2020 is the year of loss - a year where so many of us have lost – a dear one, job, or business.
It is a year where unemployment across the world has touched levels not seen since the days of the great depression. As per the latest news, around 345 million people have lost their full-time jobs in the third quarter of 2020. (source: ILO Report). New data for year-end will be released in February or the end of January 2021-it takes a few days-weeks to get that data)
However, all is not dark and gloomy.
COVID-19 times have changed our habits drastically. We now spend more time online than outside, which has led to communicating more with written words than spoken words.
Also, more people have taken to skills that will allow them to earn online than rely on full-time jobs on income. In short, what we lost in jobs is gained by freelancing online.
Today, the world of freelancing is at an all-time high. Consider this – Due to the current pandemic, there was a 41% rise in freelancing jobs during the second quarter of 2020.
It is also estimated that the number of freelancers in the US workforce would be 48% as the year comes to an end. (Source: CNBC)
The winner in the freelancing market has been – content writing and marketing.
Though the freelancing market has seen an influx of thousands of freelancers trying to make a career in content writing, the quality leaves a lot desired.
It is one thing to write a rant on Facebook and it is another thing to write a well-structured blog for a professional website.
Now I have been a blogger for 10+ years and it has taken me years of practice to learn the tricks of writing content that is equally loved by google and website visitors.
In the world of the Internet that is overflowing with content, you need to prepare content that is engaging and excellent.
Think of it as preparing a dish that has all the right ingredients in the correct quantity.
In this blog, I will cover the 10 ingredients that help you prepare great content
- Search Engine Optimization(SEO)
Although it may sound cliche, SEO matters a lot in digital content. When you produce chocolate, you will need to market it to get everyone to know and buy this chocolate from you. Similarly, online content needs to show up in search engines to reach a lot of people.
SEO ensures your written content is good and allows new readers to show up to your site. Content creators must think like a digital marketing consultant- a new audience should potentially discover your content in search engines.
- Zero Grammatical errors.
Good content should be free from grammatical errors. Poor punctuation and bad grammar are deadly to content writing. They disturb the flow of the sentence and are a massive discouragement to your audience. It is neither professional nor respectful to your audience when your text is full of typos. Worst of all, your point is not communicated well to the audience. Successful online businesses go the extra mile to hire proofreaders and editors to ensure no gaps in communication.
- Your audience can share the content.
Great content should be widely sharable. You need to create content that compels others to share it. Today, social networks and digital media have induced a fixation in all of us. We want more people to like and share our posts.
This year, Facebook reported a 27% increase in user activity from last year. YouTube reported a rise in viewership of 15.3% in the first quarter of 2020 (source: New York Times).
If you are not confident in sharing your content on social media, you need to tweak it a little. Social media analytics can help you propagate the right content.
- Great content often has a storytelling aspect
People love to listen to successful stories. When you are writing/creating content, be sure to include examples and stories. Humanity has evolved from living in caves to sleeping in mattresses of skyscraper buildings. But it still loves to listen to stories.
Digital marketing consultants often describe experiences of customers using the product to sell it to new audiences.
- Great content is well researched
When looking for a partner, one has to understand the other person's interests and lifestyle. Why should good content be any different?
Currently, the amount of content available on the Internet is colossal. To give you an idea, the world watches one billion hours of YouTube videos every single day. (Source: Brandwatch). It would take one person over 100,000 years to watch this much YouTube.
With such a gigantic quantity of content, content creators can lose track of what to create. The trick is to focus on a well-researched niche. Audiences will flock to a piece with good quality.
A well-researched piece of content develops a foundation to hook its audience based on age, sex, peak hours, amongst other metrics.
- Great content is simple and easy to understand.
We've seen that great content taps into your target audience. But even more importantly, it has to be simplified to attract the maximum audience. Avoid using technical words- they only limit your audience unless your written content is technical. Keep the layout and formatting of the content consistent. You don't want to get your audience distracted with incoherent font size.
- Great content is accessible.
The best content on the planet can be found everywhere. Content creators need to put out content on multiple platforms for greater visibility. You cement your place as an expert when your content gets viewership on websites, social media, blogs and even email.
- It is provocative in the right way.
Great content must be curated with an objective. For starters, your content should occupy the mind of your audience. Good content will occupy the memory of the audience. The heading will catch the imagination, and the content inside should reinforce this imagination.
If it's a business, the products must tell a story that sticks in the customer's consciousness.
- It should be actionable.
Digital marketing consultants don't create strategies to market products in customer minds. Instead, they create value that makes their customers need the product. Ultimately, you want your new audience to read even your earlier works.
For example, you might want to foster a reading habit in your audience and compel them with your quality content to visit other webpages on the website.
Your efforts should translate into audience actions. Make sure the audience act on what you have communicated – from click conversions to subscriptions.
- Great content should drive traffic to your website.
The essential point of content creation is to bring people to your website. This is essentially the living room of your home. Without traffic to your website, you are not getting the maximum return on your content. The content should focus on engaging your audience. According to HubSpot, web traffic is among the top two most common measurements for content marketing strategies (source: HubSpot).
You can engage your audience through comments. Ask them for their opinions. Great content creates excitement and inevitably leads to higher traffic on your content page. Digital media consultants promote the business and by building long term relationships. Other products are then introduced along the way and cultivate customer loyalty to the brand.
I hope you found the article helpful, and you can use this as a guide to writing better content.
Do comment and tell me if you have any other suggestions while you are creating content.