As PR professionals, one of our most important tasks is providing clear communication to an audience. Most often this is done through writing and developing content. Whether it’s emails to clients, newsletters or press releases or blog posts, our success as communicators depends on capturing our audience’s attention. For PR writers, there is often pressure to simplify an idea into a short tweet, make a difficult topic easier to understand, or create an audience experience for a campaign launch. Drafting compelling and share-worthy content isn’t always easy – but one thing to always remember is to be sure to establish a hook (what makes it interesting?) and foster an appropriate tone. The hook will draw in your audience and an engaging tone can make your audience want to interact with your brand.   Next time you’re writing content about something that may not seem that creative, consider these basic tips before you put pen to paper:

  • Know your audience. Before you begin writing your content, it’s important that you know your audience. Know their interests, their opinions on the topic and why you think they might be interested in reading your article or story. Your readers will read your article or visit your website for a reason – keep them engaged by making it memorable and relevant to them.
  • Write a catchy headline. The headline of your content is easily one of the most important parts – it’s the first thing that catches the attention of your reader, and it’s also what encourages them to read your content in the first place. Invest time in creating the perfect headline that draws your audience in and gives them a reason to continue reading.
  • Format your content. When writing your content, split it up into paragraphs, add subheads or bullets and include visuals. Who wants to read an entire article of just text? Incorporating a little variation will help keep your content fresh, will make your message easier to read and will hold the attention of your readers all the way to the end.

These are just a few quick tips to make content development more interesting and thoughtful. Do you have any other tips on how to write relevant content? Let us know in the comments below!