5 Essential Tips for Successful Content Creation

Content creation has become the ‘thing to do’ in business marketing because high quality content is easily shareable and increases brand awareness. In 2015, content marketing was viewed as the best marketing strategy and 93% of marketers were already including it in their campaigns. It will come as no surprise that this number is growing.

In fact, as of Dec. 2015, 76% of B2B markets had determined to produce more content in 2016, 77% of B2C marketers had determined to produce more content in 2016, and Forbes reports that those who prioritize blogging (as a form of content writing) are 13x more likely to gain a positive ROI.

As you can see, content creation is incredibly important in succeeding as a business. Because consumers are connecting through content, your business has to create content to stay relevant and succeed.

So how do you create quality content that your readers will engage with? It is not as hard as it seems. First you need to understand your readers and know what they are looking for. That is the key for generating leads from your content. After you understand your readers, use these other tips to make your content even better.

1. Be Selfless

Your content is there to help your brand connect with your readers. It is not there to ‘sell’ your product. You have to put your readers’ interests first, not yours, and usually your readers are not there to be sold.

Today’s consumers are uncannily good at spotting when something is fake. Make it evident in your blog (or other content) that it really is about answering your readers’ questions. In fact, it has been recommended that you take yourself completely out of the equation. Do this and your content will put you well on your way to success.

2. Essential Headline Tips You Must Follow for a Successful Business

See what I did there? That headline captured your attention and made you want to read this section. Why? Because it was interesting and/ or it answered a question that you had. As illustrated, headlines are everything if you want your content to be read and especially so, if you want your post to go viral.

Content headlines need to be vague and make the reader want to click on it. If a blog headline reads something like “ The Most Important Liquid is Water,” why would someone read it? They have already seen the answer and have likely drawn their own conclusions. Instead if the headline reads something like this, “Water May Be the Most Important Liquid…But Do You Really Know Why?” It becomes just a little more interesting and becomes more likely to be clicked on.

Because headlines are so important, Upworthy.com requires their writers to come up with 25 different headlines for their content before choosing one. They know that the headline is the first thing that their readers will see and that the best one has to be chosen.

3. Outline Ideas for Content Creation

It might be surprising to find that most content marketers struggle more with deciding on topics to write about than writing the actual content. This is where brainstorming sessions come in. If you create an outline for a month or so, it becomes easier to decide on a topic than trying to spend time picking a topic every day. Spending time in one brainstorming session a month will help increase your productivity more so than brainstorming every day and you will see your productivity level increase. This is because once you get that first idea, the rest will flow quickly after that.

It is important to note that once an editorial calendar has been created, don’t feel like you are locked into following it exactly. Because it is your calendar, it is easy to move things around. This is especially useful if an unexpected event happens that you want to write about or other breaking news items come up. Overall though, being well stocked with content ideas will help you spend less time preparing and more time writing.

4. Focus on Original Content

It has been said that original content is king and that is mostly true. While it is important to create your own content, repurposed content should not be ignored. Repurposed content is handy to use when you are in-between creating original content. Just because original content takes more time does not mean that your readers should go without. This is where repurposed content is useful.

As for original content, it is better for building brand awareness. 81% of content strategists are expected to focus heavier on original content creation this year. This is because original content resonates better with readers. However, all original content pieces do not have to be just 2000 word posts. Use transcripts of professional interviews, create infographics, and engage readers with user-generated content.

5. Write First- Edit Later

After you have come up with topics to write about, just start writing. Keep writing and do not stop yourself. If you write a sentence that you do not like, keep going and come back later. It becomes much harder to write if you are continually stopping yourself. Set a time limit, a length limit, or finish your first draft before stopping. Once that is done, then go back and edit. You will be surprised at how much easier it becomes to write your content.

Content creation is one of the most important marketing strategies available today. While writing content is tough, especially for small business that do not have an in-house team, following these content tips will make it more manageable. And knowing how to create quality content will help your business succeed.