The beginning of any form of content is the priority, that much has been confirmed.

To raise your hand above the masses, then grab their attention when readers have thousands of other things they could be looking at?

It’s a combination of skill, perseverance and blind luck.

The summary though? That is something often overlooked.

Is this the end?

A summary is primarily used at the end of longer forms of content. It helps reaffirm key points and messaging and, fingers crossed, helps direct the reader to the next point on the journey. It might be a landing page, it could be to book an appointment. It might just be to subscribe.

Or if it’s a thought leadership piece or aiming to inform? It could just be to point readers in the direction of some other tasty nuggets of info.

And it’s simple enough to encapsulate the previous paragraphs into a summary. Easily digestible bullet points even.

But transitioning from the core content into a summary takes some doing.

For the majority, you’ll write summaries that are aiming to push readers further down the funnel. And the summary will show how the company you’re writing for can tick all the boxes / remedy all pains / solve all issues.

But unless you want to come across as a second-hand car salesman, you need to tread lightly.

And that’s where the transition comes in. And it’s a lesson that’s been a long one for me.

I specialise in human content. A tone that identifies with everyone. I can adapt, but my strong suit is relatable content.

And people haven’t got all day, they want the solution yesterday. So I don’t waste valuable screen time, I make it clear that this is what we do – this is what you need.

When sometimes, you need to confirm the above points, but let the reader connect the dots.

Instead of swivelling their head on their neck manually, you clearly lay out all the points which spell out WHY this company / solution is perfect.

But you don’t have to ask them to book a call or speak to an expert.

Instead, direct them toward some other helpful info.

The focus on jumping straight to contact with the sales team has its place, but a summary that guides rather than spells things out can be just as useful.

And it’ll help you avoid selling used cars – trust me.