Recently, one of the biggest security breaches in Internet history occurred, affecting over two-thirds of the Internet. No one saw this coming and several large companies were at the front of those who were vulnerable. It was a scary moment waking up to the biggest security breach in history and learning that almost every website you used was in trouble wasn’t it? People desperately started searching for what to do and which sites to change their passwords for, sites scrambled about trying to implement a patch or find out if they’d even been breached, and news agencies went crazy with the story. Now that things have calmed down and you have, hopefully, changed most of your passwords, it is time to think about what can be done to repair any damages you may have faced or what this could mean for the future of your business.
I Keep Hearing “Heartbleed,” What Is It?
The Heartbleed bug attacks sites that utilize Open SSL for their site security. The scary thing is the majority of popular websites use SSL! This is why this bug affected over two-thirds of websites. Though, it is important to note only websites that use Open SSL are vulnerable, any other sites that use different formats of SSL are safe. What is this, you ask? SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, which is that handy little lock at the front of many web addresses. When you see that, you believe everything is secure. This bug opens up all private information from an Open SSL site to the Heartbleed hacker and anyone else who knows how to use it. It is basically an open backdoor that says, “Come and look at all of my information! You can have it if you want!”
How Does This Affect My Personal Facebook Time?
The only way this affects your personal Internet usage is that your private information has been vulnerable for a very long time. This is scary and upsetting, but you can fix any future views on your private info by simply changing your password. This goes for any other social sites you’ve used such as Twitter and Instagram. Mashable released a great list of companies and websites that were breached by Heartbleed and that installed patches to their systems. Before changing your password though, make sure the site has updated their security with the necessary patch. Again, Mashable lists companies that have done this.
What About My Business – Should I Be Worried?
You should take as many precautions as possible when it comes to the Heartbleed bug. Your business may or may not be affected by it, but it is wise to check. Steve Peterson over at Social Media Today said that while his online shop wasn’t affected he still had to double check. He didn’t want to operate his shop if it was vulnerable because he wanted to keep his clientele safe. Conversely, he has made sure that before purchasing items online, he tests each site to be safe with a handy program. Test your online store to make sure you are safe, if not, give your provider a call to learn what steps they are taking and how much they will amp up security.
Tips On How You Can Stay Secure and Recover From This Breach
We are sure you are wondering what you can do to recover and how you can best protect yourself and business from any future breaches. Sadly, it is difficult to completely protect your sites from breaches like this but there are many things you can do to make it difficult for anyone to gain access to your personal information.
1. Change Passwords Frequently. We know this is a pain to do! However, changing your passwords frequently is just a good security practice. If you don’t want to do this for your personal sites, at least do it for your business. You want to make sure your client’s information is secure as best as possible.
2. Beware of Scams. Many sites and independent workers are releasing new programs that will detect if there is a bug or will detect if you have a vulnerability, unfortunately this is a prime moment for scammers and hackers. Make sure you research any company before you download software and try to always download software from a reputable source. If you don’t, you may be in for a nasty surprise.
3. Don’t Ignore Your Phone. While Apple products weren’t affected, many Androids have been. Make sure you upgrade your phone to the latest software updates. You can find out if your Android is vulnerable by seeing if your system is the 4.1.1 Jelly Bean or you can download an Android app to test vulnerability. In addition, if you happened to use Google Chrome on your iPhone, it may be wise to update your Chrome app and change all passwords you used on your phone. While iPhones weren’t affected, it is a good idea to be extra prepared.
4. Enable a Two-Step Verification System. Most sites have the ability for you to utilize a two-step verification system to keep your system from being hacked. Many people never used this, as they didn’t fear being hacked but with the Heartbleed bug out there, you should consider the two-step system. It can be a pain, but would you rather go through one extra step or risk having all private documentation available to a hacker?
5. Keep Checking Lists To Learn More. Keep an eye on the various lists being released by websites showing which sites have been affected. In the first week of the virus, we learned of many major corporations but we are learning about more that have been affected since that first week, as well. DigitalTrends.com has a comprehensive list if you want to learn more.
