How to Create Perfect Content

That Will Always Do What it was Created to Do

Can it be found by who I want it to be found by?
Does it have a purpose?
If it has a purpose then is it clear?
Is this purpose of value to the reader?
Is the action clear?

All these thoughts were running through Joe’s mind.

“That’s It!”

Joe exclaimed as his fist pounded the desk, scaring the last remnants of his coffee whipping out from the mug to at last find relief in self-expression on wild scribbles strewn on sheets of paper clothing the desk top.

“I finally know the answer!”

“The Perfect Content – It is so simple!!”

Relief missed an opportunity to show on his brow but Joe didn’t care. He slumped back into his chair and slapped his brow. Relief was relieved this time escaping certain injury.

“Why didn’t I see it before?”…

OK – This is a good time to talk about content – Yes?

Because in this post lies the secret of what it takes to make great content. Actually! No! Not great content! Fantastic content!! Wonderful content! Content that really means something. The secret you will recognise as soon as it is pointed out and it will be simple answer but a brilliant one.

OK – Better still – Let’s talk about paintings?

The artist though often long passed leaves his expression in colours sharing a canvas but creating in the mind of the beholder a wonderful image of a time long gone or long ago imagined. Such a beautiful art form is displayed with maybe hidden meaning and emotion as you cast the image within your mind appreciating and enjoying a special moment shared across time with the artist creator.

Shall we take it apart?

Yes – Let’s rip up a canvas and scrutinise every bit of it to find out why it is such a great picture. Under the microscope you can examine each colourful drop that made up the once wonderful content you had (before you tore it into shreds). You can analyse it all with the most powerful tools available, digitise it, tag it, categorise it, and ensure it can be found should anyone want to search for it. Well, search for just the image of it, we destroyed the original didn’t we?

But the image still has a meaning?

I still have it here. Looking at the figures on the bridge, I see a guy in a hat, a couple walking with their baby, children playing with their pet dog on a wonderful spring day. It looks so fresh and joyful, everyone looks like they are purposefully going about their business, each with their own thoughts, memories and – Hey! Why not? – Their imaginations too. It all looks so alive!

So let’s examine the content?

That’s right, because the secret is in there surely. The reason why it looks so meaningful and beautiful. We have the technology now to really look deeply into each element so let’s use it? A closer examination of the man in the hat is a bit of a struggle however. I have to pull back a bit, and go in again a few times to understand what I am looking at. The closer I look the more it becomes unintelligible, the more the wise old man turns into – well, dare I say it – meaningless blobs of colour?

Oh No! I have destroyed art!

On close examination of any content I find it gets destroyed, it disappears into nothing or noise and the lovely concepts, feeling and images I felt have all gone! It does not exist anymore deep inside the content. What have I done! The only way I can appreciated it is by what – not analysing it? But I must if I want to understand it? I must at least work out what makes it wonderful? So I can reproduce it again and again. Selling the product, the course maybe, making a good return…

“Just stop that – Right now!”

Joe leans forward and takes charge of this article that appears to be leading into the despair of self-indulgent analysis and commerciality.

“You are ruining the content, you were supposed to be talking about me! After all I now know what makes Perfect content!”
“Don’t look at the brush strokes, the cursive font, the keywords, the ‘viral’ness of it, stop examining that and think about what makes it”. Joes explains indignantly.

But I don’t think you will like Joe’s answer, for it is a simple one. It is one that everyone forgets sometime, if not most of the time, maybe for some all of the time.

“It doesn’t matter if they like it or not!”

“In fact not liking it is just as effective as liking it”.

Well, I think they may well not trust the answer, they have been taught for many years not to. In fact, they have always been taught to look elsewhere, logically and methodically finding whoever the expert is on whatever the content may be.

“I love the answer!” Joe is relieved by its obviousness.

“The answer is YOU!”

“Well ME, or whoever is both creating and perceiving the content. It is a shared thing!”

“It’s perfect!” Joe signs off and merrily disappears into oblivion… or maybe a few hundred years…

The perfect content depends on you.

That is not meant to be a huge get-out clause, it really is, You!

Stop quantifying and measuring it. Just feel great doing it. Give it meaning. Even if it about how to assemble blue widgets on a budget. If you are thinking about assembling blue widgets economically, then make it the very best blue widgets assembly you can manage. Love the content, make it come alive…

Beep!

“Sorry Jane, just flying through the Titan glades, your message broke up in the solar winds – What were you saying?”

“It’s OK Joe! I just happened on a piece in the last millennium archives and lost it for a moment…”, Jane composed herself.

“There was this beautiful poetry about strict blue widget manipulation on a budget that moved me to tears, it was lovely! What a wonderful time to be alive then!”

Joe got really excited, “Of course!! That’s it!, Jane! You are an inspiration, of course! It’s so simple!”

“Never mind that”, Jane said, “I’ve run out of coffee and don’t forget the milk! I’ve got some content to produce…”

“Perfect!” Joe replied, somewhat relieved but not understanding why…

Just have a purpose that is great, make sure you enjoy creating it and most of all know and help your reader! You don’t have to tell stories.