Write Better Content Right Now | Part 3: Get Active. Ditch Throw-Away Words.

Part 3: Get Active. Ditch Throw-Away Words.

This is part three of a four-part series on creating better marketing content right now. Entrepreneurs and companies often come to content marketers like me when they need polished, professional marketing content. But not everyone has the budget or resources for a full content strategy. In these posts, I want to help you see that you can write great content, and you can do it now. Want to start at the beginning? Check out Part 1: Start Writing. Now.

Okay, you’ve started writing. You’ve practiced getting all your thoughts out on paper, your tablet, or your laptop. You’ve stepped away for a bit, and you’ve even come back to make your first round of edits. Now, here’s where things get fun and where you can really start to see improvements in your marketing content.

Edit in the active voice

First, I know you’re rolling your eyes right now, but I need you to pay attention to this part. Everyone tells you to do this. Your teachers marked up all your papers in high school when you didn’t. Your mom probably even said something about it (or was that just mine?). But really, you need to.

Write in the active voice. Or, maybe I should say, EDIT in the active voice. I don’t want you to get bogged down in whether you’re writing in active or passive voice while you’re actually writing a draft. Like I said in part two, when you’re writing, just write. Keep that momentum going. Wait until you’re ready to edit, but then I really want you to pay attention and make every possible sentence as active as possible.

As you practice this, you’ll discover something. You can write really compelling copy, just by making this one change. And, the more you do it, the easier it gets. You’ll find yourself writing naturally in the active voice. Again, don’t worry about it while you’re actually writing. Just write. When you switch to editing mode, though, take a moment to enjoy how naturally you’ve moved from boring passive voice to awesome active voice.

Ditch the throw-away words

Now, let’s talk about throw-away words.

In order to. Whether or not. That being said.

I hate these phrases. Why? Because they include throw-away words that just take up space. Think of any sentence that includes the phrase “In order to.” In every case, you could get rid of the words “in order.” You’d have the same sentence with the same meaning — it’d just be punchier and more effective. Don’t believe me? Check this out:

·      You should write in active voice in order to write better content.
·      In order to get to work on time, she left at 6 a.m.
·      That being said, your audience wants great content from you.

“Whether or not” is a bit trickier, but the “or not” usually doesn’t do much. And I once had an editor who banned it from use in all copy. So I tend to avoid it, just on principle.

As you tweak your writing, adjust from passive to active voice, and delete all those throw-away words, you might be surprised how much your content shrinks. That’s okay. You’re not in high school or college, throwing as many filler words at a paper as you can to meet the minimum word count. Let go of the idea of a minimum word count. Readers love brevity. Short, punchy sentences tell better stories. Embrace your shrinking content. On the internet, there’s (almost) no such thing as too short.

Now, as you pare your content down to its beautiful bones, you’re going to notice something else. Something kind of alarming.

You repeat yourself. A lot. You use the same verbs and descriptors over and over. You have a few words that you fall back on when you talk about your brand, products, and familiar topics. What can you do to keep your work fresh and make it more engaging?

You might’ve guessed this already, but I’ll be talking about a pretty cool trick to punch up your copy in the final part of this series. Learn all about it in Part 4: Collect Interesting Verbs, Go Light on Adjectives .