The Importance of Long-Form Content Explained
In terms of WordPress, long-form articles usually refer to articles that are over 1000 words in length. Why does it take so long to create content? Well, there are a couple of reasons.
First, it increases time on site. The longer the copy, the longer a user spends actively reading a page (or pages) on your site.
Search engines also tend to favor long content. As per Backlinko, posts that rank on the first page of Google search results have a whopping 1,890 words. So if you want to rank higher, focusing on longer content is a solid strategy.
In addition, long-form content is easier to share. By improving the length of your articles, you can also give your social media accounts (and traffic) a boost.
1# Choose the right topic :-
You write for your readers, so make sure to give them topics that really interest them. See what people are searching for or take a look at the most common questions you get asked. Providing this valuable information gives readers a reason to trust you and see you as an authority on the subject.
Other way to do this is to go to Quora and see what questions are being asked in your niche. This can tell you what your audience is interested in. Then you can use your social media analytics to do the same and check what topics are trending. Forums and similar online platforms are often sufficient if your research budget is small.
2# Aim for Evergreen Content :-
Of course, there will be some topics that naturally will have an expiry date or will be in high demand for only a short time frame. This type of content are usually press releases, general updates on events or anything else happening with the brand, announcements and so on. There are also comments on current events or blog posts that are related to trends that will pass – just remember the “Laurel vs Yanny” or “White and Gold vs Black and Blue Dress” debate. Many brands jumped for the trend and posted about it but these weren’t long blog posts because they are not evergreen. You may choose to write about these things, but it’s best to aim for topics that can stand the test of time. You’re going to be putting a lot of time and effort into creating this content, so you’ll want to get as much time and benefit out of it as possible.
3# Use editing and proofreading tools :-
Writing isn’t always easy, especially when it comes to editing and proofreading content when you’re done. There can be many grammatical or spelling mistakes and these are never good for your reputation. But fortunately, there are tools that can help you get better at this area.
Grammar is a tool you are probably familiar with as it is used by billions of people and is one of the most important tools for any writer. You can rely on Grammar to intuitively check all your grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and style errors. Its use goes far beyond standard proofreaders like those found in Word or Google Docs. It’s free, but if you get a paid version, you can easily check for plagiarism and get even better content analysis.
4# Make the content shareable :-
People love to share content that they find interesting and that they think others would also be interested in. Make it easy to share your content to increase your reach and the impact of your in-depth articles. And as with anything WordPress-related, there are plenty of social sharing plugins to choose from.
AddThis offers some plugins to help you better share your content. It’s a great platform that allows you to quickly and easily add floating share buttons, social profile follow buttons, and even related posts. You must sign up for a free AddThis account to use the plugins and see analytics for your most shared content, recommendation networks, page views and more.
5# Format your content :-
Readers want easily digestible content where they can quickly find the information they are looking for. A great way to help them do this is to format your content to have clear headings, subheadings, and lists so they can skim through the long article and quickly find the exact topic they’re looking for.
You might also want to add a table of contents. With long content, this is often very helpful for the readers. If your WordPress theme doesn’t include this feature, a plugin like Easy Table of Contents will do. This plugin is exactly as advertised – an easy way to add a table of contents to your posts or pages. The plugin works automatically by capturing headers. Use the included options to select TOC style, bullet formatting, hierarchical support, smooth scrolling, and more.
6# Adding visuals is a must :-
A great way to convey information to readers is through visual elements such as infographics, charts, or other images. They are perfect for summarizing information in a simple format. And even if images aren’t needed, it’s a good idea to add them anyway to break up the long text.
iList Infographic Maker is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create a visualization of data and information that looks good and immediately grabs the reader’s attention. You can create beautiful lists, infographics, charts, and graphs and it can make all the difference in your content marketing strategy.
