How to create authentic content<\/h3>\n
However, you can make yourself stand out from all the noise by being truly authentic. Here are three \u00a0quick ways to create content that rings true with your specific audience:<\/p>\n
Attribute authorship:<\/strong> people want to engage with people. Make sure you\u2019re not publishing under \u201cblog admin,\u201d but rather leveraging your team members as blog authors. Everyone in your company has a unique background and useful insight to share. For every post, include an author name, photo, unique bio, and links to their twitter and linkedin profiles.<\/p>\n Here’s a good example, via HubSpot<\/a>:<\/p>\n Listen and engage with your audience:<\/strong> Don\u2019t just talk at your readers thinking you know what they want. Your content should spark a conversation, so pay attention to blog comments, and respond to them genuinely. Pose questions in your content to generate responses, and continue the conversation on social media.<\/p>\n Find balance between content creation and curation:<\/strong> Sometimes sharing others\u2019 content is the best route to creating trust and rapport with your audience. Including relevant external links within your blog content or sharing useful videos or infographics from other sources shows your audience that you\u2019re not just focused on yourself and that you want to provide actual value to them.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason why the most popular content on the web these days is how to\u2019s, informational list posts, and robust downloads and guides – these types of content make readers\u2019 lives easier! Make sure your content contains key takeaways and practical tips for your readers that they can use in their personal and\/or professional lives.<\/p>\n Here’s the difference: it’s one thing to write a blog post about how anyone can create a website on their own and what to include on their site. It’s another to give them actionable free tools<\/a> with which to do so.<\/p>\n Visuals are imperative to making your content more digestible and engaging. What’s more, visuals aid in decision making, are more persuasive, and lead to longer overall impressions<\/a>. But I\u2019m not talking about using run-of-the-mill stock photos, because everyone everywhere has been there, done that. When crafting unique content, include varied custom visuals that help make your point and make you stand out from the crowd. If your readers get bored with your copy or while reading longer pieces, you can ensure you still convey your message and pique their interest as they skim the visuals.<\/p>\n Make sure you know who your audience is, and what they care about. If you have buyer personas created, great. If not, consider what stage of the buying journey your reader is in, and think about\u00a0what type of content would enhance their experience. Take a look at what your competitors are doing, and make it better by\u00a0reflecting your unique voice.<\/p>\n Remember, content doesn’t have to be just written content – if you have a younger audience, perhaps staying relevant means producing video content or creating infographics instead.<\/p>\n When your content is always focused on your brand, it\u2019s easy for potential customers to write you off as another meaningless advertiser. Endless press releases and blog posts solely focused on your CEO or company updates will quickly bore users, and won\u2019t turn leads into conversions.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say that some brand focused content is useful – it is. But shifting your strategy from being brand-focused to consumer focused<\/em> is far more worth it. The key is finding the right balance of the two. Rather than make a hard sell with every piece of content, work in useful resources and industry news. Variety is the spice\u00a0of life, right?<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an example: if you\u2019re a company that sells social media software, your content strategy could include:<\/p>\n If your content reads like a fifth-grader\u2019s 5 paragraph essay, you\u2019re in trouble. There are tons of resources on copywriting 101<\/a> out there, but here are some essentials to writing compelling copy:<\/p>\n Write good headlines.<\/strong> Arguably THE most important part of your post, your headlines should be to the point, personal (use \u201cyou\u201d to speak to your reader directly), and exciting!<\/p>\n Be direct.<\/strong> Communicate clearly by cutting to the chase and opting for short sentences over extra words.<\/p>\n Spur action.<\/strong> If your content isn\u2019t convincing a reader to convert, it\u2019s failing. Encourage readers to take action by instilling a sense of urgency (\u201cnow is the time!\u201d) and including direct calls to action.<\/p>\n The best content out there makes use of good formatting to entice readers to stay on the page. If you put the thought and effort into formatting each blog post or piece of content you create, your analytics will reflect lower bounce rates and longer time spent on page, both important engagement metrics you and your clients should be paying attention to.<\/p>\n Some quick formatting tips:<\/p>\n Your content is only good if people see it. You should absolutely make sure you focus on generating organic traffic to your post (see next point!), but also make use of promotional vehicles like social media to start conversations on your content\u2019s topic. Blogs are a great way to drive organic search traffic and reach more customers. But, getting your blog posts and content to rank higher in search engines requires some work. These SEO checklists<\/a> will help you cover all your bases before you publish, but here are a few first steps:<\/p>\n Plus, here’s a great infographic on the Anatomy of a Perfectly Optimized Page<\/a>\u00a0for your reference.<\/p>\n Are you writing content based on your mood that day, or are you aligning it with a defined content strategy based on your business goals? If you don\u2019t have a well-conceived strategy and an editorial calendar in place, stop reading this and go make one.<\/p>\n Ask yourself a few questions to make sure you’re being strategic with your content:<\/p>\n So, you’ve created bad content in the past. Let bygones be bygones. Now get to creating the good stuff based on the above, and start seeing the results you want.<\/p>\n Any other advice out there for not sucking at content? Leave us a tip in the comments!<\/p>\n![\"Author-bio-1\"](\"https:\/\/mysiteauditor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/author-bio-1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n2. It\u2019s not actionable<\/h2>\n
![\"popular](\"https:\/\/mysiteauditor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/mobile-wireframe-tool1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n3. It\u2019s not visual<\/h2>\n
![\"visual](\"https:\/\/mysiteauditor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/visuals-aid-in.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWays to make your content more visual<\/a><\/h3>\n
\n
![\"Visual](\"https:\/\/mysiteauditor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/handshake-300x200.jpg\")
![\"Visual](\"https:\/\/mysiteauditor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/snow-landscape-mountains-nature-large-300x199.jpeg\")
<\/a>Instead of such a literal image, opt for a more emotionally evocative and conceptual image, like a mountain scene. Both images convey overcoming obstacles and growth, just in very different ways.<\/p>\n4. It\u2019s not relevant<\/h2>\n
5. It\u2019s overly promotional<\/h2>\n
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6. It\u2019s boring<\/h2>\n
![\"copywriting](\"https:\/\/mysiteauditor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/visuals-aid-in-1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n7. It\u2019s formatted poorly<\/h2>\n
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8. It\u2019s not promoted<\/h2>\n
\nBut, don\u2019t just automate promotion by blasting out the title on all your social outlets at once – take the time to engage each different audience with intention. For example, the way you frame an article on LinkedIn and Twitter should be very different.<\/p>\n9. It\u2019s not optimized for search engines<\/h2>\n
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10. It\u2019s not strategic<\/h2>\n
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Conclusion<\/h2>\n
![\"free-seo-download\"](\"https:\/\/mysiteauditor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/get-more-seo-leads-1024x535.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When content is done right, it is an extremely powerful tool for driving traffic to your website, building your brand awareness and authority, and converting leads into sales. But, just because you create it doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s good. Countless blogs and articles are published online every day that nobody ever reads because, well, they suck. […]","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":3602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":""},"categories":[41,34],"tags":[44,42,43],"series":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/mysiteauditor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/10-ways-your-content-is.png","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/mysiteauditor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/itunes-cover.jpg","download_link":false,"player_link":false,"audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":[],"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/mysiteauditor.com\/blog\/feed\/podcast","embedCode":"10 Ways Your Content is Guaranteed to Suck<\/a><\/blockquote>