Easy Tips to Improve Your Content (with Minimal Effort)

Writing can be hard, especially if it’s something you don’t do all the time. Different types of writing require different skills. A great copywriter isn’t automatically a fantastic academic writer and vice versa.

There’s a big difference between “I can write” and “I can write really well.” And that difference can be the thing that helps your brand make money. Pretty much anyone can write at a basic level.

But if you do have to write some content and just want some easy ways to improve it and keep it fresh, there are a few tricks that you can keep up your sleeve to help you out in a pinch.

Use Writing Tools

There are lots of online writing tools out there to help you if you don’t feel confident about your spelling and grammar skills.

Bear in mind that these are tools to help you, not write for you (though AI writing programmes are in their early stages…eek). Sometimes these programmes make mistakes – especially when it comes to more informal writing – so don’t rely on them 100%. Same goes for synonyms. There are often ‘better’ words but that can make your content hard to read.

Here are some common tools that people use to improve their writing:

Grammarly
Hemingway Editor
ProWritingAid
Google Drive (has a built in spelling and grammar checker)

Think About Your Target Audience

Before you write, think about your target audience and how to communicate with them. Ask yourself a couple of questions:

Will they care?
Are you writing in a way that interests them?
Are you speaking in plain English?

Avoid corporate speak, words just because they sound fancy or jargon that is meaningless to the average customer. This is a massive turn-off and turns something that’s a benefit into a bore for them.

Keep It Concise

Sometimes people think that using 50 words instead of 10 makes you sound more intelligent. The truth is: we all have shorter attention spans, busier lives and more brands competing for our brain space.

When you proofread and edit your writing (if you’re not, you should), also look at how long and wordy your sentences are. And edit if they’re too clunky or there’s something that isn’t needed.

Sometimes reading things out loud will help you to get a feel as to whether it’s too rambling or contains unnecessary detail that no-one really cares about. Avoid long blocks of text that look overwhelming – split it if you need to.

If you’re writing an ad for example, less is nearly always more. That’s why digital ads have such short word limits.

Proofread

Read your writing back and don’t be scared to edit it. Edit it for clarity, consistency, spelling, grammar and any other errors (e.g. spelling names correctly or including a wrong date).

Read it properly.

Don’t just skim read. Get someone else to do it for you if you’re finding it hard to pick up errors in your own writing, or use a tool to help you until you feel more comfortable. It’s amazing what can slip through after you’re feeling exhausted from writing.

If you can give yourself a day or so before you proof it, then even better. A fresh pair of eyes usually does the trick, so if you have someone who’s skills you trust, get them to give it the once over.

A Snappy Headline or Caption

Headlines are important. Whether you’re writing editorial content, social media captions or a blog for your site, make your headline exciting and informative. You can be a little clickbait-y if you want.

If you’re writing to help with SEO, then you need to do your keyword research and make sure it’s in the headline (without stuffing it).

Headings

If you’re writing for a website or something digital, use headings to split up your content. As I mentioned, none of us have much of an attention span any more (well done for getting this far) and screens have changed how we read. We skim, scan and look for relevant information as quickly as possible.

That’s where headings come in. Bonus points if your headings include SEO keywords that you’ve researched.

Features vs Benefits

Make sure that your content clearly relays features and benefits if it’s product related. Depending on what you’re writing about and what it’s for will usually dictate what it is you focus on. Some things, like product descriptions, will have both.

Benefits tend to be more emotional and based on experience. Features are more technical.

Work With A Freelance Writer

You must have known this one was coming, right? I had to include it as it’s one of the best ways to improve content for your business. Working with a professional writer takes the stress out of your typing hands and puts it with an expert who does this day in and day out.

You’ll also benefit from their professional expertise and content marketing know-how, especially if they know all about your industry.

Want to find out how a freelance writer can help your brand? Get in touch with me and we can run through it.

Some Bonus Tips To Improve Your Content

Bonus tips: Reading more and writing more often will help you to improve your writing, vocabulary and just get a feel for what works.

Read whatever you like – it doesn’t need to be anything specifically about writing, and it doesn’t have to be War & Peace. As long as it’s getting you more familiar with words, sentence structure and what’s engaging as a reader then go for it.

Tools like Daily Page or 750 Words can help you to write more often, setting you challenges and tasks. This is useful if you don’t write so much in your daily life but want to start and improve.

Need More Tips To Improve Your Content?

Get in touch with me to discuss your content needs or check out some of the other topics on the blog.