How to Write GREAT Content If You Are Not A Writer with Lisa Shomo @keenkoncept #vcbuzz

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How to Write GREAT Content If You Are Not A Writer with Lisa Shomo @keenkoncept #vcbuzzContent creation is the foundation of marketing: The first step to any campaign determining its success. Without content strategy there’s no marketing.

But how to write good content if you are not a writer (or have no budget to hire one just yet). Let’s discuss!

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About Lisa Shomo @keenkoncept

Lisa Shomo @keenkoncept is content marketing sorceress, social media scientist and a storyteller.

Lisa Shomo has spent over a decade in strategic content creation and brand journalism, from color print magazines to social media content management.

Connect to Lisa on Linkedin

Questions we discussed

Q1 How did you become a content creator and marketer? Please share your career story!

Completely by accident! I was an out of work filmmaker and actor. I had just finished a play and had no prospects. The producer of the play said she was looking for a marketing assistant at the chiropractic and nutritional clinic she worked for.

I learned marketing basics in the clinic and was hooked. I discovered not only could I talk about what we did at the clinic effectively with prospects, I could write about it, too!

My next position was an enterprise software company where I developed, wrote and edited the monthly magazine (among other duties), which was mailed to 80K customers. At that point, I realized I loved to write, and I had a new calling: Content Marketing.

I’ve carried my love for content and storytelling through my career and recently joined to run their Content Marketing & Communications.

Q2 How can one learn to write well? What if one lacks creativity?

The only way I know how to learn to write well is to WRITE and READ—A LOT! And it doesn’t really matter if what you read or write is good in the beginning.

Select a variety of authors, content creators, and with practice and time, you will not only understand when you’re reading poorly written material (or when you’ve written it), you’ll understand how to fix those issues.

Completely agreed. Modern and Classics!

Creativity can be learned. No one is born being a creative and gifted writer, in my opinion. It’s like a muscle that needs to be developed, worked, and maintained. Having a good editor doesn’t hurt, either.

Personally, I feel it’s important to be interested in and believe in the products or services you create content on. Otherwise, it could be tricky for you to write with an authentic voice. Telling brand stories without authenticity isn’t as effective.

 

Q3 What makes an article good? How to evaluate your own writing?

Technically, I feel a good article is one that is clear in what it wants to communicate and does so using an economy of words. Your copy should make the reader want to execute the CTA…

But, your article should also tell a story that your readers WANT to read. Everybody wants to read something they connect with; experiences, mistakes, secrets, etc. This leans more towards journalism than copywriting, in this sense…

To evaluate your writing, be sure to set yourself goals for your article. Does this communicate what I want to get across? Is anything confusing? Are there words I don’t really need? Am I using active voice? And, does it adhere to the brand voice and tone?

Whatever you want to achieve, be honest with yourself when you look over your material and ensure your goals are being met.

Agreed. How can you know if your content is getting the job done if you don’t get feedback? 

Q4 What are some writing resources and writing experts / mentors that can help one get better at writing?

Who writes in a style or convention you would like to try to emulate? Follow and connect with them, read them, and develop your own style from what you learn.

@julieemccoy are all fantastic content creators who also write about how you can write great content creatively and technically.

… as well as taking time to acknowledge writers working hard on their craft such as myself. Ann is a champion of the newsletter, my favorite content format, and writes material that I could read—and learn from—for hours.

Q5 What are your favorite content marketing and writing tools?

My standard go-tos are and . I’m a Grammarly pro subscriber, and as a self-editor, I couldn’t live without it. It spots all those spelling/grammar mistakes that you are “blind” to when you’ve read your own content a million times.

HemingwayApp helps by pointing out the difficulty level of sentences, and lets you know what grade readability level you’re writing at. Many of us are not writing technical or scientific papers and need to aim around the 6-8th grade readability level, as I do.

Google Analytics is also your best friend for finding your top performing content so you can create more like it, and what people exit on so you can address any issues that content may have.

For those of you creating graphics along with your content (don’t forget the graphics!!!), , , and Soapbox by are all truly useful tools for writers who need to add graphic elements to their content.

Our previous writing chats:

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