4 Tips for Creating Relevant Content

Plenty of times, we’ve talked about content relevance being a key factor in achieving great open rates and consistent email deliverability. But just how do you build that relevance?

1. Know your audience.

Know who you want to talk with and ensure that your audience is the same audience that’s already on your website and engaging with your brand. Know their interests and what types of information they’re seeking — then write your content to accommodate those wants and needs combined with a dash of the information your brand needs to share.

2. Write for quality. Not quantity.

Readers can quickly identify the difference between quality content and useless information. Putting the necessary time into writing well-supported, clear content is well worth the investment. Users are significantly more likely to engage with content that is well thought out and conveys a strong message over content that is haphazardly thrown together with cliche phrases, vague data and uninspired claims.

While regularly producing content in the form of a blog or newsletter can be an excellent, consistent touchpoint for your audience — releasing poorly produced content can reflect equally as poorly on your brand. Instead of quantity – aim to release a manageable number of quality posts that will help you to build trust, drive interest and position your brand as an expert.

3. Keep it original.

While the concept of writing original content seems straightforward enough — many would be shocked by the amount of plagiarism across the web. The Internet is full of great pieces of content and even more full of not-so-great ones. All too often, content is stolen and repurposed across many sites — but there’s not much benefit to it. Generally, the practice lacks creativity and, because your users may have already seen the content before, it’s uninteresting. In most cases, it’s going to be best to release something original that hasn’t been shared in other corners of the web. This will ensure you get the best bang for your buck as far as SEO and engagement go. If you do choose to repost content, do so with the permission of the original author. It’s also a good practice to use a “this post originally appeared on” link to give credit to the original author and offer them the benefit of a referral link.

4. Change up your inspiration.

To avoid running dry on ideas or struggling to create something out of the ordinary, explore multiple sources for inspiration. Try these outlets for content ideas-made-easy:

• Search for your topic on Reddit. See if there is a discussion to which you can provide an expert opinion. Write your content as if you’re responding to the discussion. Bonus: you can post a link from the thread to your page after you’ve published your content.
• See what hot topics are in the news related to brand. Use search engines and industry news publications to do some digging.
• Ask your colleagues about your topic. Keep notes on the discussion to start building your post, but be sure to give credit where it’s due for any original thoughts or quotes.
• Search message boards and forums for questions that others are asking. Write your content as if you are answering that question.

Developing great content does take a lot of effort, but the payoff is always worth it in the way that it reflects on you as an author and the brand you represent.