6 Questions to Ask Yourself to Write Good Content

Luckily, it’s a skill you can learn. Rather than hand you keywords, sentence structures, and other magic fixes, I want to get you working a little. Writing and creating content is often a question of mindset.

It’s not just about opening Facebook and cranking out 10 posts for next month. Instead, I suggest asking yourself 6 questions that will help you write relevant content that actually serves your goals.

To keep things simple, I’ll mostly talk about social media posts, but the questions here apply to any form of content, like a newsletter or a promotional video.

1. Who are you talking to?

Who is your ideal client? Have you already done the exercise of building your personas? It’s an essential exercise for any business, or simply for any product launch or ad/content campaign.

I recommend this HubSpot guide for building your personas.

Having personas lets you put your content in context at all times and make sure you’re speaking to your potential clients by putting yourself in their shoes. As a 31-year-old French-speaking Quebec woman, I obviously don’t share the same interests, concerns, ways of speaking, or vocabulary as the fifty-something man from Charlevoix I’m trying to raise awareness with about the importance of organic waste collection. But having done the client-profile exercise, and rereading it before every writing session, helps me write about what interests them, in a way that speaks to them.

2. Who are you talking about?

Yes, personalizing your content, being authentic, talking about the person behind the product and the business — that’s good. But really, people want you to talk to them about THEM. Do a quick check of your post: how many I’s, we’s, and me’s show up compared to your you’s? You always have the option of saying the same thing, but with “you” instead of “I.”

3. Do you have a hook?

The hook is the title, the first sentence, or the button text that a person sees first and that makes them stop scrolling and say “wow, I really want to know more.”

David revealed his method for writing effective hooks in this article. My favorite quote from it is still: “People are lazy and don’t want to burn calories for you.” 🤷

4. Does your content solve a problem?

Chatting is fun, but it doesn’t sell. What’s the goal of your post? Sell a new product? Boost awareness of a region of Quebec? Get 100 addresses for your newsletter? People aren’t going to read your post for fun or to cheer you on. We’re all swamped with content and we have very little energy left to give, with our busy lives.

It’s a bit of a bummer to put it that way, but let’s not kid ourselves; we don’t have time for that!

So you need to think about the person you’re talking to (did you read #1 and #2?) and offer them a solution to their problem. A “problem” is pretty relative — it could be:

• Not knowing where to go on vacation this summer.
• Feeling overwhelmed by the latest trends in communications.
• Wondering what to drink at happy hour tonight.

5. Are you using too much text?

What’s really essential in your post? Forget the tricks like “350 words max” or “125 characters.” Think about the message you want to get across. Which sentences actually serve that message? You can probably cut several adjectives or extra phrases.

Put more simply: reread yourself.

6. What’s the next step?

OK, your client read your post. Now what do they do? Did you put a call to action in your text? If you’re talking about an awesome product, where can they buy it? If you’re inviting them to call you, did you include your phone number? No, don’t assume they’ll click on your profile’s About section.

The reader has to spend as few calories as possible.

That means you’re going to repeat the same basic information often, from one post to the next. That’s OK, because Louise, who saw your first post, won’t always see the second one, and vice versa for Paul.

Feeling better equipped for your next writing session? If in doubt, contact us for a brainstorming session or to help with your content. It’s our specialty!

ALSO READ: Our secret and super easy method for effective copywriting! 5 tips for recording a quality video 13 tools to adopt for content creation (P. 2)