Consuming great writing is like listening to a singer. If the performer makes an emotional connection with me – even though they miss a few notes – I eagerly lock into the rest of the song and anticipate the next performance.

Your words must be powerful and effective as well if you want to captivate as many of your readers as possible.

Content writing isn’t an easy task. Whether you craft words for B2B or B2C audiences, the challenges can be many. I’ve created a diverse set of tips, tools, and resources to aid in shaping and modifying your work. It’s not an exhaustive collection. Some ideas may seem familiar. Others will be fresh.

My hope is that you’ll walk away with some insights or new tools to help address or minimize the content creation challenges you face.

Let’s get to it.

1. Convey much with few words

I find inspiration in ad copy that takes little space to reflect a strong message. Sure, you’ll need to write much more than a couple of sentences for your content marketing, but simplicity has merit. How well you write always sets the stage for what’s to come.

Creativity can emerge in many ways. Sometimes, it’s a simple starting point. It might be wise to reflect the times and a significant sentiment. These examples tap into beauty, memes, a health crisis, and a love of pets.

I was impressed with this line from Dove, “You’re more beautiful than you think.” It’s part of Dove Real Beauty Sketches, a six-minute YouTube video with 11 million views since 2013. The content looks at the gap between how we perceive ourselves and how others see us.

In 2019, Spotify gained notice with its Spotify Everywhere meme-themed campaign. For example, on one billboard, the left side read: “Me: It’s Okay; the breakup was mutual.” On the right side, it read: “Also Me: Sad Indie” (complete with the app’s music search imagery). The simple, creatively delivered message went deep into a full range of emotions familiar to countless people.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to numerous ad campaigns that underscore the value of brevity. Nike handled it this way: “If you ever dreamed of playing for millions around the world, now is your chance. Play inside, play for the world.”

CARA Welfare Philippines (Compassion and Responsibility for Animals) chose contrasting images – neglect and recovery – and four words to reinforce the message of caring: “Same dog, different owner.”