Mark Twain said it best: "Write what you know."
Unfortunately he lived in a world before search engines and the highly competitive digital landscape. Today, no matter how great your story, how fascinating your insight or how wonderful your writing, it's all worthless if it's not created by and read by people who care.
Today if you want people to enjoy your work and you want to monetize it, they need to find and see it first!
The folks at Google would agree with Twain's advice here. To Google, content IS king, but only if it embodies accurate and authoritative information.
Studies show that businesses using content marketing experience approximately three times more leads than those not using it, and it often costs 62% less than traditional marketing methods
Writing So It's Worth It
What are other indicators of high-quality content?
ORIGINAL - sharing, reporting, research or analysis of information in a creative or innovative way
ORGANIZED - curated into a clear intro, body and conclusion, digestible with lists to summarize
ORDERLY - complete, comprehensive,proper spelling, grammatically sound, cohesive, coherent
OPPORTUNISTIC - easily accessible, viewable and functional on all browsers, devices and platforms
Each of these characteristics supports Google, and your audience's preference for intentional, high-quality content.
When it comes down to it, all content should be worth writing, but most importantly worth READING and SHARING. Anyone can write about something relevant, but to make that content be a source of reference - now thats something of beauty.
Writing for Humans
The first step in writing for your reader is to understand and cater to their search intent, which will one of these four types:
Navigational
Informational
Commercial
Transactional
From there, you should craft content that meets four essentials:
Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust
E-E-A-T is an acronym mentioned in Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines for raters (real humans!) to evaluate while rating a websites quality and purpose.
You can INSTANTLY level up your content strategy with Identity-Based Persuasion - content that speaks directly to who your readers are AND who they want to become.
Audience Mirror Effect: Speaking Their Language
Think of thisas holding up a mirror that reflects your reader’s thoughts, their struggles, their dreams, and even the words they use. This is how you make them feel like, “Wow… are you in my head?!?”
Learn Their Language: Hang out where they do. Read through their comments, scroll through reviews, pay attention to what they’re saying in forums and groups.
Grab those words and phrases use them, and watch the magic happen.
Reflect Their Struggles and Aspirations: Take those exact words and reflect their reality back to them, like a mirror.
Show You’re On Their Team: This isn’t about “selling.” It’s about saying, “Hey, I get it. I’m here with you.” This creates a feeling of we’re in this together.
Template:
Hook: "Ever feel like [insert common struggle your audience faces]? Like you’re [describe their specific frustration]?"
Relatability Statement: "You’re not alone. I’ve been there, and so have many others."
Reflection Example: "Maybe you’ve caught yourself saying [insert common phrases or words your audience uses]. Those thoughts aren’t just yours – they’re shared by so many."
Supportive Call-to-Action: "Let’s talk about how to change that – together."
Emotional Anchoring Points: Creating Connection Through Key Moments
Alright, now that you’ve got their attention, it’s time to go DEEPER. Emotional Anchoring Points are those moments in your content that hit them right where it counts. It’s all about creating little connection “checkpoints” that remind them, “Oh yeah… they get it.”
Identify Key Moments of Frustration and Joy: Think about the emotions they’re feeling in their journey. Those moments of YESSS and ughhhhhh. Identify those and call them out.
Call Out These Emotions Directly: Don’t be shy about calling these feelings out (KINDLY). People want to feel seen and understood.
Paint a Picture of the Other Side: Once you’ve tapped into their current struggle, show them what it’s like to get past it. Help them see that there’s something better ahead. These emotional anchors are the moments where they feel like you GET what they’re going through… and it’s what keeps them reading.
Template:
Identify Frustration: "Ever feel like [describe a specific frustration your audience feels]? It’s that moment when [paint a vivid picture of their struggle]."
Call Out Emotions: "It’s exhausting, isn’t it? But it’s also something we can work through together."
Paint the Transformation: "Imagine instead waking up to [describe the positive, desired outcome]. It’s closer than you think."
Encourage Action: "Here’s one small step you can take today to start shifting things: [insert actionable advice]."
Identity Anchoring: Helping Them Step Into Their Future Self
Okay, this one is next level AND makes a huge impact. People are WAY more likely to take action if they feel like that action aligns with who they want to be. Identity Anchoring is about showing your audience that, by engaging with your content (or product, or service), they’re stepping into the person they’re dreaming of becoming. This helps them believe, “THIS is who I’m becoming” - and actually gives them the confidence to go for it.
Define Their Ideal Identity. Ask yourself: Who is your audience trying to become?Define it down to the core.
Align Your Content with This Identity. Every piece of content should feel like a step toward that desired identity. Make them feel like they’re stepping into that future version of themselves.
Share Stories That Reflect This Identity: Let them see that others have become what they’re working toward. Show examples, stories, and testimonials of people who went from where they are to where they want to be.
Template:
Define Their Aspirations: "You’re not just [describe current state or role they identify with]. You’re someone who’s [describe the aspirational identity they’re striving for]."
