There is a tidal wave of content on the web today. How do you stand out from the crowd? Creating and distributing great content is the recipe for success for any website or social media campaign. But how do you produce great content instead of mediocre content like many others? Stick to the three rules of: reduce, release and re-package. When the rules and principles of these three elements are in place, you’ll be pumping out great content that gets noticed.
Reduce
The fueling force behind reduce is to get focused. The internet is saturated with good and bad content. However, you want yours to be great and stand out. Keep in mind that it takes time to develop the skills to be a great writer. Write often to develop those skills and be willing to experiment with different approaches and writing styles. Soon, you’ll find a voice that will be heard. Take the time to brainstorm ideas that are unique, relevant and different to your targeted audience. Use supporting materials to add authority and pop to your content. Focus in on one idea and let it rip. Focus, time and effort are the keys to creating awesome content. And awesome content gets traffic.
Release
Once you’ve got great content, it’s time to let it loose. But you don’t just want to wait around for the search engines to take notice; you’ve got to take action. Submit your content to popular portals like Digg that have a large audience. Just use the submit news form to spread the word. Not only will this drive traffic, but it gives you a valuable link. Jump start your release with advertising and pay-per-click on sites like Google Adwords and StumbleUpon. Use the power of link currency and link to Wikipedia or a blog that supports trackbacks. This will tap into an audience that is more likely to be interested in your newly generated content. Reinforce your content with an engaging video. Use video promotion services like Hey!Spread to distribute your video to sharing sites.
Make it easy for others to download, share and exchange your content. Use Yoast SEO plugin to add links to RSS feeds, allow use of visual content under Creative Commons license and add sharing buttons for readers to spread your content. In sum, leverage the power of release by taking action to get your content read. Roll up your sleeves and add some punch to your release.
Re-Package
Repackaging content is a lot like recycling and creating evergreen content. Your great content doesn’t just have to have only one life. Re-package it, and give your content a second life. With this strategy, you can re-craft it several times for more mileage. If your content includes a step-by-step tutorial, you can create a downloadable flow chart for further reference. If your article has a lot of beautiful images, go ahead and create a downloadable slideshow. The benefits of repackaging content are huge. Folks can use downloadable content even when they’re offline. Promote your slideshows at Slideshare and promote your flow charts at Scribd. Even a downloadable ebook or whitepaper prompts people to share content with friends and co-workers. Look for inspiration from others like SiteGeek. This company has re-packaged their stats and research into infographics and posted them on their own Pinterest board. SiteGeek uses the principle of re-package to get the most out of their best content. You can too. The ideas for re-packaging content are just about endless. It’s an ideal way to further showcase your content over and over again.
Creating great content is an investment of time and effort. From ideation and completion, it takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to create amazing content. Follow the three principles of reduce, release and re-package, and it won’t fall flat. Focus on quality instead of quantity, utilize different strategies for the release and think out-of-the-box for repackaging ideas.
