Content is King!
The statement above has become the holy grail of blogging. No matter what we do content still is and will forever be the main catalyst to drive your blog to success. Without an eye catching, attention grabbing content it is hard to persuade readers to “hang” around your blog and compel them to subscribe. We have all seen blogs that have been launched around the same time but one hits the rock bottom whereas the other reaches the heights of success. They both might be expert in the same field, but one rises and the other fails. The reason can be summed up in one sentence : Expertise and content alone will not do the magic, it’s the presentation, the ability to create curiosity, the desirability factor that does the magic!
There are some strategies most popular bloggers have followed which has driven them to success and popularity. They have tactically applied their strategies to elevate their content to take their blogs to the next level and set themselves apart from the rest. Here are 5 proven ways that will certainly help you elevate your content and help you eliminate the “i am lost among millions of blogs” feeling.
Title Optimization – Unique or Redundant?
Let’s start this section with comparison among hypothetical titles
- Popular Bloggers Secret to Fame and Money – Exposed!
- How to Become a Popular Blogger
- 5 Ways to Become Popular and Make Money Blogging
Assume that all three titles contain the same content. If you were browsing the web and came across these three titles which one would you be most likely to click? First one! The point of this quick experiment is to show that your content might be the best out there, but your title is the key to lure visitors and turn them into dedicated readers. Without an effective title it is hard to gain attention. Your title plays a very significant role in creating your content. To tell you the truth, your title is what makes your article interesting. It should create curiosity, grab attention and compel visitors to read what you have got to say.
Optimize your title and see the difference. Be it Social Media crowd or Search Engine traffic, your content will rise simply because of a title that has been optimized to grab attention.
Traditional media has followed this method for years to sell information to their users, go ahead grab a newspaper and glance through the titles on the front page.You will see exactly how effective and important title optimization is.
Content Delivery – Solid Block of Text or Content Breakdown?
This is probably the biggest mistake most bloggers make. Your content might be full of information but a solid block of text eliminates the luxury of “scan now, read later” ability. Your readers might be students running late for a class or businessmen reading your article while waiting for their next meeting. These busy individuals need to be able to quick scan your articles and get a feel of what the article is about. Your content title should lure them in but your content presentation should make them come back for more.
Avoid creating a solid block of text while writing content. Divide your content into a number of groups “( subheading ) so it is easier for individuals to quick scan and get the message. If you look at this post itself, you can see there are 5 subheadings and each subheading talks about a different aspect of elevating your content. If you are a busy individual reading this article, it will allow you to quick glance at the subheadings and see what the article is trying to convey. And if it is something that you find valuable ( which I hope you do ), you will be able to visit later and read the content to it’s full.
Breaking down your content allows your readers to scan,analyze and hopefully come back later at their own leisure to gain some more insight from your article.
Eliminate Distractions – Attention or Clicks?
Money from blogging – we all want it but only few make it! The simple reasoning behind this is due to the fact that most bloggers get too desperate too early. Take a moment and do a quick experiment. Look at some of the blogs that you read most often and analyze how many of them run advertisements or animations and such within their content. I am sure you won’t find too many. We are bombarded with advertisements everywhere we go. The last place anyone wants to see an advertisement is between a content they are enjoying.
Let’s take a TV show for an example. You are watching a game show and you are all into it. The show is almost over and the winner is about to be announced. You are biting your fingernails, clinching your fist waiting to see if your favorite team is going to win. Right then the host says “And the winner is” and BOOM… there comes the commercial. You know the feeling. It distracts you and you might as well walk off.
Take the above example and relate it directly to a blog. Would you want to see a solid block of “adsense” in between an article that you are so into? Definitely not. If you don’t like it don’t do it to your readers. A couple bucks from advertisements within your content might satisfy the hunger for now, but in the long run it will hurt your credibility and audience.
Avoid distraction and let the content flow. Give your readers what they came for -Information without distraction.
Image Choice – For The Sake of it or One That Compliments The Content?
We like what we see. Although your visitors come to read your content, you need to realize that we are all visual beings. We like what we see. I personally think each and every content on any blog is incomplete without an image that compliments the article. You have heard the saying “Icing on the cake,” well, that’s exactly what an image does to your content – it gives your content the added benefit by making it visually appealing.
When choosing an image, make sure to add one that actually compliments the article. If your content deals with ad campaigns, add an image of a successful ad campaign. This allows your readers to entertain their eyes by looking at the image, and also gives them a practical example of a successful ad campaign through the image.
Content is king, but without an image to compliment the message, content is a king without a queen – lonely and lifeless!
Conclusion – End or The Beginning?
The key to a good presentation is the opening statement. We all know it and we try to incorporate this as often as possible. However, we tend to ignore the ending statement most of the time. While we sit to create an article we are pumped and by the time the article reaches its end we struggle with words. Words fall short and we conclude our “best content ever” with nothing extra ordinary.
Let’s take a movie for an example. You spend hours watching a movie to see what happens at the end. By the time you reach the end you have speculation and imagination running wild as to what might happen at the end. You wonder if the girl and guy get together at the end, and if its a war movie you wonder if the main character is going to survive and save the world. Wouldn’t it be a waste of time if the ending is lame? Nothing different but the same ending that you have seen dozens of time in different movies. The same applies to your content.
Create an ending that will compel your readers to think and respond. A conclusion that will compel them to share their thoughts and expertise on a particular matter. An ending that will make them not only think but apply what you have said.
Closing statement is as important as the opening statement. The closing statement of your article is the end of your content but the beginning of a discussion.
Are there only 5 ways to elevate your content and reach the masses? I know for a fact there is more ways to create and optimize your content. This is the beginning of this article, let’s finish it with healthy discussion and through exchanging ideas in the comment section below.
