How to Write High-Quality Content #semrushchat

Elena Terenteva , March 16, 2015

Hello dear SEMrush Blog readers!

Do you like good content as much as your users? On a previous Twitter chat we were joined by special guest Content Marketing Institute (@CMIContent), the organizer of Content Marketing World event and publisher of the Chief Content Officer Magazine. Along with hundreds of our participants, we determined that great content is a high-priority task for a lot of marketers. Everyone shared their insights, inspiration and techniques regarding high-quality content creation.

Awesome stats of our today’s #semrushchat via @TweetBinder. Thank you all! http://t.co/yuNxHuAQLv cc: @CMIContent pic.twitter.com/U3wsQdazQo

— SEMrush (@semrush) March 11, 2015

@semrush A1 Before anything, define your goals. Have a strategy. Then get to know your audience. What do they need and want? #semrushchat
— Content Marketing (@CMIContent) March 11, 2015

Every piece of content we create is not only valuable in itself; every article is a piece of the puzzle that we put together to create a clear and panoramic picture of the business niche we work in.

So, the next step is to define topics that are relevant. The good news is that you don’t need to spend hours brainstorming. Instead, spend your time listening.

A1: Easy – listen to what they want! If you can deliver this, you’ll have done 95% of the hard work #semrushchat
— Dan Smith (@itsdansmith) March 11, 2015

Yes, straightway to the reader’s heart is to “help them solve their problems. You need to get to know your audience in order to provide useful content.” Jen (Picard) Dewar ‏@jenpicard.

You can find these topics in the comments on your social media channels, on forums like Quora or Reddit, and even in your mailbox.

A1 I love re-working long emails to clients and turning them into posts. Heck, I’ve already done research, why not re-use it. #semrushchat

— Thomas J. Armitage (@ThomasJArmitage) March 11, 2015

But content doesn’t have to be merely educating.

A1 Content should either entertain, educate or provide utility. If it doesn’t fit in one of those buckets, define it’s purpose. #semrushchat
— Crystal Ware (@crystalware) March 11, 2015

Speaking of entertaining, every piece of content, no matter how “boring” the topic, should be catchy – you don’t want to lose your readers in the middle of your article, so carefully consider the structure and rhythm of your text.

Webbee SEO Spider ‏@webbeeseospider suggested the following structure:

Lead with dialogue
Make something up
Focus on emotions
Anchor to a story people already know
Use pictures

Yes, visuals can also be a great help.

A1: Including beautiful images/graphics to break up the text in a long article makes me love content a lot as a reader. #semrushchat

— Josephine Hardy (@JosieMHardy) March 11, 2015

Remember that first and foremost, your readers have to trust you. Don’t neglect the basic rules of writing.

A1: Learn to spell. Learn grammar. Learn high production value. #semrushchat
— Ian Lurie (@portentint) March 11, 2015

A1 – Reference your sources. No-one wants to go hunting information down. Make it easy for your readers to trust you – #semrushchat
— Rebecca Moss (@bexmoss) March 11, 2015

For more advice, check out this infographic by Content Marketing ‏@CMIContent.

@semrush A2 We don’t think there is necessarily 1 structure that works. But all quality content serves a need of the customer. #semrushchat
— Content Marketing (@CMIContent) March 11, 2015

Obviously, there are so many different types of content that it’s impossible to create a “recipe” that can fit them all. Still, knowing the basics will allow you to do your best.

Let’s take a closer look at each article element.

A2 Nothing is worse than an amazing blog article with a terrible headline. No one will click on it. SPEND TIME ON IT. #semrushchat
— Thomas J. Armitage (@ThomasJArmitage) March 11, 2015

Headline writing is a big topic, so we devoted an entire question to it – you can find it below, so we won’t spend time on it here.

A2: Clear headings, short and easy to read paragraphs, bullet points/numbered lists used where appropriate #semrushchat #sorryimlate

— Kirill Ougarov (@kougarov) March 11, 2015

Anything that will give your article “rhythm” and something to catch the reader’s eye counts. This will not only help the reader to better perceive information, but it will also help you to sharpen your ideas and messages.

Don’t be “noisy,” though. Your goal is to help your readers perceive information, not to interrupt them.

A2) Click-bait headline, spun content, lots of pop-ups and adsense placements. Those always seem to work well right? #semrushchat

— Adam Dince (@AdamDince) March 11, 2015

The final part of an article is not less important than the body. Dan Smith ‏@itsdansmith recommends creating “a conclusion that piques the reader’s interest, ideally with an appropriate CTA.” Martin Kelly ‏@MartinKSEO suggests “leaving room for discussion”.

But don’t forget – if it works once, it won’t necessarily work a second time. Repeating yourself will make it look as though you’re out of ideas.

