Creating the Perfect Curated Post a Template for Success

There is no shortage of great content that begs to be shared on online, but how do you it right? A recent article by Alex Barca for Curta’s Content Marketing Forum puts all the necessary elements of a finely written curated post into an easy to follow template. “Best-in-class marketers use a content marketing mix of 65% created content and 25% curated content”, this is one trend that makes sense to follow.

To read the article in full click this great infographic , The Art of a Curated Post. For more highlights from the article and the template, plus some extra tips from me read on.

Five Elements that all Perfect Curated Posts Have in Common

1. New Title

A great new title is essential to success. Not only does it increase the chances of your curated post being read, it also insures that you will not compete with the original post in search results.

Want to make sure your title’s capitalization is grammar perfect? Try this suggested handy tool:

TitleCapitilization.com.

While we are on the subject of grammar, here is another article that will keep you safe from basic grammar mistakes:

Quick Grammar Refresher: 15 Common Grammar Errors to Avoid

2. New Image

Using a new image is one of the best ways to avoid copyright complications.

Checkout this Rick’s Tip for image sources:

Rick’s Tips: 5 Favorite Low Cost or Free Image Sources for WordPress Blog Posts

Find the right photo your post in seconds. PhotoDropper gives you access to free photos by giving you access to over 62,538,143 Creative Commons Photos from within WordPress:

How to Use PhotoDropper to Find the Perfect Free Photo for Your Next Blog Post

3. Body Text

There critical elements must be include to successfully curate an article:

Attribution in the form of a link and reference to the original article and author. In this case, permission for use and besting citing practices for both the graphic and framework was included on the bottom of the infographic, so it was simple to know how to give credit due.

Commentary in the form of your own analysis of the article’s topic.

Links to created content – link to your own relevant posts. In this case you may want to look at these helpful posts by Artizon Digital regarding content sharing and reposting articles:

Polite Content Sharing Tips: Blog Posts – Facebook – Twitter

Guide to Reposting an Article on Your Blog

4. Quote

“Draw in a quote from the original article — or perhaps several quotes. The exact format can vary depending on the length of the original article and its topic. Be sure to pick a quote or stat that will surprise, educate or help your readers. This is your opportunity to bring in intelligent, outside voices, which is one of the main advantages of content curation.”

Check out these articles for some creative examples of displaying quotes:

Block Quotes and Pull Quotes: Examples and Good Practices

How to Use Stylish and Semantically Correct Quote Elements on the Web

5. Call-to-Action

The CTA, Call-to-Action, is the spot where you can link to your own valuable articles, a give-away like your e-Book or an invitation to your webinar. Great graphics and compelling text can make your CTA a winner.

Try out this super easy Free Call-to-Action button generator. You can design and download CTA button to use on your site in minutes – in this case below seconds!

Putting this Template to Use

Follow this five element formula as a template for your next curated post and you will be amazed at how easy it is to share an important article. Be sure to follow the link to the original article as there are many more tips and great links there.