How to Work Smarter, Not Harder on Vocal Media and Beyond

I'm a hard worker, I always have been. I’m known for staying behind after class and working for two extra hours – that’s me, the challenge Queen.

I enjoy that feeling of a long sleep and restful sleep after a hard day’s work. However, the richest people in the world don't work harder, they work smarter.

I enjoy posting daily on Vocal and Medium, but there is a better way. You don’t have to post daily at all. You can still build an audience and earn some extra money without posting every day of the week.

I’m currently doing a seven-day challenge on Vocal, for this, I’m posting two Vocal-focused articles each day.

The focus of all my articles for this challenge is Vocal Media, and I’m enjoying every minute of it. When I’m done with this challenge, I’ll do another one called “Work Smarter, Not Harder Challenge.”

Instead of posting daily for this one, I’ll post one long-form article a week. The goal is to post evergreen, low-competition, high search volume pieces.

I’ll use Ubersuggest, which is a Search Engine Optimization tool, to discover high search volume, low competition topics and article titles.

So, here’s how to work smarter, not harder on Vocal Media, and other platforms such as Medium and Hubpages:

1. Evergreen Content: Your Long-Term Growth Engine

Just like an evergreen tree that retains its leaves year-round, evergreen content is material that remains perpetually relevant, valuable, and fresh for your audience long after its initial publication. Unlike trending news or seasonal topics that have a short shelf life, evergreen content continues to attract traffic, engagement, and value for months, even years, without significant updates.

It addresses timeless questions, problems, or topics that consistently interest readers, making it a powerful long-term strategy for writers and content creators.

Why it's Gold: Evergreen content provides a consistent stream of organic traffic, boosts your SEO value by consistently ranking high, and requires minimal maintenance once created.

It also builds your authority as a reliable source of information, leading to a higher return on your writing investment.

How to Create It:

Focus on Foundational Topics: Think "how-to" guides, "ultimate guides," explanations of core concepts, or solutions to persistent problems in your niche.

Avoid Timely Hooks: Don't tie your content to specific dates, current events (unless it's a historical analysis), or rapidly changing statistics.

Be Comprehensive: Aim to be the definitive resource on your chosen topic. Provide thorough information, clear explanations, and actionable advice.

Update Periodically: While evergreen, a quick review every 6-12 months to ensure accuracy (e.g., checking tool names, confirming processes) can keep it truly fresh.

2. Low Competition, High Search Volume Content: Finding Your Niche Sweet Spot

This strategy goes hand-in-hand with evergreen content. It's about identifying topics that a significant number of people are searching for online, but where there isn't an overwhelming amount of high-quality content already dominating the search results.

This is your opportunity to rank well and capture that interested audience.

Why it's Smart: Targeting these "sweet spot" keywords means less effort to get your content seen. You're not fighting against Goliaths in highly competitive spaces, but rather carving out your own territory where you can quickly become an authority.

How to Find It:

Use SEO Tools: Tools like Ubersuggest (as mentioned), SEMrush, or Ahrefs allow you to input keywords and see their search volume and competition level. Look for terms with moderate to high search volume and low to medium "keyword difficulty" scores.

Long-Tail Keywords: These are more specific phrases (e.g., "how to start a freelance writing business for beginners" instead of just "freelance writing"). They often have lower competition and higher conversion rates because they reflect a more specific user intent.

Answer Common Questions: Browse forums, "People Also Ask" sections on Google, or Quora for recurring questions in your niche that might not have a truly comprehensive answer yet.

3. Engage More: Building a Loyal Community

Writing isn't a one-way street. Actively engaging with your readers fosters a sense of community, builds loyalty, and provides invaluable feedback. On platforms like Vocal and Medium, engagement can significantly boost your visibility and readership.

Why it's Effective: When readers feel connected to you, they're more likely to read your next article, share your work, and even subscribe to your content. Engagement signals to platforms that your content is valuable and worth promoting.

How to Engage:

Respond to Comments: Make it a habit to reply thoughtfully to every comment you receive, whether on your article page or social media. Ask follow-up questions to keep the conversation going.

Ask Questions in Your Content: End your articles with a question that encourages readers to share their thoughts or experiences in the comments section.

Participate in Communities: Join relevant Facebook groups, Reddit communities, or Discord servers where your target audience hangs out. Share your insights (without spamming) and genuinely interact.

Engage with Other Writers: Support your peers by reading, commenting on, and sharing their work. This often leads to reciprocal engagement.

4. Your Old Content is Gold: Recycling for Renewed Value

Many writers create a piece, publish it, and then forget about it. This is a missed opportunity! Your old articles are valuable assets that can be refreshed, repurposed, and given new life to continue serving your audience and attracting new readers.

Why it's Smart: You've already done the heavy lifting of research and writing. By revisiting old content, you can extend its lifespan, improve its performance, and save time compared to creating something entirely new from scratch.

