One of the common objections we hear from people regarding writing a
blog regularly, producing content for marketing purposes, is that they
are likely to just waste hours of time with no real results.
However, one of the keys to finding online success is great content —
without it, any real success is unlikely. Some reasons why content
continues to be king:
- Your competitors are doing it
- Your customers expect it
- It builds credibility and community
- Most importantly, it’s a central component of SEO strategy – from
dynamic updates, to links, to keyword relevance
How do you write content that will bring you links and leads, and is
not just wasted time? I find that judging content is very similar to
how I shop for fruit in the produce aisle.
For instance:
1) On the
Shopping List
If it’s not food that I need, I’m going
to walk right by it. Just like the produce section is filled with items
I don’t care about, so the online world is filled with content that
just doesn’t matter to me. Is your content a piece of information that
your customers need? Put yourself in the shoes of your customers. What
are common pain points that they share? What are common decisions that
they have to make? Only write about what is relevant to them and their
role.
2) Non-Exotic
The audience for exotic fruits is
significantly smaller than for the basic staple fruits. What is
considered exotic depends on many factors such as season, geography,
demographics, etc. A highly sought-after fruit in Honolulu might not
see the same demand in Hoboken. Think carefully about your target
before you decide the flavor of content to provide. Like all good
marketing that produces results, your content must be a highly targeted
staple for your customers.
3) Not Covered
with Dents or Bruises
Every time you mention your own product,
solution, service or anything else promotional, it’s just as if you’ve
taken a lovely banana and pounded a hammer on it – well, maybe that’s a
bit extreme, but you get the point. Do not constantly mention your
products, solutions, services in your content. Think of your content as
an additional service you are providing to your customers, potential
leads and industry as a whole. This is not the place for naked
self-promotion, with one exception: case studies. If you’re able to
tell a story about how a customer using your products was able to
achieve a particular objective, and that information may be useful to
many others, go ahead and tell that story. Just be sure to highlight
your customer more than your own products.
4) Fresh and
In-Season
Don’t write about anything that’s so
yesterday, or over talked-about, or is no longer a hot pressing issue.
Stick with current events. What’s the impact of a recent news event?
What’s a way to deal with a new or upcoming change in the industry? Be
current. Be fresh. Also be sure to do this in a way that maintains a
politically neutral voice (unless your business is about being
partisan!), and is seen as intending to be helpful to all your
customers. You don’t want to inadvertently alienate a segment of your
customer base.
5) Home Grown
There are channels for just being an
information pusher — that is, simply republishing what others are saying
— but if you want links and to showcase your unique knowledge, you’re
going to have go home-grown. Be original and express your unique view,
experiences or knowledge. Help expand your customer’s way of thinking
by sharing new ways to look at things. If you’re not a naturally strong
writer or video producer, get help from friends or associates who are.
You don’t have to write “War and Peaceâ€, but dashing off a couple
paragraphs of thoughtful prose, proof-read by someone you trust, should
be easy for most people to do. We frequently hear from business
professionals that their kids helped them produce short videos that have
big impacts.
6) Looks
Appealing
Fruit that’s bruised, or has worms
crawling out from a holes, will get passed over. Which is why content
format matters. Something that looks appealing will easily catch my
eye. You don’t have to be a great designer or deeply experienced in the
art of blogging. If the content appears to be easy to read – usage of
images, headers, etc. — then I’m more likely to read it since it seems
like it will be quickly digestible.
7) Easy to Eat
A tough chew is going to get spit out, so
make your content readable and even entertaining. Jokes, no matter how
lame, are almost always appreciated. We are more engaged in learning
when we are entertained along the way. Just be sure you’ve got an angel
on your shoulder whispering in your ear, in addition to that little
devil!
8 ) Easy to
Digest
There’s not point in chowing down on
something if it’s just going to come right back up. No one wants any
pain from eating something. So make sure to write in the correct tone
and language for your customer base. Only use advanced terms or
acronyms if that’s the way your customers speak and think on a regular
basis.
9) Healthy
This is fruit, so it should be good for
you. Content that is bashing or negative in tone isn’t a healthy read,
so keep positive.
10) Disease
Free, and Passes the Scratch-and-Sniff Test
I might be wary of some random piece of
fruit if I’m not sure it comes from a credible source. Make sure you
give credit where credit is due and provide context around why or how
you know what you know.
11) Tastes Good
The end result needs to be positive. If
the recommendations you share don’t work, or the news is inaccurate then
the whole thing was a waste of time. If it doesn’t taste good it will
be thrown away, and worse, the reader might even tell their friends how
truly awful it was. Check and double check that your information is
right.
12) Sharable
When we find something amazing, we love
to tell others about it: “Oh my gosh – you have to taste this!†Make it
easy to share and even encourage comments and sharing. If your website
isn’t built on a blogging platform like WordPress, be sure your
blog is (and that it’s integrated into your website — a stand-alone
blog won’t help your SEO prospects). Blog publishing platforms
automatically build in optimization features so you don’t have to worry
too much about your content being found. If you haven’t already, make
sure you have a “Share
This†feature included in your blog posts, which enables readers to
instant share a link to your stuff via Twitter or Facebook, among other
social sharing services, and ensures your content is as portable as
possible.
13) Get it
Delivered
If I fall in love with something, I’d
really like to make getting it again a breeze. Make it as easy as
possible for a happy reader to subscribe – whether it’s an email
newsletter, an RSS feed, or following you on a social network. Once
you’ve got their attention, make them a repeat reader. You should be
gathering a following of your content just like you gather customers of
your products.
14) Regularly
Available
I will stop looking for a type of fruit
or fruit from a certain producer if it’s not regularly available. So
preset how frequently you are going to publish content and stick with
the routine. (For instance, if you subscribe to the Yield Software
newsletter, you can count on getting it delivered to your inbox every
Tuesday morning.)
15) Consistently
Good
We are creatures of habit and value
consistency. If I don’t consistently have a good experience with a
particular type of fruit or producer, I’ll look elsewhere. So take the
time consistently to ensure you content is always great and aligns
naturally with your brand’s values.
