Six hours 42 minutes: this is the average time Internet users worldwide spent online every day last year, according to a report by HootSuite.
Here are some more figures:
As you see, users judge most of the information they see on the Internet at a glance. The choice is infinite – so why stay longer? One quick look – and they’re gone. Except when they see something really worth their time.
Initially, all the information was published to be consumed. But some pieces end up being skipped. And content makers worldwide are constantly looking for ways to stand out from the crowd and make their productions noticed. But how?
The answer is simple: to grab the audience’s attention, you must become a guru of content creation and management.
First of all, become an expert in some field. Never write or talk about things you don’t know about. Misinforming people is bad, and they won’t forgive this.
If you’re not an expert yet, share your experience on the way to gaining expertise. Whatever level you’re currently on, stick to it and show only as much as you know.
The same applies to any kind of creative content – images, performance. If you can’t do it well – don’t do it at all or show how you do learn to do it, not how you do.
You can also use someone else’s expertise. Ask for comments and interviews from professionals, cite authoritative sources.
Most of the content on the Internet is in written form. Articles, blog posts, reviews, ebooks – creating all these requires excellent writing skills.
There are very few (if any) content types that don’t include any writing. Even if you post photos or short videos with no dialogue, you should at least be able to supply decent descriptions.
Don’t worry if you’re no Shakespeare yet: writing skills can be trained. Students, for example, have a good chance to improve theirs by writing academic essays: if you can master a critical analysis essay, producing a quality blog post won’t be a problem.
This one is almost as important as the first point. Content production is creative work, and there’s no way you’ll be able to do this mechanically, like a robot, and be successful.
Even if you’re working on someone else’s project and not your own, you should have at least some feelings about it.
Sometimes true passion may even make up for some lack of expertise – but that will only work for your personal works.
Excellent writing skills alone won’t make you an expert content maker. Most people are visual learners, and if they see many letters and nothing else, it may scare them off.
Another thing is, you can’t always produce the same kind of content if you’re not working in a team. Even if you are, it’s better to learn how to create web content. Sometimes you can’t outsource, and it’s still important to be able to somehow make your posts and articles visually attractive.
However good you are at production, your works may just not hit the aim without proper targeting. You should definitely know who you’re working for.
Learning everything about the target audience is essential for marketing specialists. But even if you’re working on your own project, take some time and think about who you want to communicate to. What do they want to get from you? In what form? Hint for bloggers: “people like me” are a target audience, too!
Keep a record of all of your ideas. Write down everything that comes to your mind. Even if a suggestion doesn’t look promising right now, it may turn into something good when you think it over.
Professionals never produce content chaotically. A plan is a must. Create a chart and enter all the important information there: the day and time when your content should be published, content types, ideas, etc.
If you have instant inspiration, just publish an unscheduled piece or try to include it into the plan later.
Content creation and management may seem like an easy task. But producing high-quality work is actually not easy at all. It requires many skills, passion, and expertise.
But if you’re really keen on becoming a guru in this field, work hard. Eventually, you’ll learn to make and release pieces that will be 100% worth your audience’s time.