In Closing: Constant Vigilance!
The Heartbleed virus has made everyone jumpy when it comes to Internet security. If you take the precautions listed above and follow all directions from services you use, you will be able to secure your private information, as well as your client’s private information. This will help you in the future if another security breach such as this occurs. Make sure you are in the habit of constant vigilance and security!
Back in the day, your homepage was your most important asset. It was the first thing visitors saw and it was what drove traffic to your business. You spent time and a lot of money constructing that perfect homepage. But, now research is saying that homepages are becoming obsolete and that single piece on the web is doing less and less for your business.
Where This is Coming From
Studies have shown that homepage traffic is on a steady and dramatic decline. As an example, NYTimes.com had less than half of their visits start on their homepage. The Wall St. Journal had 40 percent. Yahoo saw a drop too, hovering at about 24 percent for 2012, according to the National Law Review.
How This Impacts Businesses and Service Professionals
The study was focused on law firms — a group that focuses on their homepage to bring in more traffic and define their business services. So what was the result?
Only 39 percent of the traffic law firms received was from the homepage.
There is a 17 percent decrease in homepage traffic from 2012.
So What is Going On?
While these law firms are seeing a heavy decline in the number of visits to their homepage, they are still getting a lot of page views. But, these views are coming in through sideways surfing. That means that people are finding their site via other pages on the web and visiting the law firm. The two things that are increasing the sideways surfing not just for law firms, but for all professional services are social media and content marketing.
So My Homepage is Useless Then?
No, never. A homepage is still important for your website and your brand. Just because the number of visitors you’re getting aren’t through the front door doesn’t mean you should throw out the homepage or ignore it all together. People who sideways surf do eventually make their way to your homepage, so you still need to put some effort into that. The homepage is also the most tracked page you’ll ever have on your website. So ignoring it means you could be missing traffic in the future.
But, with these numbers on the decline, it’s time to see where all of the traffic is coming from and how using that sideways surfing to your advantage could increase your website’s traffic.
It’s All About the Blog
Blogs are heavy hitters when it comes to traffic these days. Every blog you post is an opportunity for someone to find your site. It acts like a landing page and when visitors see it, they can be compelled to stay on your site and learn more. Look at your blogs as landing pages. They are there to attract and convert people into customers. If you have 20 blogs posted on your site, you now have 20 landing pages that give internet users another way to find your site. If you have 200 or more, you have even more opportunities for people to find you. Imagine the possibilities!
Wait, before you go out and write 200 blogs, you need to realize that a blog isn’t an automatic traffic lifter. You have to use your blog right and market it effectively to really harness the power of these potential landing pages.
Create a Style and Tone That Matches Your Business
The content you put on your blog ultimately determines the personality you portray to your readers. If you are a professional service provider, getting cheeky and cute in your blogs doesn’t really speak to your professionalism, now does it? But, that also doesn’t mean you need to be so technical and boring that you put the readers to sleep either. Strike a balance between what you do and your own personality. Search Engine Journal recommends really speaking to the reader as if they are a friend or family member. This technique makes it a little easier to write in a conversational style. So, if you are writing on law topics — say the effects of a DUI — discuss those effects as if you were telling your niece or brother.
The audience you’re writing for is the only concern here. You know your ideal client or customer — including their age, gender, income, etc. — so you have to write something that appeals to them. Before you write any blog posts, identify your style and tone. It is crucial that you keep that same style and tone throughout your content. If you’re flopping back and forth, readers will see the inconsistencies and never know what to expect from you in the future — and that’s not a good thing.
Post Consistently
Now, we have told you that 200 blogs is a great way to generate more traffic, because that is 200 ways in to your website. But, don’t you dare go and post 200 blogs today. Flogging the system won’t get your blog and website anywhere. You need to set up a content schedule first. This outlines what topics you’ll cover, how you will cover them and most importantly, when you will write them.
