TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduce What is Good Content?
Psychology Behind Good Content
Good Content Is Easy To Find And Attractive
- Search Engine Optimization
- Content Title
- Meta Description
- Organize your website
- Multiple Mediums To Promote
- Consistency
5 Structural Components Of Good Content And Their Order
Good Content Exhausts All Aspects Of The Topic At Hand
Hold The Customers Attention By Using Relevant Images In Content
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If you are a blogger writing about a niche topic that you have expertise on or a small businessman that needs to communicate its brand values and credibility to potential buyers, good content is the key to expanding your readers’ community.
Content marketing is the most effective way of attracting readers to your website. It involves creating and sharing visual and written content for the consumption of your target audience. The content can be in the form of online videos, pictures, blogs, and social media posts, etc.
From getting your target audience to click on your webpage to ensuring that they like what they read and will frequently visit and become loyal readers, you need good content. However, not every piece of content that you publish can be termed good content.
To help you create better content and content that stands out from the crowd, we have compiled information on writing good content.
What is Good Content?
Good content refers to content that successfully stimulates a reader’s interest and commands results by helping convert potential customers into buyers. It is informative, persuasive, educational, original, and sometimes even entertaining. Good content is created after thoroughly studying one’s target audience and their preferences. It is complementary to the industry and the audience that it caters to.
For example, if you’re targeting the younger generation, then keeping your content fun and light could attract more people to the brand.
Psychology Behind Good Content
Content is created for reader convenience, hence good content is always audience oriented. If you have asked yourself why people should read your content, then the answer is because it appeals to their psychology.
You need to use human psychology to your advantage to inspire an engaging writing style. You also need to make sure that readers find the content helpful in some way. For example, it could answer their questions and offer a solution, teach them the process of doing something, or introduce them to something new.
Some ways to engage your readers are:
- Use crisp language and pair it with a writing style that flows to ensure that you do not lose a reader’s attention midway. An article with flow takes less time to read and seeps into the brain faster.
- Talk directly to the reader and make them feel like you understand their problem because you have been there. It is common knowledge that people are inclined to talk to people that they can relate to. Good content can establish a relationship of trust between the writer and the reader.
- Understand your target audience. If your audience is the business class, try to keep the content professional. If the target audience is women, keep the content relatable and empowering. It is essential to know your audience and to create for them.
- It is human psychology that we tend to reciprocate in kind when we feel that we have gained something from someone. When you provide valuable information to the reader in the form of good content, the reader is likely to provide their email address to you. Hence, good content can result in subscription and lead generation.
- Use people’s tendency to conform to your advantage. Post reviews or messages from your readers on your website and in the content you generate. This will make the reader think that you are a credible source of information.
- People believe stats more than they believe theories. If you can find statistics on your topic, try to include them in the article.
The content type that you churn out must be written with the reader’s point of view in mind.
Purpose Of Good Content
Readers are cautious about offering their time, money, and loyalty. They want to know that they are receiving value for their time. However, unless your website is super reputed, your target audience is likely to be unsure about trusting information from a page that they don’t have prior experience with.
With digitalization having taken over, the first thing that a person does when they are looking for information or some product is to search through the world wide web. They look at multiple sources and select one based on available content and reader reviews. If you are publishing good and easy to find content on your website, the chances of people coming across your website are higher.
Educate
Readers are scrolling through the net for a specific reason, like seeking information on a topic that they are interested in. For example, by writing a product review, you can use content to educate customers on how your product or service can benefit them.
Good content can be used to educate your readers about the industry and how it works. Writing a guide to do something, or a list of steps or tips can also help your readers when they are looking on the internet for a solution. It can also help you clear up any doubts and misconceptions about the industry.
For example, if you are a health and fitness blogger, you can create content about the body’s need for vitamins and minerals. You can also educate your potential customers about the effects of vitamin deficiency on your health. If readers find your content educational, they will subscribe to your website and might even recommend it to others.
Introduce
When you have something to say to a particular type of person, you need to get that target audience’s attention. Customers are often hesitant to try new things unless they have heard about it or are aware of its use. Good content can be used to deliver a message about a topic that you have expertise in.
With the help of good content, you can present a topic that you think must be communicated to your readers and increase awareness.
Influence
When a reader comes across content that is educational, they are likely to conclude that the writer is experienced and trustworthy. Once a reader can trust your ability to help them, they will be willing to pay to subscribe to your work and even pay for help. This is how good content can give you credibility in the eyes of readers.
On the other hand, if you publish content that is not informative or well formed, then the reader will move on to another webpage that offers more education. The content you publish represents you in front of the reader, which is why you must publish good content to make a good impression.
For example, a mortgage broker who publishes content about how to increase your credit score and about the different types of mortgages will more than likely be knowledgeable. Readers will feel confident relying on their expertise if they wish to finance their purchase by taking out a mortgage.
Engage
An often underestimated, yet equally important function of good content is to engage the reader and encourage conversation. A short sentence and link to your site, inviting the readers to ask their queries for you to solve, can go a long way.
For example, after reading content on an interior design tips page, a reader might message the writer to ask for help when redecorating their home.
If the content is deemed relevant and helpful by the reader, they might even recommend it to their acquaintances. This type of indirect marketing is very influential and is good for a blog or website.
The quality and originality of the content that you produce will impact whether the content fulfills its purpose. If you are investing in content marketing, make sure that you create good content.
Good Content Is Easy To Find And Attractive
The internet is filled with information about almost everything under the sun. There are thousands of writers working in the same industry and publishing content on the internet. Your content can get lost in Google search pages if it doesn’t turn up on the very first page after a search on the topic is made. There is no point in creating content if it won’t be viewed by anyone.
Good content is easy to find, attractive, and intriguing. This is why you must learn tricks that can help ensure that readers click on your article in the search results and not on your competitors’ articles.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an integral part of good content creation. You need to create SEO-friendly content to ensure that it shows up at the top of the Google search when people are looking for something related.
Popular SEO techniques include the use of primary and secondary keywords, topic clusters, tags, and links. These will help you create visibility and generate organic or unpaid traffic to your website.
Content Title
Make sure that the heading of your blog, video, or post is crisp and informative. The title should be honest in its description of the article and preferably written in an active voice. Keep the title short as only a part of long titles are displayed on the Google search page. Research how to write an attractive title and learn from the pros. Try to use keywords as the first words of the title to ensure that it is displayed at the top of the search page.
Meta Description
Meta description of an article is a brief description displayed right below the article title. It influences the click-through rates of the content and must be formed with considerations.
A good meta description is written with active voice, has a call-to-action and primary keyword included. It is also called a snippet as it gives some idea about the content.
Organize Your Website
Google and many other popular search engines are favorable towards websites that have organized content. Improving the design elements of your website can help you receive better views on Google. For example, adding a left or right navigation bar that informs readers about which page on your site they are on, search function to go straight to their topic of interest, and a sidebar that contains links to frequently viewed content on the site could help you organize your website better.
Multiple Mediums To Promote
Content needs to be promoted to increase views from readers or information seekers. Content marketing involves marketing via content that needs to be promoted in itself.
Good content should not merely be present in one online medium. To attract readers, you will have to ensure that they often come across your posts on the internet. Whether it is through your website, Google search, affiliate marketing, or social media, good content is content that is hard to miss. You can start social media campaigns, newsletter subscriptions, and website blogs. Social media platforms are considered to be an effective medium with which to promote good content.
Consistency
Consistency is the key to increasing traffic. When you consistently make posts, your articles slowly slide up the search page. The combined traffic that your website receives from published content increases and so does the number of interested buyers. What’s more, your readers start regarding your website as a reliable source of information.
According to eMarketer, over 60% of marketers publish at least one piece of content every day.
5 Structural Components Of Good Content And Their Order
Writing as the words flow and penning down good content sounds beautiful, yet in reality, it will not get you readers. Without structure, your content is chaotic, and you are likely to digress from the topic or end up with an article that does not hold a reader’s attention. Even creative writing needs some structure to keep it interesting and crisp.
While the content is completely up to you, the structure should gradually offer information, not force it down the reader’s throat. It must be created keeping human psychology in mind. You must make sure that the flow of the content is such, so the reader finishes reading it and does not get bored halfway.
