Content marketing is a growing industry, and it can be intimidating to create content that will stand out. Consumers are more demanding than ever before, so marketers must stay ahead of the curve. The term “epic” has been overused. Over time, it’s gotten watered down, and most people don’t seem to understand what it means. That’s an issue. Why? Because content marketing’s first rule is: Make great content. I’ve talked about generating unique content previously, but epic content goes a step farther.
The word epic, according to the dictionary, refers to anything that is:
- heroic; majestic; awe-inspiringly magnificent
OR
- extraordinarily large in size or scope
In simple English, it refers to anything superior to everything else that you can’t help but be amazed by it. And although you won’t always be able to achieve epic levels with your material, you should try to do so at least a few times a year. That’s when you’ll start seeing tens of thousands of views and hundreds of connections to your work. But there’s a catch: you can’t write a guide to create epic content since it comes in so many various shapes and sizes. Excellent material is usually predictable, but epic content takes a lot of imagination and money. So, although I can’t teach you how to create epic content for your company, I can show you what great material looks like. Do the following if you want to succeed: Many of these concepts aren’t that difficult to grasp. “Why didn’t I think of it before?” I’m sure you’ll ask yourself many times during this essay. That’s excellent news! Try to apply the thoughts and ideas from these examples to your niche.
14 examples of epic content from a variety of sectors:
1. The Ultimate Money-Making Guide
We’ll start with a tutorial by Ramit Sethi, who I often mention in my posts. I think he has a lot of great stuff, but I choose to highlight his ultimate method of generating money here. You can see right away that this isn’t your typical blog stuff. Instead, he went to the bother of having it created and formatted by a professional:
Does it have a table of contents on the left—how many blog entries have that? This tutorial is quite popular, as shown by the number of social shares. Unfortunately, epic content may also result in epic conversions: Many content marketers mistake providing great content but not collecting email signups immediately away. They believe that if the material is excellent enough, the visitors will remember it and return to read more of the site’s content. However, this isn’t always the case. If your material has wowed a visitor, seize the opportunity straight immediately. Most people will gladly join your email list after reading a helpful guide or another piece of content. They’re not going to be upset since you simply gave them a lot of value. If you look closely at this guide, you’ll see that it’s designed to be a very efficient lead-generating tool. There is an opt-in form at the bottom of each section, along with a slight pitch for joining up.
Thousands of people shared it, and I’m sure it had hundreds of thousands of visits. The following are the two key reasons this is epic: The first is the formatting, which I’ve previously mentioned. When you create stunning content, it sticks out from the crowd of average blog entries. People place a higher value on it, just as they do on sponsored material. The guide’s fantastic value is the second reason. Ramit explains his methods throughout the post (by text, graphics, and video), and he also offers several case studies:
Case studies assist the reader think about the advice in practical terms, making it more actionable.
2. List of Nomads
When you hear the word content, what comes to mind? Written material, mostly blog articles, comes to mind for most marketers and company owners. That’s perfectly natural, and I’m a strong supporter of corporate blogging. You must remember, though, that writing is simply one kind of content. And, although it’s fantastic for certain things, other topics are better presented in different ways. This isn’t a blog entry; it’s a NomadList. There isn’t much text in it at all. It’s more of a tool or information database than anything else. But it’s still happy. Anything that you can consume or learn from is considered content. NomadList, like all excellent content, solves a problem. It just outperforms all other tools. People who work remotely and like traveling the globe are digital nomads. Finding unique places that are both good for business and enjoyment and safe to go to is one of their toughest challenges. NomadList is simply a list of prominent digital nomad destinations:
The top bar has a lovely variety of filters that the user can utilize to narrow down the results, which are then rated and shown below. There’s a lot more wonderful stuff on this topic available online. However, the majority of it comprises a few photographs and, in most cases, large lists that are not in any specific sequence. Not only does NomadList rate the locations, but it also makes it exceedingly simple to compare them to one another. On the card for each location, you can see the average monthly rent, the average Internet speed, and the typical temperature:
This demonstrates that the presentation of your material is equally as significant as the content itself. NomadList went from excellent to epic after coming up with a simple visual approach to convey vital information about potential vacation locations to the consumers. NomadList also shows another principle you should never forget: content may adapt. Epic content doesn’t often start that way, mainly if you’ve never done it before. That is why you should not be frustrated if you put a lot of effort into something and it fails to take off as much as you had thought. The first version of Nomad List was as follows:
As you can see, it’s not nearly as practical. It’s still quite good but far from epic. However, consumers of the first version gave the developer positive comments. They offered support and words, and after a few tweaks, the inventor was able to bring NomadList to its current state. You don’t have to start from scratch if you already have decent, or even exceptional, content that answers a significant issue. Instead, rethink how you can make it even more helpful to visitors and design a new version. Of course, there’s no prohibition against updating or republishing previous material and promoting it again.
