Last updated in August, 2020.
Your business needs content to grow. More and more data is showing that marketers who generate consistent, valuable content grow faster and more profitably than those who aren’t publishing.
But is that all there is to it? Just start typing and creating content then the business will grow?
Of course not.
But there is something to be said for volume and production. Mainly, the act of setting deadlines for publishing will force you to get something going. Too often, the biggest hindrance in content marketing efforts is waiting too long to get started.
We are looking to generate consistent, quality content, so in order to do that, let’s walk through exactly what a simple article looks like.
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Every Article Has a Purpose
Before you start writing, everything you create needs to have a purpose. A good first step in defining the purpose of your article is to ask who it’s for.
Just like great products, great content solves real problems for real people. Think about who your audience is and ask, “What question is my audience asking that I can answer?”
This question will give a clear who and why to your article, thus giving a worthy purpose.
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Write from a Position of Authority
At Full Stadium we create content for you. One of the biggest challenges we’ve seen for business looking to outsource or hire for content creation is that it comes across generic and without authority.
Great content needs to be authoritative. You are the expert in what you do. So everything you write should be informative. Remember, the readers do not have that same expertise, so while you are being authoritative, you should also write in plain language.
Content that is generic and could be written by anyone is not valuable. Make sure your true voice and knowledge comes through.
At Full Stadium, we capture this authority through extensive research with interviews and listening to audio of webinars and places our clients’ have been featured.
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Always Provide a Call to Action
Content Marketers who truly build a growth engine with their articles treat each page like a landing page. You measure the traffic and ultimately the conversion rate from those who visit your page.
Of course, your purpose is to solve a problem and educate the reader. But it is marketing! If you are able to help them, it’s even more helpful to provide them with a natural next step to take.
A good example would be to invite them to download a template or similar piece of content related to the article they just read.
When they download it, you can collect an email and now send more relevant content to deepen the relationship.
If the article is more in-depth like a case study or guide, the call to action could go directly to an appointment.
To create the best call to action, be sure to have clarity on who you are writing to and what stage of the buyers’ journey they are in. The key is to give them a natural next step to take after reading.
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Take Action to Promote Your Content
Even the best content isn’t going to help you or anyone if nobody reads it. When you plan your article, think about how you will promote and distribute the content.
The natural first step is to share it on social media. This is fine if you have a lot of followers, but typically isn’t going to generate a huge influx of traffic.
Other ways to get distribution on your articles is to involve your friends. You can work with a partner or related business and quote them in your article (Which they will appreciate). Then when the post goes live you can invite them to share the post with their network.
Another thing you can do is good old fashioned email. You wouldn’t want to email your list every time you create an article, but if you have a newsletter, you can link to your post to highlight what you’ve created.
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Have Patience
Even if you follow all these steps perfectly, there is no guarantee you’re going to start seeing inbound leads scheduling appointments on your calendar.
Don’t worry! It’s still worthwhile. Each article is adding another layer of depth and expertise to your website. Visitors will notice that you’ve been faithful in generating content and will believe you are reliable and knowledgeable.
Not to mention, your SEO will continue to improve as you get more links and more articles. You can find that an article you created 12 months ago starts to rank high and suddenly is a lead generating machine.
That’s all you need to know. Don’t overthink it. Have a focused plan and start creating. Your future self will thank you for starting NOW.
If you need help with content strategy or creation, we’d be glad to help. Just click the button to fill out a form and we’ll be in touch right away.
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