Content is a lot like sex.
You know when it’s like OMFG-eyes-rolling-into-back-of-head-having-visions-of-your-past-lives stupefying and when it’s like “When was that? Uh sorry, I don’t recall.”
You and I both know that 90% of the content on the internet falls into the latter category.
You might even be quietly admitting to yourself that your content fits into that group also.
It’s okay, mine did too.
But like any eager young doe, we’re here to improve our skills and become the cleverest content creators possible, because our businesses quite literally depend on it.
So with saying that, let’s plunge deep into the world of writing content that makes people weak at the knees.
How to Turn People On With Your Words
No, I’m not talking about sexting – because I’m rubbish at that.
The truth is, I could tell you all the boring basics of writing content (which I will later on because I’m not about to leave you wanting in an article that has X-Rated in the headline!) but if you don’t understand and fully embody this first and most important principle, your business will become like every other forgettable venture that came out of Silicon Valley in the 00’s. And that is:
Your content MUST make people FEEL something.
Just like a hand caressing your face or a thumb gently grazing your lips, your words must make your readers EVOKE emotion, because when they feel moved by your writing they feel CONNECTED to you, and when they feel connected to you they’ll feel like they BELONG with you, and when they feel like they belong with you they will sign up, subscribe, tell everyone they know about you and buy everything you sell.
This is how you get those elusive ride or die clients and customers.
Now, seductive provocation is not the only way to make people feel.
You can make people elicit emotion through:
- Humor
- Sadness
- Frustration
- Sentimentality
- Grief
- Challenge
- Embarrassment
- Anger
- Excitement
- Polarization
- Personal stories
In short, you make them feel by giving em’ personality.
Specifically, YOUR personality (in case that wasn’t clear).
Now, before you scream out, “BUT ELISE! I HAVE NO PERSONALITY! I’M BORING AND I DON’T DO ANYTHING INTERESTING! HELL, I BARELY LEAVE THE HOUSE!!!” listen up.
The only reason you think you’re boring is because you’ve become an expert at hiding who you really are and how you truly think by saying the watered down version of how you really feel.
You’ve become brilliant at pretending not to have an opinion and you’ve convinced yourself that you really don’t have one.
But you do, because everyone does.
And it’s time to stop trying to conceal your you-ness and say the things you really want to say in your voice, your tone and your mood.
And you do this by:
Looking at every word, phrase or sentence that you write as an opportunity to surprise your reader.
You want to keep people guessing.
You want them to be urged to read more.
You want them to have strong feelings about what you’re saying.
Because when you’re being the most YOU, that’s when you’re the most memorable and that’s what will make people want to savour every inch of your written masterpiece.
Believe it or not, it’s not hard to do this, it’s that 90% of the people online are too lazy to put in the effort. But if you loosen up and let yourself explore your creative side, you’ll be miles ahead of the others who are watching their sloppy businesses die a slow, silent and wildly lacklustre death.
The 4 Basics of Content You Must Nail Always
There is an expectation with content:
People expect to learn something.
They’re not interested in what you did last weekend – unless the story is relevant to the topic you are teaching them and it’s told in a refreshing way – they don’t want to read ramblings with zero substance, they want answers to their questions and gosh darn it they want them from you.
Your job is to give it to them clearly, concisely and with panache.
Here’s how you do that:
1. Write a Lust-Worthy Headline
Headlines are the first thing your reader will see and it tells them immediately whether it’s something they want to read or not. And yes, the words you use in the headline will determine if they think your content will be interesting or boring as fuck.
Wanna see what I mean?
Let’s use Google to search “How to Write Content” and look at the first page results that show up:
- 7 Easy Tips for Effective Content Writing
- Content Writing Examples, Tips, and Resources
- Your Guide to Excellent Content Writing
- What Is Content Writing? 9 Tips to Help You Publish Awesome Content
- The 10 Ingredients of Great Content Writing
- How to Write Content That People Will Love to Read and Share
- How to Write Content Better & Faster: 10 Secrets to Try Now
Based on those headlines, do you feel an uncontrollable urge to click? Do they pique your desire to discover more? Do they signal “Holy fuck, tell me now!” thoughts within?
I’m gonna go with, ya noooo.
They’re so boring they’d make anyone fall asleep mid-copulation!
The response you want anyone to have when they read your headlines is, “Oooooh, tell me more!”
Here’s some examples below:
Boring as fuck: How to Be Awesome
Oooh.. tell me more! How to be Mid-Panic Attack in the Middle of the Peruvian Jungle and Come Out Awesome Instead
Snore-ville: 12 Tips for Timeless Beauty
I NEED TO KNOW: My Secret 12 Step De-Aging Process For When Your Skin Already Has That Leathery Effect
Kill me now: Your Guide to Better Productivity
Yes, more, more, more! The 101 Guide To Ripping Up Your To-Do list And Reclaiming Wine & Taco Nights With Your Bestie
My simple formula is this: Say what it is and then tell it in a radically different way.
