Be Careful Not to Choke on Your Aspirations, Content Writers

Are there any audiences less forgiving than readers on the web? Many content writers ask themselves this question on a regular basis, and their assumptions aren’t far off.

According to data collected by publishing intelligence firm Chartbeat, a majority of users (55%) spend less than 15 seconds on a web page before moving on to the next one. Dang! Talk about the importance of a first impression.

After reading this report and reflecting on how hard it can be to hook and engage online readers,  I was reminded of another audience with even less patience than readers on the web: the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader.

After all, who could forget how quickly the iconic Star Wars villain dismisses information he deems inconsequential or subordinates who have lost his confidence. If you equate “bounce rates” to “being strangled to death with the Force” then the parallels are actually pretty hard to ignore.

It’s important to note that much like Imperial officers, content writers are enthusiastic about providing their audience with valuable information. Unfortunately, our eagerness to please and grand designs for our copy sometimes can get in the way of providing the audience with the answers they are actually looking for.

So let’s take a closer look at how a handful of Star Wars characters meet their demise at the hands of Darth Vader and see what their deaths can teach us about the wrong ways to engage with a demanding audience.

Don’t Mislead Your Reader

Though technically a member of the Rebel Alliance, Captain Raymus Antilles has the distinction of being that very first person we see being throttled by Lord Vader in the opening minutes of “A New Hope.” He is quite bold in telling Vader that his ship is merely on a harmless “diplomatic mission,” considering the last scene of “Rogue One” features the Sith Lord watching them jettison away from the docks of Vader’s personal flagship. And to be fair, he isn’t lying, from a certain point of view.

However, his word choice certainly isn’t intended to guide his audience to the truth. In this way, Captain Antilles provides a great example of what happens when you underestimate the intelligence of your audience.

As a content writer, you may sometimes feel tempted to quote data or a report that doesn’t entirely support your argument. You may be in a rush to meet a deadline or feeling frustrated with the research process, and settle on quoting evidence that, at best, has some tangential relevance to the point you are making in your copy. This is the way of the Dark Side.

Taking this approach assumes that your reader not only knows less than you about your subject, but also lacks the presence of mind to check your references. If you’re found out, your credibility with your audience is shot for good and your reputation as a writer is put into jeopardy.

While this outcome may be less dramatic than your trachea being crushed by Darth Vader’s prosthetic metal hand, the consequences of misleading your audience are very real.

Don’t Get Personal or Political

Admiral Conan Motti gets choked about 30 minutes into “A New Hope” during a debate among Imperial officers aboard the Death Star about how to deal with those dastardly rebels. Ignore the fact that Admiral Motti’s extreme skepticism of the Force makes absolutely no sense given that the Jedi Council was the galaxy’s most influential nonprofit just 20 years prior. Instead, focus on his obvious misstep in anticipating the experience of his audience.

Admiral Motti might have been able to persuade Vader to his side if he had stuck to verifiable claims about the military and strategic value of the Death Star. Instead, he allowed his own personal distaste for Vader’s religious background to color his rhetoric.

As copywriters, we should always be aware of how our personal biases can influence how we write and what we write about.

First and foremost, we must remember that we are representatives of our clients. Part of our responsibility is to make sure the client’s voice and perspective trump our own when producing copy for their website or a digital asset.

We must also acknowledge the potential for our personal biases to color our writing, and that our readers are capable of seeing through our mistakes. After all, an easy way to lose your audience is to make them feel like your copy is antagonistic toward something they hold dear. If that audience includes an evil space wizard, you might lose your audience and get choked to death.

Don’t Expect a Fair Shake

If you’ve been writing for the web for any period of time, you’re well aware of the importance of the opening line. Hooking readers is key to keeping them on the page. At the same time, a carefully curated opening line can do wonders to disarm a personal bias that might prevent a reader from fully engaging with the rest of your page.

Admiral Kendal Ozzel demonstrates life-threatening ignorance of these principles in his abrupt conversation with Lord Vader in “The Empire Strikes Back.” Remember that shortly before Vader summons Admiral Ozzel onto video chat, the Sith Lord had been stewing in his personal chambers over the officer’s tactical blunders during the siege of Hoth.

It seems pretty clear that Vader is Facetiming the admiral specifically to choke him to death with the Force and promote his nearby subordinate. If Ozzel had any chance of avoiding his grisly fate, it would have to be with his opening line.

Unfortunately, Ozzel did not anticipate that his audience was entering the conversation under the influence of a powerful negative bias. He led with a bland, predictable opening that probably encouraged Vader to snuff him out that much faster. More importantly, he lacked sufficient familiarity with his audience to anticipate these negative feelings and subvert Vader’s expectations.

We as content writers must learn from Ozzel’s errors if we have any hope of improving bounce rates and user engagement on our pages. The opening line matters.

Don’t Fail to Deliver

Organization and delivery are key to producing high-quality content. These qualities are equally critical when it comes to designing and manufacturing an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet. Director Orson Krennic learns this lesson the hard way during “Rogue One” after reoccurring spells of incompetence lead him to a potentially deadly encounter with the Sith Lord.

