I feel like one of the most intimidating things about running a blog is coming up with content that your readers actually find valuable. Everyone once in a while I find myself second guessing whether or not the things I post are redundant and share-worthy. I decided to come up with a list of 19 ways to create shareable content so I can continue providing my readers with posts they actually are about.
Planning Content
1. Organize Content Ideas through Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft OneNote really came through for me when I was coming up with content for Blogademics. It is a digital note taking app that can link to all of your devices. I feel good knowing I can add/edit/update content on the go that I started planning on my computer. It literally gives me the ability to carry my ideas with me everyone. Here’s a quick break down of how it works. You can set up different notebooks. My current notebooks are Maya Elious, BRNDWCH and Blogademics. Each notebook allows you to create a section. The section is kind of like old school separators that we used in our binders. Each section allows you to create pages where you keep all your notes. Oh, yeah… You can assign different colors to different notebooks and sections. Mine looks something like this.
2. Create and maintain an editorial calendar
Once you come with great content ideas for your blog, use an editorial calendar to plan everything out. An editorial calendar helps you visualize your content publishing on a calendar-like interface. I use CoSchedule because not only can I schedule out new posts, but I can schedule out old posts through my social media accounts. Here’s what two weeks of last month’s calendar looked like.
3. Host as “ask me anything event” via ask.fm
People absolutely love brain picking. Set up an ask.fm account to give your readers a platform to ask you anything they want – publicly or anonymously. Ask.fm is a great way to determine what your readers are most intrigued about or what they struggle with most. Use the questions as a way to generate excellent content that they will find useful.
4. Host or join a Twitter chat
Twitter chats are basically a big conversation amongst a Twitter community. Recently my two favorite Twitter chats have been #BGBChat by @BrownGirlBloggers of BrownGirlBloggers.com and #CreateLounge by by @Kayla_Hollatz of KaylaHollatz.com
[Tweet “Look for me on Tuesday at 8:30 PM EST during #BGBChat by @BrownGirlBloggers”]
[Tweet “Look for me on Wednesday at 7:00 PM CST during #Createlounge by @Kayla_Hollatz”]
Here are 6 tips to participating in a Twitter chat
5. Survey your audience
On the reverse side of having your readers ask you questions via ask.fm, you should ask your readers questions. Put together a mini survey to learn more about who they are, and what they want from you. Putting together a survey through your blog or newsletter is a good way to determine their demographics, how you’ve helped them, what they want to see from you, and more.
Writing Content
6. Come up with at least 5 working titles/headlines
When you share your post more than once, you don’t want to seem robotic and repetitive. Plus, your first headline may not be as catchy as you think so finding 5-7 different creative ways to say “5 reasons you should eat peanut butter” will increase your chances of readers actually clicking on your shared link. For example, another headline option could be “5 benefits to incorporating peanut butter in your diet”.
7. Keep a dictionary + thesaurus handy
Unfortunately describing everything as “kick-ass” or “awesome sauce” gets played out. Using a thesaurus can help you be more creative with your descriptive words. While using a dictionary and thesaurus is beneficial, do your best to still keep things in layman terms for your readers. Ironically, I just tried to spell “layman” like “lamen”. Thank you for catching that, Google Chrome dictionary.
8. Combine blog posts to create an eBook
Really awesome eBooks are usually just a collection of excellent content pieced together in a way that makes sense for the readers. A good place to start is by combining a blog series you have on your website to transform into an eBook.
9. Break down big ideas into a series
The cool thing about having a series (besides the fact that you can easily turn it into an eBook) is that it builds anticipation. A series creates a level of expectancy of what will be coming up next.
10. Interview people in your industry
Doing interviews with people in your industry allows you to share a different perspective on your blog of current trends. Two of my favorite interview series are #HerStory by Alisha Nicole and OlyviaWorks by Erika Madden of Olyvia.co.
11. Have theme blogging days
Theme blogging days are great to help you with consistency. For example: Monday is how-to post, Tuesday is outfit post, Wednesday free printable, etc. Don’t feel pressured to write 5 days a week, but creating a theme for each day alleviates any confusion about “what should I write about today”?
12. Create a series based on the month’s theme
Use the national calendar holiday website to find out what the month represents. For example: August is National Romance month. You can do a weekly blog post centered around romance.
Designing Content
13. Create “pinnable” images for your blog
“Pinnable” images are images that people will post on Pinterest that will link back to your blog. Your Pinterest images should have quality photos and/or text with your website’s URL at the bottom. Regina from ByRegina.com has reeeeeally good example of share-worthy Pinterest graphics. If you don’t know how to use Photoshop, I recommend making your graphics for free in Canva or PicMonkey. If you just want to make some cute quotes, I also recommend Quozio. I got into the habit of making my graphics square because I didn’t utilize Pinterest when I first started by blog, but I think rectangular graphics are more effective. Make your pin graphic 736 px in width.
14. Create CTAs
CTA stands for Call-To-Action. This basically means you are creating a button (or a linkable graphic that appears to be a button) that encourages your reader to take action.
Here’s an example of a CTA:
15. Use imagery to break up text heavy posts
Posts that have a lot of text can be hard to follow. Use bold headings, bulleting systems and images to break up the text. It makes it easier for your readers to digest everything. Imagine if this entire post was written without any numbering systems, graphics or bold headings? One of the first things people do before reading a blog post is scrolling through it to look for key points. Make relevant graphics that highlight the key points of your blog post.
16. Add text overlays with Apps
I like that I can add text to photos without having to get on a computer. I used the InstaCollage Free app for a while. I still use it, but I also really like the Word Swag app. It’s $3.99 in the iTunes App Store. It gives you cool variations to display your image in the background and your text. You can also import your logo to go at the bottom of the graphic.
