This Is How You Create Valuable Content
Four floors you need to know
Sometimes creating content can feel like being stuck in a lift. We all may find ourselves responding differently to being boxed up in a confined area.
Some of us are dramatic, some panic in silence, and others merely sleep. No matter how you respond, you get to a point where you are unsure which floor you even got stuck on- you’re just praying the cord doesn’t snap.
At this moment, the last thing you want to hear is, “Just think of a plan to get out.”
It’s the same with writing when you’re not moving forward, it never helps to hear, “Just focus on creating valuable content”.
Sometimes people think they are helping by sharing cryptic advice, but more often than not you need something a little more actionable to start making progress.
The aim of this article is to help you gain your bearings.
Knowing what floor you are on, and knowing what is at the top, could give you the confidence you need to level up.
Floor 1: Fluff
It’s common for people to say, “Write what you know”.
Where this is helpful, is that you are either passionate about a given topic, or well educated, allowing you to write with a certain level of confidence.
Starting is the hardest part...
This approach aids your fingers to kick-off some keyboard-tap-dancing so that you get some words on the page.
The issue with this is that often others already know, on a surface level, what you are only verbalizing now.
What may be revolutionary and exciting to you, could be old-news to others.
Floor one is where the lazy writers take the lift. It’s only one floor up from the ground: Take the stairs.
What I am trying to say is that the stories that come from writers on the first floor are bubbling with imperatives, which is non-actionable fluff.
Writers desperate to be read can result in using clickbait strategies. Sure, clickbait has been effective, but there is a dark side where sensationalism could damage your brand and trust-score among your readers.
We all start at the same place, but in the writing world, the majority of new writers stay here, on the first floor, because it’s not too far from the ground.
It’s comfortable and there’s often hardly any level of complexity…
With a little extra push, it is possible to take that passion and make it something more, but that involves making your way to the next floor.
Tip from the author: I start my first drafts of my articles on the first floor. My mindset is to purge out what I know first, aware that I am about to learn a heck of a lot more as my articles develop.
Floor 2: Research
There’s a reason magazines are nice to read when you are getting your hair-cut, and that’s because the content you usually find at a hairdresser is filled with mindless hot-gossip- “Floor 1” fluff-stuff.
However, if you’re pulling out your phone to search for an article on Medium, you’re aware that you’re paying for the content and therefore you expect it to be above the standard of what you would find in a tabloid.
As a writer on Medium, you have to make it past the second floor. The second floor is where you sharpen your knowledge by doing some research.
So, on floor one, you formed that basis of your article by writing about what you are either passionate about or educated in. Now, it is time to add some facts.
Where possible, it helps to add information from peer-reviewed journals, because they have gone through a rigorous editing process adding a level of credibility to your work.
By adding a research element to your work, you bridge the gap between the laymen and the academic professional.
Articles that form part of topics like finance and marketing, seem to obviously need an element of research included. However, articles that form part of topics like relationships and diet, where testimonials and personal experience are powerful, could go to the next level by including research to the content too.
The research adds an element of depth to your work. Of course, you can state your opinion, but adding research adds objectivity or credibility to what you are talking about.
Note from the author: It’s ok to kill a piece of work if you find out, after the research phase, that what you wanted to rant about has been said 100 times before. That’s the beauty of research, it has the power to school you, or to empower you to take your writing to a place where you intellectually move others.
Floor 3: Disruption
When Taylor Swift starting sharing her opinion on politics, it ruffled a few feathers…
There’s an art to being able to disrupt a thought pattern.
Great content creators are able to make readers uncomfortable for a brief moment.
We can get complacent and stuck-in-a-rut. I’m sure everyone has “that person” in their life who makes a huge deal when their cappuccino is too cold.
Seriously, that person needs some perspective of issues worth complaining about.
However, that person may read an article about “8 Things You Need To Know About Cold Cappuccino’s at Restaurants” and learn, from an article that research finds that there is a science to milk frothing. Perhaps when they find out that the desired temperature of the milk should be between 139–149°F and that it’s unrealistic that a barista is likely to get it perfect every time, they may develop some grace for the barista.