A2: all these are great! But don’t fall into the trap of applying the same structure again and again! Variety kills boredom! #semrushchat
— Peter Starr Northrop (@SEMStarr) March 11, 2015

Writing a catchy, relevant headline is really an art. Use your imagination and be creative, but follow the rules.

@semrush A3 Be timely. Create a sense of urgency so your readers will want to read your content. #semrushchat

— Content Marketing (@CMIContent) March 11, 2015

As we said previously, answering your audience’s questions is the best strategy; so if you’ve written something useful, let your reader know right away! Appealing to other emotions is always a good hook too.

A3: Think relevance + emotional valence – happy/interest/angry tap basic emotions that compel readers #semrushchat
— Ian Lurie (@portentint) March 11, 2015

But don’t learn from tabloids – a clickbait headline or edgy vocabulary can attract attention, but this choice can damage your reputation. Movéo ‏@moveo said it well: “NO CLICKBAIT–headlines like “you won’t BELIEVE what ____ did yesterday!” will cheapen your brand.”

A3: Make sure to include profanity, racial slurs, sexism, and something edgy. That works right? #semrushchat

— Devin (@DevDawg) March 11, 2015

What else can be very eye catching? Numbers! “526” instead of “five hundred twenty six” is much easier to read.

A3: Lists ALWAYS work. Start with ‘7 Steps To’ / ‘5 Ways To’ / ’10 Key Reasons’ #semrushchat
— Dan Smith (@itsdansmith) March 11, 2015

A headline is the quintessence of your article. You can’t create one until you have material to draw from.

A3: One thing that I find helpful is to write your headline LAST. Let your headline materialize naturally from your content #SEMrushchat

— Andrew Dennis (@AndrewDennis33) March 11, 2015

Think about your headline as a “spice” you add to a dish – different spices provide different flavors, so it’s nice to have a range of them and find the one that compliments your article in the best way.

A3: Definitely agree w/writing different options. Sure was Bob Dylan who said if you write 10 songs, one of them will be a gem #semrushchat
— Dan Smith (@itsdansmith) March 11, 2015

Creating headlines is an interesting and difficult topic, which was illustrated by the number of links recommended by our participants.

19 Headline Writing Tips for More Clickable, Shareable Blog Posts, WordStream Blog
How to Write Click-Worthy Blog Headlines Without Resorting to Clickbait, Unbounce Blog
6 Tips For Perfect Headlines, SEMrush Blog
10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work, Copyblogger Blog
74 Clever Blog Post Title Templates That Work, Dex Media, Dex Media Blog
5 Data Insights into the Headlines Readers Click, MOZ Blog
30+ Ultimate Headline Formulas for Tweets, Posts, Articles, and Emails, Buffer Blog

As we said previously, visuals are a very important part of good content – images illustrate and support your theses and help to break the article into smaller paragraphs, creating the right structure and rhythm.

A4: My toolkit is a camera, Photoshop and my friend the “designer” #semrushchat

— Agent Palmer (@AgentPalmer) March 11, 2015

Creating your own photos and images can be a difficult and time-consuming process, but it can distinguish your blog from others. Plus you don’t have to worry about any copyright issues.

A4: I use Pablo, Canva, iPiccy, and imgflip. I made this gif on imgflip in 20 seconds #SEMrushchat pic.twitter.com/YnfAySaIvm
— Jesse Stoler (@JesseStoler) March 11, 2015

If cameras and Photoshop sounds like the big leagues to you, there are some other tools that can help. Canva and Pablo seem to be everyone’s favorites. They’re also very easy to use if you are not a designer. If you have problems creating color palettes, you can use the color scheme generator.

A4 Color schemes generator- http://t.co/ruRPjzECpL . Love it! Replaced http://t.co/7Lf5OC9NXr from my toolkit #semrushchat @coolors_co

— Elena Terentyeva (@LenaTerentyeva) March 11, 2015

If you want to create a unique visual, use relevant photos that will stand out from all the rest.

A4: For B2B avoid BS images of people smiling at meetings. BORING.#semrushchat

— Michelle Tackabery (@mktackabery) March 11, 2015

If you are not a designer and want more tips on creating great images, check out this article – 8 Visual Content Apps to Create Stunning Images and Videos, Social Media Examiner.

Long or short? We collected all pros and cons that our participants shared during the chat, and created this checklist.

A5: Your content should be as long as value provides… #semrushchat
— Ryan Hanley (@RyanHanley_Com) March 11, 2015

This question is continually relevant – content optimization is a must. There are just few simple requirements, but you’ll undoubtedly benefit from them.

If you want some more – check out recap of our previous Twitter Chat – How to integrate SEO into the marketing mix.