The process of creating content for your website in hopes of attracting a wave of traffic has changed in recent years.
In the past you'd be able to throw up a simple 500-word article onto your blog and get a stream of traffic. As long as it provided some semblance of value and had a few keywords thrown in, it was good enough. Ah the good ol' days!
Try doing that today and watch that piece of content be buried on the 800th page of Google's search results.
In today's race to produce content that hits the front page of the Google search results, your content must be more than stellar. It must be AT LEAST 10 times the value anyone's looking for if you want it to hit the front page of Google, attract traffic, shares, and mentions.
In this article I want to share with you 4 dead simple ways you can 10X the content you're producing to drive more traffic.
1. Include visual content
There are several roads to a 10x piece of content. One of them involves plenty of visual content.
Stunning photography and eye catching graphics build on top of the typical written blog post and help drive home the points you're making.
Lots of readers on the web are visual learners and the added visual aids help to elaborate on the points you're making. Web readers want their information quickly and in the most simple format. Why write a 500-word explanation when something like an infographic would suffice?
Take for example, Neil Patel's Advanced Content Marketing Guide, an extensive step by step guide for those looking to improve their content marketing strategy.
It is jampacked with graphics, visuals, and text that clearly and succinctly explain everything involved in the content marketing process.
Image Source: QuickSprout
Why is this 10x content?
Aside from it being a visual masterpiece, the Advanced Content Marketing Guide perfectly blends both graphics and text in the best of ways for the reader. There are subsections that are explained with text and others that can be explained visually.
A content marketing newbie would be hard pressed to find another resource offering up more value than this one.
The tips and strategies Neil offers up are supported with visual aids that boils down a complex topic for the reader. It covers the content marketing gamut and delivers 10x the value of anything else on the web.
2. Recycle popular past content
When we're discussing 10x content we're thinking of ways to offer up more value than anything else that's available on the web.
It can mean starting from a blank slate and building something awesome OR it could mean building on top of what has already been made. The later being the path of least resistance.
Allow me to explain.
If you've managed to create a healthy stable of content surrounding one subject you've already done most of the 10x work.
Take a look back through your analytics to see what has garnered the most traffic and engagement. This will be the content you'll be doubling down on and recycling into another format. Maybe one of your articles on DIY desks performed above expectation and it would do well as an infographic on Pinterest. Maybe you've written all you can on the topic of french bulldog grooming, why not compile it into one big ebook.
One example I can share with you is Wishpond's article 100 Growth Hacks Learned as 5 Years as a Startup. This was an article we came up with, with the idea of creating a 10x piece of content.
After taking a look at the content on the web surrounding “growth hacks”, we set out to create a list that was 10x the value. We contacted popular influencers and brands to give the article a lift, and it took off spectacularly.
After the success of the article began to taper off we recycled it into a SlideShare presentation to hit an additional audience. The press began rolling again and the SlideShare presentation was featured on the front page!
It didn't stop there. We assumed our readers would be interested on how we were able to get featured, so we wrote a blog post explaining just how we did it.
It's all about finding product market fit for the content that you're producing. The more you know about your target audience, their likes, dislikes and problems, the greater you can 10x that content and recycle it into more content.
3. Unique data, opinions, or research
As I mentioned before, 10x content can be created off the back of another piece of content. But if you're really looking to shake things up there are types of content that are 10x the value unto themselves.
This type of content includes…
- Unique data. Do you serve a specific target audience? Is there unique data that you're privy to? Consider capitalizing on unique data that you or your business is able to capture. Maybe this is user data within your industry. Maybe it's demographics for a specific product. Being the first to present unique data puts your content ahead of the race.
- Original opinions. Don't have any unique data to present? Try voicing an original opinion. Take a divisive stance on a specific argument or debate. Be polarizing to a certain extent. It draws attention and creates conversations.
- Original research. Do you have the ability and the resources to perform original research? Presenting original and quotable research promotes you as a thought leader in your industry.
An example of this comes from the SEO/keyword tool company Ahrefs. In a research-backed article (previously) entitled On-page SEO is Dead the company analyzed over 2 million random keyword searches and presented the data to its readers. Ultimately stating that on-page SEO is dead.
The article attracted a wave of comments and thousands of shares due to its findings. The fact that it was original research performed by a qualified and respected company made all the difference. Ahrefs was able to use the data only it had access to, to present something fresh for its audience and ended up with a 10x piece of content.
4. Outreach and amplification
Let's imagine that you've done your research, wrote some outstanding copy, and included a few helpful visual aids. A 10x piece of content is not complete without a post-publishing, outreach and amplification schedule.
Just because you've created a valuable resource does not mean it will magically be discovered and promoted. You need to get it in front of influencers and others in your industry.
How can you get your content noticed and amplified by influencers?
One technique we employ is to make a measured effort to include influencer names, quotes, and techniques within our content, which increases the likelihood of it being shared by the people mentioned.
After we publish an article, we shoot off a quick email or tweet to the influencer letting them know we'd mentioned them. We found that if the content is within their realm of interest, is professional and is helpful to their audience, there's a high likelihood they'd give it a share.
The key here is ensuring that the content is helpful and valuable to the influencer's audience.
Alex Turnbull, the CEO & founder of Groove, a help desk software company, wrote an extensive article detailing how Groove got 1,000 blog subscribers from one blog post. In the article Alex details what he did to engage with influencers in his industry and leverage those relationships further down the road.
Image Source: Groove
Alex is a big believer in spending equal amounts of time promoting and creating each piece of content you create. By putting in the time to promote content it extends the life of each piece, allowing him to spend less time creating content.
We all would love to spend our time only creating content but it's all for naught if no one sees it. If you have the opportunity to include more opinions and input from influencers, jump on it, that way your content can become a part of the larger conversation.
Tying it all together
In your quest to create 10x content, don't expect your first attempt to hit the front page of Google and sky rocket you into a seat at the head table. Not all swings are going to be home runs.
Remember that 10x content does not happen without a little experimentation to see what sticks. Once you find content that works, double down on it by:
- Including visual content
- Recycling popular past content into new formats
- Doing outreach and amplification
- Using unique data, opinions, or research
Before you hit the publish button, make sure your content is…
- Sure, almost everything under the sun has been written about before but have you put your own unique spin on it?
- Does your content flow cohesively and maintain the reader's attention throughout?
- Does this piece of content have a clear use and provide value? Does it solve a problem? Does it answer questions? Why should it be published?
If you can confidently answer yes on all these points, your content is well on it's way to becoming a 10x piece of content.
What strategies do you follow to create 10x content?
What works for you and what doesn't?
Leave a comment for me below and weigh in!
Guest Author: Jordan Lore is a Content Marketer at Wishpond in Vancouver, BC. Wishpond makes it easy for marketers to run lead generation and marketing automation campaigns, all in one place. When he's not writing he has a camera attached to his arm. Follow him on his budding twitter account @jordanlore6.
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4 Dead Simple Ways to 10x Your Content and Drive More Traffic
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