Your writing foundation can make creating your next piece of content feel like an uphill climb, or a pain-free stroll through the park—if you’re hoping for the latter, then you’ll need to invest the necessary time in research.
In this #ContentChat recap, Erika joins Kristen Hicks (@ATXCopywriter), a freelance content marketing writer specializing in B2B tech, to discuss great research strategies for blog posts.
Read through a few highlights from the conversation below, and listen to the full recording here.
Q1: Why is it important to conduct research before starting to write a piece of content?
One of the most obvious reasons to conduct research before writing a piece of content is so you can understand the topic you’re writing about. Research will help you cover all angles and perspectives in your content, and ensure you create something truly unique and valuable.
A1: The most obvious reason is: to understand the topic you’re writing about. You want your writing to be accurate and relevant to your audience. Plus, do enough research and the writing part gets a lot easier #ContentChat
— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) March 27, 2023
A1: Kristen, this is totally right. It makes your life easier when writing, and it is important to be knowledgeable about the topic before putting content out there. #ContentChat
— Emma Lange (@EmmaLange78719) March 27, 2023
A1: Even if you are an expert on the topic, it’s important to take a look at recent content to ensure you create content that offers up something above and beyond what your reader has likely already seen. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) March 27, 2023
A1A: Yes in addition, research also helps make sure that you cover all angles and perspectives. Research helps you ensure that you are presenting the views accepted by the experts.#ContentChat
— Sweepsify 🎈 (@Sweepsify_) March 27, 2023
In the recording, Erika and Kristen shared the following:
- “You do have to spend time on [research] if you want to get things right, but it makes the harder part—the writing itself—that much easier.” – Kristen
- “If somebody has already written an ebook on your topic, for example, then you need to discover gaps in their information or have your own angle if you’re also going to [cover that topic]. And you’re not going to know that if you don’t read other people’s content.” – Erika
- “If I’m reading a piece and it throws out a statistic but doesn’t have a link, or it is just making statements without telling me how they came to that conclusion, then that suggests to me that this isn’t a trustworthy source.” – Kristen
- “I can’t tell you how frequently I’ve gone into an organization and they’ve said ‘here are some of our quotes and stats that we use all the time,’ but there hasn’t been a source attached. It almost always turns out to be an internal statistic that, in fact, was made up by somebody at some point, and doesn’t have any way to actually prove it. This is really not okay.” – Erika
Q2: What internal resources should brands provide writers (including freelancers) to help them create on-brand content faster?
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