17 Content Pieces You Can Create Without Writing a Single Word If you feel you don't have the writing chops but still want to fill your website, consider these blogging alternatives.
By Eric Siu
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Not a strong writer? Not a problem! Even though "content is king" these days, there are tons of different content pieces that can be created and shared on your company's website without requiring extensive writing. Here are a few ideas to help get your creative juices flowing:
1. Image gallery: Instead of words, fill your blog posts with pictures. If your blog is personal in nature, create galleries based on your own experiences and observations. If it's for a business website, try a "behind-the-scenes" gallery or a collection of product-related images.
2. Song round-up: Similarly, create a collection of songs that capture a mood or serve some purpose for your audience. As an example, check out this "21 Great Songs for Grieving" audio round-up on a funeral industry blog.
Related: 8 Writing Strategies for People Who Say They Can't Write
3. Quote collection: No matter what subject your website covers, there's a quote (or, better yet, a collection of quotes) out there that will inspire your readers. Search for "[your industry/topic] quotes" and be sure to provide proper attribution to any you wind up using on your site.
4. Link round-up: Curation is an easy way to pack your web properties full of content. In this particular iteration, gather 10 to 20 interesting industry links you've encountered online recently and share them with your audience in this easy-to-create format.
5. Video series: Collections of Youtube or Vimeo videos are one final round-up idea that makes it easy to generate web content quickly. For example, if you're a tech startup, a list of great TED Talks will appeal to readers while saving you time.
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6. Audio interview: Creating audio interviews is incredibly easy -- all you need is a free recording program such as Audacity and an expert source to speak with. Ask around to find these authorities. If your website has any level of credibility within your industry, well-known experts may be eager to help you out in exchange for greater exposure.
7. Podcast: On a related note, running your own podcast series gives you an easy way to generate tons of content without the need for writing. If you're successful, you may even benefit from having your recording featured on podcast websites or at the top of the iTunes listings -- leading to even more press for your company.
8. Video interview: If you have the equipment, the technical know-how and the industry connections, video interviews can be an even more powerful way to create content and capture attention. As an added bonus, having your interview subjects share your recordings with their followers can lead to greater press for your organization.
9. Video Q&A: Don't think you need to enlist other participants to create interesting video footage. One simple way to put together website content is to record yourself answering a common question about your product or service, using the camera built in to your smartphone or laptop. With a few quick edits, you'll have a content piece that provides valuable information without the need for excess writing.
10. Slide deck: The beauty of sharing slide decks as content pieces on your various web properties is that you don't even have to create them yourself. While doing so might improve your branding efforts, you can easily find interesting presentations on sites such as Slideshare to embed in your own website.
Related: Bring Traffic to Your Site With These 4 Blogging Alternative
11. Infographic: Got creative skills? Translate your knowledge and the industry stats you've accumulated into an engaging infographic image that's sure to get shared around by members of your target audience.
12. Comic: Alternatively, if you're a strong illustrator, comics can be another fun way to fill out your content needs while engaging your followers. Just be sure to keep any humor you include appropriate to the expectations of your audience to avoid offending potential customers.
13. Polls and surveys: Not only are polls and surveys easy to create, they can give you tons of valuable insight into your customers, your marketplace and your product. Check out SurveyMonkey's free version to get started.
14. Re-blogged posts: If you come across an interesting blog post in your industry, reach out to the author to seek permission to re-blog the post on your site. While you'll need to provide proper attribution, re-blogging is an easy way to add valuable content to your website with minimal effort.
15. Guest post: On another note, if you can't find good content to re-blog, invite authors to create guests posts to share on your site in exchange for a backlink. To keep Google happy and avoid being classified as a link schemer, only accept high-quality, valuable posts for publication.
16. Customer-generated content: Don't want to generate your own content? Have your customers do it for you! As an example, try a photo submission contest where users share images of themselves using your product in creative ways.
17. Outsourced written content: Finally, if you don't want to write content yourself, consider paying somebody else to do it for you. There are plenty of great ghostwriters out there who can help you create everything from blog posts, whitepapers to ebooks and more.
Have another idea that should be added to this list? Share it in the comments section below!
Related: 5 Content Pieces You Can Create in 5 Minutes Or Less
