How can you create original and valuable content as a content developer?

Understanding your audience is the secret sauce to crafting original, valuable content as a content developer. Dive into their world—know their interests, problems, and desires. Tailor your content to provide solutions, insights, or entertainment that resonates with their needs.

Everything You do starts with research, and knowing your audience is the research for content development. When you know your audience, it becomes easier to understand their needs, wants and expectations. Give time to thoroughly research on your audience, and you can use tools feedbacks and their past trends. Hence, you can create the best possible content for your audience.

Forget about what you want to say and think about what your audience needs to know. Don’t evangelise about your brand, products and services; instead focus on the potential benefits for your audience. How can you make their life easier, make their business run smoother or make their bottom line look better? It’s not just about knowing your audience, it’s about understanding them, their challenges and their needs.

??Know your audience by focusing not just on what they need, but what they want. Always remember that audiences may want different content formats, regardless of the platform you are using. ??For example, some social media platforms reign on image formats. Some might think, since they are images, they want limited text. But to your target audience and if you check on different industries - this may not always be the case.

To craft original and valuable content as a content developer, it's crucial to understand your audience and purpose. First, deeply know who your audience is—understand their needs, interests, and challenges. Then, align your content with these insights, offering unique perspectives, solutions, or entertainment that directly addresses their interests or problems.

??Something that a mentor taught me recently: aside from outcome goals focus on your process goals. ??Let's say, your outcome goal is to persuade readers to sign up for your newsletter. Then what are the things you need to communicate in your content to ensure that you arrive to this outcome goal? This where the process goals set in - and also guide you in creating a content that is clear, concise, and hits the right message for your audience.

Listen to feedback and integrate it into your content strategy. Experiment with diverse formats like articles, videos, or infographics to cater to different preferences. Consistently provide in-depth information, stay updated on trends, and engage with your audience actively.

I always remind myself to write what I'd love to read as an audience and that has really worked out in my favour as a creator. I'm learning to keep it simple.

To create original content, forget the word ‘rephrase’. Content writers, especially beginners, think that rephrasing the sentences that they find online on a particular topic make them an original writer. That is so not true. Understand the concept through various sources, and analyse your thoughts about that particular concept. Create a structure that would help your audience understand better. Try to fit the knowledge you learnt in the structure you created. The seasoning here is your understanding of it. Mix your thoughts and facts about it and present the dish.

Check out smaller online communities, have meaningful conversations with your audience, and read through comments on similar topics or viral posts to find further questions people have and address them in your blog. To create standout content, don't just stick to the usual research routine. Instead of only avoiding plagiarism and citing sources, explore beyond the usual places. Try to find information that hasn't gotten attention yet. Be proactive by predicting trends instead of just filling existing gaps. By mixing insights from unexpected sources, your content becomes original and fresh, and positions you as a trendsetter with a unique viewpoint.

Listen to audience feedback, diversify content formats, and stay updated with trends to consistently deliver high-quality, valuable content that stands out.

When you research, do not just go on collecting information. Although it is a good idea to provide quotations, it is a better idea to paraphrase. Moreover, never rely blindly on ChatGPT and other AI tools with respect to the development of reference lists or bibliographies. AI tools generate random reading lists; they would suggest you books that don't actually exist.

- Focus your research on value driven propositions. - Try to find a different angle or take on existing Content and Present it in your own unique style.

There are some simple and near-universal rules I’ve always tried to employ, whether I was writing a report or an article: - Whenever possible use short words, short sentences, and active voice. - Avoid jargon, padding, and adverbs. - Get right to the point. - Share what’s in it for the audience. - Be authentic and conversational. - Try making an emotional connection. The message can’t land if the audience can’t relate to the content.

Grammarly is my best friend when it comes to proofing. Even on the free version it lets you know if what you're doing is the right time of voice. Make sure you're using it for the right audience though. British English Vs American English are so different - not just down to spelling but grammar too. Tools are fabulous but I cannot overstate the importance of real people proofing and sense checking your work. Maybe you can swap projects with a friend or even ask your own community to feedback. It should be an open dialogue

Research their interests, problems, and preferences deeply. Tailor your content to directly address their needs, offering unique perspectives or solutions. Listen to their feedback and integrate it into your content. Deliver diverse formats like articles, videos, or infographics, ensuring consistency and depth in information.

In today's content-filled world, it may seem that everything worth saying has already been said. People who want to focus on originality may find this overwhelming. This troubled me too, till I observed how original, quality content is made. Focus on the needs of your audience. There's always a less explored niche, an angle, a perspective that gets ignored, and some scope for improvement. Research the current competitors, and look into what they do best and what they may have ignored. User reviews are a useful resource. Cater content directly for the identified audience/ addressing the problem. Use clear, understandable language to keep your message intact. Avoid confusion and watch out for negative connotations. Good luck. :)

There are a handful of tips that have always helped me deliver better work. First, walk away from the content for a while before editing (and that’s presuming I’ve avoided the urge to edit as a I write, which to this day I have difficulty with), to make catching errors easier. Also, reading a potential final draft aloud can uncover issues that may look alright on the page. Sometimes ears catch what eyes interpret for us. Finally, perform editing and proofreading separately. Editing for flow, coherence, and other full-range issues requires a wider view. Proofreading necessarily drills down to the character level. Some of the better ways to complete and polish your work are the simplest.

Using personal experiences in content creation adds authenticity, relatability, and a genuine touch. It helps connect with the audience on a deeper level, making the content more engaging and memorable. For example: sharing a personal anecdote about overcoming a challenge in a blog post not only illustrates resilience but also allows readers to connect emotionally, making the content more impactful and relatable.

I think a lot of times we content writers underestimate the value of a good story. Here's a test. Think about some LinkedIn posts you recently commented on. Why do you remember those particular posts? I bet at least some (if not all) included a story. I remember a client sharing on LI how her son kept leaving his wet towels on the floor. And when she questioned him about why, he said he was scared to go into the dark laundry room where she wanted them hung up. She turned that story into a post that was relevant to her business. (Her firm does youth development research.) Stories are everywhere. And they can help demonstrate complex and even not-so-complex topics. They work because we humans are hard-wired to remember & respond to stories.

Pay attention to the details. Long ago, as a very young editor for a biweekly military newspaper, I was so focused on supporting the inaugural column from a new post commander that I didn’t catch a giant misspelling in its headline (which, to put a ironic spin of stupid on it, was contained within the word ‘education’). Unaware of the disastrous first impression with thousands in the audience and damage to my own credibility until after distribuition, I encountered our unsmiling command sergeant major the next day. I immediately envisioned doing push-ups until a me-shaped depression appeared in the sidewalk I stood on. He took me aside, held up the page, and said “Just pay attention to the details, and you’ll be fine.” I never forgot.

Woah, hold up a sec! Let's take a pause and rethink our social media strategy in a Gen Z style. To make it effective, start with researching the target audience and getting real-life insights by sending direct messages and creating a Instagram reel challenge. Tell all your staffs to share it on their platforms make it look organic. To boost engagement, create content that is relatable, authentic, and meme-worthy. So either people share or comment. Don't shy away from awkwardness and use it strategically to initiate conversations and challenge the norms. Consistency is crucial, so keep the content flowing and interact with your audience. Finally, don't be afraid to be eccentric and unconventional to let your Gen Z spirit shine through.