Living in a fast paced world where news goes in one ear and out the other in a matter of minutes, having solid evergreen content for your business will feel like herding cats - cats who may or may not exist depending if you look at them or not. (Schrödinger’s content, perhaps?)
With some businesses, some truths remain self evident. Good narrative writing, no matter what language you speak, will always need a beginning, middle, and an end. In Accounting, showing people how to balance their books will always be a valuable skill to impart.
So what is evergreen content, and how do you write it for your business?
What Evergreen Content Looks Like - And What It Doesn’t Look Like
Evergreen content is content that will be relevant now, tomorrow, and (hopefully) five years from now. Evergreen topics are ones that people will always be interested in and will search for consistently.
Topics based on:
Recent news or current events - X did Y at Z time
Temporary trends and fads
Pop culture
Statistics or reports
Are not evergreen, as the map they are trying to create will not correspond to the real-world territory for very long. There’s nothing more disheartening finding out-of-date statistics when conducting a research project.
Evergreen topics may look like:
How to come up with ideas for your blog
How to write a mission statement
Steps for creating and sticking to a budget
Choosing complimentary colours for your logo
Usually, evergreen topics are highly abstract in nature - they don’t focus on a specific application that may not exist in a year or two - and conversely they don’t try to predict the next best thing. It remains as relevant now as it will five or even ten years down the track.
Researching and Writing Evergreen Content
Evergreen content needs to be thoroughly researched - even if you feel that the topic is “played out,” you can conduct research by looking up already popular articles on the topic. You know you have researched the topic to its limit when you are finding new articles or websites that contain almost the exact same information.
Now that you have your research, it’s time to write the content. Evergreen content is rarely “novel” - but there’s nothing preventing you from putting your own spin on things. Coming up with new ideas for blogs is a broad topic - though you could drill down into a niche such as Finance or Automotive to appeal to a select audience. You may want to produce smaller pieces, or create long-form ‘skyscraper’ content that touches on almost everything there is to know about the topic.
Evergreen content should be aimed at laypeople or beginners. It shouldn’t contain jargon; unless it’s vital to the topic. At any rate, you need to explain what it means and how it fits into the broader subject.
Evergreen Content and SEO
Evergreen content should form part of your comprehensive SEO and content strategy. That means choosing the right keywords, optimising the meta descriptions, having relevant headings, adding links and having good backlinks. It should be authoritative and valuable to others - not a cynical play at boosting your Search Engine Results.
Repurposing Evergreen Content
You may be thinking - once I’ve written my evergreen content, that’s it - I’ve painted myself into a corner. I can’t say the same thing on the same topic twice! That may be true, but you can refresh evergreen content by:
Turning it into a video or podcast.
Reminding your audience of the content via social media.
Looking at the “state of” or “trends in” the topic as a follow-up (which unfortunately is not evergreen, but may be useful for others in their research.)
Create case studies based on others who have followed your advice.
Turn your information into an infographic.
Use it as the basis for an email onboarding campaign.
Tailor it for other websites or niches.
I’ve worked with businesses where I’ve written evergreen content on subjects so many times I’ve seen them in my dreams. The information is relevant but tailored for certain audiences. “How to get a car loan with bad credit,” with a little creativity and research can also become “Tips for single dads to get a car with impaired credit” which speaks directly to certain demographics.
What’s Next
That’s up to you - pick something you’re knowledgeable in, something other people will find useful, and start writing!
Looking to get your own evergreen content up and running, written by a copywriter who’s worked with some of Australia’s top ASX 200 companies? Contact me to get started!