Writing Content That’s Actually Good
Hi, Apple Blog!
I’m here to rep the content team and talk a bit about some lessons learned over the past couple months. In typical writer fashion, I begin with a cliché: content is king. However, any good content marketing specialist knows that’s the truth, especially in the case of digital media marketing. Websites are ranked, SEO speaking, by both the quality and quantity of content displayed—it must be relevant, digestible, and constant.
Chances are, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, so I’ll cut to the chase. Earlier this year, we decided to more double our blog and social content creation for our clients in hopes of increasing search result rankings and page visits to their website. Because of this, I knew I was going to have to step up my game to generate some truly compelling, clever content that wouldn’t be irrelevant, repetitive, or just flat-out boring. It wasn’t easy at first, but I learned a few things along the way. Now, I am a better content writer because of it—and let’s not forget to mention that our clients have seen serious results from this push. Here are a couple lessons hopefully you can use to expand your content marketing horizons.
Look Around
Inspiration is everywhere. Don’t be afraid to capitalize on trending topics. Insert your own take while it’s still hot, especially if it makes for a good blog. As well, if there is someone out there producing really good content relevant to what you’re writing, take a look. I’m not condoning plagiarism, of course, but one good idea is sure to spark many more.
Ask the Experts
If you’re anything like me, chances are, you don’t know everything. Crazy, right? I found my content creating abilities were limited by how much I knew about the subject matter. By opening myself up to learning more of the details of what I was writing about, I found many avenues of information that I could explore from a layman’s perspective, which was perfect for creating content. I also made sure to consult with subject-matter experts to ensure that what I would be putting out there was, in fact, true. The result is an awesome iterative process that makes content creation flow.
Go Above and Beyond
Relating to above, don’t wait to run out of ideas before you delve into learning more about your subject matter. Sit in on seminars, read about it when it comes up in the news, and pay attention to what audiences are saying. This creates a new breadth of knowledge for you and naturally begins to foster curiosity and interest into what you are writing about, which improves the quality of your work.
Rest
Take it from a writer—it’s easy to get burned out. If composing a piece is starting to go nowhere fast, find a moment to rest your mind. Take a walk, take your lunch break, or just work on another project—but DON’T think about the piece you’re stuck on. Your subconscious mind will actually do that for you—it’s all in the way your brain stores long-term information. When you return to your piece, you’ll have a new perspective, new ideas, and most likely, a new vision for how you want your piece to turn out. Or, you’ll notice what pieces of information are missing to make it work, which is just as helpful.
