The goal is simple: sell more of your products or services.
However, sometimes your product or service isn’t exactly the
easiest thing to explain. If you have a complicated subject matter to cover, it
can be tricky to find the ideal balance of explaining things in the simplest
terms and not bore readers right off your website.
So how do you make complex content or boring subjects easy
to understand and exciting for your target audience?
1. Avoid Jargon/Complex
Words
Might seem like a no-brainer not to use jargon, but you’d be
surprised how often industry professionals forget that the day-to-day terms
they use are considered jargon to the average person.
The key to breaking down complex topics that
require complex words and jargon, is using super simple language to
describe exactly what that jargon means.
2. Use More Than Just
Your Words
When it comes to explaining complex content or even talking
about less-than-thrilling subject matter, sometimes it takes more than just
words on the page.
Here are some of the other elements a page can have to pair
with your content for a well-rounded story:
- A good
page layout – If your page is too cluttered and stuffed with too much text,
your website visitor is more likely to be overwhelmed with the sheer amount of
text and will likely either just skim the page or leave.
- Simple
images – You shouldn’t go overboard when it comes to your images either.
Rather than super colorful, busy images, sometimes a simple icon or graphic can
to the trick.
Russell Brunson explains the concept of using simple graphics in his book
“Dotcom Secrets”, in which he uses graphics that are essentially stick figures.
“The reason the pictures are so basic is
because I want you to be able to look at the image and immediately recall the
concepts. The graphics are engineered for instant recall.”
- Video
content – Billions of hours of video are consumed every day on YouTube.
That’s because people love videos.
Video content helps to break down complex subjects and can help to educate a
wider audience – including people who don’t learn best from reading.
- Infographics
– Visual learners love infographics. When combined with clear and concise
writing and video, infographics can drastically simplify the learning process
when you’re trying to educate your audience about a tough topic.
3. Write With Energy
and an Active Voice
Most readers can tell when a writer is bored by their own
words. When it comes to writing about your business, you should write with passion
and energy.
The more complex a topic, the more energy is required to keep your audience
engaged. A simple way to do this is through anecdotes that people can relate
to.
Another way to add energy to your writing is by using an
active voice versus a passive voice. This helps to deliver a clearer message.
A quick example:
Active: Danny
wrote the blog.
Passive: The blog
was written by Danny.
The active voice provides a much simpler description for what is happening. An
active voice delivers clear messages – much quicker and much easier.
4. Use Your Page Layout as a Helpful Guide
Another way that you can help break down complex content for
your visitors is by literally breaking it down into sub-headings.
By breaking up larger pieces of content into subtopics,
you’re not only providing a visual break for the reader, but you’re also
helping them to group the information into related chunks.
Subheadings allow your reader to glance through each
subtopic to find what interests them. While we all hope that all of our content
is read, it’s better that the reader finds what they need from the page easily
instead of abandoning the page altogether.
5. Don’t Be Afraid to
Continue Later
If your subject has multiple levels of complexity, don’t be
afraid to break down each section if it allows your audience to easily grasp
the concepts over time rather than in one sitting.
We have done this before with some of our articles, such as:
The
Customer Value Journey Part 1
The
Customer Value Journey Part 2
While we could have squeezed all of that information into
one single article, that article would have been very long and would’ve talked
about many new concepts – some of which could be confusing.
Plus, a series keeps your readers anticipating more after
they finish the first piece in a series.
Conclusion
When writing about something complicated, your goal should
be to keep things simple but compelling.
Even if you were writing for a medical journal for the
world’s top doctors, at the end of the day, people digest information better
when it’s written in simple terms.
For your business, having your products and services understood and appreciated
is the first step in getting a sale or a new lead. They won’t want what they don’t understand they need.
If you need help
crafting content to help your business thrive online, call us today at
407-682-2222 or contact us online.