Content Writing & Copywriting Blog

Creating Unique Blog Content

Jul 23, 2008 3 Comments »

It is really very difficult to come across totally unique content on the Internet, especially on blogs. The definition of unique content may differ from topic to topic but it more or less means content that is very difficult to find on other sources and at the same time it is highly useful, relevant, or topical.

Creating totally unique content is not possible always because when you are blogging you are mostly talking about things that other people, the bloggers are talking about. Even your visitors would like to know what your take is on the subjects generally being discussed on other blogs. The key expression here is “your take”; what you have to say, what you have to add. This is a big reason why lists are becoming big bores on various blogs, even on the “A-list” blogs because these lists have nothing unique to say. They are either pointing out things that have been said thousands of times by thousands of other people or they simply linking to things that have already been said thousands of times by thousands of other people.

Again, you can say the same old thing but with a different perspective in order to be unique. This way people will come to your blog just because they know you’re going to say your own thing on the topic; that what you are saying is totally unique to you. This uniqueness can be your style, the examples you use, the way you write and the links you link to. In order to generate unique content you have to come out of the herd mentality: just be yourself and don’t follow all the suggestions copiously thrown around by different “expert” bloggers.

Okay, being different, being unique, and not following trends does not mean you devoid yourself of benefits of following some well proven methodologies for success. For instance it is highly advisable that you create compelling titles for your blog posts and organize your blog content under various headings and subheadings. Now, this is not just a suggestion, it is common sense. Titles do entice us especially if they cater to our sensibilities and headings and subheadings do help you organize your thoughts properly.

Generating unique content for every successive blog post is normally not possible but among five blog posts at least one should be totally unique – totally your own, unadulterated perspective and point of view.

Unique content also helps you target niche audience because the more you focus on less common content the more targeted your audience becomes.

How to have unique content?

May 13, 2008 No Comments »

Unique content on the Internet has become sort of a cliché. It’s very difficult to get 100% unique content on your blog or website because the moment you’ve picked a topic to write about, the access to publishing being so (fortunately) easy on the Internet, somebody has already said something about the topic, and sometimes scores of people have presented their takes on the topic.

But there can be one thing that is unique: your voice and style, and above all, your opinion. That is something that helps you stand apart. Opinion is something that differentiates an expert writer from a casual writer.

How to form that opinion? By gaining information; fortunately, that too is quite easy on the Internet, since so many people are writing on the same topic, most of the time. While choosing a topic, think about how much it resonates with your interest and intention. By writing on that topic, what do you intend to achieve? Are you writing on it merely because you see everybody writing on it, or you’ve really got something to add to the ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas, or you want to expand your horizon of knowledge by researching and writing the topic? Or you simply want to share your wisdom with your visitors and help them improve their lives?

Once you have figured out why you want to write on the topic then you can decide what approach to follow. Whatever is the reason, you have to form an opinion. Go to other blogs and forums and read what others are saying. Are they absolutely right, partially right, a bit wrong, or way out of the line? If so, why? When you can think of a why, you’ve got an opinion, and once you’ve got an opinion, you’ll automatically voice it using the right words, and this will make your content unique.

Content first or design?

May 10, 2008 5 Comments »

Nice discussion going on, on Jeffrey’s blog, regarding what should come first: the design of the website, or its content. He stresses that designers should deeply study the content of the website before getting on with the design.

I have had experience from both the sides (oh! this sounds kinky). I have made websites, and now I create content. For me it’s never been a hard and fast rule. It depends on the focus of the website. Of course it helps if you know what sort of content the website is going to carry.

When designing websites one should keep in mind that it’s not the design that plays a dominant role; it’s the content, because after all you communicate through your content. Of course design should be pleasing and if you are a web designer or a visual artist then the visual elements on your website should be attractive to look at, but if you are a writer, or a consultant, or providing a product or a service through your website, then the most important thing is the message, the content. The entire design should evolve around the content.