The jury is out on how many blog posts a person should release each week or month. While some say you should post consistently each day, others say a blog post per week is just fine. Daily posts do, however, help you get into the groove of writing and help set you up for a consistent routine. When you post daily, your readers know that they can log in or expect an email update from your website on a daily basis. That means your readers will keep coming back for more, because they know there is always a blog post there to see.
But, daily posting also has its downsides. It is easy to burn out or run out of topics when you post 7 days a week. Also, when you post daily, your readers could burnout as well. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with a constant flow of informant hitting them daily. They might take a few days off just to digest everything they have read so far, and when readers stop visiting, the chances of them not coming back in the future increase too.
Okay, So How Often Do I Post? The key isn’t how many blogs per week or month — it is just keeping it consistent. If you are going to post a blog every single day, then keep doing so. You don’t want your readers to come back only to realize you aren’t keeping up with the schedule. You need to be consistent and predictable when it comes to your blogging schedule. So, sit down and really think about how often you want to post and what you want to commit to before you start doing it. If you can’t keep up with daily posting, but want to keep offering daily tidbits, you might want to look into outsourcing to keep it moving.
Be Engaging, Playful and Keep Readers Interested
No matter how often you blog, it can be hard to keep your readers engaged. But, engagement is crucial if you want people to stick around on your blog and website long enough to see what else you have to offer. Some ways to engage your readers could include:
Using catchy, sometimes even controversial headlines. This makes people stop and think “did he really just go there?”
Use a lot of visuals. There is nothing worse than a wall of text to read — or should we say nothing more boring. You need to break up the text with visuals that correlate with the text. Use video, Infographic, anything colorful and pretty to help make it a little easier to read.
Add a poll or open up a debate. This is a great way to get more comments on your blog too!
Market Your Blog and Drive More Traffic
Now that you know what to do with your blog to increase your website’s traffic, now it is time to get more traffic to your blog. Yes, the more posts you have the more likely search engines will find and recommend your site, but that doesn’t mean you need to skip marketing those blogs. Mashable has some great, Google-friendly tips for increasing traffic to your website the right way.
Use Realistic, Long Tail Keywords – While keywords aren’t as important, long tail keywords are the things people are searching for. Mashabe recommends using a tool called HitTail, which helps you create long tail keywords.
Stick With It – Your blog and your website isn’t going to get instant traffic overnight, even if you have 200 or more blog posts out there. The longer you stick with it and continue to deliver excellent content, the more traffic you will get to your website. Keep it going for a few months — some experts even say it could take up to a year to get significant traffic numbers.
Optimize – Use keywords and optimize the headers and body of your blogs.
Use Links – Ethical link building is still a great way to increase traffic to your website. Link to high-quality vendors and other blogs in your niche. Just try to not link to the competition — if they have a better site you might have just handed them your next customer.
Offer Value – Your blog is a place people are going free advice, so give it to them. Don’t be cryptic or give them a little bit and then follow up with requiring them to hire you to hear more – that won’t get you anywhere. Offer real value and information in every single post you put out.
Don’t Ignore Social Media –Promote every single blog post that you have on social media like LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook. These are great ways to increase your traffic and boost your brand recognition.
Quality, Quality, Quality – If your content is riddle with typos, grammatical errors or spelling issues, people aren’t going to take you seriously. Can you blame them? Quality is key when creating blog content. And, when you have high-quality posts, Google will reward you.
Encourage Experts to Post on Your Blog – Yes, you are an expert in your field, but there are other experts out there too. For example, if you have a law blog, why not have a featured guest post from a former attorney, judge or someone in the same industry that can offer insight and give your readers something else to take away?
So What Have We Learned Today?
You’ve learned a lot today about how your blog can complement your website. But, let’s do a quick summary to make sure you take it all home.
Homepages aren’t as important. Yes, but remember they still matter. While the traffic on your homepage might be decreasing, that doesn’t mean people won’t see your homepage. You still need quality content on your homepage for those that find it.
Blogs are driving more traffic to your website. Your blogs are individual landing pages and the more you have, the more likely people are to find your site.