Try your hand at creating your own lust-worthy headlines using these examples..
- 10 Drool-Worthy Ways to…
- The Hotshots Ultimate Guide to..
- My Ultra Secret Hack to..
- 5 Little Known Facts About..
- How to Become a Queen at..
In this job, you cannot afford to be boring, it’s a death sentence for your business – not to mention an offence to everyone who has to endure it – but the good news is, the only way you can screw it up is if you don’t even try.
2. Add a Heart-Palpitating Intro
An intro (or hook) is what drives your reader to delve deeper into your content. It’s the very first lines designed to capture your readers interest. The perfect intro will keep your readers mind focused on your content, allowing them to be fully immersed in your words.
There’s tons of different ways you can write an intro, but my two favourites are..
A) Dropping your readers right in the middle of the action:
This option is perfect if you want to tell a story that supports what you’re teaching about in your content. Placing someone in the middle of the story automatically makes them curious and start asking themselves questions about what’s happening and what’s coming next.
You want them hot and sweaty and not fully knowing why yet.
Stories are powerful at keeping people captivated. That’s what I did in this post and this post and received an outpouring of comments, replies and messages about how people were moved by what I’d written.
If you learn to become a great storyteller, you’ll always have a thriving business.
Try sentences like.. “I was frozen. Blood trickling down my back. This was the last time I’d do anything like this for money again.” or “YOU’RE FIRED! That was my abrupt entrance to life as a solopreneur.”
B) Starting off with a controversial or unexpected statement:
I mean, “Content is a lot like sex. You know when it’s like OMFG-eyes-rolling-into-back-of-head-having-visions-of-your-past-lives stupefying and when it’s like “When was that? Uh sorry, I don’t recall,” is pretty unexpected in a post about writing content, don’t you think?
You want to shock people in an exciting way. Say something they’ve heard before but in a different or unusual way and you’ll have your readers hanging on your every word.
Try sentences like.. “You know that moment when you’re about to crash your car into a 7/11?” or “Let’s talk about diarrhoea at my super hot boss’s farewell dinner.”
3. Take Your Reader on a Stimulating Adventure
I’m having way too much fun with these headlines, can you tell?
Jokes aside, it’s time to create the hot-blooded body of your content. In this section you will solve the problem you posed for your reader in the headline, in a stimulating way of course.
In this area, you want to answer all the main questions your reader would have when they clicked on the headline. The easiest way to do this is to ask yourself what questions you’d be asking if you wanted to know about this topic. This part needs structure and to be easily digestible which is why you’ll choose a medium and outline format for your content.
Decide what medium your content will be:
- How-To
- List
- Tutorial
- Q&A
- Guide
- Behind-the-Scenes Peek/Tour
- Personal Story
- Case Study
- Review
- Video
- Podcast
And then create the outline for the content:
- Beginning, middle, end
- Step 1, step 2, step 3
- Who, what, when, where and/or why
- Subsections and subheadings
- Links to related content (yours or others)
And finally, add fervour, fun and creativity into what you’re sharing. It’s already been told a thousand billion times, it’s your turn to tell it in a deliciously different way that would make someone want to read YOUR content out of those thousand billion options.
4. Bring Them to Intellectual Climax
Like with any finale, your content must end with a bang. If you’ve gotten someone to engage in your entire body of work right to the end, it means they’re HIGHLY titillated by what you’ve shared and they want more.
This is the part where you tell them how they can get second helpings in the form of a call-to-action.
Here’s a few CTAs you could use:
- Give them Round 2 in the form of a relevant lead magnet they can opt-in for
- Send them to your products or services page to buy your offer related to your content
- Pose a fascinating question and ask them to comment with their thoughts
The best way to finish off your content with a CTA is to make the final word a powerful statement.
For example:
“The people who have issues with you setting boundaries are the one’s who benefit from you having none, slap em’ with these templates instead and say adios to their incessant overstepping.
Because while it might seem like you’re creating a divide between you and them, what you’re really doing is leading with conviction.
And though they might resent you in the moment, a move like that will garner their respect in the long-run.”
End your content with an intellectual climax like that and they’ll be off scouring your website for more!
This is what we call the Standard Operating Procedure for creating content. You must nail these four steps in every single bit of content you create otherwise you’ll lose the attention of your readers to someone else who does.
Because in a sea of sameness where everyone’s content is the equivalent of only ever performing the missionary position, your content MUST be that “one wild and unforgettable night” your reader reminisces about for years to come.
