When it comes to creating content that serves a purpose and gives value to your readers and website users, there are a few things that make an impact. Content is pretty much anything that you create and share online. There are three key areas:
Aural: songs, podcasts and anything that people can listen to
Visual: videos, photographs and infographics
Text: anything texted-based
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
What Makes Content Great?
There are a few things that make content really stand out. Have you ever noticed how much of a slog to read and article can feel when they aren’t broken up? Or that when you have a piece of content you are enjoying, there is no further learning available?
You ideally want to have some supporting links, audio (or links to podcasts), a few images and a video. This will depend on the length of your content.
The basic rule here the fewer words you have on the page, the less supporting links and images. The more text you have, the more supporting content you’ll need. It is as much about providing value as it is about creating something that looks good. You don’t have to choose images of a computer when you are talking about computers either. Something that loosely, or even abstractly fits in works well too.
All search sites put a lot of time and effort into ranking websites well. You are more likely to rank highly if you put the user first when you are putting content together. So while you are looking to pack your content with all of the right keywords, you need to make sure that it speaks to the user in the right way.
If you are focusing on a specific topic, then it won’t be hard to fit in the right keywords and have the content well put together too.
“Create content that reaches your audience’s audience.” – @MarketingProfs
Goals
Just like everything else you do, you should set clear goals for your content. This should be one of the main drivers:
To create content that delivers the information is actionable and gives the user the best experience possible.
Not only will this mean you are producing high ranking content at all times, but you will be paying attention to your SEO too. Search engines will only choose high-quality content for their database and to rank highly. Don’t forget that the context of your content will matter too.
Here are some other goals that can help guide everything that you create:
Link to materials that support your content – even competitors content
Combine all of the three forms of content (text, visual, aural)
Try to organise it well
Add quotes where they fit well, and to add extra context and further reading
Pieces should be long enough to cover the topic, don’t focus on word count, focus on completion
Consider how much content you are creating now. Do you feel you are at your limit? Would you like to push your boundaries a bit? Imagine creating 50+ pieces per day.
Listen to GaryVee talk about creating 50-100 pieces of content per day.
Creating
While it is a great idea to link to other people’s content, it is more helpful for you to create as much of your own as you can. When you create a piece of text, take a look at what information, there could be turned into a video. Then, consider recording the whole thing into a podcast. And although you can find some brilliant photographs free of use online, start trying to create your own.
A few tools:
Lightroom and/or Photoshop for editing your photos (creative cloud subscription)
Canva and PicMonkey for creating social media graphics
MissingLettr to help with a year-long drip feed campaign
Audacity, GarageBand, BuzzSprout are great for recording podcasts
KineMaster, Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Final Cut Pro X, Blender and Lightworks are perfect for video editing.
Although many people don’t like watching themselves back on video, it is important that you do. It is how we can get better at what we do. https://setapp.com/lifestyle/the-best-video-player-for-mac is a great resource for playback options.
“You don’t have to reinvent the wheel; you just need to share your unique perspective on why the wheel is important.” – @pageonepower
Idea Generation
You might feel like everything in your niche has been covered so many times there is nothing new you can do. But, just try to remember that people will always be asking questions in your niche.
Idea generation for your niche should be something that you spend time on at least once a week. The most obvious starting point is your own audience. If you have people signed up to a newsletter, include some questions in the next one. As people on Twitter and Facebook too. Give people what they want.
Answer the public is a great tool that can give you a heap of information about what people are really looking for. They split the question into different intents too, so you can look for the context and the information and make the link with your own niche.
Great Content Options
If you have been working on your website for some time now, or have a blog that you regularly update then you are likely well aware of many of the frameworks that you can use for your content. Here are a few that work really well.
Lists
There is a reason that companies like Buzzfeed do so well. Their content is typically listed, which are quick to consume and easy to share. They work well for commentary, tips, ideas, video collation, gifs and more.
You don’t have to be cheesy to get your content to go viral, having the numbers in the title makes people aware of what they are getting straight away. Here are a couple of title styles:
99 of the best Netflix Series to Watch Right Now
75 Amazing Beauty Tips From Asia
12 Mistakes You’re Making as A Freelancer
The titles tell you exactly what you are getting.
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Resources
Not too different from lists, but bulked out. Think about how many times you have looked for a tool to do something online. Reources posts pull together articles, tutorials, images, tools and tips from all over the internet. Which might typically take a while to source.
They are great for SEO because they attract a lot of backlinks and shares. It gives readers a lot of bang for their buck. This is also a great way to generate passive income. If you hook up all of you affiliate links up to the tools you are sharing, you’ll see some income overtime.
Case Studies
If you want to create totally unique content, then case studies are one of the best ways to go. When you are working on your idea generation, think about where you can go really in-depth. Test theories, talk about break-throughs and push some boundaries in the industry.
You can gather information and opinions from experts in the industry too.
This will mean your article is a one-stop-shop for expert opinions, information and leads the way for some conversation too.
While there is a rush to create as much content as possible (and you should maximize what you create), the best pieces will take a little while to put together. So, create a calendar that gives space for planning and drafting notes. Use resources like Response Source to help you gather data, experts and even products to build a full picture.
https://setapp.com/lifestyle/the-best-video-player-for-mac
And finally:
“What you do after you create your content is what truly counts.” – @garyvee