Content marketing thrives off of high-quality content. With so much content being released on the daily, you have to stay relevant and make sure your content stands out from the rest. The high demand for compelling content can understandably create pressure and make you doubt your own material.
So, how can you create valuable content that drives traffic and engagement? Here's how:
1. Create Eye-Catching Headlines
Headlines are meant to get your audience to read the first sentence. If you don't capture the reader at first sight, you will lose them. All the time and energy you put into creating your content will be wasted if your headline is not good enough. After all, most people will share the content based on the headline alone. Here are the main characteristics a good headline must include:
- Uniqueness: Since there's a large amount of content out there, chances are your audience already read an article like the one you are writing. If your headline is not unique, they will think your content has the same information they already read. Make sure the headline of your article doesn't already exist or hasn't been frequently used.
- Specificness: A headline must offer enough valuable information so the reader can immediately identify that your content is worth the read.
- Usefulness: Your headline must let your readers know that there is a benefit for them within the article.
- Urgency: Include a sense of urgency so your readers are compelled to read your article and not miss out on valuable information.
2. Longer Content Means More Screen Time
Everyone out there who is creating content is in a constant battle to be on Google's first page. Google likes content that is consistently updated. However, constantly publishing articles within the 400-600 word range is not enough to drive significant engagement and traffic. Although you may have been told to keep things short and simple, longer content means better SEO, more backlinks, and the possibility of more social shares.
Keep in mind that you still have to retain the reader's attention with your long content. Most people will be immediately displeased if they see a page full of text, it's not appealing to the eyes. In order to make your long content "fun" include infographics, pictures, and lists within your articles. It'll make it easier on the eyes to read and cut down the monotony of generic articles.
3. Write Attention-Grabbing Introductions
After the headline, your introduction is the second most important element in your content. After you catch the reader's attention with your headline, the introduction has to be good enough to get your reader to read further. Long introductions are boring and hard to read through. It will certainly keep readers away. Check out these tips on how to write worthy introductions:
- Keep the first sentence short.
- Write a brief introduction.
- Say what your article is about and what benefit it offers for the reader in just two sentences.
- Aim to solve a problem for your reader.
- Tell a story by creating a narrative.
Don't forget to read your introduction a couple of times to make sure you hit all the necessary points.
4. Readability
Abstain from using fancy words and technical jargon within your content in order to facilitate readability. Unless you are writing a scholarly article, make your content easy to read and relatable. Include simple words in order to state your point and keep sentences short. Avoid large chunks of text, break down your content into parts, use bullet points, and include images.
You want to create a pleasant user experience for the reader as they read through your work.