Content Writing For Newbies (Adding Depth to your Content) Day 5

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Day 4 Creating your Outline You can read here

Adding Depth to Your Content

When you want to be an online niche leader, you want your content to resonate with your readers. This is a big mistake many marketers make. They think in terms of volume or consistency and never consider the quality and depth of their writing.

When you're able to create attention-pulling content (not just clickbait headlines, but the kind that keeps readers interested), you'll develop a loyal audience that stays tuned in to what you have to say.

In-depth content is not fluff and filler. You don't want to bulk up the content volume when you're talking about depth. You want to enrich the content you're sharing. There are a few ways you can go about doing this and some mistakes you want to avoid along the way as well.

What Depth Means and Types You Want to Avoid

Content that has depth is that which really pulls the reader in, giving them pause to think and evaluate your words more carefully. They aren't skimming through your piece of work quickly because what you're sharing is meaningful.

Sometimes, there are types of depth that you aren't supposed to share. For example, let's say you are creating content for your private label rights (PLR) business. Private label rights are content that you sell for others to use and put their name on.

So sharing personal stories within a piece of PLR would be counterproductive for the buyer because that story is not theirs – it's yours. So if you're writing a diet PLR report and discussing how you lost 100 pounds, but the buyer has always been thin, it would cause them to redo the content to fix it.

Another thing you want to avoid with in depth content is sharing someone else's private stories and naming them or making it evident of who it is. Even if it's a positive slant and not a negative one, you want to ensure that you're not crossing any boundaries by shining a light on someone who may not have wanted that information out there.

Or, it could be that they told you something and were planning on sharing it with their own audience, and you jumped the gun and blasted it to your audience in your content too early.

The depth of stories you share should be appropriately placed and your own tales to tell. If you keep someone wholly anonymous or have permission to use it in your content, that's fine.

But always make sure you're not stepping on anyone else's toes when you're looking to enrich a piece of content with a real life case study or story about their experience within your niche.

Watch Your Content Tone

When you're adding depth to your content, you want to make sure the tone you're using comes across the right way. Because many of the depth elements are personalized, it's tempting to covey it the same way you would speak to a friend.

There's a difference between being conversational and stuffy. But if you're writing in a conversational manner, which people can and do relate to, make sure you're not going overboard with the slang.

So let's take a look at all three tones when adding depth and storytelling to your piece of content. Let's say you're writing about the dangers of being overweight, and you want to share your thoughts on it.

This would be too conversational: "Like, I was overweight, you know? And that belly fat was gonna kill me!"

This would be too stuffy: "The ominous peril that one puts him or herself in upon eating poorly and allowing the accumulation of pounds to gather on their frame is not worth the potential loss of life."

The right kind of conversational depth for your story would be something like this: "Having been overweight myself, I knew the danger I was in when I found myself struggling to climb the stairs."

You want your personalized stories to come across as genuine without looking sloppy or condescending. The third type of tone will allow your readers to see the picture you're painting for them and feel a connection with you while maintaining respect for you as a leader in your niche.

Powerful Storytelling That Pulls a Reader In

Storytelling adds layers of depth that pure facts and figures can't compete with. No one wants to sit down and read an encyclopedia. But they do like to hear people recount their stories of how life has unfolded for them.

What kinds of stories can add depth to your online marketing content? Start with your personal experiences. You probably chose your niche because it had some sort of personal appeal to you.

This would be great for so many niches:–

Someone who lost weight and now wants to help others.

Someone who was caught unprepared in an extreme weather event and now guides others to be ready in the survival niche.

Someone who was once a corporate employee and who now helps others earn money while working at home.

You can also share stories about your fears, hopes, and what-ifs. It doesn't always have to be something that you've experienced. It can be something you want to avoid or something you hope to achieve.

Suppose you're talking about fears and hopes in the survival niche, for example. In that case, you might talk about how you hope someday society can once again sleep with their doors unlocked and windows open, but until then, you have to assume the worst could happen and protect yourself and your family.

Just speaking about it from an emotional point of view, showing that it truly means something to you, can help your audience bond with you because it's something that's important to them as well.

You can also add depth by sharing other people's experiences, but it needs to be with their permission as I stated previously. If it's someone you once knew or heard about, you might share it anonymously, but while making sure it's generic enough that no one would know exactly who you're talking about.

For example, you might say, "I once knew of a woman who was evicted from her home because she couldn't pay her mortgage on a meager salary. She actually lived in a shelter while learning to start her business online, and used the library computer to get started. Now, she's a six-figure blogger who helps others."

That's a very specific story, but it doesn't tell who the person is. You don't want to share other people's stories just because you know they're not subscribed to your list or they won't know you've shared it.

