Short Guide on Creating Content

Creating content goes through the following four stages:

(1) Ideation

(2) Creation

(3) Publication

(4) Distribution

Each stage has its own significance in the overall process. I go through each of them in detail through this article.

Buckle up, get your pen and paper ready to take notes.

1) Ideation

Ideation as the name suggests include:

>> Writing down your raw ideas for your posts, articles or any other type of content.

Photo by?Kelly Sikkema?on?Unsplash

How to Go Through This Process?

Write down as many ideas as you have in a given moment. You can use these tools to record your ideas and thoughts that come to mind.

• Note-taking app
• A spreadsheet
• A word document
• A physical notebook
• Voice recorder

Whatever works for you. Make sure you record it in some way.

Note: Don't worry about the structure, grammar, spelling mistakes etc in this phase. It will only slow you down.

The purpose of this process is to transfer your ideas from your head to a paper or a digital document.

Once you have written down your ideas, refining and adding more details to them gets a lot easier.

2) Creation

In this stage, we expand on our raw ideas.

These ideas could be one sentence, a tagline, a few words or a short paragraph.

Photo by?UX Indonesia?on?Unsplash

Depending on the type of content and topic, this part can include:

(1)

— Researching

— Fact-checking

— Adjusting these elements

↓

→ Tone

→ Clarity

→ Flow of information

(2)

— Deleting unnecessary and filler words

— Removing redundant words & information

— Breaking down text into smaller chunks

(3)

— Adding graphics and multi-media

— Including links to external resources

— Adding references, shoutouts, disclaimer

— A call to action for the reader (CTA)

A call to action means what action do you want the reader to take.

Examples include:

? Subscribe to my newsletter

? Buy my course

? Check out my website

? Follow my hashtag

etc.

Photo by?Kaitlyn Baker?on?Unsplash

NOTE:

This process will vary from person to person. It also depends on whether you are posting for yourself or a company.

Summary:

This stage is heavily focused on expanding your main idea(s) and editing.

3) Publication

When you are done with the hard work (writing and editing), it's time to get your content ready for publishing.

Photo by?Startup Stock Photos?from?Pexels

This can include the following things:

(1) REVISION

Making any last-minute adjustments. These can be planned or unplanned.

(2) STRUCTURE

This includes designing and applying the right layout to display your content.

This will be different based on the media channel and platform you will be using.

The content shows differently on different platforms.

For example

Content on LinkedIn vs content on Twitter vs content on YouTube

Content on a website vs content on a newsletter

(3) READABILITY

Readability means how easy your content is to read.

When you run your content through any of these tools you will get a readability score.

A lower readability score means your content is easy to read and understand, while a higher score means it is harder to read and comprehend.

Write at lower levels i.e., ideally between 5 and 8. This will make it easier for your readers to read and understand your content.

Readability tools you can use:

1) Grammarly

2) Hemingway Editor

3) Microsoft Word

4) Webfx Readability Test

(4) FORMATTING

This includes arranging and rearranging the content to optimise it for readability and easy access.

Additionally, you can include testing different formats and check how they show up on different devices

This takes additional time but it ensures your content is easy to scan, skim, and read.

NOTE:

Changes to the format will depend on which media channel you use most of the time and how it displays content on different devices.

Examples of devices:

Mobiles, tablets, desktops, smart TVs etc.

(5) WORD COUNT

Check the length of your content and ensure it has the right balance.

This can include adding and deleting words, phrases, sentences and even paragraphs.

You can divide one big piece of content into multiple threads.

Let's say you have a 6,000 words article, a good way to promote that content would be to divide it into four pieces.

For example:

Part 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the buyer's journey.

(6) TITLES, SUBTITLES, HEADINGS and SIGNPOSTS

Adding titles, subtitles, headings, and signposts makes it easier for people to skim and scan.

This means they can easily find the information they are looking for.

People read differently on the web.

They don't read for pleasure so make it easy for them to consume your content.

Avoid big walls of text. Use plenty of spacing to break down the content.

(7) GRAMMAR

This step includes checking for

• grammatical accuracy
• fixing errors
• removing typos

(8) ACRONYMS

If you have any acronyms and jargon in your content:

? Explain them clearly

? Take out the guesswork

Jargons

Jargons refer to those words, terms, and statements that are only understood by a few specific people.

e.g., People in IT or Marketing speaking their industry lingos.

This becomes a problem if your audience (readers) are not familiar with those terms.

As a writer, simplify the language in your content for your audience. This doesn't mean dumbing down but rather making it easy and to the point.

