Be Timeless when You Write: Evergreen Content Works

Richard February 11, 2019 0 Comments

You’d think by now, most of the known world would understand that cyberspace is forever.

But no.

And in keeping with our emphasis on proofreading anything that’s published, here’s yet another tragedy that could have been avoided:

The word is supposed to be cologne …

It’s not just everyday citizens who fall victim to their own haste and carelessness, some more than most. Athletes are constantly in front of cameras; they should know better. Media personalities should take more time to think through their decisions. Politicians should know the staying power of cyberspace more than anyone else, and yet …

Ironically, these ongoing foibles are an extreme example of an awesome concept:

Stuff that’s posted in cyberspace forever can be useful forever!

And what’s the most basic essential of forever?

Timelessness!

Writing online for any purpose can use this attribute to great advantage by creating evergreen content:

A bit of subtle irony, there. Do know, though, his advice remains relevant; the reason he dated himself to 2009 was to show the consistency of a particular writer’s results over a four-year period in what was then a real-time graph.

Here’s another analogy that underscores why evergreen content is important:

What makes a shopping mall successful? Anchor tenants!

The big box stores draw crowds and thus expose traffic to the various shops that exist between them. Many of those unique boutiques owe their annual profits to the behemoths. On occasion, it’s the small shops that attract the discerning consumer who then take advantage of the big boxes for general needs. The owners of the mall owe their revenues to this symbiosis.

Blogs and websites should be assembled in the same manner. No matter what the niche, evergreen content serves as the anchor tenant.

How do you write evergreen content? Here’s what the dudes at Red Rocket Media suggest:

– People want to know how to do things; writing articles about how to do things, and remembering to include “how to” in your headlines. You can’t do this every time though, so think about other things people might search for.

– Write about what people are seeking. Customers might be looking for information about how to change a fan belt on a washing machine, replacing a DVD drive in a PC or choosing colours for wedding suits.

– Think about longevity. Will the information in your article go out of date? Have you written it in a way that means it will feel old when read in six months’ time?

– Think about length. Have you ever searched Google for tips on something and seen a list of articles offering ‘five tips about…’ or ‘ten tips on…’? Check out the competition and offer more. Users may be more likely to click on the search result offering the most tips.

– Be thorough. If you are truly trying to provide useful, informative, timeless content, don’t under-deliver on your promise.

– Be an authoritative author; make sure you are using author mark-up.

– Use images; a lot of your traffic may come from people searching on Google Images.

– Use additional references. Quote from other experts; link to their articles and promote a wide range of information in yours. The more complete your information is, the more you’re a useful reference. Google likes that, much more than it likes articles just thrown together for the sake of it.

Always, remember to write within the spirit of word economy.

Say what needs to be said, but without using one more word than absolutely necessary. You want your points to be prominent and sleekly presented, not surrounded by redundant clutter.

Timeless smart stuff in cyberspace draws much more traffic than timeless idiocy. Make evergreen content work to your advantage!