How to Create Quality Content, From Research to Publish
Quality Content Doesn’t Just Happen. Here’s How to Do It
“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” Nathaniel Hawthorne (supposedly) said this in the 19th century - and it’s still the case today.
Fast-paced publishing cycles and the sheer volume of available content, both digitally and in print, mean that readers have more options than ever when it comes to finding great content. Just to take one example, between 2006 and 2020, the number of blogs published on the Internet grew from 50 million to a whopping 600 million.
This presents a unique challenge: How can you write quality content that is engaging, interesting and still brings unique value to readers?
Our goal in this guide is to help you nail down the right writing routine for you. We’ll walk you through each step in the process:
What to do before you start
How to write your first draft
What to check before publishing
What to do once your content is live
These strategies can help anyone who wants to create quality content - new writers and pros alike - whether you’re writing a book, an article, a landing page, product text - and everything in between.
What gets in the way of quality content?
Before we dive into writing quality content, let’s go over a few of the obstacles that stand between you and great text:
Assumptions
You may already have a pretty good idea about which topics your readers like or how to write text that leads to higher conversions. But you may be surprised at what comes up when you start digging.
Here’s an example of two versions of text that we tested with users. Version 1 included a few examples and guided users more, and Version 2 was shorter and more generic. Which do you think won? Find the answer below the image.
(Version 2 won.)
Not enough time
When a project you’re working on suddenly becomes urgent or you’re facing pressure to post fresh content ASAP, it can be tempting to get some text together quickly and call it a day. If this happens, I recommend hitting pause. To establish yourself as someone who always writes quality content, you need to give yourself enough time.
Undefined priorities
When you don’t have clear goals for what you hope your content will achieve, you’ll end up with text that may miss the mark. Whether you’re looking to get more traffic to your blog, increase user engagement with a product or improve your Google ranking - start by defining the goals.
Not knowing what works
Don’t forget about your content once it’s live. You’ll gain a lot of valuable insight by monitoring feedback and other data about your text. This can help you sharpen your skills as a writer and improve future content.
How to create quality content
In this three-part series, we’ll share 13 content strategies that you can incorporate into your writing routine. These tips make up the core of the writing process: what to do before you start writing, how to tackle the text and finally, what to do after publishing.
Here are the key steps in creating quality content:
Are tight deadlines causing you to cut planning and research from your writing process? If so, rethink how you start your projects. It may seem like you don’t have enough time, but starting the right way will make you more efficient in the long run - and help you produce better content.
In the first part of our series, we’ll discuss the best ways to get organized: identifying your project goals, finding time to write, planning your content, doing the right research, and more.
>> Read now: Part 1: Research and Planning
This is the tough part - sitting down and writing text that’s engaging and brings value. Here’s where the research you did in step one comes in.
The second part of our series is a “how-to” guide that you can refer back to as you write the first draft: how to keep your content interesting and relatable to your audience, how to write text that’s easy to read, and how to boost your blog SEO by writing quality content.
>> Read now: Part 2: Crafting the Text
Whether you have an editor or you’re going over the content yourself, editing is a skill that requires practice: cutting words, knowing what needs polishing, catching typos and more.
And the work doesn’t stop once you publish - analyzing and tracking web data related to your content is key to improving it.
In the last part of this series, we’ll share how to edit your own work, steps to take before you publish, and what to do once your content is live.
Use the examples in our “pre-publish” checklist to create your own. It’ll help you catch any of those easy-to-make mistakes that can come up when you’re finishing up a project and eager to just hit “Publish” already.
>> Read now: Part 3: Editing, Publishing & Beyond
No matter what your writing level is - just getting started, pro, or even if “writer” isn’t even part of your official job title - check out our strategies for writing great text.
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By Lana Raykin, UX Writer at Wix
From New York, now lives in Tel Aviv. Loves good food, good books, and her golden retriever.
