Five things your content wants this holiday season
Didn’t think your content deserved a present this Christmas? Think again.
It’s holiday season again. What have you got planned? Some quality time with your family and loved ones? A little last-minute shopping at the mall? A blazing fire and Netflix?
But what about your content?
Seriously. Did you at least get it a stocking stuffer?
We’re guessing you didn’t.
And that’s ok.
But not really.
Your content does so much for you every day on your social platforms, websites, email campaigns, etc. Your content has wishes and dreams for the holiday season, too.
And you got it nothing.
Fine.
While it may be too late to order anything for your content from Amazon, here’s a short list of things you can do to make it happy and prosperous in the new year.
1. Write for readers
Wouldn’t it be fun to read a story about Jason Derulo eating oatmeal for breakfast while he checked his inbox in a pair of baggy Gap jeans?
Actually, it wouldn’t. Not even for Santa, who they say reads everything.
There is just no audience for Jason Derulo eating oatmeal sans penis pants, even in an alternate universe. If “Jason Derulo Eats Oatmeal Bulge-Free” ever did exist as a story, we can only hope the universe would simply give up and explode.
Friends, the greatest gift you can give your content in the coming year is to put more thought into writing for your readers.
Not just targeting the right audiences — our usual preoccupation as content creators — but writing stuff those audiences actually want to read.
What do people want to read? Usually articles that satisfy their curiosity, make them laugh, or show them something new, unexpected, or useful. Preferably all five at once.
It’s easy to get side-tracked, I know. If you ever do wander from the path, just ask yourself this: If I were reading this article, post or email I’m writing, what would I want to find there to keep me reading?
If you do this, your content will be happy in this universe and all the others.
2. Give fewer stats, more story
Do you remember the kid in your 11th grade English class who was always trying to show the class how much more he knew than the teacher? The kid who had a statistic, opinion or fact about everything?
Your content doesn’t want to be that kid.
We’re not saying that stats linked to reputable sources aren’t useful. They give your curious, more scholarly readers a very easy way to verify the authenticity of what you’ve written.
But your articles aren’t Christmas trees that serve as “stat holders.” Pumping up your paragraphs with statistics that don’t build your stories — statistics that other writers are already throwing around elsewhere on the web like wedding rice — will deflate your writing pretty quickly. And they’ll lead readers off your website, rather than to more content on your website.
So focus on your narrative and use stats sparingly. Your content will be so much happier if you do.
3. Don’t rehash
Do you remember the Peloton Christmas ad? Then you probably remember all the Peloton-hating articles that followed in its wake.
It’s a fact — the Peloton ad sucked. It was a horrible misread and betrayed a gaping, vacuous hole at the center of the Peloton brand. But 500 articles telling us the same thing meant 499 of them were jumping on the Peloton hate bandwagon.
Rehashing other writers’ content is the surest way to show your content you don’t care.
Rehashing might get you clicks when the wagon is rolling. But when the wheels stop, you’re still the writer who said nothing new. Do it often enough, and like Peter and the Wolf, people will stop clicking even when you have something newsworthy to say.
Which is why, when we were totally creeped out by the Peloton ad, we had a think and decided to approach the ad messaging from a different angle. We wrote an article about how the storytelling in the Peloton ad flopped.
We can’t say for sure, but we believe our content appreciated that.
4. Say it your way
German suburbs are so clean and tidy, and they seem to go on forever.
Really, I think if you ever wanted to drive a person mad in an hour, you’d just show them a YouTube loop of a cute German street. Like Nyan Cat. But with Wagner playing in the background.
We’re not saying we like unkempt, garbage-filled streets no two of which are the same, but our minds are fueled by variation. Especially our reading minds. We get bored reading voices that all sound alike.
So give your content the gift of an original voice this year. Without it, your content, and the brands, companies and people you write for, will feel just like every other piece of content on the block.
If you need some help getting started, check out these tips on crafting voices.
5. Fire up Photoshop
I once had a girlfriend who only fed her cat fresh meals she’d personally prepared herself.
Did the cat have a healthier glow? Whiter teeth? A generally more pleasant disposition? I don’t know. But I do know this. If you want your content to have a healthy glow and a winning disposition, don’t stick a ready-made photo from Unplash or Shutterstock on top of it.
Beyond the sheer cheese factor, there’s a serious disconnect when you publish an original story with a stock visual.
I know, this opens up a huge can of worms that includes body type, headings, layout, colors, etc. Just remember that confident, well-cared-for content thrives on a diet of thoughtful, custom-made visuals, much like John Travolta’s shiny, round pate thrives on a healthy diet of original, thought-provoking weaves.
On that note, we wish you and your content our warmest holiday wishes and a fantastic new year of joyous, original, passionate writing.
