3 things I’ve learnt from writing 250,000 words

The internet has enough content. 

It doesn’t need any more. 

Which is why it’s crucial that anything your brand does publish really stands out. 

I’ve written more than a quarter of a million words in the last year – here’s three things that have really stood out to me over the past 12 months.

Where’s your personality?

You might think this only applies to a ‘fun’ brand, but your personality has to shine through every word your brand puts out. If not, how is it going to stand out? How is it going to differentiate itself from its competitors? 

Whether you’re a bank or a candy store, you have to create a connection with your customers – and your personality is part of how you do it.

One of my favourite examples of this is the bi-monthly magazine we produce for Gemcell. Electrical Gems goes out to 70,000 electricians across Australia, and we have some serious fun with it. 

It’s packed with articles that are useful for our audience – content that’s practical and adds value – but throughout, there’s a few cheeky quips, some borderline naughty one-liners, and a sense of fun. 

That’s bloody important, mate.

Let your experts loose. Please! 

How do you create stuff that’s uniquely yours? By tapping into your experts. 

Look, the reality is that they’ll know lots of the same stuff that their peers at similar organisations will.

But it’s their turn of phrase, their anecdotes and their perspectives that will make your content stand out ahead of another company’s. 

And, by positioning them in the public domain, you’re creating connection. Genuine. Human. Connection. That’s what life’s about.

Don’t be afraid to let them go rogue, either. Let them tell that story about the crocodile they once wrestled. It’s personality – and it stands out. 

Use SEO content strategically – but not exclusively 

SEO-led content is massively important, of course. By providing answers and resources to your audience’s queries and questions, you’re adding value (as long as you do genuinely answer their question, but that’s another topic for another day). 

Here’s the thing. Not everything has to be SEO driven. No harm in optimising things, of course, but to complement content that people are looking for, you also need to give people what they’re not looking for. 

That’s where you can stand out. 

By giving them something that’s entertaining. 

By giving them something they’ve never even thought about before – let alone searched for. 

By giving them something they didn’t even know they needed, but find truly valuable. 

That’s the gold right there – and that’s what every business that’s producing content should be aiming for. 

If your brand’s content needs a spark of personality, an injection of engagement or simply some fresh ideas, get in touch!