Jargon defined by Grammarly

Source: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-overcome-plain-language

Acronyms

Acronyms refer to the short words that are formed by using the initial letters of the words.

Some examples include:

? (1) SEO: Search Engine Optimisation

? (2) UX: User Experience

? (3) IT: Information Technology

etc.

While you know these acronyms, your readers might not.

Explain them at least once in your piece of content so they don't have to guess what they mean.

(9) LINKING

This step includes adding the links to the previous posts, articles, or any other form of published media.

These can be your own or someone else.

For example:

? Slideshare presentations

? YouTube videos

? Podcast episodes

? Social Media posts

? Blog posts

etc.

Why do this?

This helps illustrate

• your points
• reinforce certain ideas
• show linkage to the current topic(s)
• add supplementary information

(10) BRIEF SUMMARY

Add a quick summary of the content to help your readers remember the key points.

Even if they forget most of the things they just read, reading a quick summary will help them remember the key points.

This could be:

• one paragraph
• a few sentences
• a half-page

depending on the size and nature of the content.

(11) RESOURCES

When you create content, there comes a time when you need to include resources. These resources can be yours or from the web.

These could be either mentioned in your content or they may be for further reading.

e.g., adding links to readability tools

(12) SCHEDULING

If you are thinking about posting in advance or at a set time, then you will need to use a scheduling tool. You can either use a free tool or paid one for improved features.

NOTE:

(1) Use the list as a guideline. Not everything will apply to your content publishing process.

(2) For some of you, "Publication" and "Distribution" may be one process instead of two. I have explained this further at the end of this article.

4) Distribution

This includes publishing, sharing, and promoting your content. You will need distribution channels to promote your content.

Without it, you will not reach an audience to consume your content.

Distribution channels include:

1. Owned media
2. Earned and shared media
3. Paid media

(1). OWNED MEDIA

You own them and have total control over them.

Examples:

? Websites

? Blogs

? Newsletters

? Apps

This media is great as you are not affected by algorithms.

Use other media channels to drive people towards the channels you own.

Examples: Newsletter, blog, website, app, forum, etc.

(2). EARNED and SHARED MEDIA

You don't own and control them. The owner of the platform controls it and can remove your content.

This gives you free coverage for your content.

Earned Media

Earned media includes mentions of your content by people on their:

• Blogs
• Websites
• TV
• Podcasts
• Social media

This happens when someone finds your content valuable and then shares it on their media channels.

Think of it as media "Karma".

If you share valuable information and knowledge, you will reap earned media over time.

This is where your long term efforts pay off for putting out helpful content.

Examples include:

? Review websites

? Mentions on forums, websites, blogposts

? Mentions by Media (Newspaper, TV and Radio channels)

Shared Media

As the name suggests, here people will share your content on their social media profiles and company pages.

This is great as you get additional reach and visibility for FREE.

This becomes important when someone with a large following shares your content.

WHY?

Because it helps you get greater visibility and increases the reach of your content.

To get more social media shares, ensure that your content is relevant and helpful for your target audience (people you want to serve/ideal customers).

Photo by?Adem AY?on?Unsplash

Examples include:

? Twitter

? Facebook

? LinkedIn

? Pinterest

? Quora

? Instagram

? YouTube

? Tiktok

etc.

(3). PAID MEDIA

You don't own them. They are owned and controlled by advertisers. You pay a fee to promote your content using this media channel.

Examples include:

Ads and promoted content on different media channels. It can be any of the following major media:

? LinkedIn

? Google

? Facebook

? Twitter

? TV channels

? Newspapers

etc.

WHY CONTENT DISTRIBUTION IS IMPORTANT?

? (1) To get a return on investments (ROI) on content production efforts

? (2) Increase the reach of your content

? (3) Get more eyes on your content

If you are posting on sites like Medium, SlideShare, YouTube etc, use them to promote and distribute your content.

You can use your website, blog, or newsletter as well for this purpose.

You can repurpose your content for different media channels and get more returns from your content production efforts.

WHAT IS MY CONTENT CREATION PROCESS LIKE?

You may be wondering, what process do I follow for creating content?

Right now, I don't have a blog, website, or newsletter. I might get them in the future.

This means when I create content, "Publication" and "Distribution" become one part. At the moment, I am only publishing and distributing my content on LinkedIn.

WHY?

Because I am only posting and promoting my content on LinkedIn. You might fall into this category as well.

Published on 02/11/2021

Last Updated: 12: 20 AM (AEST) on 02/12/2021