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It's incredible how we went from reading hundreds of books in school to scanning the internet. So, my question to you is: are you writing for our impatient brains now? If you're not sure, let's look at what that means.
Avoid these copywriting mistakes.
For the love of God, avoid:
Passive language
Big words & long sentences
Long paragraphs
Or worse: no paragraphs at all
Use this instead:
Active voice
Simple language that everyone understands and leaves no doubt in your customers' minds
Multiple short paragraphs
Scannable content
How about you get some examples to see the difference? Read on.
This is why active voice is better.
Here's the difference between passive voice and active voice:
Passive voice: This blog was created by me.
Active voice: I created this blog.
Active voice is clear and often follows this formula: subject (I), verb (created), object (this blog). We don't need to think about what you mean when we read sentences in active voice.
Complex language vs. simple language.
Here's an example that shows the difference between complex and simple language:
Complex: Let us assist you in creating a marketing strategy that utilizes the right techniques for your business.
Simple: Let us help you create a marketing strategy that has the right techniques for your business.
The second sentence is actually still not that good. It's an improvement for sure. But it still needs a lot of work. What's even better is if you use one main idea per sentence. So it looks something like this:
Simple: Let us help you create a marketing strategy that fits your business. We'll discuss which techniques can help you reach your business goals.
Ah, much better. Much easier to read. Okay, coming up next: scannable content.
How to create scannable content.
There are multiple ways you can use to create scannable content. It's basically writing in a way that we can understand without reading the whole article/blog/page. We scan it and we get the main message.
Here's how you can create scannable content:
Use multiple subheadings
Use bold, italics, or underlinings to highlight important stuff
Use bullet points, like this list
Explain one idea per paragraph
Want examples of each tip? Just look at this blog post. I've used all of them.
Need help with creating content that keeps readers engaged? Send me a message and let’s get started.
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