This is a guest post from @ChrisGuthrie from Make Money on the Internet.
If you've ever heard the phrase “Content is King” before, then you should know by now that the quality of the writing on your blog, website, ebook etc. is important.
Duh right?
In fact, you've probably heard it so often you almost hit the back button on your browser, but before you slam your head through your monitor or do something else drastic I suggest you hear me out. Instead I'd like to suggest the simplest way to write content that is both unique and worthy of being called king—case studies.
Why Case Studies?
In almost every niche on the web, readers can appreciate a good case study or in depth analysis on a subject because they're designed to tell a story based on fact. They aren't filled with regurgitated ideas based on someone's feelings about a topic (like most of the blogs that clutter the web). Instead, case studies are a factual representation of a real life event.
On my own blog, for example, I wrote a post about earning $41,438.42 with Amazon Associates. Sure enough, that blog post has been one of the most popular posts every month because it's based on data I collected over an entire year of trying various ideas to make the most money on Amazon. This is the same reason why I enjoy reading Pat's blog. Most of his posts are based on actual experience that document how he earns an income online or teach lessons based on experience like how to earn money creating iPhone apps, for example.
Case studies can be very interesting and eye opening for readers because you can share information in a way so that people learn a lot about a topic they knew nothing about or were unable to find enough information on elsewhere around the web. The fact that you're sharing a case study based on your own real life experiences already makes it a story they can't get anywhere else and they can also do wonders for your credibility. If you claim you're a Social Media Guru (just saying that makes me want to throw up) then show me who you are. What specifically have you done for your blog or a client that improved their ROI, number of Facebook fans Likes, Twitter followers etc., and how did you do it?
If you spend some time putting together a unique story based on facts from your own personal experiences, you'll reap the benefits of grateful readers and improved credibility.
Chris is the owner of Make Money on the Internet where he shares the successes and failures that come from being a full time internet entrepreneur.
Pat Chiming In:
Hey—this is Pat just putting in a word after Chris' post about just how important case studies are for the success of your blog or articles. Case studies BY FAR have been the most successful types of blog posts that I've written here on SPI. My monthly reports, keyword research experiments and Facebook studies (just to name a few) are all top traffic and comment generating posts. And the cool thing is…they're really easy to write, since most of the information is factual or data that you'd already have in hand.
Can you think of any case studies you can do for your blog? If you don't have any real life events or experiments to blog about, it's about time you make 'em happen for yourself.
Cheers!