3. How to Quit Your Job, Relocate to Paradise, and Get Paid to Make a Difference in the World?
While epic material does not always have to be written, it might be if it tells a tale. This guest article on ProBlogger was written by Jon Morrow, the creator of BoostBlogTraffic.com. It blew up. Let’s take a look at a couple of why this article is so great one by one. The first reason is that it makes a grandiose claim… But it works: Who hasn’t fantasized about leaving their job and going to a tropical paradise at some point in their lives? We’d all want to do it, but we’re afraid or have other excuses. As a result, when you read Jon’s post title, you immediately think: Someone has done it, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
But this isn’t a piece about how great Jon is. Instead, it’s a collection of blueprints detailing how he accomplished his goal. In addition, he provided evidence to back up his assertion and offered practical counsel to anybody contemplating a major life shift.
It motivates: People are prone to making excuses. It’s always simple to come up with a justification to avoid doing anything. So, when you hear about people spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on clothing to generate money, you think to yourself, “Wow, that’s crazy.” Sure, it worked for them, but I’m unable to do so for various reasons. People respond similarly to any information that makes them believe a significant achievement is achievable. It’s also what readers do when they read about other people who have resigned from their jobs and relocated across the world. But be truthful. Jon was put in some of the most challenging situations imaginable yet managed to make it work. He suffered from a debilitating illness, with mounting medical costs and little financial means. Yet, he continued to do it. On a whim, he traveled to Mexico and began his journey to become a very successful company owner. Can you still come up with an argument as to why you couldn’t do the same (if you wanted to)? Overcoming challenges is motivating. Making your readers aware of your problems compels them to take action since they can no longer create excuses. The only way to substantially affect people’s lives is to get them to take action.
It connects with people: Jon is a fantastic writer, but it doesn’t happen overnight. However, if you start paying attention to how men like Jon write, you’ll begin to see why their writing appeals to so many people. While most individuals write about trivial matters, Jon isn’t afraid to be vulnerable and express things that others don’t expect to hear. Authenticity is another term for it. It would have been simple for Jon to moan about how difficult his life had become—to feel like a victim. Instead, he complains about “freakin’ bills.” Almost everyone can empathize with it. Suddenly, you’re not feeling sorry for Jon; instead, you’re furious at him. When you can get a reader to stop reading about you and instead feel and read with you, you’ve succeeded in making a significant difference in their lives. This is something I’m not very good at. However, through practice, I improve with time. That is precisely what you must do as well.
4. My Annual Passive Income Report One Year After Being Laid Off
One of the most critical aspects of epic content is to create something that no one else has done before and that people desire to see. That’s now very typical for website owners to divulge their earnings, but it wasn’t always the case. Pat Flynn presented his first yearly revenue report (along with monthly reports) in 2009, in which he detailed everything:
Secrecy is the standard in the make-money-online area. It’s difficult for readers to trust bloggers since they might be fabricating information. After months of sharing them, Pat persuaded his followers that he wasn’t making up his internet revenue stats. He was one of the first internet marketers to advocate for openness:
The takeaway here is to provide readers with something that no one else has. Although showing revenue statistics is becoming more frequent, few effective marketers reveal their techniques or tools. If you operate a company in the make-money-online area, here is how you may stand apart. It may be used for any kind of company. Allow your clients to see a video feed of the job in progress or show them images of their difficulties if you operate an auto garage, for example, so they don’t feel duped. Show your clients where the garments are created if you own a clothing business (i.e., not in sweatshops).
5. A Comprehensive List of Link-Building Techniques
You may have seen this one before if you’re interested in SEO. There are a lot of various link-building strategies out there, but they’re all extremely distinct. This implies that only particular strategies are effective in certain circumstances and enterprises. As a result, finding the correct methods for your organization might be challenging for SEOs (particularly newbies). They also don’t want to lose out on any excellent opportunities. Instead of just compiling a list of 30-50 strategies, which would be ideal, Jon Cooper went one step further. He gathered all of the link-building strategies he could. There are at least 100 on the page. He didn’t stop there, however. Someone also assisted him in the creation of content filters. Depending on the timeframe, efficacy, and reliance on other sources, the techniques may be filtered. This ensures that readers are seeing strategies that they can put to use:
The list is structured uniformly throughout the whole page. Below each method is a description:
Epic is a range of emotions: If you’ve worked with SEO before, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that, although the quantity of strategies on the list is impressive, the descriptions might be better. Although some of the strategies contain support links, the author might improve the page by including tutorials and case studies for each design. As a result, it can be much more impressive (not an accurate word). So, just because a piece of material is fantastic doesn’t imply it can’t be enhanced. This list was made a few years ago, and it was much superior to anything else available on SEO strategies at the time. Content standards, on the other hand, frequently grow with time. Even while I still consider this page an example of epic material, it no longer stands out as much as it once did. I wouldn’t be shocked if someone improved and modified it to meet today’s requirements.