Spend time writing the blogs you publish. Don’t just throw up 100 blog posts and hope for the best. Put some time and effort into your blogs. You want high quality, relevant posts that really speak to your target audience and keep them engaged.
Market your blog the right way. There’s no point in using blogs to increase your website traffic if people take one look at your blogs and run. Take your time making something people want to come back and read again.
Having a great blog is a start for increasing your site’s traffic. It can help make your website viral, promote brand awareness, and most importantly, help your organization grow. Harness the power of your blog and get posting — you might be surprised at how much more traffic you receive just by posting a blog a week.
Grammar Nazis: you have to love them, or hate them. When it comes to grammar phrases, clauses, conjunctions, and all that good stuff, this could bring images of nightmarish English teachers peering over a frosted set of glass to your mind. (However, if you’re one of these people, then it will probably make you think of rainbows and Skittles.)
One phrase in the Grammar Nazi’s book that any typical layman would probably not understand is just what we’re going to talk about today: “internal cliffhangers.” Just what does this curious phrase mean?
Let’s take a look at internal cliffhangers with those rascally Supernatural hunters Sam and Dean Winchester as our guides.
Cliffhangers: Dean Might Be Going To Hell
You already know what a cliffhanger is, especially if you are an avid TV watcher. Supernatural uses major cliffhangers throughout the show and always at the season finale. Is Dean or Sam going to hell? Are they getting out? This is a cliffhanger on the macro level; something we are very familiar with in movies, TV, and books but let’s take a look at the micro level of cliffhangers. These handy tools keep audiences reading your content instead of glancing through and forgetting about you.
Internal Cliffhangers: Dean’s Going Downstairs but What’s Sam Doing?
Internal cliffhangers are those little statements or sentences that keep the reader’s attention throughout the whole article or book. In the podcast episode for The Lede, Demian Farnworth defines internal cliffhangers as the sentences that piece your story, article, etc. together with emotion or shock to keep the reader interested. You don’t keep watching Supernatural because of the old, overdone cliffhangers of a character going to hell, you keep watching due to internal cliffhangers like wondering what Crowley is up to or if Castiel will ever stop being awkward. These are story arcs that piece the grand story together, but keep you interested until it is time for a massive plot twist and the season finale. Using internal cliffhangers will help cultivate long-term readers and customers, which will help your Google rankings and make your business successful.
Utilizing Internal Cliffhangers In Your Content
You need to be using internal cliffhangers in your content to help generate buzz and keep the reader’s interest. Cliffhangers can help in many areas and you can find ideas for them everywhere. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
1. They Can Help Your Storytelling.Storytelling is a perfect way to keep readers interested in your content. You don’t necessarily have to write a “Once upon a time” sentence, but you can outline your content in story format. Internal cliffhangers work wonderfully for storytelling, as they are major parts of stories already. Get to crafting some intriguing stories for your site and you will see that internal cliffhangers begin to come naturally. Don’t stress too much when it comes to writing these, though. You do not want your content to come across like you are trying too hard. Just write naturally and see what happens! You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to get these cliffhangers by just being natural.
2. You Can Gain Inspiration from Other Stories. If you are having a hard time coming up with great internal cliffhangers, try watching a few TV shows or films. This blog is inspired by the CW’s show Supernatural and that show really helped with the outline. The show is a great illustration of the use of major and internal cliffhangers; it also is a fairly popular show that many people enjoy, therefore, keeping the content relevant.
3. Internal Cliffhangers Keep You Relevant. The best way to learn how to use internal cliffhangers is by staying current. Relevant content is what will keep readers coming back and using relevant and fun cliffhangers will help.
