Simple tips for creating entertaining marketing content.

1. Give The People What
They Want:
Entertaining Content

2. Boring Industries
Let’s face it, not every industry is exciting to write content for. But, for
whomever you are writing for your content should inspire, inform and entertain.
Remember who you are writing for, your audience. Your audience is generally
interested in what you have to say and if you are helpful, it is not boring to
them.
Make it easy, forget the industry jargon and write like you speak. Keep it simple.
Write specifically for your buyer personas and provide answers to their pain
points.
Don’t be afraid to use humor appropriately. A lighthearted tone can be used to
keep your readers engaged longer. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather read
tech specs than humorous passages – said no one ever!

3. Boring Industries
Tips for content marketing that’s not boring
1. Remember that helpful things are rarely boring (Even if they are, objectively,
pretty boring.)
2. Eliminate business babble, and write as you speak.
3. Write with specificity.
4. Let your sense of humor show.
5. Use relatable analogies to explain complex concepts.
6. Edit for brevity.
7. Give readers little mental breaks.
8. Tell your story visually, or via different mediums.
9. Interview inherently interesting people.
10. Shock people’s pants off.
Source: 1. HubSpot

4. Get To The Point
Just because you write a long post doesn’t make it good content, that shouldn’t
be the goal. Would you rather hit a home run or bunt and hope to make it to first
base? Aim to knock it out of the park!
The right content:
 Serves visitors’ intent by answering their questions and helping them
complete their goals.
 Delivers an easy, pleasurable, accessible experience on every device and
every browser.
 Gets the right information and experience to visitors FAST.
 Does all of the above better than any of the competitors in the space.
Source: 2. Moz

5. Case Study: Who’s Doing it Right?
IFL Science is killing it!
If you ever want to feel smart with minimal time and effort, follow IFL Science on
Facebook. With 21 million Facebook followers (more than Popular Science, Discover,
Scientific American and the New York Times combined), their posts averaged over
30,000 shares in 2014, most of which are less than 1,000 words.
What’s their secret? Content focused on a single issue or concept. Simplified content
that is short, to the point and focused. Content is focused on a single image or video,
not text heavy.
They focus discovery on “what’s cool about it” rather than what is “important” or
“newsworthy.”
“Surveys have shown people share content that is new, cool, interesting, amazing,
emotional, informative and entertaining.” IFL Science’s content is focused on these
elements.
Source: 3. BuzzSumo

6. Case Study: Who’s Doing it Right?
IFL Science key takeaways
1. Make content that is inherently shareable. Is it:
 Amazing
 Counter Intuitive
 Entertaining
 Educational
 Informative
 New – such as new research
2. Focus on a single issue, fact or concept. Simplify, keep it short and to the point.
3. Use a striking image or video to make your point.
4. Create enticing headlines.
Example: Science Shows that Watching Cat Videos is Good for You Source: 3. BuzzSumo

7. From My Archives
Personal example, having fun with marketing!
Target audience: IT Directors for elementary schools.
Marketing message: Projectors are a better choice than flat panels,
teachers can keep their existing white boards in the classroom.
Feedback received: “I get it now, I don’t want a bunch of
angry teachers coming at me!”

8. Sources
1. C. Wainwright. (Updated August 26, 2017) Content
Marketing for "Boring" Industries: 10 Tips for Creating
Interesting Content. Retrieved July 27, 2021 from
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/content-marketing-
tips-boring-industries
2. R. Fishkin (April 12, 2016) Great Content ≠ Long-Form
Content. Retrieved July 27, 2021 from
https://moz.com/blog/great-content-long-form-content
3. S.Rayson (August 6, 2015) How IFL Science is Nailing
it with Short Form Viral Content. Retrieved July 27, 2021
from
https://buzzsumo.com/blog/how-ifl-science-is-nailing-it-
with-short-form-viral-content/