Marketing professionals and SEO experts keep saying that quality is an important factor in content marketing. And yet…I keep seeing dull, generic content that anyone could produce.

Here are some tips to make your content more appealing so you improve your online traffic and get more leads.

Don’t be self-centered.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to a company’s blog and found nothing but a string of press releases, profiles about new hires, and articles bragging about the company’s community involvement. When this kind of content dominates your blog, it’s off-putting and not what a business blog is mainly for.

Your company blog should demonstrate your expertise in a way that makes your audience a priority.

• What issues are you seeing among your clients?
• What questions or problems do your customers have?
• Are there industry developments they should know about?
• What fun facts about your industry or specialty might be entertaining?

Your blog doesn’t have to avoid company news completely–definitely add some employee profiles and behind-the-scenes video tours to give your audience a look behind the curtain. But you need a balance between content about you and content about your audience.

Bring something new to the table.

Don’t just repackage news, information, and opinions that your audience can get anywhere else. Add a personal twist to it. For example, you might write a blog post that responds to an existing, relevant news story with your organization’s unique perspective and stance on it.

Likewise, don’t share generic statements that people will tune out because they’ve heard it a million times. Make it specific to you and why it is important to your organization and your audience.

Make your content attractive.

We shouldn’t judge books by their covers, but the harsh truth is that it happens anyway, unconsciously or not. So why not make your content as appealing to the eye as possible?

• Use professional images (even public domain) to break up text
• Make sure your website has a streamlined, updated look that is easy to navigate
• Format written content in a way that is easy to read, using headlines, bullet points, and lots of white space

Need help creating non-crappy content?

That’s what I’m here for! I help healthcare organizations and marketing professionals strategize and write quality content that increases traffic, leads, and revenue.

Check out my content marketing ebook, “Essential Tips for a Powerful Content Marketing Strategy.” After that, feel free to connect on LinkedIn or email me as well!