As content writers, we can draw out a few useful nuggets of information by examining Krennic’s near-death-by-Force experience with Vader.

First and foremost, it is clear from Vader’s tone that Krennic had under-delivered in the past with regard to the development of the Death Star. As a result, the trust of his audience (Darth Vader and, more importantly, Emperor Palpatine) had already began to erode.

Content writers can likewise compromise the goodwill of their audience by promising one thing in titles and headers then failing to follow through in the copy.

Second, Krennic’s first reaction when confronted with feedback from his audience was to deny wrongdoing and deflect blame. This course of action results in him being strangled by a mystical energy field that controls his destiny.

Similarly, content writers have a choice when they fail to live up to the standards of their audience. They can either run from blame or take responsibility and commit to improvement.

(Don’t remember Darth Vader’s affinity for choking insubordinate members of the Empire – both by hand and by Force? Watch a “highlight reel” here.)

Trust DARTH

We’ve discussed in detail all the wrong ways to approach your audience as a content writer. But what can we take away as far as positive examples? Unfortunately, the Galactic Empire is such a dysfunctional workplace that it’s extremely difficult to find positive examples within the organization of successful, consistent communication.

Instead, I’ve devised a simple mnemonic device to help fellow content writers remember the lessons we’ve learned from the Empire’s finest:

By following the DARTH Standard, content writers can feel confident that their copy will meet the needs and expectations of their audience. Writers will have to continue to adapt their tone and style to each client, but approaching this challenge with the right mindset will make it much easier to engage your audience before they make the jump back into hyperspace.

Want even more tips on making sure your content messaging is on target as possible? Do not give into your fear, Padawan, for the final section of this piece offers some more detailed instructions on making sure your content strategy is as strong with the Force as it could be.

More Tips for Content Writers to Hit Their Mark

Don’t get stressed if you aren’t able to connect with an audience perfectly the first time you draft content for them. Crafting the right tone for the right group of readers can be extremely difficult. It can take time and practice and a bit of trial and error before you get the process down to a science. Try out the following strategies as you refine your approach as a content writer and marketing professional.

Do More Research

Writing for an audience means understanding the audience. To a certain extent, you need to get into somebody’s head to write a piece they find persuasive.

Unfortunately, most of us can’t wave our hands to get somebody to magically reveal their secrets. Unless you suddenly develop a talent for Jedi mind tricks, you’ll have to buckle down and learn more about your audience if you want to target them more effectively.

Learning more about your target audience may take the form of:

• Demographic research you do online
• A review of social media channels frequented by primary customers
• Reaching out directly to satisfied former customers to ask them questions about their positive experiences with your brand

Check Your Competitors

One of the easiest ways to enhance your messaging and perfect your tone for reaching a specific audience is to figure out which of your competitors is already succeeding in this effort. Plagiarizing their work is obviously not the way to go. However, understanding why their messaging is more effective than yours is a great step toward making your own content more appealing to your target audience.

Remember to take note of not just how a blog post or email is being used effectively, but every aspect of a competitor’s marketing strategy. Understand how your rivals are using social media to talk about and draw attention to blog posts. Figure out how (and if) the tone and messaging of their social media content matches that of the longer piece. Finally, compare their content directly to yours and look for areas of improvement like grammar, organization, tone or word choice.

Gather Additional Feedback

Enhancing your messaging isn’t always about correcting your own mistakes. After all, only the Sith deal in absolutes. Chances are that some of your messaging is effective and you don’t want to lose that value while you overhaul your content approach. That’s why it makes sense to understand what’s already working.

There are a few ways you can do this, and they all revolve around getting direct customer feedback. A client may have had a recurring edit to your work, for example. Consolidating feedback is one of the easiest ways to get your customer’s opinion on your branding.

If you don’t have these types of records available then you’ll likely have to reach out to your customers directly. You may want to consider offering an incentive in order to attract more feedback.

Any tool that your company can use to evaluate customer behaviors, including SEO and keyword analysis, can be helpful in refining your content.

Expand Your Networks

Want input from a market leader in another industry? Looking for an insider’s perspective into the process of other marketing firms? A long-term strategy is necessary for realizing these goals.

In the same way Emperor Palpatine consolidated power by making alliances, your company can enhance its messaging by picking the brain of content specialists working in other industries.

Your company taking the time to consult experts does not mean it is abandoning its original goals or values. That being said, getting direct input from those who have already had success reaching their customers is a powerful resource. Take the long view by investing in industry networking opportunities and developing connections with experts long before you ever need their advice.

Don’t Hold Back

There are no moral victories or consolation prizes when it comes to developing content for a specific audience. You either grab their attention and guide them toward action or you stumble along the way. Failing and trying again is just part of the process, so don’t let the pursuit of perfection hold you back. You might have to produce something eye-popping or controversial to get the response you want.

Furthermore, be willing to commit completely to a content strategy once your team has decided on one. If your audience is big on cars, for example, you may want to consider dedicating a month’s worth of content toward their favorite interest. This approach won’t be effective unless your company goes all out. Inconsistent content, after all, leads to inconsistent engagement.

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