Your Articles Aren't Making any Money. Here's Why.

You write an article a day. You have researched your reader base and are writing about what they want to hear. But People still aren't upvoting your articles. Why not?

Honestly, it is probably because you are producing poor content.

Content

What is content? Look at the definitions in the image. Especially pay attention to b and c.

Content is the information directed to the end-user or audience, something that is to be expressed through some medium such as speech, writing, or any various arts. In marketing, content is what sells the product. In blogging, content is what sells the author. If the content is poor, neither the product nor the author is sold. the audience walks away, often feeling dissatisfied, bored, or confused. For our purposes, we will consider content to be writing.

Good content is writing that people want to read. It is enjoyable, fresh, entertaining, and adds value to the reader's life. Good writing is born of creativity. Later in this article, I will discuss some things that may be blocking your creativity and what to do about them.

For now, I'd like to compare and contrast good content and poor content.

Good content

• Entertaining

• Informative

• Fresh

• Well written

• Easy to understand

Poor content

• Boring

• Uninformative

• Stale

• Poorly written

• Rambles and is difficult to understand

In order for content to be considered at all, it must grab the reader's interest. If the content is entertaining it loses the reader. When I get bored, I stop reading. I walk away feeling disappointed and sometimes even angry or annoyed. Many people advise using catchy titles to grab readers' interest. This is of course true, but if the title is the only entertaining thing about the article, then the title is all anyone will read.

Good content is also informative. This goes hand in hand with being fresh. If I learn something I didn't know, I will always read the writer's other articles. This is where fresh subject matter comes in. Let me give you an example:

The above screenshot of @PVMihalache article demonstrates a fresh approach to the crypto market. (The full article is linked at the bottom.)

I have been so inundated with articles about the crypto bull run. Every article is basically the same. Crypto is going parabolic (meaning straight up), crypto trends suggest the bull market will reverse to a bear market in 2021, Crypto is bullish.

PV floated a fresh idea, in his own words. His article was entertaining, he told us a bit about himself, and informative. He offered facts to back up his opinions. His idea was fresh and not a repetition of every other article on this platform, lately. It was for the most part well written and easy to understand. I could tell PV really understood his subject matter. He didn't ramble. His English, though I suspect not his first language was passable.

*NOTE*

I have to break here to mention how impressed I am with writers who have English as a second language. It is tough to learn a second language, let alone learn to write it. Bravo to those of you who are doing so. Keep it up!!

I don't want to give real-world examples of poor content here. I think that would be a bit cruel. Instead, I will invent some examples and hopefully, those who are creating poor content will read and learn. I don't want to point fingers at specific people.

You will all recognize poor content when you see it. If the writer misuses words or uses overly complicated terms. When a writer demonstrates they don't really have a firm grasp on their subject matter. When their writing appears lazy and not proofread. When they ramble on with no real beginning, middle, or end.

(I have to say I am guilty of using ten words where one will do the trick. I ramble. This, more than spelling or grammar, is why it is important for me to reread what I've written.)

Poor content is not only stale subject matter but also very repetitive within the body of the article. When I read articles that feel padded for length I roll my eyes and walk away.

Some content is entertaining, imaginative, fresh, and informative but the spelling and grammar are so poor it becomes too difficult to understand. And I'm not just talking about English second language. I'm talking about native speakers.

There are so many free, online tools to help with spelling and grammar. Microsoft Word has grammar and spelling tools built-in. As does Google docs. Grammarly offers a fantastic free program. I use Grammarly on everything I write. None of these tools is ever 100 % correct, so you can't just take all of the suggestions and walk away. You also have to look things up for yourself.

Creativity

Imagination and creativity are the building blocks of good content writing. But sometimes we feel blocked and can't move forward without copying someone else's subject matter, thereby making our content stale, if not outright plagiarizing someone else's work. Don't do that. NEVER do that. Do your own work. Here are some things that might be blocking your creativity, and what to do about them.

I wrote this story last fall. I'm going to give it to you in its entirety so you can see what I mean about entertaining. I give you information about my life, with real photos. It is written in simple language, easy to understand. I hope it is not boring.

. . .

The second week of October was a strange one in the Texas panhandle this year. The weather went from high 70 degree temps to snowing in a matter of hours. (Go home, Texas. You’re drunk!)

At first, this boosted my creativity. I wrote several haiku about the strange weather. I came up with creative meals and snacks in the kitchen (stew anyone? Or would you prefer some fancy pumpkin spice hot chocolate?).

But then I felt blocked. I wanted to be creative. I felt the itch to be creative, but like a sneeze that never comes, I failed at creating.

I would grab pen and paper and write 3 or 4 lines and stop. I would head to the kitchen and wander aimlessly trying to figure out supper.

I would grab my laptop and try to edit a draft on medium and be unable to focus on one draft, one image, one publication.

This morning my husband was doing something with the heater and it hit me. I’m cold. I’ve been cold since last Thursday when it snowed. The cold was blocking my creativity!

My husband doing something to the heater. Yes, I’m still in robe and PJs. Don’t judge! It’s cold in here.

As soon as I got my feet warm, I started writing again. I even doodled a little picture. This led me to think long and hard about all the other times I’ve felt creatively blocked and which creative laxatives worked.

1. You may be too cold or too hot.

Your mind keeps pulling focus off of whatever you are creating and onto your body. Your desire for creative release is directly at odds with your body’s needs. Go get warm or cool off and see if those creative juices don’t start flowing.

1. You may be hungry or thirsty.

When I’m writing or painting I get into the zone and forget to do all kinds of necessary and useful things, like eating and drinking. If you find yourself increasingly blocked during a session of successful creativity, you may need to take a snack break. It is so easy for me to grab a Nutella fold-over or some other sugary snack. This might boost brain power immediately, but it is a short term boost. For longer, more successful bouts of creativity go for something more balanced and nutritious. Dehydration affects brain function as well. Make sure you have some water handy.

1. You may need to pee.

I often find myself getting distracted and unreasonably frustrated with the smallest things. Previous creative ease turns into blocked creativity. Eventually I will realize my bladder is full and demanding to be emptied. If you feel like something is bothering you and you can’t put your finger on it maybe you have to pee. Run to the bathroom, take care of business and see if your creativity doesn't come a lot easier.

1. You may be tired.

When I don’t get enough sleep I will find myself standing in the middle of the kitchen or staring at the computer screen wondering what I’m supposed to be doing and how long I’ve been there. These are the days my family gets served frozen pizza. When I look at my drafts the next morning I discover that they are rambling and nonsensical. Although I didn’t feel blocked, I definitely didn’t create anything good. If you find yourself staring blankly into space, without knowing what you are thinking about, you may be tired. If you look at your creation and realize it is a sloppy mess, even though you don’t feel blocked, you may be sleep-deprived. Take a break. Take a nap. Start over the next day. See if things don’t look more in focus after a good sleep.

As someone who lives with Major Depressive Disorder and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, my mind goes straight to the potential psychological causes for whatever is bothering me. In the case of blocked creativity, I am finding it may be physical. If you are blocked, do a quick body check. Make sure you are comfortable; not too hot, not too cold. Check that you are properly nourished and hydrated. Ask yourself if you have to go to the bathroom. If you discover that your creations are not all you thought they were, calculate how much sleep you’ve gotten. You might find unblocking yourself is as easy as seeing to your body’s needs.

. . .

Here's @PVMihalache fresh take article

https://read.cash/@PVMihalache/2021-is-the-market-correction-not-a-bull-run-ec107d44

Lead image by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash