High Recall Quotient – The Secret Of Outstanding Web Content
Have you ever wondered why only some of your childhood memories are still stuck in your brain while the others have vanished? Why do you wish to see more of LOST (famous TV series by Spielberg)? Why are some stories, articles, and websites hard to forget? It is because they all have a high Recall Quotient.
Today, the web is full of content posted just for the sake of search engine optimization. Millions of writers worldwide make a living out of rewriting old content and posting the same at several places. But, you must know this – One good article can make up for 1000 or more boring articles. If the content has value your readers would willingly share it.
So what goes into writing content that people would love to read and remember?
To begin, think about a story that you can narrate to anybody right now. It could be a book, a TV series, a movie, an advertisement, or just a blog post that you read recently. Now think why you remember it so well. You will come up with following answers:
- Emotional connect: I still remember an episode of “I shouldn’t be alive” on Discovery where a bunch of teenagers get lost in the Grand Canyon without water, food, or shade in the blistering heat. Now, why do I remember it? Because I have a kid and I can feel the pain when I see any child in trouble; because I have had an experience in my life where our team ran out of water and it was a long time before we could each get an unfulfilling sip. Although, we were waterless for just a couple of hours, I can still imagine how it could’ve been for those kids. What I am trying to say is that if the content strikes the right chord, it will hit the audience emotionally. So the most important aspect of good writing is understanding the problems and challenges faced by your audience and portray it vividly. That brings me to the next point, which is…
- Vivid presentation: A dramatic representation and good use of persuasive language, pictures and videos is essential for today’s online audience. Can you recall the first time you read or watched “Jurassic Park”? You are right, great content must be backed by greater presentation. But, I am sure that you do not remember the second and third part as well as you do the first one? The reason…
- Originality and element of surprise: You are more likely to remember something more when you see/read it for the first time. That’s why web content writers should always think of unique ideas and ways to write. J.K. Rowling has done it pretty well with her famous series of books: “Harry Potter”. Each part has a never-been-told-before story, an element of surprise as well as a flow that smoothly shifts from one part to the next – and yet each book is somewhat complete in its own way.
I know this list is incomplete. There are many more factors that go into building compelling content, and one of them is “conversational writing” style. I invite you all to please share your ideas about what goes into writing compelling web content.
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| Print article | This entry was posted by Anuja Aggarwal on August 31, 2010 at 10:16 AM, and is filed under Content writing tips. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
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Why Do You Need Powerful Content For Your Marketing Needs?
about 1 year ago - 1 comment
To be in your prospect’s consideration set, you have to maintain the frequency of your brand communication and build awareness. You need to send promotional messages, e-newsletters, alerts, surveys, webinar invitations, be active on social networks, and do much more at a faster rate; thus creating a need for hi-speed marketing content.
The State of Freelancing: 2010
about 2 years ago - No comments
about 1 year ago
Some comments received from other experts:
“Freshness. You’ve called it “Originality and element of surprise,” but I’d put it at the top of the list. Thanks for the piece, Anuja.”
- Bob Kalsey, Writer, Director; Owner, Bravura Films, Inc.; Communications Consultant
“For me, who has been an avid reader since a very young boy, beautifully crafted stories consist of vivid, memorable characters; vibrant, passionate verse; attention to detail; drama and always the element of surprise. Many great stories grab you right from the very first sentence, and build upon that wonderful beginning — leading the reader to relish (often to reread) every subsequent paragraph and chapter.”
- Michael Payton , Experienced MAR-COM, sports/event marketing, branding pro, Writer/Public Speaker.
“Basics such as legitimately “new” info, articulation, etc. A writer’s passion sticks with you more than anything. On either end of the scale (positive or negative), the tone will create a memory.
To put it into the realm of marketing, there are tons of numbers being thrown around. This can mean clicks, impressions, or plain old-fashioned dollars. You stand a better chance of retaining the stats if there is a relevance to you. The more specific detail, the better.”
- Frank Cassidy, Art Director and Project Manager
“You are right. For a high recall quotient you need to have good narration skills and vivid presentation skills. However, you cannot always use conversational writing styles when you have to give a informative article. Most of my clients want me write in third person. They tell it has to informative. But I feel the first person hits well with most readers because, they try to connect with my experience if the subject interests them. Finally, I do write my clients prefer. I
Otherwise I agree with you. I still remember the tales from Mahabrat and could connect it witht the episodes that was shown in the television channel because of the way (in technical term, the style) my grandfather used to narrate the tale. Today, many educational institutions are using ppts and other visual effects for the school students to make lessons more easier. This also means high recall quotient in young students. Writing is a skill and writing for the web is an art.”
- Maya Pillai
“People will read anything on three topics: family, health and finances. If you can combine two or more of these topics, you’ll hook readers, i.e. How To Improve Family Nutrition At Home AND Save Money – all three topics in one article.”
- Paul Lalley, Wordslinger & Custodian at Webwordslinger.com
“I’m excited by this trend of conversational writing style because it’s inclusive. The old paradigm was experts knew and you did not. Society was set up for these experts to tell you what to do and how to do it but just like in physicians’ office (where those attitudes, in some that have God complexes, created tension between expert and layman), it created a hierarchy and hierarchies are built to be toppled. It’s human nature, we don’t like to be talked down to — there is inherent rebellion. Especially, like in the medical field, when changes occur that make it hard for the hierarchy not to make mistakes. The second that an Achilles heel is detected it’s pounced upon by those that feel marginalized because they’re not in the know.
The internet (and social media engagement in particular) is really all about “people power”. It’s about making information, tools and techniques available to all who have access (and that’s most of us now.) If you’re not inclusive, if you’re not helping, sharing and imparting value and wisdom and deciphering jargon for folks — you’ll be left behind.
So, I not only like it — I think it is now necessary and vital to business success.
”
- Vanessa Nix Anthony, SEO Copywriter/Food & Craft Beer Writer/Online and Print Journalist/Social Media Strategist
about 1 year ago
Some more expert comments received on this article:
“The subject or main character must be personally relatable, you either love or hate it, but you don’t forget it. It must reveal something useful for the readership. It must answer some unspoken question that spirals around the reader’s mind. It must connect the dots in a way that a person has an aha moment. It must say something so simple that you can’t believe you hadn’t already thought of that, and you want to repeat it as if you did. It must say something so profound or out of the box that you learn something new, so you want more of that. It must make the reader feel something, good or bad but never indifferent. It must make your care about the subject or the characters as if they are your own misguided family members. It must make you want to gossip about it, (like Sex and the City). You must tell a good story, even if it’s advertising or technical.”
- Sandy Penny, Ghost Writer for the Angels, New Age Business Visionary, Spiritual Writer, Soft News Writer
“The more we can include the reader and make them a part of what they are reading, the more affective it is and the more involved they will get in reading it. ”
- Vera Stark, Emotional Life Coach at Emotional Freedom Life Coaching
about 1 year ago
Very nice post..