The secret to writing successful content
Vocabulary, grammar and observation are all important, but the hard work is thinking.
What do you think is a content writer’s most important asset?
An encyclopedic vocabulary? Sure, that’s helpful, but not entirely necessary. Because marketing content for general readers should aim for a Flesch-Kincaid writing level between grades 7–9, many of those fancy multisyllabic words we picked up in college can probably stay nestled between Webster’s covers.
An inside-out knowledge of grammar? Yes, good writers know how to construct a sentence and the difference between “effect” and “affect.” They can sniff out a passive sentence faster than a bloodhound. They might even know when to use the Oxford comma. Grammatical knowledge is great, but there are plenty of guides where anyone can look this stuff up.
Outstanding powers of observation? People who don’t pay attention to their topic can’t write about it very well, but there are plenty of good observers who don’t know how to convert their notes into compelling reading material.
Although all of these skills are important to writing well, none of them hit the No. 1 spot.
Author, lecturer and historian David McCullough identified the crucial writing skill in an article published in the July/August 2002 issue of “Humanities”:
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