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Generating traffic and getting more engaged readers require some ingredients. In this post, I would like to focus on the value of articles. You are writing articles every day or several times each week, but are they really value-added?

The strength of your articles may have a significant impact on the way your content will be distributed and on the perception readers will have from you and your blog. The circulation of your content and your authority are critical to build a wide and strong readership.

Creating quality content isn’t an easy task. In fact, as I already said before, quality is subjective. It is based on your own values, your goals, your interests and many other personal elements. However, no matter on the niche you are, there are several points that may help you to create added-value content.

The following list do not pretends to be exhaustive. However, it refers to elements that may raise your readership by influencing how readers will perceive your content and your blog and by increasing the distribution of your content.

1. Cover the main perspectives. Depending on the type of content you are publishing, covering the main perspectives may apply or not. For sure, any news or story coverage should include this element. The main goal for this point is to present the different visions behind a story. For example, some people may be very favorable to a particular project for different reasons and others may be against it for very legitimate reasons also. It is very interesting and very enriching to cover the different visions behind some news or stories. In general, people are pleased to read articles that may help them to make their own opinion.

2. Cover the impacts. Whatever you are writing about, your topic may raise some potential impacts on something or someone . It could be on you, on your readers, on the blogosphere, on the society or on the economy. Every action, every change, every movement have an impact on something. For example, Google AdSense did a change by adding their sliding/scrolling feature on text ads. In fact, this is an important change that may have a significant impact on the income of many bloggers. Covering the impacts may considerably increase the value of your content.

3. Take position. People generally enjoy reading about the opinions of others. It In fact, more than the position itself, it is the different arguments somebody will raise to support this position that will attract most of the attention. The danger behind taking position is the perception. If you take position on something, be sure to be clear. Take the time to well formulate your different arguments and to reviews them before publishing it. You may also consider asking a friend, a relative or another blogger to review your article. Taking position will add value to your content and will make it unique.

4. Include examples. In my opinion, one of the most important characteristics of good content is clarity. One possible way to make your content clearer is to add examples. Don’t hesitate to include examples to explain a point you have in mind. Sometimes, words are you not enough and example with context may really help. In fact, if you have a doubt that something is unclear, try to find an example that would be relevant to what you are trying to present. Note also, that many people are example-oriented; they better understand or confirm their understanding with an example.

5. Insert supportive schema. Another possible way to add value to your content is to add some supportive schema. As for examples, schema may help to clarify and understand what you are trying to explain. Translating words into drawings or pictures may be very helpful for many people. In fact, schema are generally demonstrating more than words could do. If possible, this is a must for every article. In my opinion, this is a strong way to easily add value to your content.

6. Insert link resources. This is something clear to me: no articles could pretend to be exhaustive and totally complete on a specific topic! You may have done the largest research or you may have read articles written by the most knowledgeable experts; you’ll never be able to put all this information on a single article. This said, the best way to help your readers in that area is to give them the references. Concretely, this means that you may share with your readers your best links by inserting them into your articles. This will allow your readers to be properly guided to the best sources of information. There will be no need to your readers to start again the same research you did. You allow them to save time and you really increase the value of your content for a better distribution.

7. Insert relevant pictures or videos. As for the schema, the pictures and the videos give a visual support to your articles. The real value of these elements will depend on their level of relevancy. The more relevant they are, the more value you will add to your content. It is, therefore, essential to make a targeted and serious research to find the best pictures or videos. I would recommend being very careful about the intellectual property related to this kind of media. Take the time to read the license carefully of what you find. You may also consider reading my article describing the steps to safely get the best of Flickr.

Don’t underestimate the power of adding value to your content. Sometimes, a small time investment may results in terrific results. Creating value-added content is essential to build a strong readership.

The content you create is the foundation of the perception people have about you and your blog. It is also the catalyst to a wide and deep distribution. In fact, it is critical to properly evaluate the process that conducts the creation of your content in order to efficiently meet your personal goals.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 8:44 am and is filed under Blogging, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.