Curious About Creating Your Own Content? Here are 5 Tips!
Non-Writer’s Guide to Better Writing Skills -
5 Tips to Up Your Content Creation Game
In a marketplace where we’ve crowned content king and turned modern consumers into content guzzlers, it’s impossible for business owners to get by without a web presence. And not just a presence, but a consistently updated one that provides relevant information in a professional package.
So what if you’re a business owner who’s never liked writing? Or you like it but don’t have the time or the confidence to do it yourself. How are you supposed to succeed in a content-driven marketplace?
One obvious answer is to outsource. Hire someone you trust to do your writing for you. Finding that someone is a topic for another article, but what if that’s not your first choice?
Another option is to take a brave step and commit to bettering your own writing skills. For those of you feeling courageous, here are five tips to help you move your content creation skills to the next level.
So what if you’re a business owner who’s never liked writing? Or you like it but don’t have the time or the confidence to do it yourself. How are you supposed to succeed in a content-driven marketplace?
One obvious answer is to outsource. Hire someone you trust to do your writing for you. Finding that someone is a topic for another article, but what if that’s not your first choice?
Another option is to take a brave step and commit to bettering your own writing skills. For those of you feeling courageous, here are five tips to help you move your content creation skills to the next level.
1. Write actively.
Make your words come alive to your readers.
One of the best ways to bring words to life is to choose strong verbs. For example:
Make your words come alive to your readers.
One of the best ways to bring words to life is to choose strong verbs. For example:
Weak |
Strong |
work together |
collaborate |
look at |
review |
read quickly |
skim |
give advice |
advise |
tell someone |
inform |
One word of caution… when you’re choosing verbs, don’t work so hard at picking unique words that you use obscure vocabulary no one has ever heard of or ever uses. You want your content to be accessible for the average reader, so conversational language is generally recommended.
2. Vary the sentence structures.
Look carefully at the two examples. What do you notice is different about them? If you said the first one says “we” a lot, you’re absolutely right! Not only does it use “we” too much, but it also uses it in the same place repeatedly. If we broke the first set of sentences into separate sentences, they’d read like this:
Notice every sentence starts exactly the same. This lack of variation will have your reader snoring in two seconds flat.
With just a few simple changes, you can wake them up. Let’s look at the second sentence one more time:
Completely different sentence structures…! And a much more interesting read.
- We’re here to serve you. We’ve been in business for more than 25 years, and we have the products you need to thrive at home, work, and play.
- In business for 25 years, we’re here to serve you with the products you need to thrive at home, work, and play.
Look carefully at the two examples. What do you notice is different about them? If you said the first one says “we” a lot, you’re absolutely right! Not only does it use “we” too much, but it also uses it in the same place repeatedly. If we broke the first set of sentences into separate sentences, they’d read like this:
- We’re here to serve you.
- We’ve been in business for more than 25 years.
- We have the products you need to thrive at home, work, and play.
Notice every sentence starts exactly the same. This lack of variation will have your reader snoring in two seconds flat.
With just a few simple changes, you can wake them up. Let’s look at the second sentence one more time:
- In business for 25 years, we’re here to serve you with the products you need to thrive at home, work, and play.
Completely different sentence structures…! And a much more interesting read.

If you want to take your writing skills to the next level and keep your readers with you, add some variety in your sentences.
3. Create a smoother flow with transition words and links.
Links are another key to keeping your audience engaged. You know the concepts you want to communicate and the ways they fit together. In fact, they fit like a glove in your mind.
But… your audience is NOT reading your mind.
They’re reading your words, and you have to tell them (with your words!) how all the ideas connect.
Let’s look for just a minute at the transitions in this section. The obvious ones are ‘as a writer,’ ‘in fact,’ and ‘but,’ and those are important.
But the not-so-obvious links are the glue that holds this passage together. Every sentence has a word or idea that’s repeated from the sentence before it. Notice:
Links are another key to keeping your audience engaged. You know the concepts you want to communicate and the ways they fit together. In fact, they fit like a glove in your mind.
But… your audience is NOT reading your mind.
They’re reading your words, and you have to tell them (with your words!) how all the ideas connect.
Let’s look for just a minute at the transitions in this section. The obvious ones are ‘as a writer,’ ‘in fact,’ and ‘but,’ and those are important.
But the not-so-obvious links are the glue that holds this passage together. Every sentence has a word or idea that’s repeated from the sentence before it. Notice:
In this case, the exact words are repeated, but they don’t have to be. You can use synonyms or repeated ideas, and those will have the same effect. This one tip will accelerate your writing skills the moment you start using it!
4. Paint the reader a picture.
This is a lot like the old adage, “Show. Don’t tell.” If it’s been said once, it’s been said a thousand times, and it’s worth its weight in gold.
When you give readers an image—detailed with words—you’re more likely to capture their attention and keep it.
Consider this:
This is a lot like the old adage, “Show. Don’t tell.” If it’s been said once, it’s been said a thousand times, and it’s worth its weight in gold.
When you give readers an image—detailed with words—you’re more likely to capture their attention and keep it.
Consider this:
The passage will put the reader to sleep.
vs.
This lack of variation will have your reader snoring in two seconds flat.
You tell me which sentence grabs your attention!
5. Remember less can be more.
The truth is less isn’t always more. There are times when writers leave out important details, and readers find themselves in the dark, trying to figure out a passage’s meaning.
Leaving readers unsure of the message you’re communicating shouldn’t be the aim (especially if you’re in business, and you’re trying to take them further along the buyer’s journey…). So don’t leave out so much that your audience feels stuck.
But do cut to the chase.
The truth is less isn’t always more. There are times when writers leave out important details, and readers find themselves in the dark, trying to figure out a passage’s meaning.
Leaving readers unsure of the message you’re communicating shouldn’t be the aim (especially if you’re in business, and you’re trying to take them further along the buyer’s journey…). So don’t leave out so much that your audience feels stuck.
But do cut to the chase.
See what I mean?
Non-writers, if you’ll take these five tips to heart, you’ll be on your way to bettering your writing skills today.
Have questions about creating content? Email me.