5 Rules of Good Content
Published on Nov 21, 2015
A brief look at the basics of good content for any marketer or business owner who has a website or creates other content for their target audience.
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
1. Be Relevant to Your Audience
If you remember nothing else, remember this--you must be relevant to your audience or people will not pay any attention to you.
Photo by tim caynes
2. Serve a Purpose
What's your content's mission: To sell? To educate or inform? To entertain?
You must have a reason for creating and sharing all your content--from blog posts to web pages to infographics, videos and more.
Without the mission, most content ends up rambling and unfocused, and as a result customers drift away.
You must have a reason for creating and sharing all your content--from blog posts to web pages to infographics, videos and more.
Without the mission, most content ends up rambling and unfocused, and as a result customers drift away.
Photo by Defence Images
3. Make It Easy to Understand
Making your content easy to understand is about two things:
1. Using plain language and describing concepts in language your audience will understand.
2. Making copy less dense so it's easier for your time-crunched consumers to pop in and find what they want immediately.
There's a myth that using simpler words and descriptions is "dumbing down" to your audience. It's not. Doctors, lawyers, engineers and others all want to be able to consume your main points quickly. The easier you make that for them, the more likely they are to stick around.
1. Using plain language and describing concepts in language your audience will understand.
2. Making copy less dense so it's easier for your time-crunched consumers to pop in and find what they want immediately.
There's a myth that using simpler words and descriptions is "dumbing down" to your audience. It's not. Doctors, lawyers, engineers and others all want to be able to consume your main points quickly. The easier you make that for them, the more likely they are to stick around.
Photo by timparkinson
4. Make It Visually Appealing
You don't have to be an artist or designer to make your content appealing (though in many cases that helps).
Your articles should be segmented by headers, use clean, short lists and include photos, charts or videos.
Your website should be clean looking at first glance, with good use of white space. Does it look easy to navigate or do people have to study the page to find their way through?
Your videos should capture the viewer's attention in moments and be as short as possible to get your message across yet still be compelling.
Your graphics should complement the rest of the page and help people understand your message.
Your articles should be segmented by headers, use clean, short lists and include photos, charts or videos.
Your website should be clean looking at first glance, with good use of white space. Does it look easy to navigate or do people have to study the page to find their way through?
Your videos should capture the viewer's attention in moments and be as short as possible to get your message across yet still be compelling.
Your graphics should complement the rest of the page and help people understand your message.
Photo by Edgar Barany
5. Keep a Consistent Brand Voice
You can talk about all sorts of topics (relevant to your expertise and your audience, of course), and you may have several people creating your content. It all must sound like it comes from the same place, with the same overall strategy behind it.
Photo by Leo Reynolds
BONUS TIP: Know the difference between mistakes and carelessness--your audience does.
Mistakes here and there are forgiven, but if you think you don't have to proofread your work, you are mistaken.
You want to respect your audience--proofreading shows you care. You don't have to be perfect, but be as close to it as possible.
Each mistake, especially careless errors on the page, is a hit to your credibility.
You want to respect your audience--proofreading shows you care. You don't have to be perfect, but be as close to it as possible.
Each mistake, especially careless errors on the page, is a hit to your credibility.
Photo by opensourceway