The design is like a gadget, take for instance a TV set. No matter how cool-looking your TV set is, if there is no program worth-watching, the TV set is of no use.

Should blog writers be paid for the work they do or for their performance

Mar 06, 2008 2 Comments »

In commercial blogging, what they call these days "pro-blogging" there is a very thin line that divides "writing" and "performance". Writing for blogs means simply generating content so that it can be published. Performing means, how much buzz individual blog posts can generate and how many page views or impressions can be generated for the blog as well as the advertisers advertising on that blog.

Gawker media, according to this post, pays its employees by their performance, not by virtue of being its employees; that means, you not only have to write content for Gawker media, you also have to write content that brings in more profit for the advertisers.

Is it right or wrong? Depends on the model your blog publishing is following. Your blog, in order to be profitable, surely has to generate traffic and traffic comes with high-quality content generation and non-stop promotion. Given that the writer produces high-quality content, whose work is it to promote the blog non-stop? Is it the employer’s job, that is Gawker media, or the writer’s job?

If the writer is supposed to generate traffic that isn’t Gawker media dumping the entire responsibility of the blog upon the writer who is just supposed to write quality content? I think for a writer who is hired to write blog content this can prove to be a great distraction. Promotion should be handled by another team and not by the writers.

Again, there is some content that can be easily promoted, for instance technology, gaming, programming, music, celebrity gossip, earning money, but other, less appealing subjects need strategic and targeted promotion. By solely holding the writer responsible for the page views the employer shrugs away from the responsibility. Would I take up such a job as a blog writer? Only if I’m paid lots of money (lots of money according to my standards). If I am both writing high quality content and promoting it I might as well run my own blog and earn greater rewards.

Create content for that single admirer

Mar 05, 2008 No Comments »

You should always generate content for a single person because it is simply not possible to create content that is liked by everybody who comes to your website or blog. It is better to have a single admirer than being read by a thousand indifferent readers to whom it doesn’t matter whether you write again or not.

That single admirer eagerly awaits your next blog post or your next article. He or she not only goes through your suggestions, he or she also implements them on his or her daily life and sees his or her life improving. So he or she comes back for more, and as you consistently provide value to that single admirer he or she keeps coming back and recommends you wherever possible.

This concept of gaining admirers or fans is comprehensibly discussed at this link.

That is why a niche subject is more preferable over a generic subject. When you try to publish on every topic under the sun on your blog or website in order to please a broad section of people it is very hard to succeed unless you are creating great amount of content in very little time. There are blogs that post just one post per week and they enjoy a great fan following and there are some blogs that produce tons of content and still very few people go and read those blogs. What do successful blogs and websites have in common?

• They produce and publish highly focused content
• They produce and publish highly focused content, consistently

These are the two ingredients that earn you hardcore fans and admirers. Strive to cater to selected few and excel in that; earn an authority in that vertical subject matter and give your readers a reason to trust you and have faith in your wisdom.

Quantity doesn’t matter if it doesn’t bring results. Recently I came across a blog that boasted of around 15,000 RSS subscribers and earned about $300 per month as advertising revenue and that was the sole earning of the blog.

I’m not saying that the quality and success of a blog or a website should be gauged by the amount of money it earns, but the thing is, if you’re making a big change in the lives of your readers and there is no tangible return for you aside from a moral satisfaction, then you are doing a social service and not a business. Then content publishing is not your business. Content publishing becomes a business when it earns money for you, directly or indirectly.

The example that I have used above could be a wrong one. Regular readers don’t pay any heed to the ads appearing on a blog or website. It isn’t necessary that every blog and website publishing content should depend on advertising revenue. There can be many other ways a highly-read blog or website can be exploited to make monetary gains. For instance you can sell products and your own services through your successful blog or website.

But I digress here. The main point is that instead of publishing content for a broad range of audience you should create and publish content for a selected few. The reach of the Internet is so amazing that even "a selected few" can turn out to be a few thousand or a few hundred thousand dedicated readers who would like to buy what you recommend, or who would buy your products and services.