how to generate content that gets results.
How do you go about creating content? Do you have a structured workflow or are you throwing your content up against the wall and relying on analytics to see what sticks?
Rather than produce content, kick off a campaign, and then wait for the analytics hoping for good news, get proactive:
Identify and confirm your business goal.
Collaborate with other teams who can validate any assumptions you may have and adjust, if necessary.
Get in the head of your ideal customer.
Yes, analytics should be part of your process, but not at the expense of doing your homework and research upfront. To simplify each of these three steps, we created content marketing prompts. Download yours today.
The right place and the right time aren't enough when you're content is wrong. Start with your business goal in mind, and get your content right. Click to download business-goal focused writing prompts (PDF).
IMAGE Description Text from caption alongside Customer Decision Journey (CDJ) A circular journey with a smaller circle within it begins with a trigger represented by a star. Following the star is a circle with the text "AWARENESS 1.identify." in it. Leaving the circle is an arrow with the text "research / info gathering." Just above the arrowhead is the text "2. active evaluation. shopping." Leaving the arrow is another arrow with the text "CONSIDERATION. evaluate." The arrow enters a circle with the text "PURCHASE 3. closure." An arrow with the text "POST-PURCHASE Experience 4. use and service." leaves the circle and splits. One end of the arrow folds back to PURCHASE in a loyalty loop; it's labeled with the text "RETENTION loyalty repurchase." The other end of the arrow leads back to the arrow labeled "2. active evaluation. shopping."
Sometimes when you’re winging it, you’ll get lucky. Everything will line up—you serve your content right, inbound paths map to what problem your audience is trying to solve (or task they’re trying to complete), and the outbound path maps to your business goal.
But here’s a secret: this magic is more likely to happen when you decide upfront what you want out of the content you're about to create or the campaign you're about to launch. So, before you pick up a pen or touch a keyboard to draft your next piece of content, try our business-goal-focused writing prompts.
Know what action your writing needs to drive for your business. Before you write, complete the Plan Your Writing Worksheet.
IMAGE Description Template with fields for determining what business goal your content needs to serve. why: your S.M.A.R.T. business goal? to achieve [First field]: expected relevant results (measurable component such as RSVPs, sign-ups, demos, evaluations, sales) by [Second field]: date. what? influencing [check box directly or indirectly] [Third field] what happens after your content is consumed to see those results? Write for who specifically will help you achieve these results? [Fourth field]: your ideal customers or minimum viable audience [Fifth field]: Empathize a problem (why they need you or your solution) [Sixth field] what problem are they facing that they need a solution for? write it on the line above. Focus on this ideal customer's primary motivation and choose one: [Seventh field] Pain--fears, frustrations, or obstacles. or [Eighth field] Gain--want to, need to, obstacles overcome.
step one. start with your business goal.
In almost everything you do, your first step should be to understand the primary business goal driving the need for your content (a sign-up, an inquiry, a sale, or a referral). It's this underlying business goal that ultimately determines whether your content (and by proxy you) will be successful.
With your business goal, you can answer:
what you need to explain or sell (a solution to a specific problem your ideal customers face);
who specifically (a subset of your ideal customer or minimum viable audience) needs to take action; and
how to motivate them (pain or gain) so that they act in time.
The what, the who, and the how inform your general outline. But, it's still not the time to start writing. Now's the time to reach out to other teams in your organization and find the strongest case for getting your ideal customer or minimum viable audience to take action specific to your stated business goal.
Increase the likelihood of meeting your desired business results by talking with others across your organization.
IMAGE Description 7-step marketing and sales funnel with arrows leaving on left (operational efficiency) and right (operational effectiveness). Top filter is AWARENESS and teams with information are product marketing, business development, and public relations. Second is INTEREST and teams with information are copywriting, demand generation, lead generation, and sales. Third is CONSIDERATION / INTENT and teams with information are sales development, field marketing, and regional sales. Arrows recycling leads from Consideration to Interest appear on the right. Fourth is EVALUATION and teams with information are sales, technical marketing, professional services, and training. Arrows recycling leads from Evaluation to Consideration appear on the right. Fifth is PURCHASE and teams with information are sales, finance, support, professional services, and training. Sixth is ADVOCATE and teams with information are product marketing, support, customer user group, advisory board, professional services, and training. Arrows recycling leads from Advocate to Purchase appear on the right. Seventh is REPURCHASE and teams with information are product marketing, sales, finance, support, training, professional services, customer user group, and advisory board.
step two. COLLABORATE WITH product, SALES, GROWTH HACKERS, AND DEMAND GENERATION TEAMS.
