Guest post by Tom Hunt.
Ok…
So you have set up a blog and social media profiles…
You are pumping out multiple articles per week and sharing them furiously…
And yes you see some small traffic spikes (though they quickly drop off when you stop posting right?).
Trust me, I know, I have been there… multiple times.
And you are now getting tired of producing content yourself so are considering outsourcing…
STOP
Now there is nothing wrong with outsourcing but there is something wrong with an incoherent, unfocused content strategy.
By the end of this article you will be on the road to developing a deep clarity and focus in your content strategy that will eventually skyrocket your ROI.
1. Understand Your Customer’s Desired Outcome
What does your customer truly want?
Depending on your business this could be the ability to play the piano, clean their carpet or to make more money.
It is only when you truly understand this can you create an ethical and profitable business, as let’s face it…
You will only be profitable in the long term if you are able to deliver the customer their desired result.
Back to content…
2. Understand Where Your Customer Is In That Journey
When your customer reaches your blog/YouTube Channel/website, where are they on their journey to their desired end result?
If we take blogging for example…
An aspiring bloggers end goal (I suspect), would be income and impact.
And to be able to reach those desired outcomes a number of steps would have to be made, such as:
- Choosing a niche
- Buying a domain
- Building a website
- Setting up social media profiles
- Building a content schedule
- Learning to write headlines
- Learning about lead generation
- Building an autoresponder
The list goes on…
My blog could potentially target people that are starting out or I may focus on those with an already established audience.
3. Create Content That Starts At That Point
As a blogger, blogging about building a blog, you would need to understand at which stage on this journey my readers are…
And then need to create content that would help them move down the path.
For example…
Let’s say your blog will target readers that are just starting out on their blogging journey, you would produce the following content:
- Niche Research – The Ultimate Guide
- The BIG List Of 50 Domain Name Providers (And Which Give The Best Deals)
- 150 Free & Still Awesome WordPress Templates
- Step By Step Guide To Customising Your WordPress Template
Now, these headlines would REALLY stand out to people at the start of their blogging journey and would be bound to receive more traffic, links and shares from relevant readers.
4. Ensure That Content Progresses Them Down The Road
Now here is the tricky part…
You need to make sure that EVERY piece of content walks your reader down the path closer to their desired outcome.
For example in “Niche Research – The Ultimate Guide”
You would need to cover EXACTLY what you need to consider when researching the niche of your new blog, including images and diagrams, links and inforgraphics showing what you have done in the path.
You need to make it as EASY as possible for them to take action…
Because your business depends on it.
5. Enable Them To Take The Next Step (With You)
Now we get to the exciting part…
Because when you become one of the few…
And you start actually ensuring that your readers move down the journey to their desired outcome with you, something strange will happen:
- Your readers will start to believe that they can actually reach their desired outcome
- Your readers will start to look at you as an authority in the niche
Pretty sweet right?
And do you know what these two things are awesome for?
Yes, you guessed it:
SELLING
So, it is at that point when your readers reach end of your awesome, action inspiring post that you have to enable them to take the next step on their journey with YOU.
Now this could be in the form of another piece of content or software that they can access in exchange for a newsletter or it could be in the form of a product.
This is up to you…
But if you are not offering them a chance to continue down their path with you, then you are doing them a disservice.
Ok…
Now you have the knowledge.
The knowledge that will force you to stop pumping out useless, unfocused articles that will bring you little traffic and even less loyal readers.
It is time to head out there are to create content that matters, that helps and most importantly… sells.
Finally, if you are aware of anyone in your network who is struggling to convert readers to buyers with their content marketing, feel free to share this article with them using the buttons below.
About the author: Tom Hunt is the Founder of Virtual Valley, a platform that connects Entrepreneurs and Rockstar Virtual Assistants with the mission of giving Entrepreneurs back 1 million hours of their time by 2018. Tom spends MOST of his time helping people like you grow their virtual business on the Virtual Valley Blog.
Great Article.
Thanks Prakash, good to know this was helpful.
Thanks Prakash!