Creating Content That Lasts: The Best Investment For Your Biz [M&M #026]
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As a one-person business, you likely know the importance of having a strong online presence. You also know that creating content is a key part of that presence. However...
Not all content is created equal.
There is a specific type of content that takes the cake. ☝️
No trend will outmatch it, and nothing can replace it.
It’s called, ‘Evergreen Content’.
This type of content continues to bring in traffic and leads long after it’s been created.
What is Evergreen Content?
Evergreen refers to content that is always relevant and won't become outdated. It’s content that is remains timeless due to its usefulness for years to come. You never have to worry about replacing it because it’ll never go out of style or become outdated.
A few ways you can structure your content to be more evergreen:
How-to’s or How-I’s (reply to this email if you want me to elaborate on what this means in an upcoming M&M entry)
Guides on the fundamentals or principles of a topic
Case-studies or Breakdowns of something
Sharing your own research
To better explain what this could look like...
Let’s pretend you’re an interior designer and you want to make some content around designing a comfortable living room space...
You may create a blog post on how to position furniture to maximize the space.
You may show off your skills by recording a short video showing someone’s current living room and how you’d re-arrange the space if they hired you as their designer.
You might create a guide on what factors a homeowner should consider when buying furniture for their new living space.
You might create a slide deck that shows off the living room transformations you’ve designed in the past.
Or lastly, you may compile all your notes and research on this topic into a pdf that aspiring designers can download (free or paid)
What wouldn’t be evergreen is content like…
A TikTok on 2023’s top living room couches.
When thinking evergreen, think ‘timeless’ ⏳
“But memes and trends help my content get picked up by the algorithm!”
Yeah, but the question I always take us back to is, What is your goal?
In this case, why are you wanting to create content in the first place?
Before you answer, let’s look at why evergreen will make you more green.
Green like money, not mary-jane you bum 😋
Just messin'. I’m all for the peace and love dude ☮️
Why is Evergreen Content Important?
Evergreen content is important because it’s content that will continue to bring in traffic and leads long after it’s been created and will continue to be relevant and useful to your audience. It will build trust with your audience and establish yourself as an authority in your field - for years to come!
You create it once and it keeps on giving.
So when we’re talking trends or topics that have a shorter lifespan like NFTs or Bitcoin there’s a good likelihood that even if the content is great, it won’t be useful in a year or two because times change. We evolve.
Can you imagine if the news kept replaying the same headlines from 2010?
…Wouldn’t be super useful or engaging right?
The Trick
The trick is to find a balanced approach between what I’ll call short-cycle content and evergreen content.
For instance, I really want to create some content on AI and ChatGPT because it’s blowing up the internet right now. Even if I were to get .001% of all the attention funneling into that topic at the moment, it’d be the jackpot - new eyeballs on my content could grow my audience significantly. 🙌
Now what I could do is position the content using one of the examples I mentioned earlier to increase its lifespan of usefulness. But at some point, the hype around ChatGPT will simmer down.
Short-cycle content can spark virality.
Evergreen content feeds longevity.
Pay close attention to the topics of these newsletters.
Am I picking topics that are timeless?
Am I structuring them in a way that has a 5-10+ year lifespan of usefulness?
Let me know what you think by leaving a reply.
To build wealth, to create a sustainable brand, to build a business that can continue to support you and your dreams you must…
Think Evergreen. Create Evergreen.
One tiny seed planted correctly can produce food and shade for a lifetime.
This entry is yet another seed that’s now been planted.
I encourage you to do the same, and if you want some more direction on this, just reply.
Until next time ✌️ 🙂
- Ev
