Evergreen content is content that is always useful. In the digital marketing world, it’s not uncommon for even great advice to be outdated after a few months. Heck, with SEO and social media, it’s not unheard of that good advice is outdated in just a couple weeks. If you don’t want all of your content to become obsolete (even though a lot of it inevitably will) you need to create a good backlog of evergreen content that will keep people coming back year after year and sustain your SEO. Sure, it’s easier said than done, so I’ve listed a few suggestions below that will get you on the right track.
History
The history of things is a great source for evergreen content. The beauty of history is that it doesn’t really change. Even if you go back in time and accidentally seduce your own mother, you can still get things patched up between her and your dad before the Enchantment Under the Sea dance wraps up.
Write about your industries origins, write a brief biography of one of the more influential figures in the field, write about one of the tools or services that are popular in your industry. People like learning about where things came from, and you can be the one to deliver that to them. A single good historical blog or article will be relevant for years and years to come.
How-To
This one is a little trickier, but it still works. In fact, when done right, how-to’s are probably the most popular pieces of evergreen content. The hard part is finding something to write about that will be relevant for awhile. You should shoot for at least a year. This means something like “how to succeed on Facebook” is probably out, because that changes every couple of months. On the other hand, something like “how to deescalate angry customers on Facebook” will be fairly timeless, because even if Facebook changes, how you speak to your customers most likely won’t.
Think about your industry. There are always how-to’s to do. Also, with how-to’s, don’t be afraid to go back in and make little tweaks to keep them up to date as best practices change. There may be small differences in process that change between 2013 and 2014, but you don’t have to rewrite the whole piece.
Funny Lists
Personally, I hate it when people suggest you be funny. There is no humor switch, and just telling you to be funny does nothing to help you. With that being said, try and be a little funny won’t yah? The skyrocketing success of sites like Cracked.com and Buzzfeed have shown us that people love funny and silly little lists. You have insight into your industry, you know what makes it tick. Find some common pet peeves, add silly pictures, and make a list. It doesn’t have to be hilarious, it just needs to be fun and have a catchy title.
Do you all have any other ideas for evergreen content?
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