There is this lazy trend in the blogging and content marketing space:
Rewriting what has already been published.
But:
If your content is a clone, it doesn’t deserve more attention than the original.
So, with this approach, you’re immediately putting yourself one step behind your competition.
The quality of your content predetermined the very success of your blog or business.
If your content is awful – all the blog promotion and link-building tactics won’t work.
And vice versa. If your content is top-notch – you’ll have to work a lot less promoting it. The word of mouth will do the job for you.
I already covered how to find blog topic ideas with phenomenal traffic potential so that it would rank high in Google and bring you passive search traffic every single month.
Today, I’m going to give you some actionable advice on how to create the kind of content that people will care to read and share with others.
How to create content that people will care to read and share with others
Stop creating content clones and try having a point of view instead.
Way too often bloggers think that their content flops because they don’t promote it enough while in reality, their content flops because it is awful – so it’s not worthy of attention.
Remarkable content is:
-
High-quality
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Original
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Authoritative
Let me expand on each of them one by one.
High-quality content: why it is important?
What makes quality content?
Quality content is well-written and well-designed content.
So, you need to learn 2 things:
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How to write well (what you say and how you say it) -
Design your content well (how it looks)
Writing is a skill that almost anyone can learn and master.
My advice?
Start practicing writing every day.
While your writing improves, you’ll also need to improve how your articles look.
Why?
Because on the web, most people will skim through the article before reading it, which will help them to evaluate if it is worth reading at all.
If your article doesn’t look good, people are unlikely to risk their time reading it.
Here are the things that make your content visually appealing:
- The design of your blog
- Quality images
- Short paragraphs
- Subheadings
- Quotes
- Lists
… and all sorts of formatting tricks (like 👈🏼 this yellow highlight).
All these things make your article pleasing to the human eye and transmit a message to your blog visitors that the author of the article invested time to ensure a pleasant reading experience.
Original content: why it is important?
Quality content (ie. well written and well designed) content is nothing without the actual idea behind your article.
How to make your content original?
- Pick a keyword/search term you want to rank for 👉🏼 *RELATED: How to Find Undiscovered Keyword Ideas with Phenomenal Traffic Potential [5 SHORTCUTS]*
- Google the keyword to see what comes up
- Read all the articles about your topic on the first page of Google
- Instead of rewriting what is already there … add something new that isn’t currently on the 1st page of Google.
Ask yourself:
What can I add to what is already out there?
Maybe you have access to data that no one else has…
Authentic information that you have access to is the currency of truly valuable content marketing.
It can be data that your company produces, insights you have because of your industry experience, or stories about the people you have access to.
But what if you’re a newbie Blogger and you don’t have these kinds of luxuries?
Well, actually you do 😏
Anyone can collect some unique data about their industry.
Anyone can come up with unique insights related to their industry.
Anyone can connect with industry experts and get a bit of help from them.
>>>> Click Here To Start Your Blog Today <<<<
I know this because not too long ago I’ve been a newbie Blogger myself.
Case study: How I got my 1st blog to be featured in the Guardian by hacking the authority?
In 2014 UK employees gained the right to request flexible working. Because I am an advocate for flexible work and slash careers, I wanted to explore this topic further to get press coverage for my business.
Since I didn’t have any first-hand data about flexible working in the UK, I googled ‘flexible working uk’ and found Flexiworkforce.com – the only job board in the UK that caters to candidates wishing to find full- and part-time flexible work.
I then interviewed the founder Tracey Eker on Skype and voila – got my interview published in the Guardian. 🤙🏽
In the first 3 months of being published, this Guardian article generated over 40,000 visits to my blog, which resulted in more business, public speaking, and more media coverage.
And it keeps generating passive traffic even years later.
My point is:
My article only performed so well because it was 100% unique. I probably would never have gotten this kind of result by writing an article with the same tips that can be found on Google’s 1st page.
So how to create unique content?
Well, you still have to research everything that has already been published on the topic.
But then you don’t create a clone.
You create something that is different from what’s already there. 😏
Say something that hasn’t been said before
Ideally, you want to say something that hasn’t been said before.
Which is hard as it requires you to be at the very forefront of your industry.
These people are called thought leaders. And most likely you’re not one of them just yet.
Find a new angle
So, another option is to find a new angle, which would be somewhat different from the conventional opinion on that topic.
Ideally, you’d want to turn 180 degrees and challenge the status quo – this often generates a lot of buzz. But only if you have good arguments to make your point.
Or simply explain the topic better
And finally, if the above is not an option, you can simply explain that topic better.
You might not be the thought leader of your industry, but you might be a great writer, teacher, and storyteller.
If you invest time into finding better arguments, better proof, and better examples, you do have a chance to outperform the original piece on that subject.
Authoritative content: why it is important?
To say something entirely new, you have to be an authority in your niche.
Otherwise, it’s not believable. People won’t take you seriously.
EXAMPLE:
Let’s say I do a few weeks of research and write a cool article on the topic of colonization of Mars.
Would you read my article on that topic?
Or would you prefer to learn about the colonization of Mars from someone with more authority in that subject? Like Elon Musk.
Elon Musk is probably the most qualified person in the world to talk about the colonization of Mars.
People pay attention to authority. Authority makes your content credible.
But what if you’re not the Elon Musk of your industry? Does that mean you should stop trying?
How to hack authority?
There’s a simple trick to “hacking” authority that writers have been using for ages.
Take a look at this article at Wait But Why that explains the colonization of Mars start to finish.
It is super long, so you’ll need a compelling reason to spend your time on it, right?
Well – this article was co-written by Elon Musk.
I bet now you’re thinking about every paragraph of this post is totally worth your time, right?
That’s how you hack authority. You co-author it with someone smarter than you 😉
If you’re not the best person to talk about a certain subject, then find that best person and interview them.
Obviously, it is almost impossible to get a hold of someone like Elon Musk.
But I’m sure that whatever industry you are in, there are many high-profile people who are easily accessible. Twitter is a great place to contact experts in your industry!
Takeaway
I hope I discouraged you from creating new content clones and encouraged you to bring something new to this world.
Let’s be honest – the majority of people are too lazy to do be originals.
But that is actually a good thing.
It means there is less competition at the top 🏆
KEEP LEARNING:
How to Get Consistent SEO Traffic to Your Website [That Compounds Over Time!]
7 Fastest Ways To Get 1000+ People to Your New Blog [UNBEATABLE STRATEGIES]What to Blog About: 3 Myths About Money-Making Blogging Niches
How to Start a Successful Blog & Make Money (Step-by-Step Guide)
Multipotentialite: Why I Don’t Have Just One Career
How I Generated 5 Income Streams While Keeping My Day Job
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