So, What is Quality Content?
In this Article:
- Quality Content isn’t “Me Too” Content!
- Making Sense of if All
- Follow if You Must; But Take the Lead When you Should
In our last article about Online Business, we talked about how to build a business online through creating content that matches what consumers want right now. We are in that “quality” phase of the cycle; however, many people would argue that quality is what you should always offer if you’re in this thing for the long haul: Quality Products, Quality Service, and yes…Quality Content.
Face it. Building your business online will take some time and effort so you might as well approach it in a way where the results of all that time and effort last a long time.
For writing content for the web, creating videos, products, graphics or anything else that your customers will eventually “consume”…here are 3 quick tips to make it great:
1) Quality Content isn’t “Me Too” Content!
Re-hashed content is just, well, re-hashed. It’s like taking all the leftovers from last night, tossing in a few eggs, and trying to pass it off as something new. Wherever possible, be original, be controversial, and be ready to stand out. This may be the result of your unique interpretation of something, or the unique experience and voice that you bring to your niche.
You need to be aware of what kind of content is already out there. What is your “competition” saying and where can you add to the conversation. Where can you fill in the gaps to bring value to your customers?
You also need to be aware of what your customers are talking about. You would be surprised, but there are times when your customers are asking about a solution to one problem, and are only offered solutions to something completely different…what we may think they need rather than what they actually want.
How do you do this? A good practice is to have your VA give you weekly reports from the top websites and forums based on your market and the key phrases (keywords) they are searching for.
2) Making Sense of if All
Content Curation is more than just a buzz word. You can take all that “quantity”…pull out only the best and help your customer’s make sense of it. Saving your customers some time is a HUGE benefit for them! They will see you as the “go to” expert because of all the time they are NOT having to spend to search online for hours to get all the bits and pieces of the puzzle and try to piece it together.
And as you give them the best with your commentary, you are building rapport. KEY to how to build a business online that’s going to give you some wings.
The success of content curation can be seen in “old school” encyclopedias and in current sites like Wikipedia, and WebMD. Making the shift from a bunch of stealth sites (quantity) used tactically to draw traffic, you can create an authority site (quality) that satisfies the search engines and satisfies your customers by offering extreme value all gathered in a single area.
3) Follow if You Must; But Take the Lead When you Should
When you start in business, you usually spend some time watching the gurus and learning. And then…at some point you make that mental shift as your confidence builds and you realize that you know just as much, or more, than others in your field. And you know that you can share your knowledge in a way that brings value to your future customers.
It’s at that point that you become an authority; the leader in your field that others look to for inspiration and guidance. And I would argue that it happens when you make that mental shift rather than when you are actually recognized as an authority by others.
I know, that’s a tough one to wrap your head around. But consider this. Napoleon Hill published The Law of Success before he was successful. He actually struggled within himself whether or not he was qualified to bring that book to the public. Luckily for us, he worked through that and allowed the valuable information within those pages to be brought to us.
You can make that mental shift when you are focused. Rather than churning out a mass quantity of information, hone in on what’s most important to your future customers and create something amazing that can be leveraged throughout your entire marketing strategy.
If you’re doing video, take the time to learn about lighting, audio, and editing. Don’t be afraid to cut something out if it doesn’t fit. Include just enough information to make your point, and not a second of film or single word more.
As a side note: The best, hands-down training for video marketing is Reel Marketing Insider created by James Wedmore. You can check out that online business and video training by clicking here.
Understand that the goal is to create a series of content for your customers rather than creating something viral. Viral can be a great boost, don’t get me wrong, but it also has the possibility of becoming “just” a one-hit-wonder. Face it, most of us know who the Beatles are, but few of us remember The Cuff Links!
Until next time…
Dawn
Your Turn:
What do you think? Leave a comment or email me directly with your thoughts…I’d love to hear from you: [email protected]
