What Makes Great Content?

The Original Do's and Unoriginal Don'ts to Creating Great Content What Makes Great Content? Whether it's articles, social media, video, and more, the "secrets" to creating great content for any medium cannot be packaged in a nice little box. Although there are many factors that make great content great, it really comes down to this: you reap what you sow. In content marketing (especially in article writing), you cannot throw a handful of articles on the Internet and hope something catches. That's not a sustainable marketing practice and you'll wear yourself (and what readership you have) out. However, if you make content creation a conscious priority by giving it the love and dedication it deserves, it will love you right back. The Do's and Don'ts of Content Creation Why is it that "Do's" always occur before the "Don'ts"? It's my belief that you should always end on a good note ("hit me with the bad news first" philosophy), so let's get those dirty, unoriginal don'ts out of the way so we can savor the good stuff. Unoriginal Content Creation Don'ts This list is pretty self-explanatory, so we'll keep it quick: Plagiarize other people's content Imitate other's people's content Spin articles Use PLR articles Works in the Public Domain Repeat yourself by rehashing Add a few sentences of fluff just to meet the minimum word count Be Vague Over Quote Original Content Creation Do's Be a trendsetter. Writing original content isn't about ensuring your article is word-for-word unique; it's about being the source for others. Plan (from goal setting to strategic planning) in order to stay organized and focus on your goals. Know your audience! Write based on their needs and keep up with trends to predict upcoming content that will pique their interest. Allow your personality into the article by exhibiting a confidence in your knowledge and experience that you're sharing with readers. Choose a niche you're passionate about as well as have relevant personal and professional insights and experiences. Stay classy by properly citing your sources if you do choose to quote. Ensure portfolio variance to keep readers interested in your brand by writing 80% evergreen content and 20% on current topics/trends. Retain the exclusive license for content produced for you by ghost writers (or purchased in any other manner). Get with the times by providing relevant content that relates both to readers and your niche. Aim for a quality user experience with a memorable and motivational take away. Break down your writing process into strategic steps to create quality, original content. Of course, this isn't a comprehensive list: creativity and writing cannot be wholly boxed and content creation is like a living, breathing entity that is constantly changing. What do's and don'ts would you add to this list? Click here to let us know - we'd love to hear from you! To Your Article Writing Success & Passion! Vanessa, Editorial Manager http://Blog.EzineArticles.com/ http://EzineArticles.com/ PS: Creating great content isn't easy, but you can make it a LOT easier on yourself by using EzineArticles Article Templates. Designed to give you the ideas and structure you need, these interactive PDFs are easy-to-use, inexpensive, and wonderfully inspirational. Get the original 52 templates here or select from our packages containing 15 unique templates here.

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