How does text planning look like?
Every copywriter wants to create professional and effective content. However, it is possible only when we know the rules of good writing practice. It includes text planning. Let’s process what these activities look like.
Text planning – what is it?
Text planning is an intermediate stage between the selection of keywords and content creation. It consist in developing the optimal information structure before you start writing.
In other words, as soon as we already know the subject of the article and the phrases we are going to use, we should think about optimal placement for content to ensure a transparent text structure.
The whole scheme of content creation is:
- Idea for an article
- Analysis and key phrases selection
- Text structure planning
- Text creation
- SEO optimization
What is the purpose of text structure planning?
Well-build information structure is essential for the content to remain attractive and attract readers.
What is more, it is Google robots greater focus, as those ensure that the SEO texts are better indexed in the search engine. This means it increases its business potential.
When to use text planning?
In case of almost every situation related to writing – when creating a copywriting strategy and content marketing strategy, that is before creating guide, article or eBook.
In short, the text structure should be planned whether we want to avoid the blocks of text (we know it is priceless both for the reader’s comfort and Google’s requirements).
How is the text planned?
Headlines are the primary tools that let us accomplish such task. They determine the structure of the article based on hierarchy of information. Thanks to this, they help to determine what content to present in accordance with certain phrases, so as the whole remains consistent and directs the reader from general to specific.
Consider the planning based on general phrase such as “what running shoes should you choose”. We may perceive that in case of broad issue like this, information needs to be sorted, which we can do as follows:
- H1 heading: What running shoes to choose?
- H2 heading: Summer running shoes
- H3 heading: Summer running shoes – price from 100 to 200$
- H4 heading: A model (only under such heading we present a specific type of shoes using a detailed description in which we describe the brand, user comfort, etc.)
- H4 heading: B model
- H4 heading: C model
- H3 heading: Summer running shoes – price from 200 to 300$
- H4 heading: D model
- H4 heading: E model
- H4 heading: F model
- H2 heading: Winter running shoes
… (continuation to the structure in accordance to the first H2 heading)
Note that the major headings always describe the minor ones (that is H2 describes H3, H3 does the same to H4, etc.).
Why such a scheme?
Should not the copywriter plan the appropriate structure of an article by presenting types of shoes withing the H1 or H2 headline, the content will lose its transparency significantly. After all, it is quite obvious that such issue will be considered by people with different needs and expectations (as we have stated above).
The reader who want to buy summer running shoes which costs from 200 to 300 $ will not be forced to search for specific facts through the entire article – the user will take a look at the headings.
Whether the headings remain clear, there is nothing else left to do than carry out research and start writing. After all, you already know what issues to describe and what should be the order. Planning the text in advance does not only affect effects gained, but also accelerates achieving them.
Summary
- The text planning is about developing a clear structure of information.
- Such procedure influence business benefits of the text created. It improves positioning and makes it easier for the recipients to read and search for information they need.
- In order to plan the text in a proper manner, a hierarchy of headlines should be arranged, explaining the issues raised “from general to specific”.
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