How to Write a Great Authority Article
Have you ever wanted to write the most authoritative article anywhere on anything? I wrote this short piece to give some insight into that process and some tips and advice on how you can craft something that's really worthwhile and won't just fall into the abyss of the internet.
1. Don't Hire a Freelancer - or,if you do, pay them very well. As a writer, I know that everybody wants the best work for the lowest price in the shortest amount of time. Unfortunately, Freelancers are real people and our time is valuable. We won't write you the best article ever on a $20 budget and you won't get the best work if your turnaround time is only 12-24 hours. Quality is something that requires an investment - make it and you'll be rewarded.
2. Do Your Research - The best way to write the most authoritative article is to have actual facts and data to back up everything you're saying - make it real! The majority of web content is produced by people who aren't taking the time or aren't being paid enough to provide substantial research on the claims they are making. Web content today is full of crazy claims and really lacking citations because everyone is rushing to maximize what they make per hour and putting quality work in the back seat.
3. Use Images and Multimedia - You need to create the best possible user experience for your reader if you want to be successful in content marketing. This means not only providing great textual content, but incorporating multimedia into your presentation to have the greatest impact. The benefit of this is that you're able to market several pieces of content on one page - some images hosted on your image website, your own web page, perhaps your profile on another website, a YouTube video, you're really showing a full picture of your authority on the subject by using different media forms.
4. Don't Fear the Length - People have done research to determine what the optimal length is for an article. What I'm here to tell you is that the optimal length is whatever length is required to say everything you need to say about your topic to your reader. If I wanted to write an article on Mac Sauce, I might only get 200 words in before I run out of material. The whole Big Mac? I'm thinking 600-700 words maximum. If I'm writing an article about the McDonalds menu, or about how McDonalds runs its operations, I could easily get to 5000+ words. The key is to ensure that what you do create is providing value in every sentence and paragraph, and covering your topic completely with compelling images and examples.
5. Plan and Outline - If you're writing content without an outline, you're crazy. You can easily divide topics into smaller pieces, and then subdivide those topics to come up with a great outline for any article that you're certain covers all the key points in an organized way. This is going to help structure your work and ensure that you do a thorough job. If I was writing about the Big Mac, I might write a paragraph about the beef patties, one about the sesame seed bun, one about the mac sauce, one about the lettuce and one about the onions. I might put those in a logical order and categorize them under "ingredients". What could my other categories be? I could talk about the history of the Big Mac, its inception and rise to popularity, where its ingredients are sourced and how it's distributed, I could assess its environmental impact, etc.
The key to a great outline is to ensure that your outline covers all aspects of interest from the perspective of your readers - make sure you know why your readers are looking for your article and you're guaranteed that they'll love it when they find it.
That's everything you need to start producing unbelievable web content!
1. Don't Hire a Freelancer - or,if you do, pay them very well. As a writer, I know that everybody wants the best work for the lowest price in the shortest amount of time. Unfortunately, Freelancers are real people and our time is valuable. We won't write you the best article ever on a $20 budget and you won't get the best work if your turnaround time is only 12-24 hours. Quality is something that requires an investment - make it and you'll be rewarded.
2. Do Your Research - The best way to write the most authoritative article is to have actual facts and data to back up everything you're saying - make it real! The majority of web content is produced by people who aren't taking the time or aren't being paid enough to provide substantial research on the claims they are making. Web content today is full of crazy claims and really lacking citations because everyone is rushing to maximize what they make per hour and putting quality work in the back seat.
3. Use Images and Multimedia - You need to create the best possible user experience for your reader if you want to be successful in content marketing. This means not only providing great textual content, but incorporating multimedia into your presentation to have the greatest impact. The benefit of this is that you're able to market several pieces of content on one page - some images hosted on your image website, your own web page, perhaps your profile on another website, a YouTube video, you're really showing a full picture of your authority on the subject by using different media forms.
4. Don't Fear the Length - People have done research to determine what the optimal length is for an article. What I'm here to tell you is that the optimal length is whatever length is required to say everything you need to say about your topic to your reader. If I wanted to write an article on Mac Sauce, I might only get 200 words in before I run out of material. The whole Big Mac? I'm thinking 600-700 words maximum. If I'm writing an article about the McDonalds menu, or about how McDonalds runs its operations, I could easily get to 5000+ words. The key is to ensure that what you do create is providing value in every sentence and paragraph, and covering your topic completely with compelling images and examples.
5. Plan and Outline - If you're writing content without an outline, you're crazy. You can easily divide topics into smaller pieces, and then subdivide those topics to come up with a great outline for any article that you're certain covers all the key points in an organized way. This is going to help structure your work and ensure that you do a thorough job. If I was writing about the Big Mac, I might write a paragraph about the beef patties, one about the sesame seed bun, one about the mac sauce, one about the lettuce and one about the onions. I might put those in a logical order and categorize them under "ingredients". What could my other categories be? I could talk about the history of the Big Mac, its inception and rise to popularity, where its ingredients are sourced and how it's distributed, I could assess its environmental impact, etc.
The key to a great outline is to ensure that your outline covers all aspects of interest from the perspective of your readers - make sure you know why your readers are looking for your article and you're guaranteed that they'll love it when they find it.
That's everything you need to start producing unbelievable web content!
This is the New Wave of E-Commerce