Considering that our past three #myblogguest Twitter chats were about content ideas and strategy brainstorming (where we tried to show all our followers that you *can* provide great content in *any* niche, I thought this guest article by Kate, while not necessarly about *guest* blogging could be a good follow up. Enjoy!
When launching a content-focused website in today’s virtual landscape of millions of sites and billions of pages on the internet, many developers are turning to the niches that, because of their oddness, rarity or simple lack of information, have proven to be underserved.
While this provides an upper hand when it comes to search engine optimization and keyword focus, difficult niches often prove equally difficult to create content for.
If your chosen niche gives you instant writer’s block when you sit down with the intention of creating content for it, utilize these general content framework rules in order to better visualize the many types of less obvious but equally appealing content that you can develop for your website.
Go Broader and More Popular
It’s a common mistake: trying to stay within the limited boundaries of your narrow topic. You can always look outside the box and provide “trendy” content – something that is almost sure to entertain and go hot.
And you can still remain very relevant!
Examples:
- If you sell Lego park tickets, you can write about Star Wars Scenes Re-created Using Lego;
- If you promote insurance (i.e. security), promote gadgets that will secure your life during Zombie Apocalypse.
Your imagination is your only limit!
Use Big Data to Create Interest
No matter your content topic, you can be sure that potentially interesting data exists to showcase to your website’s visitors. We say potentially here because the amount of interest you’ll be able to draw will depend not just on the numbers you’re able to produce but, even more importantly, on how to you present it. Utilizing media such as graphics, pictures and videos and allowing your titles and headings to focus on interesting, click-worthy keywords are simple ways to enhance the presentation of your content.
Example: A website focused on on the history of Ancient Greece may present as dry and boring but utilizing statistics such as war casualties or showcasing data about sexual habits of the time are sure ways to pique the interest of otherwise non-history buffs.
Tackle the Tough Issues
Given the wildly varying views and opinions of the public at large, polarizing issues are many, as are the people willing to take up arms in their name. With this in mind, make an effort to analyze the facets of your topic to identify areas that you know will inspire verve in people and then produce content to achieve the same. While people are easily bored, they’re also easily impassioned, and content that aims to leverage that passion is content that people will take the time to read and respond to.
Example: A website concerning the welfare of animals and their treatment in the food industry would do well to focus on infractions on a case-by-case basis, capturing the emotion of their audience in an effort to create interest and change minds.
Interactivity Draws Interest
No matter what your particular niche is, you can bet that there are ways to make its online presentation interactive and this interactivity will go a long way towards keeping your visitors interested and engaged. Making interesting information available to your visitors is the first step; how to help people to find that information is the next.
Interactivity also refers to search and, while Google and friends do much of the legwork for you in guiding people to the pages within your website that best apply to what they’re looking for, your own site’s ability to guide people from page to page in an intuitive and interactive way will prove to be the difference between a lasting visitor and a quick addition to your bounce rate.
Example: A website offering a look at the particulars of completing your own tax return will strike visitors as both boring and one-in-a-million; adding interactive content such as completable forms for printing or a well-stocked question and answer knowledge base gives visitors both the content and the engaging interface they need. The addition of a search feature that allows users to quickly and easily find the specific information helps to be sure that they don’t revert to Google for their next query.
Explore, Identify, Improve
The most important key in creating interest in content that covers a niche that people aren’t likely to go crazy over is to continually innovate, allowing your tactics to evolve alongside the demands of your visitors; while this applies to any content website, it takes on special meaning in a case where the topic itself often works against you.
Kate is the content writer and social media blogger for VIP Reality Info, the local Dallas real estate company.
Joseph
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