17. Find quality photos w/ free stock photos
I have a membership with BigStockPhoto.com, but I also use free stock images from Unsplash, StokPic, and PicJumbo.
18. Create recognizable social media designs
Create recognizable graphics for your social media posts to enhance brand recognition. Here are 3 tips to developing a strong visual brand.
19. Make GIF images
You can use a free GIF image generator at GifMaker. I’ve used them to make ads for companies, but they’re also a fun way to make graphics for your site or newsletter.
Main takeaway? People want quality content. That means brainstorming a relevant topic, strategizing when you’ll post it, and it making it look nice for your readers. It’s a process, but all excellent blogs and businesses have one. How do you create shareable content?
Amazing post, thanks for all the tips!!
Thank you, Abbie!
I really enjoy reading your blog Maya! You provide great tips and resources many could benefit from. I just recently started to word my twitter shared posts by using different words and descriptives (sp) each time. Makes a world of difference. All the best!
xo,
Jewel
Thank you, Jewel! I appreciate your comment! Smart tactic to word your posts differently. Love it! 🙂
Really good stuff. Thanks for sharing.
http://www.aQuestToFlourish.com
Thank you, Nancy!
These are some really helpful tips that I’m looking forward to using! Especially the idea of breaking down a big-idea blog post into a series. I have one topic in particular that I’ve been waiting to write about because it deserves more that just one post and now I think I know what to do with it! Thank you!
–Mel // http://www.MAREVOLI.com
Thanks so awesome, Mel! I’m looking forward to reading it!
As usual, this was a great post, Maya! I’m all about using a thesaurus when writing blog posts. P.S. Thanks for sharing my BGB post. ‘Preciate it.
Drea
thedreadaily.com
Thank you, Drea! Loved your post, glad to share it!
Such smart tips, Maya. I love them all! Thank you for giving a shout out to Olyvia Works, too!
Thanks, Erika! Of course! I never get tired of seeing businesswoman share their story!
Thank you for the #createlounge shout out, Maya! You rock! This was a great post full of actionable tips. Way to go!
Thanks, Kayla! No problem. <3 I love how you've gathered a group of creatives together!
Seriously this is the greatest thing I’ve read about blogging in a long time. Super helpful and a lot of good hints and tips. Great, great post! 🙂
Kalee | http://www.voyaguerkalee.com
Thank you so much, Kalee!
Thank you, Kalee! I’m so glad you liked the post. I hope you implement some of the tips! 🙂
Where has your site been all my blogging life. i so appreciate your level of detail and content. A new favorite resource. thanks 😉
HAHA, Cassandre! You are too funny! I’m so glad you find my posts to helpful! Thank you for your comment. 🙂
Wow this was such a great article! Saving it to refer to again later. I particularly loved your point about coming up with at least 5 working titles/headlines… I struggle with this when trying to promote blog posts and I love the idea of coming up with this formally. I do wonder: Do you write all of our blog posts out in One Note or do you use it more for idea capturing or outlining? I’m struggling to come up with a good system for (a) capturing ideas, (b) writing out the content not on my CMS, and (c) databasing those posts. Would love to hear how you do it!
Hi, Megan! Thank you for your comment and question! I use One Note for notes and outlining ideas. I write out full content in a Word Document or sometimes I’ll put it in the drafts of my Dashboard to remember to write it. I have a folder called “blog posts” on my computer where I have the Word Doc version of the post just in case. You can also see if your hosting company has automatic database backup in case something happened to your site. There’s also an automatic backup plugin called UpdraftPlus. You would need to have somewhere to save it. I save my backups to a private folder in my DropBox. Hope this helps!
Hi Maya! I found you via The Nectar Collective and love your blog. I’m in a place in my blog-business where i’m getting ready to re-launch and i’m having a style crisis. I write professionally and cannot – for the life of me – get away from “corporate writing”. I want to have a voice and be fun (because i’m a fun person!) but it’s so hard to write that way. Do you have any tips? In the mean time, I’ll keep reading around your blog for inspiration. Can’t wait to hear from you! xo. Jessika
Hi, Jessika! Thank you so much for your comment! Getting stuck into speaking “corporate” is something I had a huge problem with starting out. My suggestion is to be comfortable with your authenticity. When I was speaking “corporate” and not being myself, I wasn’t able to attract the awesome readers that I have today. Think about the readers you want hanging out on your blog and how you would speak to them in real life. Reading Regina’s blog (byRegina.com) really helped me become more comfortable with using my voice when I saw how comfortable she was being herself. Hope this helps!
Sorry I’m so late seeing this, Jessika! Read people’s blogs who use their voice authentically. It’ll make you feel more comfortable as you write your own posts! The more you write, the more natural using your voice will become.
Hello and love your article “19 Tips + Tricks For Planning + Creating Shareable Content”. Some of the things I found myself doing lately (don’t know if you do the same)……but is that I am the type of person who loves to find links that I can use to help bring my “brand” into fruition or at the same time making it better.
Hey Maya! I learned so much from this post. You shared so many amazing resources, such as gifmaker, national day calendar, and Quozio, which I will definitely be using for my blog. I am starting a natural lifestyle blog and I am working on coming up with a really alluring and irresistible lead magnet, and I know the tools you have shared here are going to help me create it. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your wisdom. I love your blog and appreciate your work.
Amazing post – thank your for all your ideas! Love from Poland!
Hi! I just discovered your blog. I think what you said about Pinterest is what gets me. I visit a lot of blogs that don’t have a pinnable image. I get really disappointed because a lot of the information I read from business blogs are so valuable I feel compelled to share them. It doesn’t matter if you believe your ideal audience is on Pinterest or not, someone like me might want to Pin an informative blog post. So, don’t skip on those.