How to Maximize Old Content:

Update and Republish: If an article is slightly outdated (e.g., old statistics, broken links), update the information, add new insights, and republish it (some platforms allow you to update and bump it to the top).

Repurpose Formats: Turn a blog post into a video script, an infographic, a series of social media posts, or a podcast episode.

Create a Series: If you have several related old articles, combine them into a more comprehensive "ultimate guide" or a themed content series.

Promote Again: Don't hesitate to reshare your best performing evergreen content on social media channels periodically. Not everyone saw it the first time!

5. Collaborate: Expanding Your Reach Together

Working with other writers or creators in your niche can introduce your work to new audiences and bring fresh perspectives to your content. Collaboration isn't about competition; it's about mutual growth.

Why it's Powerful: When you collaborate, you tap into each other's audiences. This means more eyeballs on your work, increased credibility through association, and often, more engaging content for your readers.

How to Collaborate:

Guest Posting: Write a guest post for another writer's blog or platform, or invite someone to guest post on yours.

Joint Projects: Create a co-authored article, an interview series, a webinar, or a challenge together.

Shout-outs and Features: Feature other creators' work in your articles (with their permission), or ask them to feature yours.

Interviews: Interview an expert in your niche and publish it as an article. This brings their authority and audience to your content.

6. Embed Old Articles into New Articles: Strategic Internal Linking

Internal linking is the practice of linking one page on your site (or platform account) to another page on the same site. Embedding old articles into new, relevant pieces is a highly effective way to keep readers engaged and improve your content's visibility.

Why it's Essential:

Keeps Readers Engaged: When a reader finishes an article, an internal link provides a clear path to discover more of your valuable content, increasing their time on site.

Boosts SEO: Search engines use internal links to understand the structure of your content and the relationships between topics. It helps them discover new content and pass "link equity" between pages, which can improve your rankings.

Highlights Your Best Work: You can strategically link to your top-performing or evergreen articles, driving consistent traffic to them.

How to Implement It:

Contextual Links: Always link naturally within the text when you mention a topic that you've covered in more detail elsewhere.

Related Articles Section: At the end of an article, include a "Related Articles" or "You Might Also Like" section with links to relevant older posts.

Create "Hub" Pages: Develop a comprehensive article on a broad topic (your "hub") and link out to many more specific articles (your "spokes") that delve deeper into sub-topics.

7. Copy What Works (Ethically): Learning from Success

"Copy what works" does NOT mean plagiarizing or stealing other people's content. Instead, it means analyzing successful content in your niche, understanding why it resonates with an audience, and then applying those principles to your own unique ideas and voice.

Why it's Smart: There's no need to reinvent the wheel. By studying successful content, you can identify effective strategies for headlines, introductions, structure, tone, and calls to action, saving you time and effort in trial-and-error.

How to Do It:

Analyze High-Performing Content: Use tools like BuzzSumo or simply browse top-performing articles on your platform (Vocal's Top Stories, Medium's popular articles).

Deconstruct Success: Ask yourself:

What makes the headline compelling?

How is the introduction structured?

What emotional triggers are used?

Is it a listicle, a how-to, a personal story?

What's the tone? (Informative, humorous, empathetic?)

How is the content formatted for readability?

What's the call to action?

Adapt, Don't Adopt: Take the principles you learn and apply them to your own unique ideas and writing style. For example, if listicles are performing well, consider writing a listicle on one of your evergreen topics.

8. Batch Create: Maximizing Your Productivity

Batch creation is a productivity technique where you group similar tasks together and complete them all at once. Instead of writing, editing, finding images, and publishing one article at a time, you dedicate specific blocks of time to each stage for multiple articles.

Why it's Efficient:

Reduces Context Switching: Switching between different types of tasks (e.g., creative writing to meticulous editing to visual curation) drains mental energy. Batching allows you to stay in one "mode" for longer.

Improves Focus: With a clear task ahead, you can focus deeply without distractions.

Creates a Content Buffer: By producing multiple articles in one go, you build up a reserve of content, reducing the pressure of daily deadlines and allowing you to maintain a consistent posting schedule even when life gets busy.

How to Batch Create Your Content:

Ideation day: Dedicate a block of time to brainstorming topics, doing keyword research, and outlining 5-10 articles.

Writing Days: Focus solely on writing drafts for several articles. Don't edit during this phase; just get the words down.

Editing & Proofreading Day: Review and refine all your drafts in one sitting.

Visuals & Formatting Day: Find or create images, format your articles for readability, and add internal/external links.

Scheduling Day: Schedule all your completed articles for publication.

By integrating these smarter work strategies into your content creation process, you can transform your writing efforts from a daily grind into a sustainable, highly effective system.

You'll not only build a stronger audience and earn more income but also reclaim your time and enjoy that well-deserved, restful sleep after a day of truly productive work. The "Work Smarter, Not Harder Challenge" is about to begin – are you ready to join?

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💡Do you struggle with ideation? Download my Ideation Mastery Guide to get your ideas flowing.