14 Oct What’s Your Content’s Expiration Date?

You’ve finally been convinced to set up a blog, and you’re starting to generate original content for it, maybe you’re starting to see the impact that content is having on your social media profiles and your SEO.  But then something happens, your content isn’t generating as much buzz as it did when your blog was brand new. Your stats are good on the days that you post, but your “off days” are just that, no one’s clicking through. Does this mean that you have to amp up your efforts and take time out of your schedule to post every day? Or maybe this whole blogging thing is just a waste of time and you should scrap it all together. No and no.

The solution to this issue is what has become known as ”evergreen content”, because just like an evergreen tree stays fresh, so does an evergreen post. It’s the piece that people could read today, tomorrow, next month or next year and it would still be relevant.  It’s a piece that has high value to your readers while showing off your expertise. And, it’s posts like these that get people coming back to your site, even on days when your newest blog post doesn’t show up in their news feed.

Evergreen content should be focused on helping to establish you as the expert, because this is the content that every one of your readers will view at some point. Whereas other posts may require you to come up with an opinion or an argument for or against something, evergreen content allows you to show off what you already know. Whether you’re writing about your profession, a real life experience or a hobby, your evergreen content should be about you and about what your audience can learn from you.

Here are some post ideas to spark your first (and second, and third…) evergreen post.

• Tutorial

“How To’s” are extremely effective at attracting people to your blog. Pick something that you’re good at (or, to add interest, something you’ve never done before!) and walk your readers through the steps. Though the subject of your tutorial should relate to the topic of your blog, online tutorials can be on just about anything, from refinishing cabinets, to creating a dropshadow in photoshop. TIP: add some humor or levity to your how to, to keep it from reading like an instruction manual.

• “The Do’s and Don’ts of…”

This type of post is very popular with readers for two reasons. First, it’s easily scannable. Most of your readers are pressed for time, so they’re looking for the fastest way to get the information they need or that interests them. Also, these posts tend to give readers the chance to look at different approaches to a process, which is both interesting and informative.

• “The top xx things you should know about”

This is the type of post that really allows you to show your knowledge and establish yourself as an expert.  Pick a topic related to your blog or industry, and imagine you had five minutes to explain this topic to someone who has no experience with it, what do they absolutely need to know? Now write that down (formatting it into an itemized list will make it easier for readers) and you have an evergreen blog post.

• Personal Story/Testimony

Nothing speaks to your experience more than a story about your an experience. Your personal story will not change (hopefully) and it allows readers to see you as a person, not just a blog generator. Be open and honest in your story to keep it from feeling too egotistic or self promotional.

There’s no set evergreen-post-to-regular-post ratio that you should aim for. But consider this, when you’re not posting about something that is timely (i.e. news, current events industry statistics) aim to make your post evergreen.

Have you had success with an evergreen post? Share in the comments!