Show the Alignment: "Every time you [describe a simple action they can take], you’re stepping closer to becoming [ideal identity]."
Inspire with Stories: "Just like [insert relatable success story], who went from [current state] to [aspirational identity]. It’s possible – and it starts with small, intentional steps."
Remember if your content can make people feel like you actually GET them, they’re going to stick around, engage, and keep coming back for more.
Everyone wants to feel seen, heard and understood - and that's the root of why this works.
When you combine all three techniques (Audience Mirror Effect, Emotional Anchoring Points, and Identity Anchoring), you’re not just creating content; you’re building a RELATOINSHIP.
When people feel like you actually “get” them, then they’re not just readers… they’re your community, your most loyal fans, followers and advocates.
This framework turns passive readers into active participants, fostering both emotional and identity-driven engagement:
"Do you ever feel like you’re spinning your wheels, pouring your energy into something, but it’s just not clicking? Like you’re so close, but you can’t bridge the gap?
I hear you. I’ve been there. It’s that constant push-and-pull between doing everything you can and still feeling like it’s not enough. Whether it’s balancing work and family, chasing fitness goals, or building your dream business – it’s exhausting. But let me tell you… it doesn’t have to stay that way.
Think about that moment when everything clicks – when you start to see the progress, feel the energy, and actually believe you’re getting somewhere. That feeling? That’s what we’re working toward. It’s closer than you think."
You’re not just someone ‘trying’ to get through the day. You’re becoming someone who thrives – who shows up, takes action, and transforms challenges into opportunities. Every step you take gets you closer to the future version of yourself you’ve always dreamed of."
Let’s take that first step today. What’s one thing you can do right now that aligns with your goals? Drop it in the comments – I’ll be cheering you on every step of the way!
Writing for SERPs
Did you know there are over 200 rank factors that Google uses to assess your website? They have kindly published a list of standards for webmasters to use in their content creation.
Google is ultimately looking out for consumers, ensuring they can make informed decisions and sound purchases, while hindering money-hungry scammers who do not have the best intentions of the customer in mind.
It's true - Google just wants you to have the best information to allow you to make the best decision for your finances, your health, your life!
Content Writing Tips & Tricks
RESEARCH. The more you understand the subject matter, the more effective your writing can be. Other things to research: Content gaps, and your competitors! Know what content is needed and what matters to your audience!
FOCUS. Write directly for the one person who represents your target audience. If more than one person, make it two separate pieces of content
DRAFT. The messy, ugly first draft gets your ideas on paper, helps organize your thoughts and lets you experiment with formatting. Tip: AI can help too!
REFINE. Make your content more readable and digestible by
keeping sentences and paragraphs short
using bullets or block quotes, images and video and subheadings to break up sections.
keeping your wording clear and concise,
getting to the point and eliminating repetition.
being descriptive with copy- striving to show, not tell
writing how you speak, and how your audience speaks
The ROI of Content Marketing
The cumulative return on investment for content marketing is substantial, though often indirect. Content marketing plays a pivotal role in the inbound sales funnel and overall marketing strategy by
building brand authority and expertise
engaging and educating audiences across a variety of channels and platforms
setting the stage for lead generation and sales
publishing regularly and widely to create a consistent content experience across web, email and social
establishing brand trust and loyalty before they are ready to make a purchase
Investing in high-quality long-form content, especially well-researched, informative pieces, contributes to long-term SEO gains, making the brand more visible, discoverable and reputable.
Looking closer at KPIs like engagement and conversion rates will help quantify the value of marketing efforts, aligning with your broader business goals.
Putting it All Together
For the average blogger or small business owner, this information could be overwhelming. So I've created an abbreviated version here, with a few extra tips and tricks that are known to be universal best practices in the world of blogging.
Following best practices for blogging will ensure that each piece of content you produce make it easy for Google - and your customers - to find and navigate.
So much of writing copy is simply answering people’s questions in logical order. It doesn't have to be complicated.
Before hitting the "Publish" button, ask yourself: Is this blog or article...
ENTERTAINING - interesting, customer-driven, based on query data and keyword research, not rank ability, thought-provoking, insightful, compelling, engaging
EDUCATIONAL - informative, accurate, factual, research-backed, evidence-based, honesty and transparency, verifiable, clearly and correctly sourced and cited, author bios
ENGAGING - inspirational, motivational, inviting or encouraging action
EVERGREEN - timeless, classic, valuable, relevant, helpful, useful, substantial, simple, easy to understand, straightforward titles and copy, few ads or other distractions
If you've created something that you're proud to show to the world AND that others would benefit from, then you're doing your job as a content creator!
Is all of this simple and easy to accomplish? Of course not! That's why I am here :) Let's set up a time to have a Brand Discovery call to chat about YOUR content creation needs.
Erin Ratliff is a certified feng shui consultant, holistic business coach and organic growth marketer for earth-loving, heart-centered soul-preneurs.
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