Writing Concisely: How To Improve Your Writing Skills And Grow Your Audience
Deep down in your soul, you know you've got what it takes to write a masterpiece that readers will love. You're sure of creatively stringing words and refining every sentence to communicate with power and clarity.
The problem?
People are ignoring your content. And now, you feel like you're not good enough. The fear of insufficient creativity and skills haunts you, fully armed to melt down your confidence.
Don't worry. Even experts faced this horror at one point in their writing journey. But seriously, what's wrong with your writing? How do you fascinate your readers and build an army of loyal fans craving to hear from you daily? How do you take your writing to the next level?
Well, don't sweat it. This guide will show you the simple tricks of writing concisely and grabbing readers' attention from the beginning to the end of your writing.
i) Clarity Must Be King
Readers are too impatient to tolerate writing that beat about the bush.
The longer it takes for the readers to find solutions in your content, the higher the chances they'll look away and seek help elsewhere.
Here's the hard truth.
'Bring me what I want and bring it now' is readers' attitude when scouring the internet for content. They're always in a hurry. They want instant solutions. They want shortcuts — and bends in your writing deny them that.
That said, what are the secrets of writing with clarity?
◙ First, implement the Zero Fluff policy, which means ruthless editing. You eliminate all words and sentences that are valueless to the reader.
Pluck out vulgar words that add no meaning and replace them with those communicating with power. As a result, you'll bring your content to life make it memorable and crystal clear.
However, that doesn't mean you write like a robot that states the facts alone. Ensure you appeal to your reader's emotions while going straight to the point.
◙ Avoid over ambition to spice up your content. The same way you can't afford to go wrong with salting in your chicken soup is how you must limit the impressive phrases you use.
Use sentences and words that are common to your readers. Address them as if you're chatting with a friend to keep them interested and engaged in your content.
ii) Create a Powerful Introduction
When cooking, the ingredients you use at the very beginning can tell your food's final taste or flavor. Similarly, your introductions reflect the content quality in the body.
A crappy introduction turns off readers and deprives them of the energy to keep on reading.
On the other hand, packing a punch in your openings tells readers something valuable lies ahead. A strong introduction evokes curiosity, fueling readers' urge to glide through your content.
It's just like a movie — the intro tells you whether the following minutes or hours are worth watching. Similarly, readers can judge your content's quality from your introduction's impact.
So, how do you make your introduction irresistible and compelling?
You can do two things (among others):
First, tap into your reader's emotions by connecting to a specific feeling they recognize to create a common ground with them. That way, you'll show them you understand their trouble, and they'll love you for that.
Take, for example, this article's introduction. It cranks readers' emotions by acknowledging that they have the writing skills, but people ignore their content.
In this case, the writer empathizes with the readers and arouses curiosity (Why are people ignoring my content, despite being a skilled writer?)
Second, spruce up your intros with power words.
Power words are carefully chosen terms that infuse zing and glamour into your intros. They help you tap into your readers' deepest felt needs, pain points, and desires, making it easier to snatch their attention and lead them into the body.
The following are examples of power words.
Power words are classified as follows:
◙ Fear power words
◙ Encouragement power words
◙ Greed power words
◙ Anger power words
◙ Lust Power words
◙ Safety power words
Generally, power words are a backdoor to readers' emotions and desires. Use them to hook the audience on your intros for a successful transition into the body.
iii) Show Your Audiences the Details, Don't Tell
Your content must be far from abstract if you want to hook your readers.
It should trigger the five senses such that your readers can picture or feel whatever you are trying to put across.
Imagery in your writing can be a game-changer.
For instance, if you can make them see how bright the day is or have a clear picture of how your products eliminate pain and add pleasure to their life, you'll boost your audience's ability to comprehend and remember the content you've shared.
Even better, you'll finesse the clarity of your message for more audience engagement.
That's because figurative language brightens up your content and packs more glamor into it.
It helps stamp out the boredom tied to text content, which is responsible for making your readers' feet too heavy to continue skimming through your writing.
With that in mind, it's time you master the fine art of showing and not telling. You can achieve this using relevant examples linked to the subject, which will give the audience a context to relate to.
Alternatively, you can use sensory words to trigger the five senses and bring your message to life such that they can touch, hear, smell, taste, or see whatever you are dishing out.
iv) Stick to Simple Language
Imagine a guy with prodigious muscles approaches and grabs your scrumptious lunch. Now, reimagine a guy with huge muscles approaches and grabs your tasty lunch.
In the first case, the big words' prodigious' and 'scrumptious' are difficult to process. They tend to scare readers away because they are almost impossible to comprehend.
Similarly, using complicated words in your writing blows away the reader's attention. It makes readers imagine themselves as old construction lorries with weak engines loaded heavily and trying to climb a hill.
You can imagine how stressful it is for readers to have a dictionary by their side every time they read your content.
The chances are that it makes them feel dumb and think less of themselves. And in the end, you'll bore them to tears, and they won't proceed reading your content.
The solution?
Use clear and simple language to communicate with power and clarity. Take, for example, the second situation above. Instead of 'prodigious muscles,' using 'huge muscles' conveys the message clearly and with the right impact. The same applies to replacing 'scrumptious lunch' with 'tasty lunch.'
The point is, don't make it a struggle for your readers to get what you're putting across. After all, you're not fighting for a gold medal in a vocabulary competition. Use simple but powerful words because no one will blame you for making your content easy to read.
Plus, the attention span of your audience is incredibly short. If they can't derive the meaning of a word or a sentence instantly, you risk repelling them, which will significantly affect your readership.
Crafting a Masterpiece Doesn't Have to Be a Pain in the Neck
It's easy.
◙ Get your facts straight before communicating them to your audience
◙ Appeal to your readers' emotions in all your intros
◙ Go straight to the point when sharing your ideas without sounding like a robot (Avoid fluff and address the reader's emotion)
◙ Use simple language — communicate with your readers using the language they'll appreciate
Please share this article with other writers to help spread the gospel of writing concisely☺.
