Content Creation - In Depth Down to One Sentence

Even with the best content plan in place, sometimes your writing can feel well, a little long or boring. So how can you revamp it and keep it engaging, inspiring and interesting at the same time?

Use the same information in different formats and varying lengths.

Let me give you an example. When I wrote my second book Start with Hello, I split it into 5 parts. I wrote each part in depth with 3-4 chapters each and at the end of each part was a ‘Part Summary’, which was simply a one pager on the part so far. At the end of that, I included ‘ In a nutshell’ which was the same content distilled down to just 5 main bullet points. My point is that the same content can be written and displayed in different ways and appeal to those that prefer that format. There is a style for everyone, and particularly useful if you work in the business-to-business space where your audience is more than likely time poor during the day. Whether you are creating a new brochure, scripting a video or writing an article, consider what your audience might require.

How you post online is just the same. Another example

Part two of the book is entitled How to Start a Productive Conversation with a Stranger. I wrote full articles on this aspect for LinkedIn and other online sites, but I also used the same content in a short SlideShare presentation containing just 15 slides – a simple and visual way to share it because not everyone likes to learn by words alone.

Taking brevity a step further, I then created single images with one line of thought provoking or useful text overlaid like the example below.

In the interests of keeping this post brief and interesting, I’ll stop there. My point is not to promote a book but to show you how the same information can be used to create long, short and very short content, and still keep it engaging, inspiring and interesting for the reader. Your task is to find your best content topics and create three or four options ranging from in depth right the way through to just one sentence. Your audience will love you for it.

I am the author of three books (Wiley) on social media marketing and building relationships and you can find them all here. I am also a customer experience nut! You might like to subscribe to me for more useful updates and if you are looking for a speaker or trainer for your next event, do get in touch.