The content could be hard to follow and boring. It could be too focused on the advertisement of the company. It could also simply have the tone of a robot. Want to engage readers? Then provide them with good and interesting content.
Hard to follow
The last thing any business wants is to have their customer trying to decipher content. Whether the wording is too complex or irrelevant, the worst scenario for any business is to have the reader get the wrong impression and misunderstand the message. So, what are the reasons for which the client wasn’t able to understand the message you were trying to convey? Some common issues that affect the clarity of the content include:
Long sentences. Long and winding sentences make content difficult to keep up with. Sentences that span over two to three lines will lose their readers over time.
Useless words. A useful idea can easily be explained using 4 words rather than 12. For example: Many uneducated citizens who have never attended school continue to vote for better schools. When you have a sentence packed with useless words that don’t convey any message, the reader can become uninterested quickly because of the meaningless words wedged between those that are actually doing useful work.
Repetition. When new sections repeat the same information instead of introducing new ideas, the content becomes boring. Sure, sometimes repetition is used as a device to create emphasis on an important idea, or to organize and summarise the main points. It can be a useful tool, but use it carefully.
A passive voice. A confusing sentence structure can be so hard to understand that the reader may simply give up chasing the subject. The passive voice is a complicating subject to explain, so here are some examples: Harry ate six shrimp at dinner (active) vs. At dinner, six shrimp were eaten by Harry (passive). Also, Beautiful giraffes roam the savannah (active) Vs. The savannah is roamed by beautiful giraffes (passive). Make sure the subject is easy to follow for the reader.
Logical flow. Make sure your ideas are organized logically so that your readers can understand it. Even if just a little, you should be able to relate each paragraph to the next, making your ideas relevant and easy to understand.
Unfamiliar and complicating words. Yes, long and complex words make you sound intelligent, but they work the other way for your readers. These words will most likely appear unfamiliar to the reader making your content harder for them to understand. Make sure that the language used is appropriate for the audience, and that they will be familiar with a term.
Who cares?
Even if the content is well written, it can still be boring. The reader may still find it difficult to follow and understand the message. Sometimes, this is caused by the failure to interest the reader.
Advertising the company. Advertising your company if fine, but what’s important is: does it sound genuine? Is it honest? If your content is full of false advertising, then it is of no interest to the reader. If they get no useful and accurate information about your company through your advertising, then the content is boring.
Boasting. A little boasting every now and then doesn’t hurt. But again, does it sound honest and genuine? Consider that when adding self-praise to your content. Because, again, it’s no use to the reader if it isn’t true.
The Tone
There’s something about the content that prevents you from keeping yourself interested. What causes this indifference?
No personality. An uninterested tone is contagious. If the content is written in a boring manner, then the reader will inherit the boredom and become just as uninterested. Of course, you still want to sound professional, but add some life to your content to keep the readers engaged and interested.
These are just some of the things you can change about your content to make it easier for the reader to follow. But a good copy that is well done will benefit both the reader and the company. Make sure that it’s clear and easy to read. Refrain from falsely advertising your company. And add some personality to your content to keep the readers interested.
Now what?
Contact us for a complimentary “content audit” of your latest masterpieces. We’ll be open and honest about how you did.