If you want to receive top dollar for what you do, you need to be the best in your field. In this post, we provide essential tips and introduce important skills and tools that can help a writer to create the best digital content strategy.

In the digital marketing world, interesting content is as valuable as the website design to the business because it drives search engine results and increases traffic to the site. The best content writers consider both quality and quantity when using digital content strategy to drive business results.

Having the talent to be successful in writing is necessary but not sufficient. Successful content writers have a set of marketable skills that differentiates them from novices. A professional digital content writer must be original, and versatile in writing styles, do research before choosing a topic, know the basics of SEO and WordPress, and understand how social media works.

Remember that while this post is a great starting point, our experts at Lyla are always ready to work with you on your needs whether it is improving your current posts, composing specific content, or establishing a search-optimized blog.

1- Stay updated

Make sure you are updated with current news and trends. Some news could have a significant impact on the industry you are writing about. Some trends may create an excellent marketing opportunity. If you don’t keep up, you may lose attention or may end up violating a new regulation.

Paying attention to the news is important. Supporting your content strategies with facts is more important. Today’s digital media world is bombarded with a mix of news, rumors, false information, hot trends, etc. there is a race to be the first to break news. As a content creator, you should always support your point with facts and figures from reliable resources.

One way to ensure your readers that you use reputable sources is to provide a link to the original reference. There are tools that help you choose the right website for your information. For instance, Moz’s SEO Toolbar Chrome Extension shows the “Domain Authority (DA)” and “Page Authority (PA)” of each of the links on Google’s page results. A higher rank in DA and PA is a better indicator of the credibility of the site compared to the Google rank itself.

As a content creator, your goal is to provide your readers with helpful and relevant material. Posting curated content is an effective way to ensure your audience that you always look for quality content even if that is from external resources.

2- Know your audience when considering your content strategy

It seems obvious but establishing your goals is the most crucial factor in becoming the best content creator in your industry. It is good to have dreams, but a proper goal is an achievable one. When setting your goals, be specific, find measurable milestones, be realistic, and stick to a planned timeline.

Knowing your audience is not just identifying them. You need to have a deep understanding of the target market within your industry for your content strategy establishment. Careful examining the industry and your target audience helps you relay information within a proper context, which in turn would make your content relatable and helpful.

It is good to remember that people find the content helpful, only if it provides answers to their questions or solutions to their specific problems. That is why the best content writers analyze the issue from their potential clients’ perspectives.

If you want your site readers to come back, read more, and even subscribe to your newsletter, you need to include practical tips, strategies, and solutions in your content. Site visitors would become regulars when they find a place that addresses their pain points. One of the best places to learn about those issues is professional online groups.

3- Performance is the key

One way to make sure your content is achieving what you expect is to check its performance. Here is a list of key performance indicators(KPI), that you can track after setting a benchmark for each.

Key performance indicators

• Overall website traffic
• Average time spent on page
• Internal link clickthrough rates (CTR)
• Scroll depth
• Leads

Having a baseline for each of these indicators helps you measure how close you are to reaching your goals. Databox is an effective tool to calculate data from various sources and create a performance report periodically.

We have covered in detail why your business absolutely needs SEO in another blog post. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that search engine optimization is the key strategy to make your content reach its target audience effectively.

Keyword research is the most basic step in SEO and should definitely consider while implementing your content strategy. Applying long-tail keywords with high search volume in the text guarantees a higher rank in search results. To find which keywords are low competition level, you can always analyze your rival websites and learn from them. Check our SEO blog for more practical tips and strategies.

Regardless of the content type, it is important you have the right technology in your arsenal. There are many tools developed for content creators. As simple as Grammarly which is an online proofreading and editing assistant to SEMrush that provides helpful insights about website performance, are digital tools that have made content creator work easier.

There are also tools that connect you to your target audience directly. You can always receive feedback from your subscribers about what they like to read more about in a survey using SurveyMonkey. You can also create polls on your social media or website.

Lastly, don’t hesitate to take courses for learning how to establish your content strategy, attend workshops, and join a training session by a mastermind in your industry. These learning occasions are full of tips and strategies, networking opportunities, and collaboration prospects.

4- Writing is a process

Written content, especially in a long blog post form, is still vital. Although other content forms like videos, pictures, and podcasts are also popular, Google and other search engines still rank written posts higher. Pillar articles with plenty of internal and external linking also affect your site’s ranking. Long posts make readers spend more time on your website as well.

Now you may ask how to come up with so much material. One effective way for your content strategy plan is to write every day even for a few minutes. Best writers suggest allocating a specific block of time to writing and remaining consistent.

