6 Ways to provide some New Life to Tired Content
Posted by Tim Meinhardt
A website is all fun and games while people are still visiting it.
But there is one ugly fact of life where websites are concerned – visitors are fickle.
Remember that. Fickle. And if you don't keep those people entertained and informed with your site's content, even the most devoted fan can only stand so much. After all, there is the whole big Internet out there, and most people have little time for a website whose content has become a new cure for insomnia.
Not everybody will tell you when your content has become stale, but it really isn't hard to figure out.
- Has your traffic dropped off, either suddenly or gradually over time?
- Have visitors quit sharing your content on social media sites?
- Have people stopped commenting on your articles?
- Are sites other than yours being quoted by people in your business?
If you answered yes to at least two of those questions, it's time to face facts: The thrill is gone.
If you care enough, you can bring back the joy and excitement your SEO copywriting used to have, back in the beginning. But it's going to take a lot of hard work and some willingness to admit that what you've been doing just isn't working anymore. Too often, many writers just aren't ready to admit that their efforts are no longer working. But this isn't the time to let ego get in the way of what's right for your content.
Repeat after me: Change is good.
So what kinds of changes will give new life back to your tired, stale content?
- Try a bit of humor. Everybody likes someone who's willing to laugh at themselves. You don't have to suddenly turn your writing into something worthy of being read on the Jon Stewart show, but if all you're doing is preaching at your visitors, lighten it up a little bit.
- Try some new media forms. Have you ever considered adding a little bit of music? How about a video of some kind, whether it's you or something related you've tracked down on You Tube?
- How about some guest posting? There are all kinds of bloggers out there just dying to put a guest post on someone else's blog. Maybe you can liven up your content by letting someone else say their piece. And what's great about this? They'll return the favor, and you can bring in some new site visitors from another website. New visitors haven't had the chance to find your content stale!
- Say something controversial and make sure you get some well placed tweets out there on Twitter about it. It doesn't have to be so controversial that you anger potential site visitors, but maybe it can be a post that is just off-center enough to get people talking.
- Offer site visitors a service they can use. Do you know where they can get some free software they can use? How about a forum where they can discuss your content? Fickle people can be brought back around if they need what it is you're offering, and if you keep then needing you.
- Put some of the practices you see on your favorite websites to work for you. It's not about copying the websites; rather, what do these sites have going for them? Do you like the tone of their writing? A good writer gets better when he or she reads well-written copy.
After all, boring content means a boring site. And that doesn't do anyone any good.