Mark Twain famously said “There is no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and…make new and curious combinations.” 

Regardless of how many others have covered a topic, there’s always something of value that you can add – your experience, your mistakes, the lessons your learned. In short, you can add ‘You’. 

1. Frame a problem and craft a headline around the solution

We’ve put this first not just because a good headline will draw your reader in, but because the rest of your article should follow as an exploration of the headline. We’re not all professional writers but that doesn’t matter. When creativity fails, look for examples of article that grabbed your attention. 

Not sure what your customers are struggling with?

• Ask. Survey your customers and ask what keeps them up at night.
• Check out comments and posts on sites in your industry – in particular your competitors. You’ll likely find comments that highlight problems your customers have as well.

Once you have the problem and solution nailed, be sure to include a promise 

• Promise value – make sure you’re clear in your headline what exactly you’re going to help with
• Don’t feel like you need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to headlines. Imitate

A good headline sparks interest and invites readers in. Consider these great statistics from Copyblogger:

• 80% of people will read your headlines.
• But only 20% of those people will read the rest of your content!
• And that is why the headline is as important as the article or post itself.

Let’s look at a few good headlines:

The sub headline in the panel below is spectacular. Even though the fear of being eaten rarely enters a civilized human’s mind (unless the person was out in the wild), this author argues that it “define(s) who we are.” You can’t help but be a little curious.

fear of being eaten

Because no one wants to look dumb:

dumb headline

Nutritional differences aside, which would you rather snack on — french fries or cauliflower? If all things except taste are equal, most would say fries. But what if you could get the nutritional value of cauliflower with the taste of fries? Pretty enticing:

enticing headline

This title sounds good, is positive, says a lot in only a few words, and excites the reader’s interest for what’s in the message:

positive headline

Take time with your headlines. If possible, make a few and select which one you like best. Don’t skim over them. They are the first thing people read, and they are the basis those people use to decide if they want to read your article or not.

2. Make it original:

Originality is huge when it comes to using content to drive more traffic. You’ll be rewarded for creating it and penalized for faking it. That is certainly true when it comes to Google. Original content will help you rank higher in search results. Copying content from other sites will hurt your ranking and your business - that’s a point that the search giant has made again and again.

Whether you’re a small retailer, an accountant or a restaurant, share what you know. The fact that the topic has been done before (it probably has) is not as important as the experience you share. Think about almost any topic you’ve found important and share your take on it. And do it with a perspective that you feel will benefit your prospects and customers. Some of the best content you’ll read simply solves a problem that the writer has seen over and over again and that they know how to solve.

3. Enable your readers to take action

What was the last blog post you wrote? Did it give readers advice on how they can apply the lessons right away?

Unbounce’s Noob Guide To Online Marketing might be the greatest example of actionable content ever:

noob guide to marketing

The best content gives the user a sense of how to apply the information. It doesn’t degrade users by telling them what to do, but rather respects them and provides them with assurance that they know best how to use the material. When you write your blog post, give users tips on applying what you are offering them. Many times, just writing well about a topic will spark some ideas for readers.

Why do people read non-fiction? To learn and become better. Help your readers do the same.

What is the ultimate purpose of a search engine? Most people would be correct in saying “to deliver sets of answers.” Google is great at this. Type a query into Google and you’ll be presented with links, pictures, and videos.

When people use a search engine, what they ultimately want is an answer, and it’s the search engine’s job to deliver that answer.

It’s the same when people are reading a blog post, viewing an infographic or watching a video — they want an answer so they can gain knowledge. An additional tip here is: people don’t just want answers, they want answers fast. So make your content easy to scan so people can pick up the juicy, important bits quickly.

Read any title and subtitle of a non-fiction book or article. Ultimately, what it leaves the reader with is a question or a sense of curiosity. It is then the author’s job to deliver answers and have supporting information.

4. Be Accurate in Your Reporting and Sourcing of Information

Think about this: you write an article for your company’s blog, thousands of people read it, and some of what you wrote turns out to be inaccurate. Can you imagine what damage this can do to your company and your personal reputation? Keep in mind, your blog is a reflection of your company. If there are any issues with the blog, it impacts how people view your product.

It’s important that any statistic you state can be verified. Many blog posts will link right to the statistic and the source.

