How to write marketing content
Marketing content is crucial to attracting new customers and growing your business. The key is grabbing your reader’s attention and keeping it with clear, useful and well-presented information.
We’ve outlined a few basic rules to follow when writing both online and offline marketing content:
Writing brochures and leaflets
Physical marketing content, like brochures and leaflets, is a great asset to any business if done correctly. Here are some tips to write content that will catch a customer’s eye and hold their attention:
- Speak to your audience
The tone of writing needs to be adapted to the audience, which will vary according to the function of the brochure or flyer. For a general audience, include explanations of key concepts and walk your reader through the benefits of your product in clear, concise language. For a specialised audience, use industry-specific terminology where appropriate to show that the company is professional and up to date with the latest developments in your field.
- Choose your content selectively and effectively
Many customers will decide whether or not to keep reading based on just a cursory glance. Before you start writing, make a list of the key features and unique aspects of the product, and write a corresponding benefit to the customer for each. For example, a company specializing in SEO copywriting can include:
Targeted keyword research ensures your optimised website will see a sharp increase in web traffic within just a few weeks.
- Use formatting and graphics
Bold headings, bullet points and numbering will focus your reader’s attention, while graphics can convey boring numbers and scientific concepts in an effective and interesting way.
- Provide evidence to support your claims
If you are selling a language-learning method, add one or two compelling testimonials from students. If the brochure is proposing vitamins, make sure to add research-based information, for example:
Studies have shown that the depletion of vitamin A causes oxidative stress and energy deprivation, which can cause hair loss.
Writing online marketing content
Online marketing content differs from offline content in a few significant ways. Keeping these in mind is important to create a great user experience that will engage visitors and draw new customers.
- Make sure every page can be understood on its own
Whether through links on other sites or Google search results, visitors will often arrive directly to internal pages rather than your homepage. The key to keeping visitors on your site is to make sure every page can stand alone, while having a clearly visible menu they can use to navigate to other pages.
- Don’t slack on your informative content
Informative content demonstrates that you know what you’re talking about, gives customers a preview of the products and services they can expect and, crucially, it gets your visitors excited about your product. For instance, a website for a yoga studio will benefit from adding short, free class videos and useful blog posts to entice new members.
- Be visible
No one will read your content if it isn’t easy to find, which in practice means that it needs to rank high in search engine results. These days, that means having a dedicated SEO-strategy including a variety of online content linking to your website, in addition to optimising your website itself. Find out more about optimising your online content here.
Translating your content
To reach an international audience, translating content is essential. For physical materials like flyers, you’ll want to create multiple versions in different languages, as customers may be put off by having to spend time searching for their language. For online content, depending on your target market, offering several language options may be essential: research shows that people are more likely to purchase products if the website is available in their native language. Do thorough research to find out where your potential customers are and invest in high-quality translations to make sure you reach them.
Writing marketing content may seem complicated, but following a few logical rules will ensure that you produce high-quality texts that effectively approach your target audience, growing your client base and your business!
