Make your content 3x better with a journalistic approach, E-A-T-T’s best friend

Journalists are masters at finding and telling compelling stories. Context… and color bring a story to life. Yes! Readers in. But what if you could use this same skill to elevate your content writing career? Today, a journalistic approach is a must-have for content writers or content strategists as well. You can create more engaging and impactful narratives through this.

Curious how? Keep reading.

What is the journalistic approach to writing?

A journalistic approach can sharpen your writing process, which is an effective toolkit. In this way, you can provide an article filled with valuable insights, information, and perspectives. In turn, this effort will also increase your credibility.

The internet now has much more similar and poor content. We’re all tired of reading these bad works. To prevent this on SERP, Google ranks higher more valuable articles. Asking what the heck valuable means? So you should craft your content within the framework of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). Your journalistic approach will also support your SEO efforts.

What is the difference between a journalist and a content writer?

Journalists and content writers are both skilled in written communication, but their roles and goals are different. Journalists aim to inform the public by reporting news objectively. They dig up facts and present them with transparency and honesty.

Content writers, however, create content to meet specific audience needs, boost brand awareness, and hit marketing goals. They focus on understanding their audience and aligning content with brand objectives. Their writing is often tailored to drive sales, build customer loyalty, or improve brand reputation.

Journalistic approach to content writing and content strategies

Finding stories that others miss

Journalists are good at finding fascinating stories because they’re trained to find unique angles or stories that others may overlook.

As a content strategist or content writer, improve your observation skills. You might be surprised at where the next story comes from. By pinpointing the stories within your industry or niche that haven’t been told yet, you can create big-league content.

Pro tip: Dig deeper into customer experiences, explore case studies, and highlight underrepresented voices. Request all customer documents, testimonials, emails, etc. from your company to research well. Moreover, something from your daily life could spark an interesting idea in the context of your research. So always keep your ears open — one time, the chitchatting of people in the public bus helped me find a creative idea.

Be curious and look beyond the surface.

The curious mindset

A journalist’s curiosity drives them to ask the right questions and dig deeper into topics. That’s why maintaining a curious mindset can help you discover new insights and perspectives in your content. Curiosity leads to richer, more diverse content that keeps your audience engaged.

Pro tip: Ask probing questions during interviews. Explore new research ways, like reader feedback, comments, or questions, as sources. Also, ask “why” and “how” about your topics to gain diverse perspectives. Stay current on trends and consume varied media to expand your knowledge.

Writing for diverse audiences

You should customize your content for different groups. I don’t talk about demographic details. Like journalists, you need to communicate effectively with different audiences.

Pro tip: Think like a partner. You should listen carefully to your audience and show real care. Feel their pain, needs, and desires. Otherwise, they’ll break up with you. In this mental state, you can create more personalized and effective content.

Reaching different audience segments

Let’s say you’re writing content for a technology company for a general audience. So you might need to create different versions of the same piece of content: one for tech-savvy readers and another for those who are less familiar with the industry.

High ethical standards

As well as journalists, you should focus on high ethical standards, such as accuracy, transparency, and fairness. It’ll build trust with your audience.

Pro tip: Add a fact-checking phase to your content creation process. Or you can hire a freelance fact-checker to maintain your articles’ credibility. Want to learn how I fact-check my content to ensure accuracy? 

Why is fact-checking important?

Depending on this research in 2019, 86% of global citizens have been exposed to fake news, and don’t trust the internet anymore. Moreover, fake news costs the global economy $78 billion annually. This is serious, guys. Inaccurate or misleading content can damage your brand’s credibility and cost you a loooot of money. And now, we have to deal with AI-generated content hallucinations and bias. Whether you’re a journalist or not, fact-checking and verification are a responsibility. You need to protect the quality of your work and your credibility by ensuring any information you publish or circulate is accurate.

In 2011, Catherine Belton, the author of Putin’s People, faced a libel lawsuit from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich over claims made about him in her book. Both Belton and her publisher, HarperCollins, were taken to court in London, where the case threatened to incur up to £10 million in legal costs. Eventually, the case was settled out of court, but HarperCollins had to pay its own legal fees and make changes to the book’s text.

If you need one, I’m a certified fact-checker and copy editor. Contact me.

Research like investigate journalist

Researching is the backbone of the entire writing process. And journalists are good at it. As a content writer, you should also act like an investigator. Thorough research enriches your content and makes it more valuable to your audience.

Pro tip: Go beyond surface-level research. Still searching for something on only Google SERP? Researching is much more than looking at the first 10 pages. Check books, academic papers, and interviews with experts to gather comprehensive information.

Attention: Create a research system because it’s not okay to spend days researching standard articles. You have a deadline. You should define research time for your content creation process. If you know how to research well, you can reach the most effective results within this time.

I’m sharing my secrets about creating content for my followers. You can subscribe for free here.

Bonus: For example, if you’re creating content about SaaS for B2B, build an expert list to contact ASAP when you need an interview. Thought leadership interviews not only engage readers but also boost your content’s SEO value.

Clarity works for everyone

Journalists avoid jargon and complex language to ensure their message is easy to understand for readers. In content writing, we always say “Keep It Simple, Stupid!” — check for the KISS principle.

Pro tip: Write clear and straight. Make your content more accessible and skimmable for your audience. This doesn’t mean dumbing down your content, but rather presenting it in a way that is easy to digest.

Not sure if your message is clear enough? Let me polish it with pro-level copy editing. 

Bonus: If you’re writing for experts, there is no point in repeating simple things. Let’s say you’re preparing content about a PPC tool for a B2B audience. No need to add a subhead for “What is PPC?” Your target audience already knows what PPC is. If you still want to add it for SEO, then add it to the FAQ section.

Understand your target audience well and provide proper content.

Everything’s connected. The more enjoyable and valuable your content, the more Google has your back. Why? Because the journalistic approach makes your content shine with expertise and experience. Hello! Obviously, this boosts your reliability and authority in your niche, and Google loves that.