Stay Inspired, Young Hunter
If Supernatural isn’t your thing, never fear; there are so many wonderful TV shows out there that can inspire your writing and give you great illustrations of how to use internal cliffhangers. You can even try to read the latest book series or look to some old, yet incredible, stories. Some great authors who are perfect with internal cliffhangers are George R. R. Martin, Stephen King, and Suzanne Collins. Pick up a book and see how many times you keep reading because you have to know more. Find different things that inspire you and help you craft excellent content. It doesn’t have to be a TV show or another form of entertainment. It can be something as simple as taking a walk or watching how people interact with each other. Stay in school and be willing to learn new tricks every day!
Keyword optimization isn’t as technical as you may think.
It’s not about counting keywords and doing math equations.
Instead, excellent keyword SEO involves:
Inserting keywords using natural language where it counts
… That’s it!
In fact, as long as you strategically place your focus keyword/secondary keyword in the right spots, you can forget about keywords altogether as you write.
Using this strategy has helped my own content nab top rankings in Google, including the #1 position.
Sound good? I thought so.
Let’s examine the nitty-gritty do’s and don’ts of keyword placement and SEO to help guide you to SERP success.
5 Do’s and Don’ts to Improve Your Keyword Optimization
1. Don’t Focus on Keyword Density
Keyword density refers to how often your keyword(s) appear within your content piece. To figure out the keyword density of a piece of content, you count how many times the focus keyword shows up and divide that figure by the total number of words.
However, you don’t have to understand how this works, because keyword density is an outdated concept.
It doesn’t matter. You do NOT have to count keywords when writing for SEO.
Google and other search engines are smarter now than 10 years ago (when KD was a big deal). They’re no longer looking for instances of a keyword in your content – instead, they’re looking for context and relevancy, and matching the user’s search intent.
The only time you need to worry about keyword density is if you’re using your keyword(s) too many times. That’s called keyword stuffing. That’s spam.
So, what should you do, instead?
2. DO Pay Attention to Keyword Placement for SEO Content Optimization
Instead of inserting your keyword(s) wherever you can, focus on strategic keyword placement.
Use your keywords in the right places, using natural language, and your content is more likely to get ranked.
Search engines look at how keywords are used on your page. The algorithms use these clues to figure out what your page is about.
If your keywords appear in key places, that sends a signal to search engines, i.e., “Hey! This page is about [insert your focus keyword here]!”
These are the key spots to insert your keywords so search engines take note:
The H1 (the headline/title of your content)
H2s (the main subheaders)
H3s (sub-subheaders)
Once in the intro/first paragraph
Once in the conclusion/last paragraph
Sprinkled throughout the text (used naturally)
These key placements apply to your focus keyword as well as any related or synonymous keywords.
For an example of correct keyword placement in a blog that’s ranking right now, look at EW’s own post, “How to Outsource Your Content Writing (Successfully).”
The keyword we wanted to rank for was “outsourcing content writing.”
As you can see, we’re currently ranking #1 on Google for this keyword (after the paid search listings).
This is why:
A. The focus keyword appears in the H1, in various H2s throughout the blog, and within the introduction.
B. Related keywords are sprinkled throughout, and are used in some H2s.
C. The concluding paragraph has a keyword-optimized H2 and contains the focus keyword, plus a related term.
D. All of the keywords are inserted in the text naturally, effortlessly, and with variations as needed for correct grammar.
All of these strategic keyword placements add up to blaring signals for Google and other search engines to latch onto – they can’t ignore these signals!
Once the keywords are in place, if the content quality is high, and if the piece is relevant to the user, Google will rank it highly. That’s exactly what happened here.
Another keyword we rank for using the same strategic keyword placements: “blogging statistics.”
This is the post on Google, currently in the #3 position:
In addition to using the focus keyword, “blogging statistics,” in the major spots, we also have instances of related keywords in key areas, like “results from blogging,” “blogging online marketing,” and “blogging commitment.”
We did NOT count how many times we used the keywords, but rather used them when it felt natural, with grammar variations to keep the text readable.
THAT is a major part of why this blog ranks so well right now.
3. Don’t Ignore Less Obvious Keyword Opportunities
SEO content optimization isn’t only about the textual content. It’s also about details the user can’t necessarily see on the page, but you can tweak on the back-end.