When you write about a topic, however serious the topic is, you don’t need to seem complicated. Use a friendly tone and a simple set of words. The goal is not to impress your reader with technical jargon.

Increase readability in your content strategy

To make the content easier to understand, try to write for a general audience. Communicate with your readers on a personal level and use an informal style of writing. However, don’t forget to double-check your sentences for grammar issues.

Writing as you would talk enables you to channel your personality and brand through a unique voice. This way, you differentiate yourself from your competitors. The best way to execute this strategy is to be yourself when creating content, even when producing a video or podcast.

However, you might say it is easier said than done. You are right. Everybody has their own personality, and it is almost impossible to please everyone. So, focus on those who you can please, and they will eventually become your fans.

Loyal fans love consistency. If you can create content every day, that’s a great content strategy, but don’t forget quality is always more important than quantity. Some of the best content creators update their blogs only once a week but on the same day each week. That creates a recognizable pattern and responds well to the audiences’ expectations.

The last point here is that writing is a process and becoming a better content writer is a process too. No matter how skillful you are, there is always room for growth. Best content writers are those who learn new tools and sharpen their skills continuously.

5- Finally, some writing tips for content strategy

Though creating effective content does not follow a unique recipe, we have gathered practical tips that improve your writing quality and quantity:

Write a compelling headline

The goal is to spark interest, stir emotions and make a reader want to learn more. An eye-catching headline drives traffic to your site and hooks your audience to read the rest of your content. Include some details and provide specific information in the headline. Using an instructional voice is always compelling.

Grab their attention

The first sentence is very important in determining whether your audience read the rest of your content or not so you should consider it in your content strategy. Readers immediately look for what was promised in the headline. So, speak to the point from the beginning.

Show how much you know

Do not start writing on a subject unless you have extensive knowledge about the topic. Include statistics and facts to support your claims and establish credibility for your content strategy.

It is important to know what your audience expects from reading your content and try to address that. The most effective starting point is proper keyword research.

Then, you can start actual writing by creating an outline. Outlining gives your content a balanced structure and helps you during your research. Through outlining you can sort the information relevant to your content. It also helps avoid writer’s block.

Decide on your key message

Determine the main point you want to convey to your readers and tie the whole content around it. When deciding on your key message, keep your specific audience in mind. For instance, those who look for “tips on best content writing” are most probably in marketing.

The main idea of the content should be evident from the headline to the end of the article. This strategy helps you create logical arguments. It also improves the flow of the text. Readers would be clear on the take-home message as well.

Remember, readers spend time reading content in the hope that they learn something valuable so don’t forget your content strategy. Including actionable tips goes a long way to satisfy your audience. Providing step-by-step instructions on how to solve a specific problem with references creates trust between you and your readers.

Well-researched and authoritative content are generally more trustworthy. There might be several blog posts on a specific topic. If you create backlinks to credible resources and receive links from authoritative content creators, readers will click on your content more often.

Your tone is important when planning your content strategy

Your content represents your company’s personality. When crafting your material consider the tone of your writing to align with your target audience, brand persona, and business goals.

Crafting a unique voice that engages the audience requires a fine balance between your talent and customers’ expectations. Once you find it, be consistent. If you have a team of writers, it is crucial to all be on the same page when it comes to your brand’s core values, description of your audience, and ideal relationship with your audience. You can even guide your writers by creating a list of specific phrases and words to use or avoid.

Optimize your content and your content strategy

There are several ways to optimize your digital content for a better read and higher rank on search engines. To engage your readers and make your digital content more appealing, it is better to write in short sentences and short paragraphs. Bulleted lists are extremely popular and a great way to organize tips and advice.

Frist draft is not a final draft

No matter how experienced a writer you are, it is always helpful to borrow a pair of fresh eyes before publishing your content. A round or two of editing will help polish your work and improve the flow. Sometimes you may gain a new perspective and add to the content.

Proofreading is made easy these days by tools like Grammarly. If you are under time pressure and cannot work with professional editors, you can always read out your content loud. It helps to find sentence structure and some grammar errors.

We can’t emphasize more how important it is to post quality content on your site. Search engines will rank your site higher if they find well-written content on your blog. Those who visit your site will have a better experience and are more likely to become loyal customers if they find reliable answers to their questions on your site.

If you seek improvements to your site or want an expert team to help you establish one, don’t hesitate to contact Lyla digital marketing services. We will help you expand your reach, especially to your target audience, efficiently and professionally.