Arguably the easiest and most universal form of content creation online today comes in the form of writing. While many enjoy videos, podcasts, infographics, memes and other forms of content, written content is the most simple to create and the most universally appreciated. It also requires little to no technical skill outside of an understanding of grammar and an appreciation for what your target audience values.

Nevertheless, anybody can improve their writing skills – and in the process, improve their efforts related to search engine optimization, marketing and everything else. As such, let’s look at some basic tips that can bolster the effectiveness of your writing skills for these endeavors.

Structure Sentences for Your Audience

One of the biggest and most important tips when writing for audiences is to understand both what the audience expects and the medium in which you’re writing. Obviously for more detailed driven content such as how-to posts, being elaborate helps make the content better. When writing casually for audiences, keeping things shorter and sweeter is the better route. Likewise, it’s crucial to understand the attention spans of your audience: this will determine whether to opt for shorter or longer sentences overall. Lastly, pinging servers with PPC campaigns will result in different sentence structure (i.e. short ones) than bouncing long-form content to an expert audience. By being aware of your audience’s characteristics as well as the medium you’re writing on, you can produce more effective sentences regardless of the situation.

Format Content Appropriately

Just as important as the quality of the content is the way in which it is presented. Content that is easy to read and digest will undoubtedly get more shares, thorough reads and engagement than content that doesn’t flow well. As such, one part of being a good writer – whether it be with SEO or marketing in mind – is knowing how to format.

Adequate use of subheadings and other formatting elements – such as numbering and bullet points – can help make some forms of content easier to follow. Likewise, sticking with shorter paragraphs can help people quickly pause and resume reading when the content in question is longer. Formatting also serves a purpose with regard to informing search engines and ensuring that content is being ranked properly based on its substance.

Tell a Story

Regardless of the content topic or theme, being able to relate with the reader is crucial in keeping their attention and making an impact. As such, many professional writers such the art of story-telling throughout their content to build rapport and otherwise break up the monotony of more complex subjects. This can be anything from a short anecdotal tale that is content-relevant to an experience of somebody else that can help further reinforce the narrative. By building a deeper connection with the reader, you’ll keep their attention for longer periods and improve the perceived quality of your writing.

Whether you’re pinging servers with ad copy or blog posts, there is always room for improvement. Great writers understand that sentence and content structure are crucial to good writing, as is the ability to tell a story under any circumstance. Harness these tips and you’ll begin improving your writing prowess overnight!