Keeping It Green. As In Evergreen.

Are your articles forever green or evergreen?

One of my clients recently discussed with me his desire to include a story on his blog that was newsworthy, but there was a problem: almost as soon as the information was to be posted, it would become outdated.

Now posting what you want, when and how you want on your blog is your business. That’s the beauty of online journaling—you’re the writer, editor and publisher all wrapped up in one and you get to say pretty much whatever you want to say.

Article Freshness

But we also know that there are other reasons for posting something online, reasons demanding a carefully constructed plan following much thought. One of the most important reasons is the article’s strength long term–many weeks, months, perhaps years after it was originally written.

How fun is it to find an article you wrote in 2007 still getting hits? Importantly, those hits are translated into income (through ad clicks) or business (through client inquiries) because you had the presence of mind to write in such a way to make sure your article never aged. You kept it green, as in evergreen.

Evergreen content is always fresh, it never ages and is useful years after it was first written. News stories are not evergreen because they focus on a specific time and place. Articles about particular holidays, a sporting event, a world crisis or any other event that has passed are not evergreen. Even writing about the location of the 2015 Super Bowl now will only guarantee a few years of freshness before that article is old and outdated.

Evergreen Example

Certainly, I am not against writing articles locked in a specific time and place, because they do have their place in the writing sphere. If you were to look through what I’ve written on this blog since it launched in December 2005, you would find mostly evergreen articles, but also a fair share of dated material included.

Timeless articles such as, “The 5 Components of the Writing Process,” written by me in September 2007 continue to perform well. In the past year alone that article has been visited 941 times, and has been referenced elsewhere well after it was first published. I believe that articles like this one have helped raise my visibility while offering advice that will never change. That’s something you’ll want to consider doing as well.

New Approach

Now let’s get back to what my client wanted.

I knew he was looking for something that could be cited time and again, thus we killed the original story and decided to develop something that will endure. The subject matter is right, but the approach we’re now taking is far different with an eye toward long term usefulness.

There isn’t anything wrong with writing articles that are not evergreen. In fact, if an article is hot and cited by others, you may want to consider visiting what you wrote from time to time and updating your material. I do that with an article I wrote several years ago about Operation Christmas Child here because it continues to do well in the SERPs and is referenced frequently by people who want to help this worthy project each year.

Update List

I keep a list of articles to update from time to time, but I keep that list short because the last thing I want is to be held hostage by dated material needing my constant attention.

Evergreen writing is my preference because once you have published what you wrote you can put your time and energy into advancing your other work.

Lean And Mean: Concise Posts Make A Huge Difference!

The internet has changed the way that we write and the way that we read.

Her choice of fashion may not be on the mark (what does that have to do with anything?!), but reading a good online article should be as enjoyable for her as flipping through the pages of a favorite magazine.

Lengthy paragraphs and sentences are out while bulleted paragraphs and numbered lists are in. How did that change come about? For the simple reason that when we view a screen, our eyes tend to scan the text looking for information to jump out at us. Unlike printed copy which can be folded, turned or read while on the potty or in the lazy chair, we tend to place ourselves in front of a big screen or before a laptop perched atop a table at our local coffee shop.

Really now, who do you think is the more comfortable reader? In most cases that would be the person folding the pages of a newspaper who can kick back and relax, taking her time to read the morning news without worrying about spilling coffee on a keyboard or going buggy eye in the process. But then, newspaper readership is disappearing almost as fast as internet participation is growing.

Two Kinds of Writing Styles

So here you have two different styles of writing – one designed for more leisurely and relaxed reading, the other to convey short, but high impact data designed to drive home a point with all the fluff removed.

Don’t get me wrong – there are a number of excellent pieces online that are several thousand words long. In the early days of the internet, I learned to print those kinds of articles out, stapling the pages together and saving the best of the lot. I’m a writer, therefore lengthy articles, short stories, novellas and books are fine with me. But they aren’t fine for mostly everyone else, particularly for the online reader.

How can you best write what you want without droning on and on? That’s easy – write what you want and then pick at it later.

That’s right, if you have something to say, then say it. Don’t worry about article length or trying to adhere to certain restrictions that others are urging you to embrace. I’ve come across many bloggers who worry that they’re being too wordy, leaving out important content to keep their article lengths under control. That’s just wrong – you’re proofreader and editor as well a publisher and writer – you are the one solely responsible for the way that your article reads. Your audience validates your work by subscribing to a feed or by leaving comments.

Cutting Out the Fluff

Now there is a big difference between the article that is 1500 words long and lacking substance versus the 500 word article that says it all. What readers don’t realize is that a good number of articles which may be short and to the point may not have started out that way. In some cases, the writer may have “skinned” her article down to take out excess data or remove fluff, in order to leave the reader with concrete, helpful, concise, but highly effectual information.

To reiterate my point the length of your article doesn’t matter as much as what is inside of it. If you can say what you want to say in 500, 1000 or 2500 words or more while keeping your reader’s attention, then you have succeeded in your endeavor. Cut out the junk and you’ll be left with an article worth reading no matter how many words you used.

See Also — Should You Schedule Your Blog Posts?

Photo Credit: Viktoria Sav