If you are a frequest writer and creator of content online — Steem, or elsewhere — it's always important to be able to answer the question "How will I get the most out of my writing?"

Few of us like to work hard, only to get little or no reward... regardless of whether you are in it for the money, for awareness generation, for building your personal brand, or something else.

Quality, Value... and LASTING Value

In this community, much written and said about the importance of "quality content." Some believe we must strive for it, some don't care, and yet others (including myself) focus more on whether or not something adds value than whether it is actual quality.

Regardless of where you fall on that scale, it's worth being aware that search engines tend to focus on their interpretation of creating an overall positive experience for web users, so it does matter whether or not you are creating something of some value, at least IF you hope to be "found" on a regular basis.

An important aspect of worthwhile web content — especially the kind that will keep getting traffic over a long period of time — is to keep it "evergreen."

Most of us know what "evergreen" means in the context of trees and plants, but what does it mean, in terms of web content?

Evergreen Content

The basic idea is to create something that will remain useful, and relevant even after the 7-day payout period is long gone.

You might wonder "Why bother?"

Because if you're offering something of value, even if someone finds a long "expired" post of yours, they much also check out some of your current posts, as well.

Now, you might wonder "why bother?" for a second time, since we tend to be very oriented just towards people inside the community... but consider this: If the community expects to ever grow significantly, that's going to happen because outside readers and web users discover that the platform even exists.

"News" items may get a lot of initial attention when they are first posted, but they quickly grow stale. Think about it: Who's going to read about a "current" event that happened several months ago, after we've already moved onto something else?

Similarly, some kinds of articles/posts are very seasonal; they may (because of their focus) do well around Christmas or Easter or "winter" but otherwise "go to sleep" because they are not related to what the world is looking at, right now.

Good examples of "evergreen" content would be advice columns, or "how to" tutorials, or gaming guides, travel essays, movie reviews, descriptive accounts of holiday venues or (non-seasonal) product reviews. Personal essays, homesteading advice and self-help pieces are also nice examples of evergreen content.

Since people are trying to build something that lasts beyond "next week," we owe it to ourselves to make the most of our efforts!

Thanks for reading, and have a great remainder of your weekend!

What do YOU think? Is pretty much everything in life just guesswork? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for this platform.)
Created at 20200613 21:57 PDT
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