Don’t miss these keyword opportunities.
A. Meta Titles and Descriptions
To boost your SEO, your metas should be optimized for all your content pieces. The meta title is an obvious one (A.K.A. your headline or H1), but don’t forget to add your focus keyword to the meta description, too.
To learn how to write and add optimized metas to your blog posts, check out our guide on blog optimization.
B. URLs
Yep, the URLs for all your content can be keyword-optimized. Blogs each have their own page/URL, so this is especially relevant for that type of content.
To make them user and search engine-friendly, include only the most important words and separate with hyphens, i.e.:
That looks scary for a user coming fresh to your site. (Are they on the right page? What are you trying to load onto their computer??)
Search engines don’t like it, either. A short, clean, descriptive URL is best-practice in both cases.
C. Image Alt Text
One final place where you can use keywords: image alt text.
Alt text is an attribute within the code for displaying an image in your content. It tells the web browser what to display if the image can’t load. This can be an opportunity to use descriptive keywords.
When the user hovers over an image with alt text on a web page, a tooltip with the alt text will appear.
Plus, if your visitor uses a screen reader (which usually means they’re disabled or blind), they’ll be able to understand the page better because of your descriptive alt text. Thus, using keyword-rich alt text is a good practice for accessibility as well as SEO.
4. Never Attempt to Force a Keyword Where It Won’t Fit
A huge tip for writing content with keywords:
Forget about the keywords.
(Wait, what?)
Yes, seriously.
When you’re writing the body of your content, let all thoughts of keywords fly out of your head. Instead, focus on explaining your topic or subject as clearly as possible.
Usually, when you do this, you’ll find yourself naturally using the keywords you need, including variations and related terms.
That’s how human language and communication works. We use related concepts, ideas, examples, words, and metaphors to get across meaning.
If your intent is to truly create a useful piece of content on a particular topic, the keywords will follow.
On the other hand, if you try to force keywords into your content, it will be really obvious.
Granted, there will be times when you need to use a really strange-sounding keyword that doesn’t make much grammatical sense. (E.g., “best dentist Oklahoma” or “gourmet cupcakes NY”)
If this is the case, I still recommend forgetting about keywords and just writing the content. Then, once your first draft is finished, go back over it and find a sentence you can edit to include the difficult keyword in question.
Smooth out that sentence as much as possible. Read it back to yourself out loud to make doubly sure it sounds natural. If you need to, change up the grammar of the keyword phrase, as such: “The most delicious gourmet cupcakes in NY are made with the freshest ingredients.”
If you can’t find a way to smoothly insert a difficult keyword, don’t force it. You shouldn’t sacrifice the readability of your content for one measly term.
5. DO Think About Helping Your User Understand the Content
As we move through the basics of keyword optimization, you may have noticed a trend:
Every aspect works together to help the user understand the content.
Placing keywords in specific locations sends strong signals to Google that your content is topically relevant to the search term in question, but it also sends those same signals to your audience. These cues tell them your content covers what they want to know.
As long as you consider your human audience first and what helps them make sense of your content, you’ll probably make good choices for SEO, too.
Remember: Keyword Optimization That Wins with Users, Wins with Search Engines
Keyword optimization is not about beating the search engines. It’s not about gaming Google to sneak to the #1 position for a keyword.
Instead, it’s about making your content the best it can be for the optimum user experience.
Above all, the user should be able to understand your page, and understand whether it fits their search intent.
That’s the nuts-and-bolts of it. Keep your users top-of-mind, and good SEO practices should follow.
Are you stuck in a content rut and just can’t get out? Do you like TV and movies? TV and films can be incredible for content inspiration and you may just find yourself able to come up with some great ideas by spending some quality time binge watching your favorite show or having a movie night. So get settled in with a bowl of popcorn and get ready to learn some neat tricks!
Exterminate the Content Myths!
