My rule for creating content that delivers
One rule I try to live and work by is: ‘Always deliver on your promises.’ The bottom line is if you can’t deliver, don’t promise. This policy may not always win friends and influence people but it will definitely not make enemies or leave disappointed clients grumbling behind your back.
The same thing goes for effective communication. ‘Tis better to under promise and over deliver. Sound obvious? This can be a tough sell when it comes to marketing messages. I find people often all too willing to believe their own B.S. But if your product isn’t really going to change society, transform lives, or even amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world, as Bogey said to Bacall in Casablanca, there’s little point in promising it will.
That’s even truer when it comes to creating content that delivers. My current bugbear is the post with the killer headline, designed to draw you in according to tried-and-true copywriting techniques:
“How to write a post that will double traffic to your website!”
“A surprising trick to make sure you win that sales pitch.”
“The secret weapon that Google hasn’t told you.”
A click or two later, you’ve scrolled through that post and not found the nirvana promised in the headline. If you’re like me, you read through it again to make sure you haven’t missed anything. Then vow never to read anything by that author or return to that site again.
It’s the social media equivalent of the lunchbag letdown. And it’s a sure fire way to lose potential customers, fast.
Instead, make sure your blog post, tweet or webpage delivers on the promise in the headline. By giving the reader the content – ie, the answer or piece of information – that they came for.
It’s that simple.
So, did my content deliver? Please let me know by leaving a comment!
Tags: blogging, Casablanca, content, copywriting, deliver, effective communication, headlines, posts, promises
