The Top 10 Questions to Ask Yourself to Determine if Your Content is Valuable

Training your readers in something they need to know can make your content more valuable, whether you’re writing about investing, business strategy, cooking, or anything else. But how do you determine if what you’re about to write will be valuable to your readers? It’s easy to get it wrong, so here are the top 10 questions you should ask yourself before creating the next How To post. Am I Informing My Audience? If you can answer yes, then your content is informing your audience. It's a little abstract, but think about it. When you create an informational post, do you teach something? Do you answer questions? Can someone walk away from reading your post feeling like they have knowledge that wasn't there before they started reading? If so, then it's a successful piece of content. Am I Providing Value to My Audience? When you’re creating content for your website, it’s essential that you ask yourself whether or not your content will be valuable for your readers. If you don’t believe that what you’re writing offers value, then it may be time to rethink your approach. Is what I am writing informing my audience of something they don’t know? Am I providing them with information they can take away and use? Is the Knowledge Searchable and Accessible After Reading My Article? Are your readers able to find and access your knowledge with a quick search? If you’re writing about how many grams of fat are in an avocado, it’s important that it be easy for your readers to find that number. It may sound silly, but if you want people to access your content, you need to make sure that content is easy for them to access. Do I answer all questions from readers in one article (single source of truth)? You want to be sure that your content provides readers with a definitive source of information, rather than making them search for an answer. That’s why you should provide a list of resources in your content so that readers can find additional answers. If you want your readers to use your content as a single source of truth, then write complete articles instead of snippets and make sure all questions are answered. Otherwise, each question should be part of its own post. How do I qualify my claims? Do I cover everything about this topic available on the Internet before writing about it? If you are going to write a single post on a topic, make sure you fully familiarize yourself with everything that’s available. Look at other blogs and find out what works for them and what doesn’t. Make sure you know all there is about your subject before writing about it, because ultimately, someone looking for information on your topic will be able to tell whether or not you’re knowledgeable about it simply by reading your content. What sets my post apart from all others? Does My Post Contain Original, Groundbreaking Research Or Analysis If it doesn’t, there’s no point in writing about it—especially for an audience of experts. For example, let’s say you have a question: Will I make money from blogging? You run some experiments and spend a lot of time analyzing your results, and then you decide to write about your findings on your site. If that topic already has been explored at length on other blogs (and in books), then what are you bringing to the table? Is This The Best Methodology To Solve This Problem? Or Is It A Good Alternative For Readers who Don't Have Time/Money/Access To Try a Novel Approach, Etc. Assess your content from multiple angles. Even if it’s a great solution, what can you do to make it better? What question about your content can you answer for your audience? Is there a better way you could solve that problem? Does your writing pass enough smell tests (does it read well)? If not, tweak. Does this content make me proud as a writer (content designed with more heart) Content designed with more heart. This question may seem off-the-wall, but it’s an important one. If your content makes you proud as a writer—and you truly enjoyed creating it—then chances are high that other people will feel proud when they read it, too. And proud people tend to come back for more of your valuable content! Does this content make me proud as an entrepreneur (businesses are always built from solving problems. Have you created something better?) If your content doesn’t make you proud as an entrepreneur, then it’s probably not a good idea to share. Any good content will make you feel like you’ve got a unique point of view that can help others—otherwise there’s no need for it. If your content makes you feel proud, and gives people useful information, it might be worth adding onto your blog or social media accounts!