6. The Complete List of Google’s 200 Ranking Factors
Another one you may be acquainted with is this one—SEOs like conversing, particularly about Google and its ranking elements. For example, SEOs have been debating whether or not certain variables were incorporated in Google’s algorithm, and if so, how relevant they were, until lately. For example, Google published a statement many years ago claiming that there were over 200 ranking factors:
Today, no one knows how many there are. It makes no difference. What matters is that SEOs have long been unsure about what constitutes a signal… Always on the lookout for more. Brian Dean then put up this massive post. He went to great lengths to compile a list of over 200 rating variables (which he keeps updated). When feasible, the majority of them provide a link to a source:
Is it possible to duplicate this? What topics do readers in your niche often discuss? What do they want to know? Once you’ve figured it out, don’t simply make a long list of answers; make the whole list. Then, make a fantastic post by going all out and putting in as much work as you can. The end product will be well worth the effort.
7. How We Attracted 1,000+ Subscribers in 24 Hours with a Single Blog Post?
How many blog entries on promoting a blog post have you read? Probably quite a bit. Most of them are garbage. They’re just essential lists of techniques with short descriptions. They all sound like they were plagiarized from another blog article. Groove’s creators are distinct—in a good way. The first thing they did was put their advertising approach to the test. They utilized it and received over 1,000 subscribers from their first blog post. They not only achieved an incredible feat, but they also demonstrated that it is doable. Alex from Groove wrote out the entire promotional process in excellent depth in the article I picked for this list. He mentioned everything from the names of the persons they were targeting to the specific outreach email he sent and why he sent it:
This piece is convenient, which sets it apart from most other postings on the subject. It also includes some behind-the-scenes footage, as I mentioned before (see a theme here?). Readers need concrete examples when it comes to this particular topic (promoting a post), and Alex gave just about as effectively as anybody could:
8. You Draw It: How Family Income Predicts College Prospects for Kids?
Let’s take a break from the written word for a while. This fantastic piece of content was released by The New York Times to explain an essential concept: how income affects a child’s chances of attending college. They had an objective in mind, rather than just putting the data in a table like everyone else, to show people that reality is substantially different from what they assume. A graph appears towards the top of the article. You may click and draw a line to show how you believe income and college enrollment are related:
If you want to give it a go, do so before I ruin it for you. There are two significant reasons why this stuff is fantastic.
- Factor 1: It’s exciting and enjoyable: Do you know what irritates you about serious subjects? They are usually solemn. It’s okay to take a new approach to material now and then. It will be appreciated by readers, and your material will stand out. News stories, in particular, are often biased. They’re also not as conversational as blog postings, making them even more tedious to read (not that they’re unimportant). Nevertheless, most readers will always appreciate a little game like this.
- Factor 2: It’s unexpected: While the finished product seems to be easy, a lot of effort went into creating it. They had to make the interactive graph and extensively study the actual results. These discoveries were fascinating. They were not at all what most people expected.
If you’re curious about why the unexpected results, you can read the post (a bit off-topic here). Consider a typical visitor to this website. The interactive graph is the first thing they see. “This is very great,” they thought. “Perhaps I might share it.” However, when they witness the unexpected consequences, they believe to themselves, “People need to know this!”
In most cases, great material stands out in one area. In many cases, epic material stands out. You’ll be on the right road if you can integrate elements from each of these instances.
9. This Is How Quickly the United States of America Changes Its Mind
One of the most significant disadvantages of written content is that it takes longer to convey a message than other types of material. Furthermore, comparing many items is quite tricky. That is why people are drawn to visuals. For example, almost all of the information in this sample is made up of pictures. But these aren’t just any photos; they’re well-designed and convey helpful information.
