I’ve been writing and speaking semi-professionally and professionally for the better part of 25 years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s the fact that where great writing is concerned, content is king. What I mean by this is the idea that 500 words in a daily blog or column are worthless if they don’t provide some sort of cohesive intellectual stimulation for the reader.
Whether I’m writing about politics, business, or a humor piece, if I have nothing substantive to offer I am wasting my time as well is that of my readers. So, in order to make sure that I’m adhering to this principle, I ask myself several questions:
• Is what I’ve written relative to my topic?
• Is there any unrelated or unnecessary information in my text?
• Does anyone really care about the topic I’ve chosen?
• Has my writing met my objectives?
After answering these questions, and editing my text accordingly, I can be reasonably assured that I am providing content people will be both willing and eager to read. On the other hand, when I fail to do this I know I am probably just producing mindless blather on par with much of what I read from others.
Content for Web Writing
Article marketing has exploded into an incredibly lucrative business for large numbers of writers. With article marketing, website owners hire writers to produce generic articles that are stuffed with keywords. While this is an excellent marketing tool for website owners, the downside is that it leads to a lot of worthless content.
While I have the opportunity to write all sorts of material, I do write my fair share of web content. Personally, I could get away with producing mindless blather as long as my keywords were properly inserted. But in good conscience, I can’t do that. I believe it’s just as important to have worthwhile content that actually means something, rather than just a mindless wandering of text on a page.
Content Equals Reputation
Content by gamasutra
Like or not, content equals reputation at the end of the day. Keyword rich articles may increase search ranking and Web traffic, but you’ll find that if your content is meaningless your website will peak and then drop like a stone. This is no way to keep loyal readers coming back to your site. If you’re unable to produce worthwhile content on your own, hire a competent writer to handle the work for you.
