Top tips to on how to write content

The following is designed to help the non-writers to learn how to write content. With a few simple tools and tactics, you can find your copywriting muse.

1. Writing can be challenging if it’s not part of your day job. Be kind to yourself and don't expect to turn out perfect copy. Even the professionals go through a number of edits before the content is ready.

2. Writing is all about the upfront thinking about what you need to say, and then structuring it into a compelling flow of information that people can’t help but want to read and finish. Take some time to outline what you want to include. This can be a dump of ideas and then sort these into related categories. Whallah you have a content outline.

3. If you are not sure where to start, it's helpful to write down the 'problem' that your audience is facing and then note down your points on the solution - including your service or product.

4. Use some of the tools available in the AI area. Chat GPT is great for coming up with an initial set of ideas. But don't rely on this as the final copy. You are the subject matter expert and will know what's missing or what needs to be rewritten to be 'better'.

5. If writing is really hard for you then use a tool to record yourself talking about the topic and then have it transcribed into text.  You can then use ChatGPT to give you a rewritten, grammatically correct first draft to then edit.

6. The first is to be clear on the idea or problem you are conveying. Starting with a problem is usually a sure-fire way to ensure that you are writing something that people want to read because you are providing a solution to a problem that they have

7. Once you have an idea or problem, write a heading to your article or content. Guaranteed this won’t be the final heading, but this process of Idea/problem then the heading helps you really get to the heart of whether you are have nailed the problem. Just know that you can come back anytime and refine this as you get into the writing process.

8. A good tool help you with your headline is http://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer

9. Do some research. Do keyword research and know what other articles/writings are already out there. By doing this research you will be able to know:
   a. the language that is used by your audience
   b. whether it's a topic that people are interested in?
   c. the way to best frame it so you have the best chance of ranking in the search engine and/or being shared in the social media space,

   Google is the best tool to do this! No need to get fancy.

10. Note down the way they talk about the topic - words and language, the keywords you should be using, any articles that have ranked well, any influencers or sources that you can either use in your writing or will be useful to know in the ‘promotion’ of your content.

11. Be clear on what you want people to do with the content. What is your call to action or 'Ask' that you need to include with your content?

12. Now do a content outline of bullet points so that you can see the flow and completeness of the entire article (BEFORE you’ve even written it).

13. From this, pull out what you believe is the key message or takeaway from the content – this is the introduction and summary.

14. Once you’ve done these things, you can sit down and write it.

15. It should now literally write itself.