Well-structured information is the key to writing good content. To organize your content in a way that keeps a reader intrigued, you should have the following components in the given order in your content.
Title
The function of a title is to grab the attention of the reader, which is why it must be catchy. The title gives the reader an idea about the purpose of the content and should integrate the primary keywords and essential elements. It should also be precise because long titles do not appeal to readers.
Introduction
The introduction of good content touches upon three points. The reason for writing on a subject, the problem faced by your targeted reader, and the solution. It is the function of the introduction to pique the reader’s interest and make them believe that they need to read the entire article. It introduces the reader to the purpose and the main topics being discussed.
Body
The body of the content holds the actual information that is supposed to be given to readers. Each point in the body is essential to developing the argument that was introduced in the introduction and title.
It should cover the thesis or the main ideas of the content. The body can be divided into sub-points to make it organized and easier to read.
Subheadings
The subject has many aspects that the writer needs to discuss. These aspects hold information that must be given special attention, rather than being blended in with the body.
Subheadings work as titles inside an article, which encourage the reader to read on as the information offered further is of value. It prevents the content from achieving the status of stagnancy and is a way of keeping the reader curious.
Conclusion
The conclusion is responsible for both summarizing and providing closure to the reader. An abrupt ending to the content may make the reader feel that the content was unsuccessful at satisfying them.
A good conclusion should reinstate the purpose of the content and helps the reader see the bigger picture.
As an example, when writing content on mental health:
- Title: 5 Ways to Improve Your Mental Health.
- Introduction: An overview of mental issues and how many people face them, along with why mental fitness is essential and how to build emotional and mental strength.
- Body: The body would explain the things that affect your mental health and measures that can be used, like keeping your body and mind healthy in order to improve it. For example, you could discuss a balanced diet, meditation, exercise, etc.
- Subheadings:Subheadings could include the positive effects of mental fitness. For example, feeling rejuvenated and energetic, improved performance, etc.
- Conclusion:The conclusion would emphasize the need to start working on your mental health for a better life.
Good Content Exhausts All Aspects Of The Topic At Hand
Good content does not leave the reader with questions unanswered. It covers all important aspects of a topic and incorporates links to other sources where further information is offered.
Your content’s aim must be to offer a one-stop solution to your readers. The motto of good content is to replicate that strategy by offering content that thoroughly covers all relevant information. There should be no gaps in the information, and the need to look for other sources should not arise after reading your content.
Remember: while covering all aspects is essential, one must not make content too lengthy or wordy. Lengthy articles will not hold a viewer’s attention and cannot be classified as good content. If the topic is extensive, try to break the content into two to three linked pieces.
Hold The Readers Attention By Using Relevant Images In Your Content
Visual content is more popular and has been known to hold attention spans as it takes less time to comprehend. The phrase “An image speaks a thousand words” is very relevant in the content industry.
Continuously reading information with no breaks can frustrate a reader and they may leave the page altogether. Images provide that much need break, even in articles that contain technical content. If you want people to read all the content on the page, you must add some images to it. Good content is paired with relevant images to make it easier to understand and ensure that it looks attractive.
Good Content Is Paired With Links To Relevant Articles
Adding links to relevant articles increases the reliability of the content that you have created. Linked articles could either give further information on the topic or explain or elaborate on a term used in the content.
Article Links From Other Sources
Add articles links from relevant sources to make your content richer. For example, if you are an accountant and are writing something on taxation rules in your country, then you can link to the official page of your country’s tax authority.
Links From Your Website
If you have published more content on another aspect of the same topic, then you can link the articles to each other. This will increase a reader’s trust in you as well the traffic on your other published content.
For example, if you are a personal trainer and have written an article about ‘exercises that help you lose calories’, you could link it up to another article of yours that talks about ‘the right diet plan for overweight people’.
Adding links to articles is a popular SEO trick that can help make your article more visible on the net.
Conclusion
A report by DemandMetric states that content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about three times as many leads. However, the content has to be ‘good content’ to contribute to an increase in sales and brand awareness.
Good content contains information that is original and educational. It is easy to find and attractive. Most importantly, good content appeals to the interest of readers and can stimulate them into exploring what you offer.
To learn more about how to write good content, click here.
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