With Halloween on the horizon and, for the Christmas fans counting down the days, Christmas is not following too far behind it; content unsurprisingly is becoming seasonally themed.

But no one wants to be reading about Halloween in November, so does that make the content irrelevant until it comes around the following year?

There’s a bit of a pros and cons to dating your work and ultimately the ball is in your court as a writer (or as a client giving a brief to your copywriter) as to what you think is best.

If you want a piece that engages with trends happening right now that your audience is switched on with, then it’s probably best to produce that content and let it flourish at the time before it eventually becomes a graveyard or online relic when it does eventually pass.

As you can see, the issue with dating content is that it ages.

If you have a google search and see an article with an older date you are less likely to click on it, and instead opt for the article that is more ‘relevant’. Or, if when you open an article, perhaps looking for gift ideas for you partners birthday in May and it’s all Christmas themed then it isn’t going to be useful to you.

That’s the worry. Nobody wants their content to lose relevance and become outdated.

When people land on your blog or article online, you want them to engage with it, explore your website, and then potentially become a customer. But, if they are scared off by outdated content, whether that’s seasonal, or a political joke that was topical at the time but has now been forgotten, then that content will loose it’s relevance and ability to engage your audience.

However, that’s not always a problem. If it serves its purpose at the time of publication and it’s engagement with current affairs and trends resonates with your audience and created traction then it’s absolutely worth it.

So the conclusion… coat it in seasonal puns if your customers will engage with it.

If you want your blog to stay relevant, for example a blog on packaging tips, then there’s no need to add a date to it for it to then be outdated with seasonal jokes, when that particular type of content can be universally used all year round.

Consider whether dating your piece to the time will overall boost sales, or whether its best for the piece to work consistently all year round. Look at the topic and your brief and consider how your customers will receive it, maybe they will be more engaged if it’s coated in snow and glitter, or a satirical pun, but also maybe not.

Assess what the piece is aiming to achieve and the best way to get your audience to engage with it.

When in doubt, if it doesn’t need to be dated, then don’t. It keeps your content up to date and relevant all year round.

If you are looking for a copywriter, please do get in touch. I’d love to discuss what you’re looking for and help create a flourishing bit of copy for you and your readers.

Contact me or email abislifeinwrting@outlook.com