• Home
  • About
    • Team
    • Testimonials
    • Policies
  • Free Downloads
  • Resources
    • Tools we love!
    • Blog
    • Programs
    • Strategy Sessions
    • Applications
    • Events
    • Amazon Recommendations
  • Podcasts
  • Join
  • Members
    • Members Start Here
    • WIP Members
    • Manage Account
    • Login
    • Sign Out
    • Help
  • Directory
    • Founding Members
    • Podcasters
    • Guest Experts
    • Service Providers
  • Shop
  • Contact
Visit Us On FacebookVisit Us On TwitterVisit Us On LinkedinVisit Us On YoutubeVisit Us On Instagram

Members:

  • Login
  • Sign Out
  • Not a member yet? Join today!
  • Academy
  • Manage Account
  • Help
Inspired Influencerslogo

65 Content Development Tips that You Can Use Today

Posted on by Jennifer Henczel


OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Content marketing is stronger than ever. It’s the best way to attract and engage with your community and audience. Social media makes it easy to follow-up and grow your relationships with existing and potential customers, but it all starts with your content. Creating and organizing content is a challenge for many business owners. Here are some tips that can help you keep your message and purpose on track.

Strategic Content Creation:

 

  • When developing your content, always keep in mind your deepest purpose.
  • Be yourself and authentic in what you say and how you say it. Remember that the key element is to engage and interact.
  • Remember, Social media is not just a place for distribution, it is more like a magazine where you can share your story with compelling headlines and visual elements.
  • Before you create content, put a picture of your ideal customers in front of you. Speak to them directly.
  • Know where you are going to publish your content before you actually create it.
  • Create a consistent content development strategy to ensure you are meeting your business goals.
  • Map processes for creating different types of content, record them, then outsource where possible.
  • Create a content development schedule that is consistent with your sales process.
  • Use feedback from surveys and customers to decide what content you will create.

SEO for Web Content

  • Every piece of content you create should be optimized for a specific keyword – preferably long-tail.
  • Use your keyword in the first paragraph, middle and end of your content – make sure it sounds natural.
  • Highlight your keywords by making them bold and using them in headings and titles.
  • Use different variations of your keywords both within your content and in your anchor text and images.
  • Add fresh content frequently to keep the search engines coming back for more.
  • Include links to other pages on your site and other domains for internal linking and value for readers.

Content Development Tools

  • Be wary of autoblogging tools. The resulting content can be garbage that will get you banned from Google.
  • Keyword research is your best tool for content development. Use your favorite tool and pick one keyword.
  • Use tools like Jing to add screen captures to your content to make it more interesting and instructive.
  • Windows Live Movie Maker and iMovie are easy free tools for making video content for your site.
  • Use an Editorial Calendar plugin or blog calendar to plan your content development timetable.

Email Content Writing

  • Always ask permission before sending emails. Otherwise, you risk losing people before you start.
  • In your first email, tell people what to expect in the future, but don’t promise what you can’t deliver.
  • The tone of your emails can be more casual than other content. Speak directly to your reader.
  • Avoid overused language that sounds spammy in your emails. It will get deleted before it’s even opened.
  • Change up your email content and length from one to the next to keep it interesting.
  • Your email subject line can make or break you. Spend time on it and use action words.

Ecourses and eLearning Content

  • Design a step-by-step process for your ecourse content. Each piece should lead into the next one.
  • Make sure each part of ecourse content has an action for the learner to perform at the end.
  • Make your ecourse goals clear from the start. What will the learner be able to do at the end?
  • Use examples in your ecourse that are relevant to your learner, eg mommy bloggers vs. finance experts.
  • Ecourses don’t have to all be written. Embed audio and video to cater to different learning styles.
  • Follow up with your ecourse learners to see how they did. They’ll appreciate the reminders and more tips.

Content Writing Tips

 

  • Content should be both unique and high quality. Rewritten may be unique but it has to provide value too.
  • Give readers something to talk about in your content to promote sharing, comments and links.
  • Tune your content to the media used. Examples: Social content = interactive, articles = instructive.
  • Controversial content may draw attention, but only use it if it fits with your business image.
  • Use your content to start a conversation. You will have more innovative results and get more attention.
  • Grab your reader’s attention immediately. Make it clear what your content is about.
  • Make your content easy to understand: Use simple sentences, short paragraphs, and interesting words.

Mobile Content

  • Test your content on a mobile device to make sure it displays legibly.
  • Consider creating an app for delivering your content on mobile devices. It’s easier than surfing the web.
  • Your mobile content must be brief and to the point. You have to capture attention in about 4 inches.
  • Use fewer words and bigger text on your mobile content to make it easier to read.
  • Consider using small images or icons in your mobile content. Pictures can convey more than words.

Web Content Design

  • Include content around your images to draw attention to them and help them rank.
  • Make sure each page contains at lease 300 words of quality content. Use more if you have lots of ads.
  • Break up your content with headings, bullets, images and quotes. Make it visually easy to read.
  • Your most important content should be above the fold. Keep scrolling to a minimum.
  • Use large, basic fonts in dark colors on light backgrounds to make your content easy to read.

Rapid Content Development

  • Blog roundups are an easy method for content development and readers love it. You do the work for them.
  • If you quote content from other sites, remember: link back and add your own value – make it unique.
  • Q&A sites like Yahoo! Answers provide ready-made content. You just add some comments of your own.
  • Use your existing content as a tool for creating new content. Repurpose it or transform to a new format.
  • Want to interview an expert? Send an email with 3 to 5 questions. Make it easy for them.

Video Content

  • Videos that are 5 minutes or less are more likely to be watched. Be respectful of people’s time.
  • A video doesn’t have to be a professional production to be effective. Personal can have more impact.
  • Include text, bullets or subtitles in your videos so people can follow along.
  • Be aware of your video background. A cluttered office gives the impression you’re unprofessional.
  • Speak more slowly and clearly on your video than you would in person. You want to be understood.

Press Release Content

  • If your story isn’t newsworthy, your press release content will never see the light of day.
  • Look at headlines in newspapers and magazines to get ideas for headlines for your press releases.
  • Press release content should be optimized for SEO, but the first priority is to get the reader’s attention.
  • Include quotes from relevant sources in your press release content. People want to hear from real people.
  • Always write from the 3rd person in your press release content. Don’t use the word “you” or “I”.
  • Your press release content should be news, not self-promotion. It’s not an ad. It’s a story.

 

If you found these ideas helpful, join our email list to get exclusive tips, tools and training guides >>>

GoToOlder PostNewer PostAll PostsBlog

About Jennifer Henczel

Jennifer Henczel is an Award Winning Leader, Best Selling Author, Speaker, Podcaster and Founder of Inspired Influencers and Women in Podcasting VIP Club. Jennifer’s mission is to lift women’s voices and stories globally. This is a collaborative movement and community where members inspire each other to turn their ideas into actions and live their dreams.View all posts by Jennifer Henczel

Comments are closed.

Visit Us On FacebookVisit Us On TwitterVisit Us On LinkedinVisit Us On YoutubeVisit Us On Instagram
  • Home
  • Membership
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Membership website powered by MembershipWorks