Accuracy builds trust with readers. Remember James Frey, author of the popular book A Million Little Pieces? He had to go on the Oprah Winfrey show and admit that the book was made up of lies. He has written a few books since then, but he likely will be remembered as the guy who made up his memoir, instead of as the writer of his other published works. It has permanently damaged his career.

If you’ve ever seen the fantastic movie Shattered Glass or followed Stephen Glass’s fall from grace, you can see the devastating effect that inaccuracy can have on your career.

Here are some tips to think about when you’re mulling over the issues of accuracy:

• Consider who you are linking to. Are they a trusted and authoritative source? Linking to other quality websites will earn more trust from your readers.
• Linking to more content can only help. The more you can back up and substantiate what you are writing about, the more trusted your content will become.
• Help the search engines out. Linking to other sources and content will help the search engines figure out what your content is about, and how it should be categorized.

5. Create concise, Engaging and Thought Provoking Content and include photos & video

lots of comments means an engaged audience

An engaged audience hangs on to your every word and takes in all that you write or say. But the only way to get an engaged audience is to make engaging content. It all starts with you and what you write. Here are a few tips to help you write engaging content:

• Leave readers with questions. This doesn’t mean to have an incomplete post, but rather to include questions that make readers reflect on how they can implement the knowledge you provided.
• Have an important and promising introduction. Ever wondered how quickly people make judgments about blog posts? Most people probably decide within the first few sentences if the post is worth reading. Tell users why they should care and what you’ll be discussing in the blog post. Make them want to read it.
• People love stories. You can use an anecdote in your introduction or have a story woven into your blog post. Stories can also help clarify a point. When possible, add a story to your blog post. It will make it more engaging and may also help the reader learn.

A final tip on this point: If you provide content that sparks a flurry of comments, the search engines will notice that your post is important and is being updated regularly. This is a great way to get the engines to come back to your site more frequently.

You already know that people learn differently. Some people learn better by seeing, while others learn better by hearing. What’s important is that no one learns less by having visual aids. Whether you use pictures, videos, or diagrams, they can help illustrate your point. Open any modern textbook and you’ll find pictures used to enhance the reading experience and to reinforce the author’s lesson.

Whatever you’re writing about, add pictures. No one wants to look at paragraphs of text, unless you’re writing a book. However, only add images that help or add value. And please – for the love of your readership – stay away from unnecessary stock photography!

One of the best writing lessons I’ve learned is to eliminate fluff. It’s challenging and takes work, but it makes for a significantly better composition.

There is nothing better than a brief, to-the-point blog post or article that is filled with information.

So don’t focus on word count. A longer blog post does not mean a better blog post. And often, keeping a blog post short is more difficult and actually takes more time than just writing as much as you can.

For more information on word count, check out this HubSpot blog post.

9. Make Continual Updates to Your Website or Blog

Starting a blog or website is a commitment. While you can write a couple of posts and then abandon the work, you won’t get many readers or new customers. Not just that, but search engines don’t favor sites that aren’t regularly updated.

If you have a blog or content site, you need to update it regularly with great content. Many of the best content sites are regularly updated.

According to our Science of Social Timing infographic – sites that post more frequently have a surprisingly stronger influx of visitors:

unique views by post per day

How often should your blog or site be updated? That’s up to you. Everyone has different resources and priorities. You should make an effort to update at least twice a week. It is a content site you’re building, after all.

Final thoughts:

Don’t treat a blog post or any other sort of content site lightly. It’s difficult, and good ones take time to research and write. Proper title, grammar, and organization are a must. When you reread your post, ask yourself:

• Are there any words I can take out?
• Have I given the readers the best information I possibly can?
• Is it complete?



Keep writing and updating and do it on a regular schedule

BONUS TIP - Repurpose your content and give it multiple lives

One article can be used several times over and drive new traffic in the process, if you’re creative about it. Look for opportunities to use pieces of your original article as separate, individual social posts. 

The first time you do this will likely when you be when you first publish your article. Take the title, add a few key points as bullets, add a call to action and include a link to your site or blog where readers can discover the full story.

Plan out a schedule for posting a few other key bits of your article as separate, individual posts and follow the same process – new title related on the part of the article your focusing on, a few bullets and a call to action to read plus a link. Each you do this you may be grabbing the attention of a different group of readers who have more interest in the one portion of the article your newest post is focused on.

Keep in mind that you can only go so far. Be sure that each repurpose is offering value – you don’t want to give your audience too much of a good thing.