Anyone who has ever been responsible for the day to day operation of a website can tell you that content creation is never-ending task. Even worse, coming up with fresh, dynamic content on a daily basis can fatigue even the most creative minds.
This phenomena, known as content fatigue, was the subject of a recent posting on SearchEngineJournal.com by Julia McCoy titled, How Can Content Creators Avoid Content Fatigue?. If you’re constantly struggling with content, here are a few of McCoy’s tips that can really help out.
Make Brainstorming a Habit
Brainstorming a few ideas for upcoming content is something most of only do on a monthly, or even annual, basis but that’s not necessarily the best approach.
McCoy suggests brainstorming, writing down new ideas, during regular weekly sessions. This keeps things fresh and prevents complacency from entering the process.
Use an Editorial Calendar
Weekly brainstorming sessions should not, however, be considered a replacement for a strong editorial calendar you adhere to religiously.
Having a set schedule of stories you can fall back on when you’re hit with fatigue is a blessing for any content writer.
At the same time, be sure to build in a little flexibility in your editorial calendar for breaking news.
Go Deep, Really Deep
Sometimes smaller content producers forget that they can go deep on any subject they like. This could mean anything from a long, multipart interview with your favorite poker player; to a serious analysis of statistics and probability as it relates to Australian pokies.
The key here is honing in what your core readership loves (this is where analytics and content meet) and getting deep into those subjects.
Say Something to Your Audience
Creating relevant copy on a daily basis is tough and even the best writers can fall into ruts. Unfortunately, your readers don’t care about content fatigue, they just want something interesting to read.
To stay ahead of content fatigue, put yourself in your readers’ shoes. If you wouldn’t want to read the content you’re creating, they probably won’t want to either.