We like to look at content marketing as one of the best marketing tactics to build our relationships with our customers. As marketers, we want to create content that appeals to our audiences and helps educate them. However, before we can even begin to appeal to customers, we have to ask ourselves what kind of content they want to see.
Making content that clicks is just as important as selling a product. In content marketing, the click-through rate can quickly evaluate how relevant the content we publish is. Many search engines use content-relevant keywords to optimize search results and prioritize giving consumers more relevant information.
Getting a reasonable click-through rate is essential for the success of any content marketer. This is important because every piece of content can generate leads and build customer loyalty in the long run. Copywriting is one of the best ways to advertise content and hook in readers creatively. Good copywriting can quickly help our audiences find connections that entice them to engage with our content.
There are several tricks you can use to gain clicks on your content. Here are just a few.
1. Pique Their Interests and Curiosity
We humans naturally experience curiosity in our day-to-day lives which motivates us to seek information to satisfy our needs. The curiosity gap is a copywriting practice that produces headlines, making an article seem impossible not to click through. This technique can also appeal to website visitors’ emotional state and how they feel about specific topics.
Copywriters should write headlines precisely enough to give the reader enough information about the story without giving it all away. Avoid creating clickbait titles as content that falls under this category can hurt statistics later on.
Common words used to trigger emotional responses include “new,” “easy,” “everyone,” “secret,” and “free,” among others. Depending on the usage, using these words in a title can trigger a consumer’s emotions such as fear, happiness, optimism, or anger and grab their attention more.
2. Use Keywords
Copywriters should make use of keywords related to their content. This practice ensures that your target readers can find you through Google and other search engines quickly.
Today, several credible tools help copywriters determine keyword density. These tools are also excellent in creating short and straightforward headlines that can instantly catch audiences’ attention.
3. Trigger a Sense of Urgency
Consumers are more likely to click through a product if they feel like it is scarce, as people tend to value products more when others cannot have them. This behavior is known as the scarcity principle, which connects to our self-worth.
Simply adding call-to-action phrases such as ‘Limited edition, buy now‘ or “order while supplies last” to the copy can automatically entice them to click and buy your products.
4. Make Numbers Your Friends
Using a number in the headline is another effective way to make content stand out from others. Seeing a number typically helps emphasize the start and end of a discussion which can also help a reader navigate your content.
Since numbers have significant values, they help determine the relevance of the content. Content in this category usually provides multiple solutions to a problem and answers ‘How to’ questions.
5. Surprise Them
Headlines that generate shock value are effective in catching the full attention of the consumer. Using the surprise effect can trigger a reader’s curiosity despite the emotional outcome no matter the subject’s tone.
For a moment, the human brain registers the shock value as necessary, prompting the consumer to read through and absorb the information given.
6. Keep It Consistent
Consistency is vital for any content marketer. Not only does keeping content uniform and clean make a brand look more professional, but it is also more straightforward for consumers to navigate different types of content that you have to offer.
How are your articles written, and who are you speaking to? Is the writing clear and grammatically correct? Does it consistently convey a particular tone? These are just some of the questions that need to be answered first before publishing anything.
7. Test It Out
Before publishing anything, test the essential elements of your copy, namely the headline, subheads, CTA and CTA placement, and so on. Through testing, you can identify which variation is most effective and can, therefore, increase your CTR.
Conduct an A/B test by taking one piece of content and creating two versions out of it, testing one particular element at a time. Present these versions to two sets of audiences and see which copy delivers better results. A/B testing tools help you run, monitor, and analyze your campaigns.
Creating Quality Content Can Be Tricky
Creating quality content that will appeal to your target audience can often seem tricky. You aren’t just trying to sell a product but also aiming to gain the consumer’s trust to grow your business. When producing content, it is essential to think of how the consumers will feel while reading your article. Copywriters typically make use of a mixture of these tactics to prevent content from looking repetitive and bland.
About the Author
Samantha is an Online PR Specialist at Spiralytics, a full-service digital performance marketing agency that helps grow businesses through performance marketing and data science. As a young communications professional, she brightens the brands she handles with her creative and insight-driven thinking in various online and offline campaigns.
