6 Tips for Writing Compelling and Engaging Story

Writing compelling and engaging copy isn’t easy. You want to attract attention but also keep it. You want to stand out from the competition, but do so in an authentic, sincere way. Most of all, you want your audience to be engaged — and willing to act on what they read. For these reasons, crafting excellent copy is essential for any successful brand or business message.

Here are six tips for writing stories that truly connect with your audience:

1. Brush Up on the Basics

Before you can start writing great content, you’ll need at least an intermediate understanding of the basic principles of writing. This doesn’t mean you need to enrol in a prestigious creative writing program at an Ivy League university, but you will need to know the basics of grammar and spelling. Every writer should have a copy of “The Elements of Style” by Strunk and White on their bookshelf, as this small but invaluable book is one of the most comprehensive resources on the correct use of grammar and other helpful topics.

2. Write Like It’s Your Job

If you want to get better at something, you have to practice – and writing is no exception!

Unfortunately, there are few shortcuts that can transform you into an amazing writer overnight, and even the most talented writers had to learn their craft over a period of many years. It’s admittedly even harder to write while considering SEO and how to drive traffic to your post.

If you want to improve your writing skills, writing on a regular basis will not only diminish your

fear of the blank page (or blinking cursor), but it will also help you develop a unique style. So,

even if nobody reads it, keep writing. Practice makes perfect.

3. Read Like It’s Your Job

The best writers are also keen readers, and reading on a regular basis is an easy way to start

developing your writing skills. I don’t just mean blog posts; diversify your reading

material. Expand your horizons to more challenging material than you typically read, and pay

attention to sentence structure, word choice, and how the material flows. The more you read, the more likely you are to develop an eye for what makes a piece so effective, and which mistakes to avoid.

4. Edit ruthlessly

Shorten, delete, and rewrite anything that does not add to the meaning. It’s okay to write in a

casual style, but don’t inject extra words without good reason.

To make this easier, break your writing into three steps:

1. Write the entire text.

2. Set your text aside for a few hours or days.

3. Return to your text fresh and edit.

None of us can ever be perfect writers, and no one expects us to be. However, we can all

improve our style and sound smarter by following these tips and writing naturally.

5. Choose simple words

Write use instead of utilize, near instead of proximity, help instead of facilitate, for instead of in the amount of, and start instead of commencing. Use longer words only if your meaning is so specific, no other words will do.