What is conversational content?

Plain and simple, it’s writing like you’re talking with someone. Not to someone. You’re not lecturing. You’re having a conversation with your audience. Though I’d suggest that you leave out the ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ and multiple uses of ‘like’ or other filler words, because those can be a bit, uh, distracting or annoying in a text.

For language purists: That also means letting go of some of the more formal writing conventions, like never starting sentences with ‘and’ or ‘but’.

Why conversational content?

As mentioned in the intro, people don’t want to read cold and dry texts. You probably don’t want to read some textbook answer that goes: ‘Conversational content is the art of writing in the way one might talk to other humans’. You, and many others, want to feel like you’re reading something written by another person. And one way to achieve this feeling is to create conversational content.

Because when you write like you’re holding a conversation, chances are that your audience will want to talk back. Or in beautiful marketing terms: engage with your content.

How to start?

You now know the what and the why. Let’s look at how to start writing conversational content. Easiest way? Write a new blog post. Pick a topic that you’re interested in and that fits with your company or content strategy, then write like you’re talking with your audience! I know, I know, it’s not as easy as that. So here are some tips.

I’m writing this post…

Let’s get a quick tip out of the way: write in the first person. So, use I-sentences, like I’ve been doing so far. 

Speaking generally might come across as more professional, sure, but that’s not what you want. If you want to sound authentic, like a human, then you should let go of the generalized statements. No more “Our Product is Great and A Life Saver”. Instead, you can write: “I’ve used Our Product for my own small business, and this is how it’s helped me”. 

… And you’re reading it

Don’t forget to address the other side of the conversation. You. The reader. Address them like you would if you were having a conversation with someone. Don’t say “people” as much. Try to use “you” instead. 

For example, instead of writing “People want more connection”, write “You probably want more connection”. See? Way more personal when you’re getting addressed.

Ask questions

Do you like it when people ask you questions? Probably, right? As with any good conversation, it’s nice to ask questions. They make the other person feel heard and addressed. So use that in your content writing. Ask people questions, and you’ll see that they’ll feel more engaged already.

Don’t use difficult words

Unless! Ha, there’s always an unless. If you know your audience really well, and you’re sure they’ll understand this or that difficult word, then go ahead. Generally speaking, however, even experts like content that’s easy to understand. 

So, no difficult words. You will only equivocate your readers! Worse, some might see it as a diatribe, and accuse you of being dilatory (see how annoying it is when you don’t know half the words? If you do know them, kudos to you!). The short of it: if people lose focus or interest in your content, or simply don’t understand, there’s no way they’re going to engage with it.

Keep it short, okay?

Think about it: if you talk with someone, are you using sentences that are three paragraphs long? Probably not. Which means that as you write, you should keep your sentences short too. Plus, this will make your content easier to read, which is great for readability!

Pssht, if you have the Yoast SEO plugin, it will check if your sentences are too long. If they are, the plugin highlights them for you. This makes it easier to rewrite them!

Emphasize your words

With italics! It sounds almost like a slogan. But yes, it can help with making your writing sound more natural. Why? Because you emphasize words when you speak too. Sometimes it can even change the meaning of your sentence. 

For example (a very Dutch example, because if you live in the Netherlands, your bike will get stolen one day. It’s the circle of life): “I didn’t say he had stolen my bike,” means you really didn’t say that. But if you say, “I didn’t say he had stolen my bike,” you want to emphasize that it wasn’t him, but someone else.

Do not write ‘do not’

I’m a big fan of contractions. Grammar contractions, that is. They make a text sound so much more natural. Because let’s be honest, do you say “I do not want another coffee” or do you say “I don’t want another coffee?” Probably the second one, right?

Using don’t and I’m and you’re etc. will sound so much more natural to readers. Which means your content will sound more like a conversation too.

You’re a person, so write like one

Does that sound threatening? I do mean this in the nicest way possible! In order to write good conversational content, you have to ‘let go’ a little. The professional in you needs to take a step back and make space for your personality to shine through. Because if you can make your writing sound like you, it’ll sound so much more natural.

It all comes back to the “people don’t want impersonal and business-like content anymore”. They want to read content made by people. So let your own personality shine through. Make a little joke. Heck, use silly words like ‘delulu’ instead of delusional every once in a while (just make sure your text is still readable to everyone). Just be you.

Add examples and anecdotes

Another great way that will help you write like a person is to add examples. Personal examples, to be exact. It doesn’t have to be long. You don’t have to let us know every detail about your life, but sharing about your personal experiences can help make a piece of writing feel more personal. 

Keep the conversation going

Okay, you’ve written a post or piece of conversational content. People are engaging, maybe even commenting! Don’t let the conversation end there. Reply to them. Use their point of view, their insights and questions, and perhaps create another piece of content. Build on the conversation. Keep it going!

What kind of content works for conversational content?

Finally, before you pour your heart and soul (and personality) into your content, let’s look at what kind of content works. 

An easy one is opinionated pieces. Has something interesting happened in your area of expertise? Write content about it, and give your opinion. Add to the conversation with your voice. 

But really, any piece of content can become conversational if you write it like that—if you use your own voice and personality, and make it yours. Look at this post! Technically, it’s a how-to. Those can be very dry. You’re just giving information, after all. But I’ve used the conversational content tips to make it, well, interesting. I hope I did a good job. 

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