In many organizations, content developers don’t work alongside sales, demand generation teams, or even product development. And, at many other organizations, information is closely held, kept within departments. This lack of collaboration and/or communication directly impacts results.
Most times, no one knows the content and campaign goals are misaligned until the results come in—after a lot of wasted time and resources. Here's your chance to get everyone on the same page before you complete your first draft, or your campaign fails to deliver Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), or your organization misses its quarterly revenue goals.
Not all content drives business results. Ensure your content will. Click to download templates (PDF) now. No registration required.
IMAGE Description Thumbnails of two content templates, plan your writing and focus your writing, included in the linked PDF.
By working through our prompts, you can discover where you need more than just content to meet a specific business goal. For example, if you need to drive evaluations of a new product that’s still in production over the next month, your content probably can’t help. Once they’ve identified themselves, your potential customers can’t evaluate something that doesn’t exist.
Analytics will show your content failed, but they won’t reveal why. Now, before you throw up your hands in defeat, know this isn’t the perfect excuse; it’s an opportunity to either refine your business goal to measure what your content could potentially do or change your business goal (and content) entirely.
Grab their attention upfront; make your content about them and not you.
IMAGE Description Template to focus your writing. First text box is an appeal to why now? because when [First field] what changed in their environment that requires action now (market landscape immediacy)? write on the line above. Second text box is why your ideal customer is driven, start with [Second field] what human-centered growth or deficiency need drives them to find a solution? write it on the line above. Third text box is what value provided / offer do you deliver for them: [Check box] product, service, process, or other [Third field] what do they receive for their time? write a concise summary on the line above.
Step three. MAKE IT ABOUT YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER.
Your ideal customers aren't homogenous. Yes, they share general characteristics, like the challenge they're facing that drives them to consider and/or purchase your product or service. But, no, they don't have the same knowledge. Some know the space you're operating in backward and forward; others don't have knowledge beyond how they're tackling their problem or addressing their unmet need today. Some, who have purchased from you in the past, may know the products or services you've offered; others have had staff changes and now no one may be familiar with you.
Tailor your content for the specific ideal customer who needs to take action for you to achieve your business goals. For example, marketing managers and writers may both want content marketing templates to improve their workflow. If you’re selling templates, a B2B writer may be your specific ideal customer. If you sell content marketing services, your specific ideal customer may be a marketing team that includes a writer, a Head of Marketing at a start-up, a founder, a business owner, or someone else. The broader your ideal customer you choose to focus on, the potentially less compelling the value you provide or offer. Go with the ideal customer who has the most immediate human-centered need.
Now that you know why you're creating content and who you're serving, you're ready to start writing (and optimizing for search engines to find that content).
Marketing not delivering the results you need? Check your content. Your ideal customer has different needs as they interact with you. One-size-fits-all content is a myth. Schedule your free consultation today.
IMAGE Description 7-step marketing and sales funnel with arrows leaving on left (operational efficiency) and right (operational effectiveness). Top filter is AWARENESS. Second is INTEREST. Third is CONSIDERATION / INTENT. Arrows recycling leads from Consideration to Interest appear on the right. Fourth is EVALUATION. Arrows recycling leads from Evaluation to Consideration appear on the right. Fifth is PURCHASE. Sixth is ADVOCATE. Arrows recycling leads from Advocate to Purchase appear on the right. Seventh is REPURCHASE.
When results matter, don’t trust your content to just anyone. Work with a content creator who understands your business and asks the right questions before they start drafting. Schedule a consultation with us today and drive business results tomorrow.