First and foremost, how do you ever expect to write if you don’t block out the noise?  Your best work will come when you eliminate all possible distractions. Move your desk away from open windows, shut your door, silence your phone and and log off your email. Clear your mind from anything that will pull your thoughts away from the task at hand.  Multitasking and background noise can make writing feel impossible.

In the words of Stephen King, “Write with the door closed; rewrite with the door open”.

Pro Tip: Try out a full-screen writing program or distraction free editor like WriteRoom, Dark Room or Writer. If these apps aren’t liberating enough to get your creative juices flowing try downloading the SelfControl app – this app is great for anyone who has a habit of going off topic with his or her research

When writing, it is often easiest to follow a consistent routine. Following a routine will take the decisions process out of organization and productivity. Once you have a writing routine you will know where to begin and where to end.

One of the best methods to follow is discover, dump, clean up then polish:

• Discover: Before you can even start writing you must do your research. Most content creation requires you to become an instant expert on a plurality of topics. Begin your routine by finding a list of reliable sources that can be use to write your piece.
• Dump: When planning your piece do not worry about organizing your ideas – jot down any relevant thoughts that come to mind. During this step, sentence structure is not a priority, what matters most is deciding on the key points of your content.
• Clean up:  Next you want to clean up jotted points and write your piece. Now is the time to turn your notes into a steady flow of words.
• Polish: Now that you are finished writing, polish up your work. For best results, read your piece aloud to be certain your sentences flow.

If you want to produce effective content you need to find your own unique voice. No matter what kind of content you produce you should develop your own style. Copy skills – not ideas.  Authenticity is most intriguing.

Bestselling author, Jeff Goins, has created a useful exercise to help writers find their voice. Find your voice here.

Pro Tip: Ask yourself; how can I present this in a way that nobody else has?

Your content should be current. Write about what is trending to get the most engagement. Sites like Buzzsumo.com, Answerthepublic.com and huballin.com are all excellent tools that suggest relevant ideas for your next piece.

Another way to stay relevant is by updating out-dated posts. Go through past content and find stats, details or procedures that can be revamped. For example, Twitter and Facebook update features on their sites regularly. So, if your last Facebook Advertising Guide discusses only targeting college students with a “.edu” email, it could benefit from an update.

Forget everything you learned in your high school English class: keep your sentences short and your words simple.  

Oh you have an MBA? That’s wonderful, but you are not going to keep your readers engaged when your toss complex sentences about. People like simplicity, its easy to read, easy to understand and when you are tired after a long days work no one wants to read content full of $3 words when 10 cent words would have fit just fine.

In his memoir, On Writing, Stephen King advises, “One of the really bad things you can do to your writing is to dress up the vocabulary, looking for long words because you’re maybe a little bit ashamed of your short ones”.

When it comes to content, sentences should be easy. Try and stick to a 25-word maximum per sentence. Short sentences are the most readable. Remember, content creation is all about appealing to readers – you are not trying to win any writing awards.

The number one myth surrounding online content is that people read on the web.  In fact, rarely to people read word-by-word on the web. Most often they skim for facts, headings and anything else that catches their attention. People want to find the information they are looking for fast, if this is not possible then they will move on.

A 2013 analysis of Slate and other websites – performed by analytics vendor Chartbeat – found that visitors only scroll through 50-60% of an article page. What is even more surprising is that there seems to be no connection between sharing content and scrolling through: people will share articles without fully reading them.

So bold key benefits as often as possible. Bolding will direct the reader’s gaze to the most important pieces of information and will improve their experience with your content.

Pronouns like “you”, “your” and “yours” are powerful words in content creation.  They engage readers because they create the feeling that an article is personal. Readers will be able to visualize themselves in your piece performing the actions you are describing.

A Kissmetrics blog explains that “You” is one of three hypnotic power words. “You” is a placeholder for YOUR name, and you have no idea just how hypnotic your name actually is. According to Kissmetrics and the Journal of Consumer Research, you are much more likely to buy from someone who has the same sounding letter in their first name as you do. You are also more likely to marry someone with the same initial.

“You” is even more natural and light than your own name. When used in conversation it is not heavy but rather captures that same self-absorption that makes your actual name so persuasive.

Writing in second person speaks to readers on an intimate level and triggers subconscious hypnotic “reflexes” in the brain.

We hope these tips will help you improve your content creation. And remember, great writing takes practice.