Trend 1: Longer Word Count and More Concise Formatting
If you’ve dabbled in content marketing, you know that readers (and search engines) want to see valuable, interesting content. You also most likely know that consumers are drowning in said content. From Facebook videos, to memes, to think pieces, to ads that somehow know we talked about wanting a new pair of Chelsea boots three hours ago — there’s no shortage of words and images vying for consumer attention. Over the past few years, brands have figured out the value of 500-something-word blog posts. In fact, so many brands have figured it out that these posts’ value has subsequently diminished. And while there is something to be said about the SEO value of these posts, that’s all they are generally good for. These days, short-form blogs are often seen as “fluff” designed to boost SEO value — nothing more. And that’s interesting. Many of us understand that readers have attention spans similar to those of goldfish, but it turns out we shouldn’t be so quick to dumb-down our audiences. The truth is that people DON’T want to read huge, blocky blog posts of around 2,000 words. Considering that 57 percent of web traffic comes from mobile, it would only make sense that people don’t have the time or desire to stare at long blog posts on their tiny screens. But this does not mean that they don’t want to read—it doesn’t even mean that you should not publish 2,000-word pieces. More important is to format the post correctly and focus on the right topic. Of course, long-form content takes more time to create, but despite popular conceptions, it can still be worth it. In a study by HubSpot, content of 2,500+ words received an average of around 6,500 shares. Content of less than 1,000 words received less than 2,000. So how are brands getting their audiences to read these tomes? The answer: short sentences, bullet points, and concise formatting. Let’s look at an example. Short sentences are easier to read. Especially when they’re placed strategically down the page. The reader’s eye flows down the page faster. And even a 2,000-word post seems easy to digest. And it’s a lot more fun to read than the five traditionally formatted paragraphs above. See what I mean? Let’s see how fast you can read the rest of this blog post when it’s formatted like this. You might even absorb a little more information.Trend 2: Thorough Research and Reliable Sources

Trend 3: Building Relationships with Your Audience
Through its many forms — ads, white papers, blogs, infographics, motion graphics, etc — copywriting is a reliable form of persuasion. An audience should be able to read and interact with whatever content you’re putting out, and your goal is for them to eventually give you their time and/or money. In today’s world, that’s no mean feat. Being relevant to your audience requires a lot more than making or providing a product or service they will need or want. It requires a direct connection to be made with your audience. And copywriting is a direct conversation with the consumer. No, you’re probably not talking to your audience face to face. But in 2018, social media is the next best thing.
Trend 4: Pillar Pages and Topic Clusters
“Thought-leader” may be one of the most overused buzzwords in all of digital marketing, but it does have its merits. Being an actual thought-leader in your industry is important for brand loyalty and brand awareness, as well as for SEO. Brands should assert themselves as true experts in their fields, not just in the product or service they offer, but also in the content they produce. Enter topic clusters and pillar pages, which have been called the future of SEO and content strategy. A topic cluster or pillar page generally focuses on one broad topic, but is peppered with loads of information pertaining to different elements of that topic. For example, if I were creating a pillar page about how to write marketing copy, I would probably include the following sections:- How to write a white paper
- How to write a blog post
- How to write an infographic outline
- How to write a motion graphic script
- How to write an e-book
Trend 5: Creating, Updating, and Reusing Evergreen Content
“Evergreen” is another marketing buzzword that’s had its share of time in the spotlight. But don’t knock it!- Evergreen content: Content that is relevant year-round, and doesn’t have an expiration date.
- Temporal content: Content that is only relevant for a short amount of time, such as seasonal or holiday content.
- Content with high conversions but low traffic
- Content with high traffic but low conversions
- Content underperforming relative to the time and resources it took to create
- Calls to action
- Titles
- Links
- Images
- Meta descriptions
- Quality of the copy
- Do you really love this topic and want to get all you can from it?
- Did you invest a lot of time and money into this project?