Developing a content marketing strategy

You’ve probably heard that content marketing is one of the best ways to build relationships with your customers while marketing your business.

Instead of pushing your business on people in the form of intrusive and annoying pop-up ads, commercials that run while people are in the bathroom, or ads that make people wait to watch their YouTube video, you “pull” them in with desirable information.

That way, instead of annoying the people you’re selling to, you help them and give them value. Not only are potential customers grateful for your content marketing materials, but they seek them out.

But while content marketing is a highly valuable and effective way to sell your products and services, many business owners find themselves wondering how to create content marketing materials, and how to find the time to consistently produce valuable content.

In today’s blog post, we’re going to address several common questions that people ask about content marketing, and tell you how to resolve those concerns in your business.

Question #1: Why would anybody want to read blog posts about my business?

If you give valuable information in your blog posts, and that information is tailored to your customers’ needs and curiosities, they’ll want to read them.

Here are some examples of blog posts your customers want to read:

How-to posts

If you sell products, telling your customers how to fix a problem or complete a task is an opportunity to build goodwill, establish yourself as an authority, and suggest that they use your product.

For example, if you sell cookware, you could write an article on how to easily and consistently separate the yolks from egg whites without breaking the yolk, and offer an implement they can use to do that.

If you sell services, you can explain how to perform a task. This can show the client just how difficult and complicated it would be for them to do it on their own, and how much equipment they need that they don’t have.

Alternately, you could list the reasons why they SHOULDN’T try to do it themselves, especially if the procedure is potentially dangerous to the client or the item they’re trying to fix.

Q&A posts

One of the major reasons why people use search engines is to seek the answers to their questions. If you provide those answers on your blog, that gives people a reason to visit your site.

So notice what questions your customers have. Ask them which areas they’re struggling in in your field of service or expertise. Use your newsletter, blog and social media pages to encourage them to ask questions.

Then, turn the answers to those questions into a blog post.

Life lesson posts

Did you learn something valuable recently? Make a mistake and grow from it? Do something right and see results?

Let your readers know what happened, what you learned, how they can apply that to their lives, and how they’ll benefit from it.

What if I don’t know what to write about?

If the above three blog post categories didn’t give you any ideas of what to write, DigitalMarketer has a huge list of blog post ideas you can draw from.

Always be on the lookout for lessons you learn, questions your customers ask, and moments when you realize that you know something that your customers need to know but don’t know.

What if no one else in my industry is blogging?

If that’s the case, you have a huge opportunity! You can be the only person in your industry who’s answering your customers’ burning questions, providing the information they’re looking for, and showing up in their search results when they look for articles about your chosen topic!

How can I find the time to create content marketing materials?

Here are a few ways to reduce the amount of time it takes to create your content marketing materials:

Repurpose content

Did you send an email to a client, explaining a procedure or answering a question? Remove all identifying information, and turn it into a blog post.

Use lines from your blog posts and newsletters as social media posts, and content from your more informative social media conversations as material for newsletters and blog posts.

Whenever you create a valuable piece of information, consider how you can reuse it for the rest of your content marketing efforts.

Write down thoughts as they come to you

It’s easiest to write when the information is fresh in your mind. If you have an idea for a blog post or newsletter, take five minutes to write down as much information as you can.

It doesn’t have to be pretty, perfect or complete. Just write down as much of the idea as is currently in your head, whether it’s teaching points, questions to answer, information you want to give, or mistakes to avoid.

You can flesh it out later, but don’t waste this burst of creativity.

Have a list of topics ready ahead of time

If you start out with a blank screen when you sit down to write, you could waste a lot of your precious writing time trying to figure out what to write about.

Having a list of topics handy will prevent that initial freeze-up, and help you get the most out of your marketing time.

The blog posts don’t have to be long

Not every blog post has to be a 1,500-word essay. If you’re strapped for time, just answer a single question that’s at the top of your potential clients’ minds, or give a single valuable lesson.

How do I avoid making my homepage cluttered and confusing?

While you’re producing content, it’s important to be strategic about what you put where. The point of content isn’t to put all of it everywhere; it’s to get your target customers’ attention, and whet their appetites for your offering.

So ask yourself: “What is the point of my home page? What action do I want people to take?”

Provide a piece of information that will increase their desire to take that action, then tell them how to take the action. Don’t fill the page with distractions; keep it very focused on the next step that you want your visitors to take.

Want to know more about how to market your small business?

If you want to attract more clients to your business, and to create a large, sustainable income that supports the lifestyle you’ve been dreaming of, we want to help.

Your first step is to download our eBook, 7 Steps to Small Business Marketing Success. Just click the image below to get access!

Image Credit – Adobe Stock