However, if in that article the author took the reader to the level of disruption by sharing, let's say, an interesting observation about people who complain about cold coffees and their likelihood of having narcissistic tendencies, it could trigger the reader to contemplate their actions…
The beauty of creating content is that you have a qualified reader making their way through your writing. Someone who hates cold cappuccinos is a qualified reader for an article talking about reasons behind cold cappuccinos.
So, let’s revise:
- Someone has chosen to read your work because they were interested in what you have to say from your well-crafted title,
- They continue to read because you have provided an element of research that shows that your article does not fall into the “clickbait” or “fluff” category.
Now, you have their buy-in, but proving value means giving someone something golden that they never knew about before. It’s a level up from research:
- Perhaps it’s something you’ve personally experienced that has shaped your opinion,
- perhaps it’s a revelation you personally had, like Taylor Swift stepping outside the mold of being a talented songbird,
- perhaps it’s a rule you form that no one has ever considered before,
- perhaps it’s an insight on behavioral comparatives, like cold-coffee-complainers and narcissistic tendencies.
Floor 3 moves past being informative, it’s a level where things become introspective.
People move from thinking, “Oh, this is interesting”, to: “I am triggered”.
Note from the author: Something that frustrates me, is when people lead an audience to this point, but aggressively force their reader to make a purchase to get out of the disruption that the writer caused. Even worse, rather than helping the reader, they dangle a carrot in the form of a dream to nudge their audience to press “buy now”. Know your power. Don’t misuse it.
Floor 4: Action
Nobody likes being stuck in a small confined space, especially a lift dangling a few stories high… That moment when things start moving and normality kicks in is a huge relief.
When you see that lift technician that made everything ok, you want to run up and hug him or her. You envision yourself buying them a big cake to say thank you. You never do- but you know you really wanted to.
As a content creator, it’s that same selfless journey of helping someone move from where they were, to where they want to be.
The fourth floor is home to the Creme Brule of writers that provide actionable steps to help someone progress. You don't just leave someone in that space of disruption, that’s just mean.
Help them move forward…
Whether you provide one profound strategy or a combination of steps for someone to follow, you provide hope and an action plan.
Sometimes sharing what works for you is enough, but other times, being mindful that we are all unique, looking into strategies for how people, different to you, can move forward, is helpful too.
The map to where the treasure is located is what people kill for.
I’m not advocating anything dangerous, I am purely pointing out that a roadmap to where you want to go is what people will create hype about.
Also, if there is a chance that people may fail, consider adding coping strategies, or testimonials on how people moved on from failure, too.
Note from the author: I always imagine that I am walking my mother or brothers through a piece of content. I put care into the steps I provide because my heart is for my loved ones to succeed. I don’t want them to fail, but sometimes no matter how hard we try, we may just never experience the same level of success as someone else. I now think of communicating ways to protect my family if they do fail, and my audience benefits as a result.
So, are we clear on how to create value?
As you can see, there is an element of value on each of the floors I have mentioned already:
- Floor one: Sharing enthusiasm about something that makes you tick, or something you have recently learned is worth celebrating. Just don’t get stuck on the hype, realistically, your work can be better than this.
- Floor 2: Research adds a level of depth to your passion. The danger is getting stuck on the academics behind your point and forgetting that you are speaking to normal people, don’t be a know-it-all if your audience isn’t into that.
- Floor 3: With a deep understanding of what you are writing, causing a level of disruption makes your article worth a reread. Just don’t leave your reader in a mess.
- Floor 4: Provide actionable steps that your reader can implement to guide them in the direction that they should go to. Remember, they need to feel safe following your steps.
You may be asking, can my article jump straight to floor 4?
Well, I think it is dependant on your content.
- For a tutorial, it helps to have a brief introduction but to get straight to the action points as soon as possible.
- For personal development, it helps to incorporate a combination of the first three floors.
What helps me, is to think about how I would most enjoy a piece of content, and then identifying what I have to do to lift my article to the floor I hope to arrive on.
Liftoff
Everyone gets into the lift at the bottom where it is stuffy and generally acceptable to stare at your shoes to avoid making eye contact.
However, as the lift gets higher, the riffraff filter out and it’s only a select few that make it to the top floor.
Respect your reader, and challenge yourself.
I hope you make it to the fourth floor and that you finally understand the cryptic pathway behind valuable content.
