You hear all kinds of Steve Jobs’ quotes that inspire, motivate, and stimulate. But for those in the content world, the catchphrase is “content is king.” Did you realize that this 21st century mantra for content writers came from the mouth of Bill Gates? If not, I bet you didn’t realize he said it way back when in 1996. That’s right, Gates fashioned that phrase nearly 20 years ago. Today, “content is king” echoes across the web as writers, web marketers, and SMB owners rush to push forward as much content as possible. From writer blogs to business how-to’s, you can find content on every topic imaginable. But the real question is, is it worth the read?
Fashionable Content
No longer is it ok to simply churn out content. Your readers don’t want to read trash, Google will penalize you for it, and your web reputation will go out with the garbage. So here is another quote for you quotation queens:
- “Content is of great importance, but we must not underestimate the value of style,” said Maya Angelo.
Words so true, you have to produce content with pizzazz. This benefits your site in two ways. First you attract and maintain the attention of an audience so they can grasp the message within your content. Secondly, you create an emotional connection with each person who reads your content.
This has the potential to set off a chain of reactions from sharing the content to scouring your site for more content of similar style. But alas, “As you know in fashion, one day you’re in. And the next day, you’re out,” according to Heidi Klum. You can never get too cozy with your current content output.
Diversify, Diversify, Diversify
Rather than keeping up with the trends of stylish content, which can be as vicious and viral as any YouTube sensation, choose to move horizontally across the content board. Build up your site to include a capsule collection of content that works for all seasons. This will carry you through from sweater weather to bikini season without leaving your readers worse for wear. Here are some ideas to stitch some more inventive content samples into your collection:
- Take insights from your customers’ shopping and spending habits and use those to generate ideas for fresh posts and articles that speak directly to your target consumer.
- Promote white papers dedicated to your industry to help bolster your professional position among potential partners, business associates and clients.
- Design couture level content in the form of infographics, which are hot, hot, hot thanks to their visual impact, share worthiness and Pinterest power.
- Structure your headlines to act as a skeletal support for your entire site, using only those headlines and subheadings that add SEO value, attraction and meaning.
- Streamline your keyword capabilities so that your readers can easily sort through your content collection with its ever-increasing waistline.
Set your site up for success with the longevity of a DVF wrap dress by creating an array of content geared at every type of reader in your target consumer base. Just like the iconic wrap dress, your website should provide every visitor with something that fits their needs while making them feel amazing.
Miranda B earnestly believes creative and emotional content has the power to change the world of the web, and the readers immersed and influenced by it.