First off, let’s discuss the myths of how detrimental Netflix can be to writers. You have no doubt seen articles that bash streaming services or movies as time wasters and that in order to be productive you have to avoid them at all costs. The reality is, a television show or a movie might just get you out of a content rut or may even give you a T.A.R.D.I.S full of ideas. Writer’s block happens to the best of us and we all need something that will break the horrible wall in our brains.
Here are a few ways TV and film inspire and help your content:
1. Bow Ties and Fezzes … Are Cool. In the age of viral media, you want to be relevant and cool. Watching new television series or films will help keep you up-to-date with what is popular and trending. However, don’t limit yourself to what you think is popular because you may find that there are many older shows or films that are still quite trendy or are rising in popularity again. Take A Clockwork Orange for example – a lot of people in the 70s watched this Kubrick classic, but it became the film of the counterculture. Because of this, it eventually lost mainstream popularity, until now. Now Alex’s signature style and Nadast language is everywhere. People are constantly doing A Clockwork Orange mashups. It is trendy again, and this time it is not just for a small counterculture (though many still argue it is more of a counterculture film and book). The best way to know about classics becoming popular again is to watch Twitter and Facebook to keep up with all the current trends. You’ll be surprised just what all is popular.
2. What Would River Song Do? Do you remember those times in English class where you had to write character comparisons? Wasn’t that fun? When it comes time to write your content you should do just that, compare and contrast things in a way your favorite character would or write it from their point of view. It will provide some unique insight into your product and promote more involvement for yourself and your readers. You’ll find that you have a blast writing content in a different character’s voice; try it the next time you hit a rut.
3. Daleks Are Not Cool (To the Doctor, That Is). If you’re always rolling around with an egg beater for a gun and screaming “Exterminate” readers will leave you faster than the Doctor (9) running away from family dinners. TV and films show that being negative is a sure fire way to lose readers and customers. Sure, you may post a few “do this, not that” posts but try to keep them at least somewhat nice. We write some heavy hitting pieces, but we make sure to put humor throughout to lessen the blow and help make it memorable instead of making readers furious. Also, another uncool move is spoiling things for readers, whether it is your own content or the show you are using as inspiration. Spoilers are a big deal on the Internet right now, and while many have valid arguments on both sides, you don’t want to be responsible for saying who died on that really popular show.
4. Don’t Pull a Moffat. You want to pull on heartstrings occasionally, but it isn’t the best method to make every single piece of content something that will make your readers violent. Stephen Moffat is a prime example of this with both the Doctor Who series and Sherlock. The fandoms are ready to riot after any episode he films, which are usually season finales or other major episodes (Christmas specials and the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary). Readers will not appreciate it if you continually try to manipulate emotions via headlines or other content. In fact, people are slowly pulling away from Upworthy titles because they really don’t like feeling manipulated. Keep the emotional posts for occasional use only and you’ll find you have a perfect piece of content – just like Vincent and the Doctor (not directed by Moffat, but a great example of expertly using emotion).
Inspiration Can Be Found Anywhere
“But I am not much of a TV person. How else can I get inspired?” Well, you don’t need just to watch TV or films; you can gain inspiration through video games, reading, magazines, museums, and so many other things, Copyblogger writes. Use history as a framework for your next content piece or do a whole month based on dinosaurs. Anything can be used for inspiration; so don’t let the Daleks get you down.
In The End, The Doctor Likes To Read and Learn
The Doctor has had several adventures that have been pretty fun. Some of these adventures center around authors and, as we find out, the Doctor knows a lot about them. He has read and met Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, and Agatha Christie. Sometimes, he just sits around the T.A.R.D.I.S reading about quantum mechanics. This Time Lord loves to learn and his adventures are made so much more interesting because of it.
Take inspiration from the Doctor and read or listen to a wide selection of different authors and on several different subjects. The more you read, the more you learn. Always being willing to learn will help you as you try to write new and exciting content. Learn about science, the English language, history, geography and the world will open up to you. So take some time and sit on your couch to tune into documentaries or the latest trendy show or head on over to your local used bookshop and pick up a few paperbacks on subjects you know nothing about and watch your content soar!
