9 Steps to Creating Good Content for Your Brand

THE NO HYPE, BUZZWORD-FREE GUIDE to CREATING GOOD CONTENT FOR YOUR BUSINESS There is a simple, proven path that anyone can follow to create good content. This is it, in nine easy steps. (1) Think about what you know Think about what interests you. Make a list of the things you know about, the things people seem to want to hear about, the topics you're inter- ested in and that get you excited. 3 Read 2 Find good sources Collect the websites, blogs, books and other sources that contain the best writing and reporting about your topics. Keep adding new ones and pruning the less valuable ones. Every day. The good stuff, a lot of it. Within your topics, by the sources that mat- ter. Analyze what works. Read some bad stuff, too. Ask yourself, "What makes it bad?" Save things Remember when you read that one piece and you realized what it was missing, or it sparked a related idea that went unexplored? Did you save it, file it away in a proper place with your notes and ideas? That's what writers do. Do that. Hold an editorial meeting Grab a few colleagues, tell them to bring good things they read recently and one or two important topics. Share your ideas. Think up headlines for articles you'd all like to read. Now assign them to each other. Repeat weekly. Give yourself deadlines Deadlines provide focus and motivation. To really work, they must be shared. Put them on an editorial calendar. Hold yourself to your deadlines. Get other people to hold you to them. Hold other people to theirs. Write This is the natural extension of reading, keeping notes and refining of your ideas with colleagues. Know your angle. Share an anecdote that helps illustrate your point. Be clear. Don't use words you don't understand. Don't waste your words by using them carelessly. 8. Get edited Good content comes in part from good edi- ting. You need an editor. Ask her to ensure what you've written is clear and has a point. Ask her to be generous with praise. Talk about the chan- ges she made. Focus on what serves the reader, not your ego. Repeat Writing good content isn't rocket science but it does require multiple steps. The more you do it, the easier it gets. Spundge Spundge makes it easy to collaboratively track news and topics, curate the most relevant information and create influential content. Sign up for a free account at Spundge.com. For more great content tips, visit our blog at www.spundge.com Vector art credit: Anuar Zhumaev, Samuel Dion-Girardeau, Kaylee Koenig. Timothy Dilich, Scott Lewis, iconoci, Jakub Ukrop for the Noun Project