You don’t have to be a good writer to create awesome web content. Most of the time, good writers write way too much, leaving their audience lost in mounds of text.  Internet users, as a rule, are quite fickle and inpatient.  Unless you are a very engaging wordsmith with some very engaging topics, lots of text is going to turn off many visitors.

So here are my 8 Tips to Create Killer Content:

1. Amazing Pictures often tell stories much more powerfully than words. Exhibit A:  New York Times Year in Pictures
2. Never underestimate the power of a single message. Too many webmasters bombard their visitors with a little bit of everything.  If you can stay on target and create a nice, neat package that will really grab a certain visitor and keep them coming back, you’ll be much more successful in the long run.
3. Less really can be more. Don’t feel like you have to write the next great American Novel in every post or story.  There’s nothing wrong with a quick, 200 word conversational style post.  In fact, many of the top bloggers use this style very successfully and never have to spend more than a few minutes creating posts.
4. Don’t settle for the first thing you find! If you’re looking for images for your post, spend an extra 2 minutes and find an extra one so you have something to compare.  If you’re looking for a video, watch 3-4 additional videos to ensure you find the most engaging.  If you read a story or post you want to blog about, read another by that author and see if you’re getting as much as you can.
5. Use lists, tips, charts, graphs, and visual aids. People love seeing what you’re going to be telling them.  If you have a top 10 list, they can get in and out quickly.  If there are charts and graphs, they can see if the information is of interest of them before spending the time to read the accompanying story. Remember, their time is valuable.  Give them aids to digest your information quickly and easily and they’ll keep coming back.
6. Learn from the dying newspapers! You’ve heard the saying, people read the Front Page (current events), back page (sports & entertainment) and the obituaries.  That’s about it!  Learn your lesson.  Either give people current events that they can’t find elsewhere (including, a new and fresh spin on an old idea), something entertaining, funny, clever, or what they are passionate about (like the sports page), or content that they are morbidly fascinated with (like obituaries).  No one cares about the same old, repackaged, boring stories in the middle of the paper, just as no one cares about boring, overdone website content.
7. It’s all about the CONTENT! If you have to worry about writing an engaging and amazing post to get people interested in what you’re telling them, you’re doing it all wrong!  Engaging topics write themselves!
8. Do you research silly! Want to know what people like?  Well, I already know!  You know how?  I go and find out!  Use the tools around you to see what people in your field like.  Go to similar sites and see which of their posts are most commented on.  Go to social networking sites and see which stories are most popular.  Listen to your own comments (and lack of comments) and give the people what they want.
9. And because 8 are never enough… Bookmark XPresence.com! You aren’t going to find this info just anywhere you know!  Subscribe to our feed! Join our newsletter.  Bookmark our site.  Come back and visit us daily!