The Secret To Content Marketing Black Magic
The Secret To Content Marketing Black Magic
Hint: It’s Not More Content
Photo by Giancarlo Revolledo
Creating content is easy, but creating content that actually converts is not.
Every business I’ve come across is employing some form of content marketing right now because it’s pretty darn effective.
Conversion rates are 6x higher for brands using content market vs. brands that aren’t. Content marketing is also cost-effective, costing 62% less than traditional marketing programs.
Even if you don’t realize it, you’re probably using some form of content marketing right now for your business.
Content marketing takes shape in different forms like email marketing, social media marketing, blogging, and podcasting. You’re probably doing one of these things for your business (at least I hope you are).
With everyone tapping into content, there’s no question that there’s also a lot of noise out there that’s uninteresting and falling flat.
As a business owner, you’re probably struggling with the challenge of executing great content.
You’re probably sitting on a mountain of information, but you don’t know what to do with it for it to actually mean something to your audience.
You don’t want to invest in pumping out weekly content only for it to produce no ROI.
To craft content that converts, here are 4 rules your content should always abide by:
It’s Not About You, It’s About Your Customer
If the majority of your website or sales pitch’s copy is about your brand and your product features, you’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere along the content creation process.
When the customer is thinking about buying your product or service, they’re only thinking about themselves, not you — specifically their thoughts, fears, desired transformation, and how your brand fits into all those thoughts floating around in their head.
Your content should be helping your potential customers inject your product or service into their thinking process.
You don’t do that through content that’s all about your brand or product, you actually accomplish that by meeting your customer where they’re at mentally and speaking to what they’re currently thinking about and care about.
Bottom line? Don’t talk about what you sell without building this bridge. Your content won’t land on the other side.
Provoke Emotion
This is the #1 thing that I see a lot of brands skip in their content marketing and it’s what leaves them conversion-less.
If your content doesn’t provoke an emotional response, your content is going to do absolutely nothing for you.
Your content doesn’t need to provoke emotion all the time, but it needs to make a guest appearance now and then to keep your audience engaged. Especially when you’re about to sell something.
Whether that emotion is a feeling of belonging, hope, or a fire for change — you need to activate one of these in your audience to inspire action.
Anyone can create an informational email about why the answer to one’s productivity problems is a project management app.
The real challenge is, how can you turn that email into one that provokes a desire for change and inspires transformation?
How can you use storytelling and relate to your audience so that your project management app is all of a sudden seen as a ticket to someone’s most financially lucrative year ever?
Do that and you’ll be able to tap into marketing black magic that can sell anything.
If you can provoke that kind of emotion through all of your content, can you see any reason why your content wouldn’t convert?
Value
Providing value through your content accomplishes several things, it:
Shows your audience that you know the current problem they’re dealing with (the people that can help you are the ones that truly understand the current problems you’re dealing with).
Shows that you know what you’re talking about and establishes legitimacy, trust, and authority.
Shows that you can provide a viable solution when you can show expertise and knowledge around your industry or product/service.
Value can look like free advice, step-by-step guidance, education, and more.
Any brand can do this, no matter what their product or service is — if you’re drawing a blank for your product or service, get creative, I promise that the value play is in there.
A great example of this is the TSA — they have a hilarious Instagram account where they share all the crazy weapons and strange things they find in people’s luggage.
While they’re doing this, they also provide value to their audience by sneaking in education on what you should and should not be bringing on to your flight.
A creative value strategy behind content is how this government agency has over 1 million followers on its Instagram account.
Also, don’t think that by providing value through your content that you’re giving away your product or service for free.
You’re not.
You’re simply driving the point home that if your free content is this good that your actual product is going to be worth throwing down money for.
Attention + Consistency
The easiest path to creating content that converts is to intensely focus on content that captures attention and to be consistent about delivering that level of quality.
Your audience will remember you if you’re attention-grabbing every time you open your mouth.
They won’t remember you at all if your content is not engaging when you post something.
We all have that Facebook friend whose posts we always scroll past because everything they post is just a stream of consciousness rather than a thoughtful engaging share.
Your business is holding that same reputation if your content doesn’t put attention and consistency as a core objective of all of its posts.
On the flip side, if you produce attention-grabbing content but I only hear from you once a month, your content isn’t going to be potent enough that I’m going to remember you amongst the flood of other brands vying for my attention that month.
Instead of being a master at creating content all the time, become a master at creating attention-grabbing content and be consistent about it. Trade quantity for quality.
If you’re posting every single day, slow down your pace if that means that you’ll be able to release superstar content every 3 days.
Frequent content doesn’t convert, but attention-grabbing, consistent content does.
Get consistent at being attention-worthy.
Got 10 minutes in the next 5 days to correct the selling mistakes your business is making? Join my 5 day sales challenge here.