The first rule of many professions is: Do no harm.
For content marketers, the first rule is: Do not—under any circumstances—bore your audience.
This rule can be applied to any medium—blog posts, podcasts, video, etc.—that a business may use to educate its audience, and by proxy, market itself. While it takes experience and a keen eye to create viral content, creators can save themselves much pain and rewriting by putting themselves in the seat of a reader.
Ask yourself:
· What does your audience want to learn more about?
· What medium is your audience most comfortable with?
· How much time does your audience have?
[RELATED: Craft messages that resonate with internal and external audiences and moves them to act.]
After selecting a bold topic, there are a few style considerations to avoid turning off readers and sending them running to your competitors. How many articles have you read that were a chore to slog through?
Thankfully, there are some general guidelines for promoting readability in your writing.
MyTasker has made a list of 20 tips for audience satisfaction. They are:
1. Honor the rule of one (as in one concept/idea/call to action).
2. Capture readers with your opening.
3. Less is more.
4. Use comforting words.
5. Stop being cold-hearted.
6. Stop being predictable (be vulnerable).
7. No need to be long-winded.
8. Don’t be a despicable.
9. Appeal to all senses.
10. Bring energy.
11. Be playful.
12. Don’t commit crimes against readability.
13. Use captivating imagery.
14. Tell an interesting story.
15. Let your readers fill in gaps.
16. Don’t be overly professional.
17. Bring unexpected gifts.
18. Don’t doubt yourself.
19. Self-edit to boost charisma.
20. Create something enjoyable.
What would you add to this list, PR Daily readers?
For more on these guidelines, check out the infographic below:
from PR Daily News Feed http://ift.tt/2Ax0AjU
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