We all know the power of content when building an audience. Through content we can market our products, and services while building the right type of engagement with our audience. However, we often fail to see what’s important because when writing content, you have to keep some of the specifics in mind. Over the years while working with the top bloggers within my niche, I was able to understand a lot about content marketing, and what’s important. For example, I’ve learned 3-4 cool tricks which must be implemented into your content no matter what. By adding these, you’ll be able to attracted your readers, and be able to build the initial connection important to meet your bottom line. Next,
Through content, you’ll rank higher within the SERP’s which is important to generate enormous organic FREE traffic. This type of traffic you don’t pay for so it’s important you know what type of content to write to get a competitive edge over your competition within the SERP’s. Through the last 3-4 months, I have been going through blogs, and performing my own research. This has led me to create this list for you which contains 3-4 solid strategies to stand out through your content, and build enormous momentum on all platforms. Let’s get started and your feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Initial Connection
Writing content and blogging is nothing WITHOUT building a connection with your audience. If you can build a connection with your audience, then they will hang on to your every word. However, this process can be very difficult if you don’t know who your audience is, right? It’s knowing who they are which allows you to focus your attention in a certain direction. With that said, it’s important you use the tools available to you to learn about your audience. For someone who has been in the business a long time this will be easier since you’ve had enormous time to figure them out, however if you are just starting out then you’ll have a much harder time. Use these following strategies to learn about your audience. Once you have, then you can write content targeted to them gaining momentum and loyalty.
Google Analytics – Many people think GA is a tool to find out where people come from, and where they land. This is correct, however you can pull out other information too. You have to be creative when trying to understand your audience, and approach it from a perspective as though you’re the audience. For example, when I’m reading DATA, I’ll often look at what things matter to me when I’m on a blog reading content. Through Google Analytics, you can pull out enormous information like the following:
Location – By understanding location, you’ll know how to target your content and language. If you are getting people from low English speaking countries, then a language converter will work well. You might want to switch around the content format to images, and video because visitors can easily follow them through. A non-English speaker will have a hard time reading content, but an easier time watching a video, right?
Search Queries – GA will provide a list of the search queries typed by your audience. This is great because it provides you with future content idea’s. For example, if I see high numbers of queries based on link building, then going forward the will be my focus when writing content.
Landing Pages – This DATA shows where my audience is going on my website. Will provide me great insight into what type of content likes, and where engagement is highest. A good focus point, the next time I write content for my audience, and blog.
A Promise Always Works
Your blog has to have a focus point, and an objective. This objective will most likely be your promise to your audience. For example, link building blogs promise to show you case studies, provide news, and teach you how to rank within the SERP’s using advanced link building strategies. In the end, it’s important you fulfill that promise to your audience so they will become loyal readers. However, this can only be done through content i.e. text, video, images, and infographics. You have to ensure you meet your objective which in turn will create higher engagement. Many times I see bloggers fail at their objective because of the following:
- They go off course and the content suffers. Your readers have arrived on your blog for a reason. You write relevant content for the first few weeks, then go off course and readers no longer find solutions to their problems.
- After growth, blog owners get greedy and stop writing passionate content so again no relevance.
- Bloggers push to make money right away WITHOUT providing constant solutions. Remember, your promise is to help the readers- not keep selling them stuff.
You have to be specific about what you’ll provide them, and be different in the way you provide it to them. Next, you have to offer quality which they won’t find anywhere else. The fundamentals are simple, but people fail to follow them.
Give Them Action Steps
Content is only valuable as long as your visitors engage with it. Your goal should be to provide value, and have readers convert because they find a solid solution on your blog. However, many times this does not happen for two very important reasons. First, you fail to provide them with the value they are looking for, and this forces them to leave without taking action. Secondly, many of the newbies DON’T know what to do after they are finished reading your content. With that said, it’s important you provide your readers WITH action steps they can take after reading your content. Here’s are two ways you can accomplish this:
First, you have them opt-into your newsletter and through a series provide them with small steps which they find easy to follow. This works very well especially if they are inexperienced online, and need to accomplish objective slowly. However, it’s important they opt-into your newsletter so add forms within the middle of the content and bottom.
Next,
You are going to have all types of readers both experts and newbies so it’s a good idea to place complete action steps towards the bottom. If you have read my previous content, then you know I always like to give action steps for the reader to follow. This way they can work at their own place, and finish the steps at a rate they are comfortable with. Action steps is a great way to earn the trust of the readers because psychologically when you help someone through a series of steps they learn to trust you more becoming very loyal.
Proof The Solution Works
If you want to achieve higher conversions, it’s important you show your readers the solution you offer works. This is actually NOT hard at all because you are probably writing content on something which you are an expert on or have done before. With that said, it’s important you show your readers in a structured way.
Research – Everything starts with research, and it’s important you are an expert in the topic you are writing about. When I’m writing content for conversions, I’ll spend 2-3 weeks gathering idea, and how I can implement them going forward.
Implementation – It’s important you try all the strategies you researched and you’ll be writing about. First, it will allow you to understand each one better and which ones produce results. Next, it will provide substance to your content because it’s better to have proof something works.
DATA Collection – As you go through each one, it’s important to keep track of the results. I’ll do this by writing everything out in my favorite WordPressor or keep a spreadsheet. I’m trying to find what works so it’s important I know so keeping track of DATA is very important.
Writing Content – Once you have done all of the above, you have to make sure it’s presented the right way. This means starting with an introduction explaining your research and topic. The experiments you conducted with solid graphs of results, and conclusion summarizing everything you have covered in the content.
Keep in mind,
Just because you are an expert and implemented everything doesn’t mean your readers will be. I suggest you write content which is very easy to understand so no matter the skill level everyone will have an easy time extracting the value. If you need help, then I would suggest you do a quick Google search looking for online case studies. Visit your regular blogs and find some studies they have conducted. After, you can go through utilizing the content structure they have used when presenting their results.
Final Thoughts
It’s time to go through each of these points once more and start creating a list of things you can implement into your content strategy. Engaging your audience has a lot to do with your ability to tap into their minds, and what they are looking for. However, this does take time and patience because some things will work better than others, but with the right DATA collection, you’ll be able to come up with the right plan.
Next,
Content can work magic if presented in the right way, but before you can accomplish this you have to understand your audience. After, you can present value to your readers, and promise if they continue to read your blog they will be able to achieve EXACTLY what you stated. Show them the value by showing experiments you conducted and the results you achieved. Remember, the proof is in the pudding, right? Make sure your content is written in a well-structured manner which both experts, and newbies will find very easy to follow.