Fiction writers and content managers share the desire to write something beautiful and truthful. Beautiful content marketing fascinates readers for years; It is always relevant and included in the best results of Google. This is equivalent to a beautiful and true piece of art listed on the National Book Award. What writer would not like to receive these awards?
What can you learn from the most popular authors of artistic works? These classic writers know how to attract the attention of readers and make them turn the pages. We have selected 10 favorite authors' tips that may be most important to your content marketing. (A few tips are taken from Stephen King's book Writing: A Memoir on the Craft, which is an excellent resource for all authors.)
1. Remove everything that is not part of the story - advice from John Gould to Stephen King
If the text adds nothing to the knowledge or understanding of your readers, you need to ruthlessly cut it out.
2. More to read
To write well, learn to read a lot. Read posts and articles from authors who constantly publish content that attracts an audience.
Do not limit yourself to reading texts about your industry or subject. Read different genres and styles. You can learn a lot from the way different writers attract and attract their audience.
3. Substitute the "hell" every time you want to write "very." Mark Twain
Mark Twain gives his advice to writers who use the word "very" as an amplifier, often to support weak verbs. Check your text carefully and replace “very” or delete it. Fortunately, there are many services for searching synonyms on the Internet.
4. Using simple and clear words will make your text more understandable. Ernest Hemingway
Whatever you call it - corporate speech, business jargon, prose - the use of simple and understandable words makes your content more attractive. If a high school student can understand your point of view, all your readers will spend less time to figure out what you are saying. Instead, they will easily understand and share your content.
Perhaps one of the smartest people in the world said it best: “If you cannot explain it simply, you do not understand it well enough” - Albert Einstein.
5. The road to hell is paved with adverbs. Stephen King
Just as succinctly, Kingsley Amis said: "If you use an adverb, you have an incorrect verb." Anton Chekhov said: "Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can." And Elmore Leonard said: "The use of adverbs is a mortal sin."
Replace adverbs with more precise and strong verbs.
Do not attach adverbs to the tags of the dialogue, "he said excitedly," or "she answered exclaimingly." Use description, not adverbs, to convey emotions.
6. Never use a passive voice where you can use an active one. George Orwell
Some politicians like to use the passive voice, because it allows them to avoid responsibility: “Errors were made.” By whom? Writers should not do that, because it means that readers need to think too hard to understand what is happening and with whom.
Look at these two sentences to see the difference between the passive and active voice:
• A ban on hunting elephants was lifted this week in Botswana.
• This week, Botswana lifted the ban on hunting for elephants.
Whenever possible, place the performer of your actions at the beginning of a sentence to make it easier for the reader to follow your thought.
Passive voice can also make the text vague and blurry. No matter where you run into problems, take your position in writing and use active voice to convey your authority and knowledge.
7. Cut out all these exclamation marks. An exclamation mark is like laughing at your joke. F. Scott Fitzgerald
Approach punctuation responsibly. Avoid using exclamation marks, especially in professional communication (yes, even by e-mail). Let your readers have their emotional response to your content; do not try to direct them with punctuation.
8. I did not have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one. Mark Twain
One of the funniest sayings that is still relevant today. It’s hard to cut 20 words to five or from 1500 to 750. It takes time. But such work is necessary.
Why say that someone "entered the backyard of a neighbor's house to see ..." when you could say "looked around a neighbor's backyard ..."?
9. Simple books contain many short paragraphs - including interactive paragraphs, which may consist of only one or two long words - and many spaces ... Stephen King
Paragraph length plays a big role in how readers perceive your work. Today's overwhelmed readers should choose what to read from hundreds or thousands of options. How to make it so that they choose your content?
Make sure the paragraphs are short. Strategically use headlines, bullets and numbered lists to help readers easily view material.
Part of writing attractive content is the alternation of active short sentences with long ones calling for contemplation. This wave-like movement in the text is the height of the author's skill.
10. You can not wait for inspiration. You should follow him to the club. Jack London
These authors eloquently convey the same truth in other ways:
• “A writer never finds time to write. The writer does this, ”- Nora Roberts.
• “Professional writers do not have muses; they have a mortgage, ”- Larry Kahaner.
• “There is no such thing as a writer's blog. It was invented by people in California who could not write, "- Terry Pratchett
• “Writing is an all-encompassing work. Many people think that the whole thing is to sit and wait for the muse. Not. This is a job. Every day I sit down and write, ”- Jody Pikult.
Are you a writer? Then you must write. Do not wait for inspiration to strike. Need to create a case for a client? Learn how to sit at the keyboard and post an article or post.
Successful content marketing is not connected with either inspiration or muse. This is mastering what you need to do for great content. Once you understand the techniques that wizards use, and how best to reach your target audience, you will not have problems to sit down and write something that will surprise readers.
Last thoughts
As Lee Iacocca once said:
“You may have brilliant ideas, but if you cannot implement them, your ideas will not lead you anywhere.”
Use these 10 tips in your content marketing and promotion. Let your brand be heard.
Futureinapps company is engaged in SMM and SEO promotion, which include content marketing. We write great stories!