For example, you wouldn't want to say, "My sister has cried every night about her weight, but she refuses to do anything about it. She's been depressed and yet still shoves cookies in her mouth day after day."

If you're blogging under your name and someone happens to know your sister, or she sees it, this story could be very painful and humiliating. So stick to stories about yourself, or keep people anonymous when adding a layer of depth to your topic's emotional impact.

You can also use made-up scenarios. Often, when you create a story (and yes, it's okay to tell them to imagine something), the words you put out there might paint a picture of someone reading it.

So let's say your content piece already tells people not to give up on their dream and goal of losing weight. You might add a layer of depth by showing them how defeated someone feels when they give up and have to start all over.

You could say, "Imagine you mess up your diet today and throw up your hands, tired of the struggle. In a couple of weeks, the weight you've lost will creep back on. Your pants will get snug again. You'll feel uncomfortable in your own skin. You'll cry because you're so disgusted with yourself for failing again. Wouldn't it feel better to view it as a one meal blip and power through the rest of your day or week and be proud that you didn't go back to square one?"

Those reading this made up example will probably see themselves in the scenario because they've been through it before. And even if not, it will be something they want to avoid.

You can definitely add a layer of depth by talking about things that are already public. For example, if it's the survival niche, you might discuss a true crime story and how that person could have protected themselves.

Don't Be Shy About Creating Depth with Opinions.

Some marketers hesitate to add opinions to their content pieces. They may feel just fine about sharing facts and data, but forming an opinion means putting themselves out there for judgment.

That's because when it comes to opinions, there will always be someone who disagrees with you – someone who thinks differently from you. That can create controversy and arguments because people can be foolish online and be hateful about things.

But still, your insight – your opinion – is what your audience wants to hear from you. They can get facts and figures anywhere. What makes your blog and your list unique, as well as your products, is that they get to find out why you believe something is right or wrong or the best way to do things.

So start by sharing what you love about things. There will always be people who don't love those things, but that's okay. There will be plenty who think like you do. What do you love about a particular diet? About a method of gardening? About a specific dog training technique?

When you're talking about what you love about it, it's okay to be emotional. Emotional doesn't mean you're out there crying and hysterical. It means you're thoughtful and genuine.

You can say that you love a mindful diet because, for the first time since you've been overweight, you didn't feel like an outcast at dinner parties having to turn down foods the host had prepared – or whatever it is that resonated with you.

Likewise, talk about what you don't like about something. Do you hate the way the keto diet makes you feel gross for eating blobs or butter and fattening slabs of bacon? It's okay to say it – even if others will disagree because that's exactly what they love about the keto diet.

Also, add layers by talking about things you wish could be different or things you think are ridiculous. For example, you might discuss how you hate the diet obsessed mind people get, where everything they talk about and share is food, especially when the whole purpose is to get to a place of normalcy where food is fuel and not the center of their world.

When you add layers through opinions, you're going to have plenty of people shaking their head in agreement and those who get frustrated and let you know how wrong you really are. Just think of it as engagement – and watch as those who agree with you step up in defense of that thought process.

Drill Down the Details

Another way you can add layers of depth is by drilling down the details about your topic. When you're sharing information, you can provide it in a shallow way, such as saying, "Survivalists will need a knife in their bug-out bags."

That's merely a surface- level way to guiding your audience. A deeper way to lead them would be by saying something like, "Survivalists will need a knife in their bug out bag to cut brush, kill for food, for defense, to make tools, for cutting kindling for a fire, or to build shelter."

That gives them a lot more information about why they need that knife in their bug out bag – things they may not have even thought of. When you write a statement, ask yourself if you could share more – like who it's for, why they'd need it, what they'd need it for, and so on.

If you want to go even deeper, you could add to that statement, "The best knife for brush would be a machete. For shelter, you'd want a serrated knife instead of a plain edge."

You can add as many relevant and valuable details to your readers as you want, as long as you don't start going off on a tangent that will make it appear like fluff and filler content they don't need.

If you want to try your hand at adding depth to some of your content pieces, pick a topic for your niche and write a simple 400-word article. Then go back and add depth wherever possible.

Try using a variation – your story, opinions, drilled down details, etc. Compare the length and feel of the piece before and after. Think about it from your readers' point of view – which part would you appreciate more?

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Recent Comments

11

Thanks, Catherine. I see the suggestions for depth in our writing,
but not being sure what all is involved I had to do some serious searching to find the information.
Your article will give a new writer some idea of what depth really is, and remind older ones that it is important without time consuming research. Sami

Another Excellent Post & Share Catherine. You are really on a roll.

Love it and great advice as ever! Thankyou

Great information and very helpful, Catherine! Thanks!

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