Remarkable Content

Today, more than ever, the timeless habits of reading and writing are most valuable as a business owner.

How does someone find you online?  What is the best way to keep in touch with them when they do?

Through your writing.

Remarkable writing.  Content that peaks someone’s interest and invites them to linger and learn.

When you decide to focus on consistently creating remarkable content, many things start to happen:

1. You “get found” on internet searches because you have built a foundation that search engines deem credible and reliable.
2. You are positioned as an expert in your domain.  Strangers can visit and learn about you quickly.
3. You have valuable information to share.  When in a conversation, someone mentions a topic or question on something you’ve already written, you can direct them to your article.  They will appreciate your knowledge and systems.  It will prove to become a first step in doing business with someone.

Remarkable Content

What qualifies as remarkable content?  Surely, we have all been on sites where we skim through a couple posts, testing out the “content value.”  Think about the elements of the ones that get you hooked.  What do they have in common?

Among other things, they probably fulfill one or more of the following criteria:

They share stories. Personal stories.  There is something so magical and childlike in a story that we never seem to outgrow.  When we can connect to the writer or the character in an authentic way, our emotions get locked in, and we can’t help but walk the journey through beginning, middle, and end.  Our curiosity gets the better of us, and we have to know the end.

They articulate our need. We usually start searching when we have a need.  We want to know that someone understands that need.   Sometimes it seems as if someone has peeked into our private thoughts when we read their writing — “That’s exactly what I’m feeling/thinking/needing/going through.”  We are much more likely to seek their services or product when we know they or their customers can relate to us.

The ideas surprise us. Let’s admit it.  We think we know a lot.  So, often, when we are reading about a familiar topic, we can skim because we have some knowledge base already.  However, we are drawn in further and deeper to engage content when we are pleasantly surprised by what we read – perhaps a new insight, new method, or new resources.  Sometimes it’s just humorous – and we’re surprised by it, so we stay hooked.

Do Likewise

In the same way, your writing should seek to accomplish the same goals.  Write in such a way that hooks readers quickly.  Use language and terminology that connect with a person’s search choices.  They will only find you if you have written.  And the more you write, the more they will find you and stick with you.

What makes writing remarkable enough for you to read?