Investing more time in these two sentences before you start creating could take your content writing to the next level.

You’re posting for a reason, right? Your content writing isn’t just for fun; there’s a definite endgame in mind.

You could be creating to grow your email list or optimize for shares on social media.

What do you wish to accomplish with your piece?

First things first.

Before we even dive into the two sentences that will take your content writing to the next level, we have to agree on one key point: you need people to read your content.

That means your content writing has to resonate.

Your readers are busy people. They’ve got lives, jobs, and families. 

You have to grab their attention, then get them to take the desired action.

Spend time on these two sentences.

The headline and the call-to-action are the two sentences you should spend some time on before writing.

These benefit the two main ways a blog post can provide value to your business: generating clicks and producing results from your readers.

The headline.

The headline is what will entice your readers to even engage with your content writing.

Without an eye-catching headline, there’s no hope of getting people to click. You want people to click, so Google knows your website is an authority on the topic.

A few tips for your headline:

• Include a number.
• Evoke an emotion.
• Cultivate curiosity.

This list might sound like your content writing will become clickbait. Don’t go so far as to make false promises, but a compelling headline followed by quality content will hook your reader.

And a hooked reader that engages with your content writing will encounter the second sentence you should spend time getting just right: the call-to-action.

The call-to-action.

The call-to-action is the sentence where you ask readers to act. Some examples of these actions are social media shares, likes & comments, or to sign up for your email list.

Together with your headline, a quality call-to-action provides a powerful one-two punch to your content writing.

By crafting a personalized call-to-action sentence, you’re making the reader an offer about how your post’s topic can benefit their particular situation or business.

To craft your call-to-action sentence, go back to the question posed earlier: what do you wish to accomplish with your piece?

What is a CTA?

A CTA is an acronym for call-to-action.

You know it’s important since it has been made into an acronym.

It’s shorthand used by content creators to designate the desired action a reader should take after reading a piece of content writing.

What makes an effective call-to-action?

Strictly speaking, an effective call-to-action is one that produces results.

Every action you would want your readers to take can be measured. New email subscribers, social media stats, and new clients are ways a reader could take action.

The key to creating a compelling call-to-action is clarity. There has to be an explicit desired action for the reader to take.

The goal of your content writing is to convince readers to take that action.

How important is the headline?

It’s hard to overstate the importance of the headline. It’s what convinces people to click on your piece of content writing in the first place.

More clicks benefit you because Google rewards pages that get clicked on more frequently by showing them higher in the search results.

Creating a winning headline is only one part of the overall strategy. The content writing still has to be quality enough to grab the reader’s attention, so they continue reading all the way to the call-to-action.

Create your rails.

Are you familiar with the rails placed in the gutters at a bowling alley? The ones that help newer bowlers stay in the lane?

I like to think of the headline and CTA as these rails. They’re there to keep you on track, barreling down the lane and eventually knocking down the pins.

The metaphor isn’t to suggest that you’re a content writing beginner, but it’s a helpful way to think of the two sentences.

The headline makes a promise, your content delivers, and your CTA informs your readers about the next steps they can take.

Taking time to nail down these two sentences can feel counterproductive at first. Be patient, and try it out. Knowing where your post will end up, you can use your content writing to funnel readers down to an inevitable endpoint.

A real-world example.

Spending time crafting your headline and CTA provides clarity and makes the entire post easier to write. 

The rails are there to help keep you on track, with your goal in mind.

Algorithmic Global can help with the performance of your content writing. Reach out via our contact page and we’d be happy to take a look at the headlines and CTAs of your recent blog posts for free, so your readers take the action you want!