I’ve never been much of a Book person. In fact, aside from the occasional business book or beach novel, I haven’t read an entire book in well over 5 years. It’s not that I don’t enjoy reading, because I do. I love it. I just don’t seem to have the free time (or the attention span) to allot to reading a large chunk of content.
We’ve all been there. Your mind starts to drift and next thing you know you’ve ‘read’ two chapters without actually processing the information.
I have no problem picking up a magazine and reading through it front to back. No one story is really too long. The same can be said about the newspaper. I could read it for hours (the sports section in the interest of being honest) on end because of the format and layout of the publication.
In many ways, the same can be said about today’s digital content and blogging. With more and more of content appearing all over the internet, bloggers have to fight for their words to be read. Content marketers can't get away with simply throwing content on an empty page and shoving it down the readers throat.
There are 3 types of blog posts that people actually read, and for good reason.
1. Lists [Containing Rare Gems of Human Knowledge]
Consumers love seeing a number in a title and it’s not just a growing fad. This practice has been around for many years, so you shouldn’t worry about it going the way of the dinosaur. A list is a very specific, quantifiable return to the reader for sparing their attention. In the current state of the media environment, our brains are able to process content more efficiently and effectively.
ListVerse is a single site with many, many lists >> http://listverse.com/
2. Resources [That Make Your Job Easier]
It’s easy to get lost in the amount of resources that are out there, especially in this day in age. But if you can identify your persona’s pain points, you can easily serve up the right kind of resource and place it right in the palm of their hands, literally.
You’ll also have the opportunity to brownnose the creators of these resources who will undoubtedly pat you on the back for sharing their creation.
3. Interviews [With Interesting Thought Leaders]
Thought Leaders are closely followed by any niche group because of their expertise, wisdom and value they share with the online community. When you sit down to dig deeply into any given subject matter, you’re creating great content for your community. If the content is remarkable enough (and it should be), they’ll undoubtedly share it with their own community.
One of the perks of interviewing an A-lister is just that! They more than likely have a very substantial following on social media.
Regardless of what type of content you decide to share, make sure you're using the inbound marketing methodology and that you’re adding value to the online community.