Surprise Your Reader: How To Write Effective Content

In my training as a book editor and as a leader of a brand, I have come to see many parallels in the world of content and in writing a book. If you want to learn how to write effective content for your readers, these pointers can be useful for you.

“Change Your Point Of View”

The primary objective of a book editor is to see things from the consumer’s or the reader’s point of view. So is the objective of the content you write. Oftentimes, while writing content, we rush to convey things without really thinking about how the end-consumer is going to process them. Are we using passive voice instead of active? Are we using five sentences to convey a point that can easily be said in two? Are we following the one thought-one sentence rule?

“What Is A Value-Add?”

It is not enough to simply curate knowledge from the internet. What are you giving the audience that they have not seen before? For example, if you are writing a blog about how to become a better poet, and one of the points you make is the importance of writing prompts, why not actually give your reader a prompt and a link to a resource? The same goes for writing a book. By giving examples that the author has discovered himself, the book becomes that much richer.

“One Idea, One Piece.”

Adhere to the rule: one sentence, one thought. But more importantly, do not complicate your article by setting out to cover multiple topics. If you are writing about the best foods to eat for PCOD, do not then go into a section on mental health and the disorder. Reserve that information for a new article or you will confuse your reader.

“Consistency”

We hear this a lot. But, if you promise your reader an article a week, then produce an article a week. Keep a content bank ready. If you are promoting a particular topic, have a few articles published on that topic already. After finishing one article, your reader will stick around on your website to browse through the rest of the articles and perhaps your other services and products.

Great content is in equal parts what you say and how you say it. Get both right and you will gain a loyal readership!

At Bound, we help brands tell their stories through our Customised Content Writing Workshops. Find out more about our Build Your Brand programme here.

consistency, content, point of view, value-add

Written by Rheea Mukherjee

Rheea Rodrigues Mukherjee is the author of The Body Myth (Unnamed Press /Penguin India 2019) which was shortlisted for the Tata Literature Live First Book Award. Her work has been published and featured in Scroll.in, Southern Humanities Review, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Vogue India, Out of Print, TBLM, and Bengal Lights, among others. She co-founded Bangalore Writers Workshop in 2012 and currently co-runs Write Leela Write, a Design and Content Laboratory in Bangalore, India. Rheea has an MFA in creative writing from California College of the Arts.