In this post I’m going to explain to you why you need to take up the pen and start writing. Why outsourcing your writing may be killing your web stats. How to improve your web writing skills and what you need to do to potentially increase your Google rankings.

This is 1333 words of total ‘HOW TO WRITE BETTER’ and keep your reader happy content (no waffle).

If you want good quality traffic and visitors that turn into customers then making time to create quality content should be one of your main SEO activities.

Whether you enjoy writing or not, content will always be king on-line, and despite the pull of video, in my opinion the real guts of your content is the written word.

Content is not simply about articles, it includes all your written materials and even scripts for your video presentations and slide shows

To peak people’s interest in you and your offers, you will always need engaging, well written and readable material in the following areas:

• for your on-site articles
• promotional newsletter / ezine
• reports
• white papers
• advertising copy
• your About Me page
• to introduce Special Offers

…and the list goes on

You can of course outsource these writing tasks to professionals, and in some cases, where you need promotional materials that really pull and convert, finding a seasoned pro is the best thing to do (Note: really good copywriters are worth their weight in gold and will charge you accordingly).

Although paying someone to do your writing for you is convenient and fast, there may also be a hidden a downside to shelling out cash for the pros.

Writing that’s produced by other people on your behalf will rarely have your level of energy or enthusiasm for your project or product. It will always sound a little flat and despite being well written it will lack your personality and flair.

That is am important point because folk are getting bored with the average bland generic websites and standard copy,  and they are hungry and hankering for a little oomph and pizzazz.

When you take the time to add your own voice to your website you are showing that you care about building a relationship with your visitors, and your visitors will respond by posting comments on your blog,  hanging out with you and making your site a regular haunt.

Your site becomes sticky and popular (like nectar calling to the bees) and people will stay on and return to your site increasing your page rank and your potential sales.

It’s never too late to start learning how to woo your audience with words

Whatever your level of writing expertise, I would recommend you give writing a go. With a little practice and  by following a few basic guidelines you will  start producing good content yourself.

Having guidelines and a framework for your writing, like the list of tips I’ve written for you below, will help your work look and feel more professional and prevent you making avoidable mistakes.

If you are serious about your writing you will want to take a good look at these two books. Each one was pivotal in helping me adapt my writing style for the web, improved my copywriting significantly and led to me getting better and better results.

Recommended Reading

On that note:

Follow these thirteen tips on how to write better articles and you will start to see the results in your traffic stats.

1. Write about things that genuinely interest you.  If you are an expert, even better. This will make your articles feel more believable if you are coming from an point of passion or expertise.

2. Keep your articles timely and relevent. Stay on top of the latest trends and news in your niche has things that are topical and therefore will be more interesting to your target group.

3.  Tell your trade secrets! It’s a fact, the more you tell and give away the more the demand you will create for your goods and services. This WORKS because when you give out more information, people will trust that you are an authority on the subject and trust = customers.

5. Keep a swipe file of ideas you can refer to quickly to come up with articles. I walk around with a note pad in my purse and jot down thoughts throughout the day. It’s amazing how creative we can be when we are not under pressure to write

6. Spend time researching your articles before you write them. Really craft your content because more time means you can refine, format and fill your post with plenty of value. If your articles are informative and provide useful information, people will be more likely to click on the URL in your resource box.

7. Write like you talk. If you want to connect with a wide audience  write using words that are easy to understand. Avoid using jargon and words that you need a degree to understand. When you do this, the article will flow better and be more attractive to your audience.

8. Use formatting to emphasize the best aspects of your post. Hone in on the points you want to emphasize, your funniest lines, your most important bits of advice, your best resources. Make them stand out.

9. Write numbered list articles (like this one). These are very popular as readers tend to scan over the details and skip to the highlights so you might as well give those to them. Most people do not read an article word for word.

10. Create a compelling headline. A weak headline will cripple your post’s chances of success. It’s essential that you put a lot of work into getting it right. Brainstorm and play with words and ideas to make it snappy and stand out

11. People are impatient. Let people know immediately  “what am I getting in exchange for my attention?”

Use your introduction to highlight why the reader should stick with your post. In other words, tell your reader what you’re going to tell them. There’s a reason why article introductions usually consist of:

“In this post, I’m going to do this, this and that.”

12. Use humour and personality. People want to read information, but they want to be entertained as well. make a point to find the way to make tips stand out is to inject a little quirkiness and humour into the writing style.

13. Everyone loves a story. Give concrete examples and don’t be afraid to spill the beans and share your personal experiences to back up your points. Tell how you faced a problem and how you solved it. Your audience will lap it up.

With all that said, at first you may not win a literary prize, and yet, as you follow the thirteen steps that I have outlined above you will be able to produce effective interesting and sticky written content for your website.

You never know, these articles could become the special sauce that triggers an upsurge of interest in your website and lead you to greater  on-line business success.

BONUS TIP:
Always leave your readers a call to action. If you want your readers to take a specific action,  like clicking on a web page or joining  you on twitter after they read your post TELL THEM. People are very happy to do what you ask – but they do need to know what you want then to do.

You can see an example of my call to action at the end of this article and you can read my post on writing a call to action by coming back tomorrow.

So what did you think? I always love hearing your feedback, so please leave me a comment down below with questions, thoughts, or feedback…

And (yes, here’s my call to action):
Please share this post with your Twitter, Face Book and Ning friends by clicking on the share buttons at the top of this post. I totally appreciate it!! Thanks so much for spending time with me here today!

Now join me on Facebook and Twitter and take a moment to introduce yourself.