What is ‘content’?
Content or copy refers to any text, visual, or multimedia information shared online to attract, inform, engage and retain an audience. From blog posts like this to infographics, case studies and podcasts, content comes in various formats to serve different marketing objectives.
The challenge often lies in creating purposeful, valuable copy that resonates with your target readers and compels them to take action.
So, what makes for great content? Let’s explore the key steps involved:
5 steps to making great content:
Planning
Everything starts with a content plan detailing your goals, topics, formats, timelines and promotion strategy.
- Set measurable goals to assess ROI (e.g. leads generated, sales growth).
- Research relevant topics and keywords with high search volume that align with your buyer personas.
- Decide on content types based on personas’ preferences.
- Create an editorial calendar to map creation timelines.
- Outline distribution channels like email, social media and SEO.
Planning gives direction for effective execution later. How does the saying go again? Failing to plan is planning to fail!
Research
Conduct in-depth research into your topics using reliable data sources.
Gather facts, statistics, expert perspectives, case studies and real-world examples to build authority and trustworthiness (follow us, your personal marketing experts, on LinkedIn for a constant supply of marketing content).
Seek diverse insights into target reader pain points, questions and journey stages.
If you immerse yourself completely in research, the copy that you create will be truly valuable content. Ask yourself, would you learn something from your recent blog, article or social post?
Quality over quantity
Ideally, focus first on creating fewer pieces of exceptional, high-quality content rather than churning out average copy in bulk. Yes, constantly posting can improve your rankings on Google but people won’t stick around for blogs or newsletters that bore them.
Well-researched, insightful and actionable content can achieve more success despite being fewer.
Remember – quality over quantity.
Execution
Once you have completed thorough research, it is time to transform your insights into compelling content for your readers. Strong execution is crucial to crafting professional-grade assets. Here are some key tips:
Structure logically: Organise content into easy-to-scan sections and subheadings based on theme. Establish a logical flow from introducing concepts to elaborating details to summarising key takeaways. Break up lengthy copy into paragraphs for enhanced readability.
Open strong: Hook readers from the very first line with an intriguing statistic, powerful quote or thought-provoking question related to their challenges. Embed relevant keywords early on for SEO-friendliness.
Address and solve pain points: Highlight reader struggles right at the introduction before transitioning smoothly into your solution-centric content. Blend researched facts with benefit-driven messaging explaining exactly how you can resolve each pain point. Provide well-rounded perspectives.
Simplify complexity: Take a complex idea and present it clearly using readable language free of industry jargon.
Refine tone and flow: Maintain a professional but conversational style suited for your audience; this is something that is often forgotten but is key! Be conscious about sentence construction, tightening long-winded diction and removing redundancies for smooth reading flow.
Reviewing, rewriting, redo!
Set aside your draft for a while before editing with a fresh perspective, or like our team at 10X, pass it on to a co-worker for a second opinion.
It’s crucial to be open to constructive criticism reworking weak areas. Meticulous editing and proofing remove gaps for polished content that attracts, educates and converts readers seamlessly.
‘Great’ content comes naturally to our team of experts at 10X, so if you’re looking to outsource your marketing efforts – we’re here to help! We can do anything from content writing to lead magnet creation to set your business above the rest.
Looking for a way to get more out of your content? Our Content Repurposing Matrix will help you breathe a new lease of life into your content. View and download the FREE resource here.