The article would have been fantastic even if they had simply made that first one. However, they went above and above. They generated a slew of supplementary graphics to delve into further depth on each major societal issue:
Your readers will appreciate it if you provide them with a lot of value. The results, in my opinion, speak for themselves:
10. Which Phone Do You Have?
Which side are you on when it comes to Android vs. iPhone? iPhones are fantastic because they are so easy to use. The ordinary phone user just wants a good phone, and Apple makes it simple to get one due to the limited number of models available. Android phones, on the other hand, are produced by a variety of companies. So although greater freedom is available, not everyone needs it. Android has done a fantastic job with this piece of material. They devised a questionnaire that enabled people to express themselves in simple English about what they desired in a phone:
First and foremost, it is exquisitely designed. But the reason it’s so important is that it addresses a significant issue: being overwhelmed with phone options:
You receive a list of phones that would fit you best after answering a few questions (it’s straightforward for a user):
Compared to any other site, including Amazon, this buying experience is unrivaled. When you go to the mobile phone aisle, you are confronted with hundreds or thousands of options. You must arrange them by variables such as the number of megapixels on the phone camera or the phone’s CPU if you wish to do so:
The ordinary user is unaware of these issues and is unconcerned about them. They just want a phone that allows them to do what they want. Sophisticated questions need complex responses: If you have a complicated question that your consumers often ask about your industry, address it. Find a method to simplify the reaction in words that your consumer cares about, rather than attempting to answer it in a standard blog post using vocabulary they don’t understand and don’t care about. This won’t be simple since it’s a complex issue, which is why no one has done it before. Your epic content, on the other hand, will be talked about for years if you’re ready to put in the time and effort.
11. SEO: A Comprehensive Guide
Okay, I’ll admit it: I had to add a Quick Sprout post to this list—all of my advanced guides (or more).
These guidelines are all professionally prepared, much like Ramit’s guide that we saw previously. Any reader can see that this isn’t your typical stuff. These manuals are also quite comprehensive, covering every aspect of the subject in great depth. The most excellent part about these instructions is that anybody can create them. You will need to spend either money or time and effort to make them. That is what epic necessitates.
12. How do 2,000 Calories Appear?
It’s not uncommon for epic stuff to make your jaw drop. The New York Times also contributed to this piece of content. The quantity of calories consumed is one of the most prevalent misunderstandings. That figure is virtually usually underestimated by the majority of individuals. Instead of just informing individuals (e.g., “This One Diet Mistake That Every Dieter Makes…”), they demonstrated how often they are incorrect. They developed a series of high-resolution images of simple meals that people consume in public places:
These meals all have 2,000 calories, the average daily calorie intake for most individuals. People were taken aback. They discovered that they devoured their daily calories in only one meal. What’s the takeaway? Examine a typical misunderstanding or error made by your target audience. Then take a new look at it and present it to them.
13. A Little More Than 100 Fantastic Journalism Pieces
It turns out I’m not the first one to put together incredible material. This Atlantic article contains links to 100 of the best journalistic articles:
There are two reasons why this piece of material is epic: its quantity and quality. One or the other is generally included in a superb selection. The amount was there with 100 details. But it was the fact that an expert-created it—an expert who sifted through thousands of articles to choose the most exemplary 100 to include in this article—that indeed pushed this piece of information over the top. Curated material is trendy right now, and it almost always yields excellent results. However, if you want to create epic curated content, make sure you’re selecting the finest of the best that all of your readers will find helpful. This page has been accessed or bookmarked by any journalist or journalism student.
14. Lionel Messi Is Unstoppable
In every area, epic content is possible. Lionel Messi, the best soccer (football for non-Americans) player living today, is the subject of the last example. People like rivalries, and he has been compared to another brilliant player, Cristiano Ronaldo, for years. So, what are people’s options? They reach and contrast single highlights and specific numbers, expressing their thoughts on superiority. Benjamin Morris, however, is an exception. Instead, he published a brilliant data-driven piece to put an end to the discussion finally. He studied hundreds of data points, players, and other numbers to acquire a comprehensive view of everything. He produced numerous high-quality graphics comparing Messi and Ronaldo to all other players (and each other):
It’s worth noting that I stated multiple graphs. This is because to acquire a comprehensive image of a subject, and you must look at it from all angles:
His opinion is that although Ronaldo is a terrific player, Messi is unbeatable. He stands out so much on these graphs that no one can genuinely argue with the result. Fans of Messi, understandably, were enthralled by the piece and spread it around. They were ecstatic to share it since the study was so comprehensive. What’s the takeaway? If you’re attempting to resolve a typical industry disagreement, be prepared to put in the effort and see it through. Put forth so much effort that readers are blown away by your findings and are unable to disagree with them.
Conclusion
Epic material may take various forms, as you’ve seen. However, there is one element that all of these cases have in common: It is pretty popular among readers. Even if you want to create great material, it’s not simple. It’s also not always affordable. To offer yourself the most incredible opportunity of consistently generating unique material that readers flock to, you must practice refining your content production skills regularly. While it may seem like a lot of effort, I assure you the results are well worth it. Many enterprises may be built or sustained with only a few great pieces of content.
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