How To Write Compelling Content
Most dictionaries say that “COMPEL” or “COMPELLING” means to be a driving force, persuasiveness, or forcefulness of an argument.
Let’s dissect that word further in an attempt to understand what it truly means to write COMPELLING content:
- V2 Vocab says that the synonyms include: “convincing, forceful, driving, dominant, commanding, imposing, interesting, & exciting”
- Bartleby says that it means to be “Urgently requiring attention” and “Driving forceful: compelling ambition and egotism”
- AskOxford says that it’s an adjective that describes “powerful evoking attention or admiration”
- Dictionary.com says that it means “to secure or bring about by force” or “Archaic. to drive together; unite by force; herd.”
- Encarta World English Dictionary says that it means “holding attention: attracting strong interest and attention” or “making somebody do something: necessitating action or belief”
My top 6 quick tips to help you write compelling article content:
- Get to the point, be brief and be unique. Leave all sales & marketing hype language out of your articles.
- Be interesting, don’t ramble and do provoke thought or insight backed with reasons why your ideas work.
- Write your article to be visually appealing for easy eye text scanning.
- Include generous use of sub-titles/sub-heads, bullets, numbered lists, and an occasional block quote.
- Create an easy to understand article title so that your reader knows upfront what your benefit promise is… then be sure to deliver in the article body the answer to the promise you just made.
- Know your audience and ideal reader’s demographics, psychographics, and what they worry about or obsess over. If you don’t know, poll them.
But Chris,
If we “…leave all sales & marketing hype language out of your articles” as you suggest, the article may not be as compelling as it could be.
I agree that too much hype is distracting but a little dash of it can go a long way.
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