Excellent content
I was inspired by this quote:
"Every piece of your content should be excellent, enough that customers are compelled to share it." - Joe Pulizzi
So I made a list of over 60 things to check while creating my content.
Maybe you'll find it useful! 👇
Here is the Content checklist!
Don't forget to
- simplify your ideas, so it is accessible and transparent for your audience!
- share your content across relevant websites!
- match your headings with the rest of your content!
- estimate the time and cost of your content creation to be within your budget!
- watch your distributed content for plagiarizers!
- format your written content! At least check paragraphs, space, (sub)headings!
- optimize your media for load time while preserving high enough fidelity!
- check out the content of your competitors! (Though, not copy it, but up your game and be inspired!)
- schedule time in your calendar in case of an emergency (so you can hit your deadlines)!
- monitor the relevance of your published content (and update accordingly)!
- remember that "less is more!" E.g., don't overload your audience with too many images or videos.
- define your content's key performance indicators (KPI's)!
- check that you focus all content on your audience's interests!
- make sure your content meets the expectation of you (plus your KPI's) and your audience!
- respond to feedback, comments, inquiries, and questions your audience has!
- make sure a large part of your audience is interested in the content you create!
- check if your media violates copyrights! Make sure to credit sources where needed!
- optimize your media! They should be of high enough quality for at least 5+ years!
- regularly check if your audience takes actions you want them to, like sharing, liking, tweeting, subscribing, and commenting on it!
- make your media responsive to all modern devices!
- align your content with the style of your business!
- link out to authoritative sources! Google loves this!
- refrain from going overboard with links in your content! Too much can distract.
- make sure your content is structured in a form that helps your audience to take action!
- keep your headings short!
- surprise your audience from time to time! All love novel insights, data, and information.
- distribute your content!
- have clear share buttons and call to actions (CTA's) on your channels!
- arrange share/like buttons so that it is easy to see on all devices!
- add buttons that help visitors to your content to subscribe to your channels!
- add a hook at the beginning of your content and a call to action (CTA) at the end!
- keep yourself from posting too much during the holidays! (Spend time with your own family/friends. Also, some people take offense to people 'working' on those days.)
- post during high volume activity moments!
- set a sustainable publishing schedule!
- test your content in multiple browsers (at least Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Edge)!
- add your meta descriptions!
- check if your content contains files/media that are unable to load (due to size or format)!
- check if your idea is something that your audience can establish a connection with!
- attract and excite!
- to send your articles, posts, videos, any content really, to an authoritative channel/community related to your audience!
- set up monitoring of metrics for your content!
- do (at least a little bit of) keyword research for your content!
- check your content (incl. meta and headings) on typos, grammar, and spelling!
- make sure your content is more educational, inspirational, or entertaining than that of most competitors!
- ask for feedback from content consumers that are not your co-workers!
- show your content to a few of your target audience for comments/feedback!
- send teasers, freebies, and previews to communities and channels where your audience congregates!
- ask influencers for reviews of your more significant content pieces!
- check if you have some 'exclusivity' in or around your content(channels)!
- make sure your content + channels + style + media are geared towards building trust!
- check your content for significant keywords!
- deliver on promises you make in the sign-up flow (of your newsletters)!
- ignite emotion in your audience with stories in your content!
- notice that different types of content lend themselves to longer or shorter pieces!
- reply/like to everyone who interacted with your content in a significant way (sharing, commenting)!
- point out the overall story of your content! Have something more significant to share than one-offs.
- manage your content consumer's expectations! Bring the headings and body of your content into alignment.
- recommend your pieces to different groups and communities who may be interested!
- keep a delicate balance between promotional content and promotion/ad-free content!
- be clear about what content is made by you and what you outsourced! Take responsibility either way.
- collect data about the content you create! And update it regularly.
- make it easy for search engines and aggregators to find your content!
- look back on the whole process of a piece of content, from inception to analytics!
- make sure your primary channel can handle the type of content you produce!