To create content worth sharing, you need some good questions. But what are the right questions? Here’s a list of 6 common questions people ask when they’re pondering whether their work is any good enough. What do you think of the material published by your competitors? What’s my guess? It isn’t perfect. It’s simple to pass judgment on others, but it’s more difficult to assess yourself. I’m sure that all of your rivals believe the same thing: that the majority of material in your field is garbage. Despite this, they feel they are the exception. Without a doubt, you believe your article is excellent. Why would you publish it if you didn’t have to? I’m not implying that you’re incorrect; instead, I emphasize that we all have prejudices. Of course, we’ll believe our stuff is excellent. Hiring a professional marketer or editor to review your material and compare it to rivals would be the perfect answer. However, this isn’t always achievable. The next best option is to create a checklist that includes all necessary compelling content elements. While you can create your own, I figured I’d give you a head start.
Six questions to ask yourself before releasing any information:
1. Does it provide a simple function for the intended audience?
You have two options for writing. You can write for yourself and produce something you believe is fantastic. You may also register for your readers, generating content tailored to their needs. Which one do you think I prefer? It’s the second choice. Always remember to write for your audience. Many content writers, particularly novice ones, mistake creating something they believe is excellent. They’ll produce a tirade or some other kind of post merely to seem intelligent. However, other than making them feel clever, this does nothing. On Medium, here’s an example of such a post:
As you can see, the author published a public post that was a rant against her CEO. You may read it if you want, but it’s just a bunch of whining. Everything revolves around “myself, me, me.” An intriguing side fact is that she was fired immediately after the article was published, according to an amendment on the post (not necessarily related). The idea is that even if many individuals read this stuff, it will not influence their lives. From the standpoint of content marketing, all effective material should leave readers with a positive image of your business.
It should do one of the following functions:
- Solve an issue — for example, step-by-step instruction to mending a hole in a wall.
- Inspire action – When the material is tailored to the reader’s needs, it may motivate them to make changes in their lives. I invite readers to act on what I’ve said after most of my pieces because they’ll remember me if they do.
- Teach – Everyone enjoys learning about topics that are important to them. A piece prepared for newbie SEOs explaining how Google’s fundamental algorithm works is an example of good content that focuses on teaching a vital idea.
Return to the question and respond right away. Is your material created for your target audience and valuable to them? Go through it and revise if the subject is excellent, but you focused on writing what you believe should be in a good post. Ask yourself, “How might I make this clearer for my reader?” regularly. It would be best to express the precise value that your material gives to your audience. If you can’t, chances are it doesn’t have any (or much).
2. Do you have reputable sources to back up your claims?
The days of writing anything you wanted and being believed are long gone. These days, many readers are skeptical. They need to be persuaded to take you at your word and act after reading so many falsehoods and hearing false promises. And if you can’t convince them to work, you’ll never be able to claim that space in their inboxes or memories. This is why, wherever feasible, I advocate substantiating all of your statements with statistics.
What’s more persuasive? Saying: They both seem plausible, but they also seem like they may be guesses. The distinction is that the second one refers to peer-reviewed research. The second one convinces me as a reader, but the first one leaves me with questions. What is a reliable source? “Credible” is an important term in this inquiry. You’re back where you began if a reader clicks through to your reference and doesn’t trust it.
Here’s what I consider to be a reasonable rule of thumb for trustworthy sources:
- The finest are studies (journal articles).
- Posts about data analysis
- Sites administered by the government
- Areas that are highly regarded (like WebMD)
- Authors with a lot of clouts have published posts (or interviews with them)
3. Do the visuals serve a purpose other than to break up the text?
If you follow my blog often, you know I’m a massive admirer of visual material. Including many photographs has the advantage of breaking up the text and making it simpler to read. However, if that’s all the photos in your material do, you’ve got a problem.
Images provide you with a one-of-a-kind chance to:
- Clarify difficult ideas
- Please give more information.
- Present information that you can’t put in a text document.
All in a style that most readers will like. However, far too many bloggers, even those who are brilliant, waste this chance daily.
Here’s one example from a well-known blog that will go unnamed:
I’m not sure how a melted chess piece relates to being a brand publisher. This isn’t a deal-breaker, but the perfect images may elevate your content from average to excellent or from good to spectacular. Take, for example, this entry on the Ahrefs blog. They provided a little infographic to demonstrate a problematic idea after going over it:
Even if you haven’t read the piece, I’m sure you have a fair understanding of what it’s trying to say. That’s a picture that lends meaning to the words around it. Every image, like every line, should contribute something to the content.
