Purple Cow (or Flagship) Content (part 3)

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17 juillet 2009

10 Ingredients for Outstanding Content

You now know what outstanding content is (part 1), and why it is so useful (part 2). Practically though, how do you define, recognise and most of all produce outstanding content? Here are 10 common ingredients:

1. It’s never been seen before
When you think of an idea, search for its key-words, get no results and think: “I can’t believe no one has thought of this before”, you’re probably on to something good! Great content is highly original. It solves problems that haven’t been solved, answers questions people didn’t know they had and meets needs that haven’t yet been met.

2. It’s truly useful!
A resource list of 300 tools on the topic of your choice will probably be something your readers bookmark and never visit again. Why? Because the more you add, the less likely it is to be of consistent quality. Outstanding content prizes real usefulness over all other factors — even if it means posting one tip instead of 101.

3. It does more than make readers think
The ‘how-to’ industry on blogs is booming. Millions of readers add new tips, suggestions and tools to their raft of knowledge every day. Whether they act on any of these insights, or change any of their behaviors as a result, is another question entirely. Outstanding content doesn’t just make readers think about their actions in a new way — it motivates them to change the way they do things.

4. It’s audacious
Outstanding content provides grand solutions, truly useful advice, earth shattering revelations and big ideas. Or, at least, it tries to. Outstanding content has the audacity to try something big, even if it means risking failure.

5. It’s lean
A blogger who creates outstanding content knows how to spot fat and how to cut it. If an idea is worth one sentence, it gets one sentence. If an idea is worth 1,000 words, it gets exactly that. Being lean doesn’t necessarily mean being short — it means cutting out the unimportant and leaving only what’s essential.

6. It provides concentrated value
Outstanding content often contains a treasure-trove of value in one place. Instead of a quick fix, a truly valuable post will outline the whole solution, from start to finish. It’s the complete blueprint, rather than just a snippet.

7. It doesn’t insult the intelligence of its audience
Outstanding content tackles big ideas, tricky challenges and important revelations, even if it’s the kind of material you can’t shrink down into bite-sized quotes.

8. It’s clear
Innovation, advice and analysis will all mean little if nobody understands the point you’re trying to make. The battle to write outstanding content is the constant battle to be clear while expressing something quite profound.

9. It’s multi-layered
Outstanding content adds depth by linking out generously and often. It reaches out to other authors who’ve touched on your ideas elsewhere, connecting readers to a web of knowledge stretching far beyond the bounds of your post.

10. It’s memorable
Your content will be disposable unless it influences the reader in some way. It should change the way they feel (or change their mind), inspire them, set them on a new course, make them more skillful or more informed. Truly outstanding content leaves a mark on everyone who reads it (from start to finish).

Source: www.dailyblogtips.com

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	Simon Hénault B.Comm, MBA - Corporate Journalist - LinkedIn Profile
	I help businesses in the production and delivery of content allowing them to be found on the Web, be perceived as experts, strengthen their clients relations and increase their revenues.