Tips to Creating Great Content
Sep 06, 2021Writing content is a difficult task, and it's easy to feel discouraged when you aren't getting as many views as you would like. But some things can help. This blog post will discuss creating great content that will attract more readers and increase your conversions.
Content writing
Written content makes up a large part of the content that we see online. Browse the Internet on practically any topic you like, and you can see a lot of blogs and websites with posts and articles containing information about what you want to know. With so many articles around online, it makes you wonder if everything gets read by people and do these articles reach their target audience. As a content writer, the responsibility falls on you to create great content that will capture your audience's interest and reach out to as many people as possible. If your job involves creating content every day, there might come a time when you run out of ideas on what to write. When such a thing happens, there are several things you can try doing to create new content and trigger that creative surge in your mind.
1. Get some idea from others
Creating original written content can be a tough job. There are so many written articles out there about almost every single subject available. At one point, your article might have some similarities to what others have written, such as point of view and topics discussed. The critical thing to remember is not to plagiarize, so copying other's articles word for word is a no-go. Still, it doesn't hurt to get some ideas from what others have written and use it as a starting point to create content.
One great way to get ideas is to read blog posts created by other people. Doing this exposes you to different viewpoints, and you could get some excellent talking points from what others have written. Aside from reading other posts, you can also try talking with your friends and peers to get some ideas from your conversations. These people can be your friends offline or online, family members or relatives, or they can be fellow bloggers or content writers. If you already have a solid following or community with your blog, you can also try reaching out to them and asking what they want to read or know from you. Finally, interviewing an expert on a particular subject can also give you some good ideas on what to write.
2. Share your own experience
Sometimes, you don't have to look too far to get an idea to write a piece of content. Your own life experiences and story is an excellent source of quality content. You can write something about your successes in life. Write about the steps you took to achieve a particular success and the lessons you have learned from it. Avoid writing in such a way that you look like a braggart. Your failures, personal challenges, and struggles are also good sources of ideas for writing. Again, write the lessons you have learned in overcoming your failures and challenges. Writing something derived from personal experience creates content relevant to others because people can relate to their own experiences. Thus, they become more engaged in reading your article.
Another personal experience writing piece you can try is to review a product or service that you have tried yourself, whether the experience is positive or negative. An excellent example of this is doing a product review of something you have bought and then writing about whether you liked the product or not, and then making some recommendations at the end to prompt engagement from your readers. But, again, you must experience the service or have used the product yourself to become more authoritative when you speak to others through your writing, and you know what you are saying.
3. Make some popular references
When writing articles, an excellent way to spice up things is to act like Deadpool and break the fourth wall whenever you can in your write-ups, and this means putting names of characters from popular movies, television shows, books, and comics. Doing this helps readers become more interested in your article by seeing some familiar names within the post. Try to make an association with whatever you are writing to the reference you are making. Character names and instances or events that happened from fictional works can get used in the same way. You create an association with your audience by doing this. Also, engaging yourself in fictional works like watching movies or tv shows or reading books and comics might give you some ideas on what to write for your next content.
Outside of fictional works, another good source of quality content is in search engines like Google to see what topics are trending. Social media sites like Twitter or Facebook can also give you an idea of what's trending. See what people are talking about on these sites, and you could get an idea of what's currently relevant.
4. Go out and do something different
If you are still in a slump and have difficulties thinking about your next topic, maybe some fresh air can help rejuvenate your mind. Take a break and walk outside, even if it's just in your backyard. See some new sights like a place you haven't gone to before. Read a new book or listen to some music. You might even come up with a personal story while experiencing something on your break. Know your emotional triggers that can create stimulation in your mind.
Continuous education and learning is an excellent strategy to expand your horizons and have more writing outlets. Do some research on topics that interest you or just some random stuff, and you might stumble on something new you have never heard before. The Internet is a vast sea of knowledge. Hit that search engine and type something, and you're bound to get thousands or millions of results for your query.
Make your content writing great.
So you have found your topic of interest, and you are ready to write. However, writing out what's in your mind, along with good grammar and spelling, might not be enough to reach out to all your intended audience. Nevertheless, several elements to note will make your article tremendous and make it stand out from the rest.
1. It's all in the beginning
Nowadays, many people seem to have short attention spans and want to get what they want immediately. So if somebody is searching for an article about a specific topic, the first thing they will see upon searching on the Internet is the title of your article. If your title is not catchy enough, chances are people would gloss over your article.
Let's say you can make people go to your article's website by catching their attention through your headline. Your introductory paragraph is the next in line to hook up your target audience. In your introduction, it is essential to state what your readers will be getting from reading your article. Don't dillydally in what you say and get to the point while utilizing exciting word choice and language.
2. Create content for them
Your readers are now in the main content of your article. Great! Now, how do you keep them hooked so they will finish reading your article until the end? The first thing to keep in mind is to know who your target audience is. For example, if you are writing an article about a popular query you have seen people ask online, your written piece must contain information that answers the question. On the other hand, if your blog's focus is on personal growth and development topics, and you have a strong following on your blog, then write articles in line with your blog's focus.
Narrow your article's focus as much as you can. For example, if you are a content writer that writes about tech, you can write an article about the best gadgets to have. However, you might end up cramming lots of information into one article and end up not giving too much focus on a specific type of gadget. Instead, try writing a review of a particular device, like a smartphone, with a specific model from a particular brand. This way, one article that focuses on this can provide extensive information and cover a particular group of people into that particular gadget. The idea is not to be too broad in what you are discussing in your article.
3. Write as if you are speaking with others
An excellent strategy to make your piece more engaging is to write the article in a way that makes it look like you are speaking to your audience itself. It becomes more personal that way, and you establish a connection with the audience.
When writing articles, you are most probably utilizing keywords from SEO tools to market your content effectively. However, try to use words and language that your readers will understand as much as possible. Don't use technical jargon they will not understand. If you have to use one, define what you mean as they read further on.
In your writing, incorporate the personality that is attached to your brand or blog. What you write must reflect the values and mission that your blog or website has. The tone of your statements can also reflect whether you want to appear professional, witty, or humorous to your audience. Your words and phrase usage will depend on who your audience is.
4. Provide answers, authority, and action
Writing a long-form article can help in making your articles rank high in search results. However, your long article will be useless if readers don't get what they need to know from reading your article. Find out what people are searching through keyword research and then read up on various sources to get relevant keywords and start writing from there. Having an outline of what you will write can help establish the flow of your article and at what points you have to break down the article into different sections and paragraphs. Subheadings and lists are great for separating your content so that visitors to your website can also jump to whatever area they want if they don't have time to read all of what you have written.
In your article, put external links to other websites, preferably those on the first page of the search results in a search engine like Google. Also, cite the articles from websites and blog posts that served as references for your written work. Doing these will help you become more authoritative by citing well-established names and popular websites in your article. In addition, it makes people think that you have done your research when creating your content.
Lastly, in the article's conclusion, create a statement or two that prompts your readers to some call of action. It can be in the form of making people subscribe to your website or leading them to a product website if you are mentioning a product or service in your article. It can also be making people practice action or good habits after stating your points in the article's main body.
Conclusion
Keeping in mind the various pointers discussed above, it becomes possible to create high-quality content every time you write. Use the resources available to you to give the kind of content that your audience wants. Your blog or website will more easily generate traffic if the customers' needs are satisfied. Always keep your audience in your mind and be consistent while applying the tips for creating good content, and excellent content writing will come your way.