4. Do you have any rivals?
Consider your material to be a product (even if it’s free). Almost every product has a competitor. You’ll discover ketchup prepared by five different businesses at a supermarket shop. If you look for an SEO guide, you’ll find that there aren’t just five but thousands of competing pieces of material. You need to know what you’re up against before publishing and even before you write. This usually entails going to Google and typing in a few keyword words that accurately represent your material. For this post, for example, I would search for “is your content good enough” or “how to assess content quality.” Then, at the very least, browse through the first page of results. More is always preferable.
Examine them and assess their strengths and flaws. Compare and contrast such qualities with your own. If your material lacks certain areas, you should revise it before publishing it. No one will switch if the new product is inferior to the old one. There is one exception: with a monopoly, there is no competition. A trust arises when a firm can manufacture a product that no one else can, either due to legal constraints or incapacity to do so. If you ever get the opportunity to possess a monopoly in real life, you should take it. If at all feasible, attempt to establish a content monopoly on the subject you’re writing about. You’ll stand out if you can tackle an issue from a unique perspective that no one else can match. For example, I spent $252,000 on conversion rate optimization a few years ago and wrote a blog post about it:
Anyone may create a blog article titled “x conversion rate optimization lessons.” However, few people can boast of spending a few hundred thousand dollars on hiring the finest in the business and then sharing what they learned.
5. Is your title as well as your opener engrossing?
Your title may influence your conversion rate by 40%, and it has a significant impact on total traffic. It’s the bit that most readers skim before determining whether or not they want to read the remainder of the article. You should brainstorm at least 20 distinct names for each content you publish. I understand that it is inconvenient and time-consuming for just 10-15 words, but it is by far the most crucial element of your article. It takes experience to recognize a clever title, but the key is to put yourself in your readers’ place and ask yourself: Is it essential for me to read this right now? It’s critical to persuade readers to read your post right away since most people claim they’ll read it later don’t. And if you can’t honestly respond “yes” to that question, you need a new job title. This is critical, so don’t hurry it. After you’ve nailed down the title, continue to the first 100-200 words of your story. The second most significant aspect of your material is this. Many people will read the first few paragraphs after reading the title and then decide whether or not to read the remainder of the material. Ask yourself the same question once again. To get them to continue reading, ask them a question or tell them a narrative they want to finish. This is a difficult task. Check out some of the entries on Smart Blogger for some examples. Every post has a solid start, thanks to their editor.
6. Is your material suitable for a general audience?
The ordinary reader is not a content marketer. What we consider excellent isn’t always beneficial for the regular content consumer. According to research, users only read 20-28 percent of a post. The majority of readers are skimmers. They browse over the information, seeking anything noteworthy. Therefore, it’s crucial to incorporate aspects that stand out and encourage readers to pay attention. There are a few key factors to think about.
Aspect 1: Subheadlines are more important than you would think: Open a new blog article and quickly scan over it. What is it that sticks out the most? It’s generally the subheadlines since they’re bigger and darker than the rest of the text. Your whole post is judged by its title, and each part is considered by its subheadline. In my postings, you’ll notice that I seldom use dull subheadlines. Instead, I usually aim to make an intriguing point that will pique a skimmer’s curiosity. Consider the following scenario:
You don’t need to devote as much attention to these as you did to the post’s title, but you shouldn’t simply use the first subheadline that comes to mind.
Aspect 2: Readability- It’s critical to remember the fundamentals of readability. If a post is just one big block of text, no one will read it.
Instead, consider the following:
- Write in brief paragraphs — I limit myself to three phrases.
- Maintain a narrow blog width – each line should be no more than 100 characters. Many people believe that 66 characters per line are the perfect number. Short lines provide the impression that the reader is progressing.
- Use basic terms – I often use complex words in my postings. You don’t want readers to have to hunt up the definitions of terms, which will divert their attention away from your message.
Aspect 3: Images- As previously said, images break up words, making them simpler to comprehend. More significantly, they draw attention to themselves. Assume you were scrolling through a post when you came across the bespoke iceberg image from before. Wouldn’t you want to learn more about it by reading that section? Many of your readers will. Images will always attract attention, and if they are intriguing (i.e., not a stock shot), they might entice a skimmer to join you.
Conclusion
Being your own harshest critic can aid you in producing excellent content that will entice your readers. But it’s not always easy to be severe with oneself, and it’s also not always simple to give yourself the benefit of the doubt. For all of the information you’re preparing to publish, I suggest looking through this list of questions. It guarantees that you don’t overlook an obvious flaw to be addressed. Keep in mind that this is just a partial list. Other questions you may want to ask yourself before publishing anything to guarantee a good grade of content.