get the skinny on dense content

The skinny on dense content

dense_content


In a world where attention spans have fallen to mere seconds, every word counts – and high-quality writing makes the difference. Enter “dense” content, which offers readers “a lot of good, perceived value in a little bit of time.” Professionally written, dense content helps you tell the best story. It also serves up SEO, usability and lead generation benefits. Here’s what you need to know.


The basics

Forbes magazine notes that “a new trend may ignore length entirely, focusing on providing as much information as possible in the smallest possible space – dense content – to appeal to readers.” (Some may say that the emoji is the perfect dense content. But don’t scrap the English language just yet!)

Dense content combines the best of both snackable and long-form content. Think of it as “snackable done right.”

  • Snackable works well because people generally don’t have time for long reads
  • Long-form offers a valuable in-depth, authoritative exploration of a topic

The benefits

Snackable but low-quality fluff doesn’t provide value. People don’t read it – and they certainly don’t share or link to it. High-quality dense content, on the other hand, gets much higher engagement from your audience. When you pepper it with the right keywords, it also helps your websites rank higher. Bonus: Easy-to-read dense content also increases your site’s usability / accessibility.

Long-form content has strong educational and thought leadership value. Consider using dense content as a feeder, driving potential leads to fill out a form for a longer content offer, such as an e-book or white paper. When your feeder is high-quality, you earn respect with readers and pique their interest in more content.

How to write dense content

DOs DON’Ts
  • Edit well. Good revisions can help you trim the fat.
  • Make it chunky. Use bullet points, short paragraphs and graphics.
  • Mind your quality. Writing is an art, so use your best writers – or hire professionals.
  • Think mobile. Many of your readers will be accessing your content on a small screen.
  • Be verbose. Rambling on and on loses your audience.
  • Complex words. Keep it smart and simple, not stuffy or full of buzzwords. Test yourself with the Hemingway App.
  • Big chunks of text. There’s an acronym for this – TLDR, which means “too long, didn’t read.”
  • Confuse readers. Define and use key messages / message platforms to keep communicators on the same page.

Quality is more important than quantity – especially when it comes to content marketing. Let the Signal team’s professional writers deliver the dense content you need.

email marketing ingredients

Marvelous Email Marketing

email marketing ingredients


There’s a special sauce that can take your marketing emails from meh to marvelous. And that’s critically important in a world where American adults say they spend an unbelievable 10 hours, 39 minutes a day consuming media – much of that on mobile devices. If you want your audience to be engaged – and to click that call-to-action! – you’ve got to make sure your emails are on point. These 4 steps can help get you there.


4-step recipe for marvelous email marketing

 

1) HOOK ’EM FAST

Ewoks. Talk about living. Did you click that link? Of course you did. We all want to know why ewoks have it so good.

Using an interesting headline or intriguing first sentence draws the reader in, so your copy has the chance to keep them.

What would you rather click on?

  • Exciting NEW Business Opportunity!!!
  • It’s just like a platter of loaded nachos.

I rest my case.


2) KEEP IT SHORT

Practice “word economy.” When brevity counts, so does choosing just the right word.

People make a snap decision to read or delete based on the preview they see on a mobile device.

About 18 words are displayed in the preview, which MarketingProfs calls the “most valuable real estate” in your email copy. Those 18 words have to rock!

And what about the body of the email?


3) WRITE IT RIGHT

Tilt the reader’s perspective. Readers are on guard against sales copy these days, so use an unexpected approach to break down that barrier.

Ditch the jargon and buzzwords. Use real language to make a real connection with your readers.

Make sure it’s well-written and carefully proofread. Typos and bad grammar are instant credibility killers.


4) CONNECT FROM THE <3

Listen. Develop an understanding of your audience with a keen awareness of their needs, desires and fears.

Connecting from the heart triggers emotions, which engages people and makes them care about your message.

In short: Don’t just speak to your readers – join the conversation already going on in their head.


The 30-second read

  1. Use stunning openers to combat crazy-full inboxes and feeds.
  2. Be brief because readers are busy – and distracted.
  3. Use an unexpected perspective to delight readers.
  4. Write with heart in a personal voice to tap into emotion.