Needless to say, the internet is crowded with people who write about different topics. Thousands of different articles are posted every day. It is no wonder that you can find information on just about anything and everything you choose to search for on Google or Yahoo. You don’t even have to have the slightest idea about a topic but you can find information about it and learn something new through these searches. Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous writers and blogs out there that could give you misleading information. We want to talk about how you avoid become a person who just puts up garbage, but instead provides great content that others are craving. Therefor I am going to give you some tips for writing great website content.
The first thing you need to realize that Google, and all the other search engines, have played their part in ensuring that all content featured therein is original and that it is not a replica of any other details available on various sites. That does not mean that some items don’t fall through the cracks, but over time content that is not unique slips off of the search engines.
Make Sure Your Work is Current
If you have a blog or are planning to write a blog, you should make sure your content is current. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to find the answer to something and finding that it is outdated. Constant updates of online information are important because things keep on changing and what may have been posted years ago, may not bear any relevance currently. When doing research, you should verify the date the information was published by checking what date an article was posted. Many times you can find this at either on the top or bottom of the article. That said and done, it is clear that originality and quality content is of the essence when it comes to writing and posting online articles/blogs.
How you come up with content that will pass the test in terms of being unique among other factors is perhaps what you are pondering on at this juncture. Under no circumstance should you ever copy or just regurgitate someone else’s work. Instead take some time and take notes from several articles. Then sit down and write your content giving more than anyone else has in their articles. This is actually the right way to approach this task. To give you an idea of what this entails, let us consider and analyze certain aspects in detail.
Thought Provoking and Engaging
These two things go hand in hand. If there is one thing you want to capitalize on is this particular point is make sure that your content is thought provoking and Engaging. Get your audience engaged through the content you write and you will have all eyes turning to your site more frequently. This shows that you value those who will be viewing this content and you understand that it is not about you only.
Making Use of Stories
When you are looking at things that catch someone’s attention and a story will be near the top of the list. Building your content around a story or having it as the introduction to a post, works like clockwork if your aim is to drive a point home. Think about it even when you speak to your friends in everyday interactions, you use small stories to relate emotion and really drive home the point. The same way it works in real life interactions, is the same way it works online.
Leave Them Wanting More
When the story or article is completed you want your audience wanting more. Have a call to action that is directly related to that topic for the best success. Have in mind what you want them to do at the end of the article. In other words, write with purpose. Keeping this in mind will go a long way in keeping them engaged. When you write make sure that you are helping them. If you can help them with a problem or a question they have, then they will return the favor by completing the call of action you are aiming to achieve. What a brilliant way to engage them.
Introductions Are Important
Once again just like real life you can never get a second chance at a first impression. Your introduction should keep them reading. If your audience is assured that there is something that needs to be brought to their attention from the very beginning, they will definitely be glued to your post. Not only will they read the post, but they will also share the post. This social interaction will help drive traffic and new readers to your site.
Don’t forget that normally when articles are shared on social platforms there is a snippet of the article itself. This snippet is almost always the beginning of the article. So using something that is powerful or thought provoking is essential to capture additional readers.
Be Precise and to the Point
The quality of a blog is not measured by the volume of words contained in it but rather how informative it is and whether it has hit the nail on the head or not. Hence, you need to come up with content that is straight to the point and avoid fluff by all means. Your task in this case will be to research effectively and gather all the details you need to capture as much as you can about a certain topic, with a precise number of words.
This does not mean that content should be short. Really take the time and flesh out the article. Try to discuss all angles you can think of in the article on a topic. Doing so will drive more traffic to your site as the search engines will know what content is in your article and chose other keywords that you may not have thought about.
Strong Headlines Count
The same way you may pick a newspaper and scan through the various headlines before you read actual stories, is the same way that most individuals tend to scan through the headlines on various articles online. This is what dictates the probability of reading a particular story. Therefore, get it right the first time by having a strong headline for your content. I have to admit though, I am not the best in this area. No one is perfect, we just need to realize what our strengths and weaknesses are and attempt to improve upon them.
Solve Problems or Answer Questions
Most if not all of your online audience will be looking for answers to something. You need to make sure that you solve those problems or answer those questions. This goes back to writing with a purpose. When you are thinking about what you want to write about, make sure you are helping your reader. Solve a problem, answer a question, give them tips if you can provide these in every post, it will go a long way in being successful.
“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others.
Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‘What’s in it for me?’”
~Brian Tracy
Be Original
Last but not least is being original. As obvious as it may sound, keep it in mind. I mentioned so many times on my blog that you need to create content that unique and engaging. Sometimes I feel like a broken record. Don’t just do what everyone else is doing. You can use their information as a guide, but then make it yours. Own and be proud of your hard work. Make that content original and unique. Add something to it and give your readers more than anyone else is giving them. They will love you for it.
Learning to build an online business may seem like a daunting task. It really doesn’t have to be. You just need some guidance, support, and tools. You can read about what helped me become successful in my top recommendation. There are so many tools that I have tried. Some worked, some didn’t work. I have managed compiling a list of things that worked for me. You can see those on my recommendations page.
As always please ask any questions you have, post any comments, or your own personal experiences below.