of copy after its release was John Caples’ famous headline for the U.S. School of Music:“They Laughed When I Sat Down at The Piano, But When I Started to Play!”
This ad is amazing. It tells you everything you need to know about the School of Music’s curriculum: someone who’s laughably incapable of playing music can silence his jeering audience after only a few lessons from the USSM. It became the textbook example of a great ad by selling you a product in a way that looks nothing like marketing.
