A How-To Guide to Creating Successful Content

Think of your company’s website as a twenty-first century revision of your twentieth century collateral: the objectives remain the same, but the road to success is entirely different. To solidify your company’s position within the online marketplace and accomplish intended goals, it’s important to reconsider print-oriented paradigms and engage like a digital strategist. Here’s how to make your content sing:

Know What You Want to Achieve

Every piece of content you produce should be rooted in a strategy that aligns with your goals. Before you begin writing and posting, think about what you want to achieve, and what your target audience is searching for. Your content should reflect an intersection of these two sets of needs – yours and your audience’s – in order for the magic to happen.

Prioritize a Strong Headline

According to Copyblogger: 80% of headlines receive a 20% click rate. To stand out from the crowd, make good use of an irresistible headline and an equally compelling dek. This means resisting worn-out phrases like: Great Product! Great People! (Just…no.) It also means resisting puns, jokes, or esoteric quotes, because in today’s keyword, meta data, SERP, backlink, algorithm-ruled digital marketplace, SEO is what makes you attractive, not your hilarious wordplay.

A strong headline is one that combines the right keywords (if in doubt, use Google Trends) with an emotional trigger (words like critical, surprising, essential) to yield the almighty content click and prevent the dreaded bounce. Avoid “best,” because the competition for this word is so heavy it’s practically lost its meaning.

Brevity and clarity are king and queen. Tell your audience what they’ll gain by engaging with what’s on offer. Meet their needs, convey the benefit, leverage the FOMO, and you’ll land the eyeballs.

Also remember to write for humans. By making your headline conversational you’ll instantly connect with your audience. Don’t B#, don’t Bb, just B natural. This means avoiding journalistic-type hype and forced, academic folderol.

“Top 5” or “Top 10” headers are always effective if the words following that hook are both mindfully curated, and an accurate reflection of what your content offers. This is a great strategy for e-comm entrepreneurs and Amazon resellers.

Keep it Original

Companies that are comfortable in their skin and know what they’re about have all kinds of opportunities to break from the pack with fresh and engaging content. If what you’re putting out there is consistently true to your brand, you’ll ward off consumer confusion while positioning yourself as a thought leader. Best of all, your audience will want to stay up to date on what you have to say, further bolstering your integrity and potentially increasing content shares, something search engine algorithms prioritize.

Bear in mind that when it comes to online communication, originality and etiquette are not only desirable, they’re mandatory. Sites that copy other business’s content, continuously reuse their own content, and those that are far too aggressive with their pop-ups and their keywords risk one day being banished from search engine land – a digital existential crisis of the worst kind.

Make it Actionable

Who better to provide your readers with tips and information on the ‘How To’s’ within your industry than you? This is a great way to enhance your leadership role within your sector and spark the all-important trust factor. Supply the take-away and your audience’s loyalty will soar.

Create a Highly Engaging Experience

From the moment a potential customer or client is brought to your landing page or your blog post, your content should immediately grab their attention. Give them a reason to stick with it and learn more. Combine this approach with a thoughtful CTA, and watch as your conversion rate skyrockets.

A great way to engage your audience is with an interesting anecdote. Draw on an event that your readers can relate to, or would find compelling, and capitalize on the storytelling tactic we humans are hard-wired to respond to.

If you’re building your landing page,  provide an introductory or behind-the-scenes video that takes potential customers on a who, what, where, and why excursion. There is no better way to convey your understanding of your target audience’s challenges, your commitment to resolving these challenges, and your expertise in your field than by showing them – not telling them – just exactly who you are and what you stand for.

Stick To the Point

According to an article in ScientificAmerican.com, excessive screen time drains our mental resources at a surprising clip, making it harder for us to remember what we’ve read and harder still to commit to a drawn-out manifesto. Put yourself in your readers’ shoes when reviewing your website and your blog content and ask yourself the difficult questions. Then edit accordingly.

When creating a blog post, defer to the inverted triangle. Place all important information at the top. Begin with a punchy intro to contextualize what’s to follow, and then proceed immediately to the essential five w’s.

Incorporate important keywords within the first 140 words, keep your post between 800 – 1,600 words, and give ’em what they came for, no more and no less. Resist extraneous words and florid language because no one likes being trapped in a room with the formal purveyor of the Queen’s English. People just want to be entertained, and maybe learn a little something along the way.

Blend Art with Life

63% of consumers are more likely to consider or contact a business when an image shows up in their search results. 67% of consumers say the quality of a product image is “very important” in their buying process. The takeaway here is this: steer clear of blurry or banal photos. Instead, accompany unique, concise, compelling content with complementary, engaging, high definition images.

Your website gives you the opportunity to own your niche in a highly cost-effective manner. Perfecting the elements listed above will put you well ahead of the game. If you’re looking to improve your online presence but haven’t the time to noodle around, connect with me.

I live and breathe this stuff.