Content Creation Essentials: Insights from a Seasoned Publisher

Jackie Bolen, a seasoned content creator and owner of eslspeaking.org, shared her 10 essential tips for creating great content in a recent webinar. With over five years as a full-time publisher and 20 years in academia, Jackie has honed her content creation workflow, all while navigating challenges like algorithm updates and the integration of AI tools.

Her journey began as an ESL teacher in South Korea, where a spontaneous decision to blog about her teaching experiences at a Korean university set her on the path to a flourishing content creation career. Today, Jackie manages an extensive portfolio that includes multiple websites, books, a YouTube channel, and podcasts, making her a true inspiration in the digital content realm.

Find Jackie's: YouTube Channel | Humix Channel | Podcast | 70+ Authored Books |

The Heart of Success: Ten Quick Tips for Content Creation

“Content creation is at the heart of everything I do,” says Jackie. It's the foundation that has allowed her to build an audience and the catalyst for her original book ideas. Here are Jackie's 10 quick tips that could be your roadmap to content creation success:

1. Write About What You Know

Digital publishing has evolved, and so has Google's algorithm. Gone are the days when writing about random niches without expertise could lead to success. Today, it's all about E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Jackie emphasizes the importance of writing from a place of knowledge and experience. With 20 years of experience in academia, Jackie serves as a clear authority and trustworthy figure in her niche, making her content valuable to her audience. She shares that you should “think about your audience and offer the most value to those people” when it comes to writing the highest quality content given your experience and interests. Authentic work is rewarded by both readers and search engines.

2. Need Inspiration? Glean on Your Competitors

Exploring your competitors' strategies can provide a wealth of inspiration for your own content. Start by identifying three to four main competitors and utilize keyword research tools like Ahrefs, Moz, and NicheIQ all of which provide useful information for this analysis. Jackie did a live demo on using Ahrefs and how she examined one of her top competitors top landing pages. Look closely at the keywords they use, how these relate to their content, and identify any gaps or missed opportunities. If your competitors are not fully capitalizing on certain keywords or topics, this is your chance to step in and refine your content to capture that audience.

3. Be Purposeful with Your Writing

Being purposeful and intentional in your writing involves a clear understanding of your goals for each piece of content. Before you begin writing, ask yourself: What is the ultimate objective of this blog post? The intent behind your content can differ from one page to another, whether it's to inform, persuade, entertain, or convert readers into customers. Remember, the work doesn't end once your content is published. Jackie emphasized that continuously optimizing, re-optimizing, and testing various elements such as titles, page layouts, and header structures are crucial. This kind of rigorous testing, often employed by large companies to drive conversions (e.g., filling out a form), can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your content but may require specific expertise and resources. Prioritizing intentionality in your content strategy ensures that every piece serves a direct purpose in your broader objectives.

4. Promote Content

Now that you have solid, valuable content, it's important to promote your content. Jackie talked about well-established entrepreneur Pat Flynn at smartpassiveincome sharing that email lists can serve as a #1 driver in promoting your content. As people subscribe to your email lists, you own that audience and the sharing of high-quality content via email marketing can quickly turn into social sharing across other channels without extra effort on your part. Building and monetizing your email lists is a great first step into promoting your content.

Additionally, Jackie talked about the importance of internal backlinks throughout your pages. Linking relevant content directly reflects an increase in page engagement and will likely translate on converting that user into a returning visitor - all because each piece of content continues to provide answers to the original search query.

5. Add Life to Old Content

According to backlinko “ranking on top of SERP in your niche generates 39.8% CTR rates. Now that’s a massive traffic share considering that second and third-ranking results get 18.7% and 10.2% respectively.” This goes to show that the further down on the search results your content ranks, the less organic traffic is likely to visit your website. Keeping this fact in mind, Jackie shared that repurposed content can be an effective way to quickly recapture traffic. Using Ahrefs in her demo once again, she recommended focusing on pages ranking between the 5th - 15th positions and that have significant search volume for their target keywords. By focusing on content that already attracts some traffic and targeting high-volume keywords, publishers are strategically positioning their content to potentially experience a resurgence in traffic. This approach prioritizes and leverages existing interest to maximize visibility and engagement.

6. Hire Someone to Write Content

While this may not be a viable option for some publishers, Jackie talked about hiring multiple writers via third-party agencies like Upwork and Fiverr and testing their writing styles. Creating templates that can be rinsed and repeated to maintain consistency help to streamline the writing process as well.

She also talked about using AI writing tools but truly understanding their impact on the web is important. Using AI writing tools effectively to expedite the writing process but also maintaining authenticity and tone of voice can be challenging for the average publisher to decipher. However, when used appropriately, AI writing tools like ChatGPT can be a key component to a publisher’s success and SEO strategy.

7. Repurpose Content Through In New Ways

Digital publishers can venture outside of traditional blog content and repurpose content across various mediums, effectively reaching a wider audience. By transforming blog posts into podcasts, YouTube videos, or even books, publishers can cater to different preferences, allowing their audience to engage with content in the format they find most appealing. Additionally, repurposed content can serve as an enticing lead magnet for email subscriptions and newsletters, deepening audience engagement. Jackie shared having huge success, especially in her book sales and YouTube channels, as these have strengthened her connection to her readers.

8. Original Content is King

Jackie briefly mentioned the importance of sharing original content in various formats. Original research, roundups, and case studies serve as popular strategies for link building and establishing authority in specific niches. These aim to create a network with writers and share ideas for future work.

9. Be Aware of Keyword Cannibalization

Keyword cannibalization is a common pitfall in digital publishing where multiple pages of the same website compete for the same keyword, diluting the effectiveness of your SEO efforts. Ideally, you want a single, well-optimized page to rank for a specific keyword rather than having several pages that split the search equity. This internal competition can hinder the performance of all the pages involved. To combat this, regular content audits are essential. These audits help identify and consolidate competing content, streamline your SEO strategy, and ensure that each page targets a unique set of keywords, thereby maximizing your site’s visibility and effectiveness in search rankings.

10. Consider the Technical Elements of Content Creation

The nitty-gritty parts of effective content creation are in the details. Jackie shares a few important content creation technical areas to review including:

Distribute your target keywords and variations of those keywords throughout your page
Optimizing the URL, the title, and H1 are key
Ensuring your image ALT texts have the target keyword and tie back to the content itself
Regular page audits and ensuring advanced header structures are in place
Internal and backlinks are present
Related posts and clear CTA’s (e.g. “sign up for my newsletter” or “check out my book”)
And more

Conclusion: NicheIQ and Your Content

Jackie’s Publisher Success Manager, Trevor Tevel, wrapped up the webinar by highlighting how Ezoic’s NicheIQ SEO suite fits into handling all of the above areas that were mentioned through the presentation. To summarize: