We’ve all heard the same thing over and over again: to make an impact, you need strong content.
Yes, content is ultimately the backbone of the internet, and without relevant content that answers your readers’ questions and addresses their concerns, your website is set to fail. However, creating good content is rather simple once you follow a few simple guidelines. In this article, we’re going to give you three essential rules every piece of good content should follow.
Have a Specific Goal in Mind
The first thing you should have in mind when creating content are the needs of your audience. But essentially, you need to create value for your clients which will essentially turn into leads and eventually into sales. There are tons of perfectly good and informative pieces of content that unfortunately fail to meet this very criteria.
However, in some cases, you may simply want to create a connection with your audience without trying to sell them anything. Some posts can be created simply to create an intimate relationship with your readers. In some cases, you may want to establish yourself as an authority in your niche. And in other cases, you might create content to introduce a new product and call for action.
In each of these cases, your approach needs to be different and you’ll need to use a different tone if you want to get the results you want.
Keep Things Simple
People often wrongly assume that online content should follow the same rules as editorial content. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. When writing for online readers, you should keep the content as simple and straight to the point as possible. The goal should be on information first and foremost.
Online readers have much shorter attention spans and you need to keep your content as simple as possible to reach a wider audience. Online readers also tend to skim content much more than other types of readers. According to this study, only 16% of all people surveyed read posts word for word. So try to provide information as concisely as possible and use headers and subheaders wisely to capture your readers’ attention.
Make it Easily Accessible
What is the point of good content if your readers can’t find it? While the importance of writing SEO friendly content has been touted as the ultimate way for content to get exposure, methods such as social media marketing, or building relationships with other bloggers related to your niche can be just as powerful. Create engaging, relevant and highly informative content with strong visuals and put it in the right set of eyes if you want your content to gain traction.
Conclusion
These three rules alone will greatly improve the quality of your content and its visibility. Make sure that you create content that is not only search engine friendly, but directly assesses your readers’ needs. Make sure that you promote it on the right platform and make it as user friendly as possible by using powerful visuals and good formatting. And last, but not least, adapt the tone of your message to your goals and focus on good information first and foremost if you want your content to have the maximum impact.