In this digital age, Content is King! Business owners, myself included, feel the pressure to produce quality and timely content. Search Engines love keyword-rich content. Your audience seeks relevant content to solve their problems. Your competitors serve up content at a quicker pace than ever before.
Sounds pretty demanding, huh!
Well, I am here to tell you, It doesn’t have to be! I have spent years writing content without a plan, lacking organization, and writing content for content’s sake. Then one day, I realized what a drag it was! I wasn’t enjoying the process of writing or creating content like I once did. I was determined to get out of that funk and start creating content I love! I knew I needed a plan, and an outline to follow. Albeit still a little messy, my new system has me enjoying writing again, and providing great content for my audience! I call that a WIN-WIN!
So are you ready to do this? It will take a little effort and organization upfront, but by the end of this post, you will have a plan! I have a few questions to ask you to help you through this process, so let’s get started!
What Problem Is Your Audience Trying to Solve?
Before creating content, you need to identify the problem your audience is currently experiencing. What struggles are they going through? What have you just experienced that you can help guide them through? Understanding your audience and their needs are crucial in order to relate to them. Providing content they need and answering questions they have will engage your audience, build trust, and keep them coming back for more.
What Type of Content Does Your Audience Like?
You don’t necessarily need to deliver content on a blog, a youtube channel, Facebook live, IG stories, a Podcast, and Snapchat. You do, however, need to be where your audience is spending time. The best advice I think I was ever given, by one of my mentors, Kim Garst… “Pick one or two platforms and get really good at delivering consistent content there.” It’s not rocket science, but give yourself permission to just focus on one social media platform while you build that audience! Do you prefer audio over reading or IG Stories over Snapchat? Chances are, your audience does too! So create content within your comfort zone and deliver it where you know your audience hangs out!
How Often Can You Create Quality Content?
Here is a concept I struggled with! My former self expected new blog posts every single week. I read all the latest marketing strategies, and felt the pressure of “more is better.” Well, as expected, I couldn’t keep up with a weekly blog post. When I did write, it felt rushed and frankly, sub-par! I felt like I was reading content on a subject and regurgitating it into my own words to form a blog post.
Towards the end of last year, I was pondering goals for 2020, and considering areas of improvement in my business. I decided to take the coming year to focus on quality posts only once per month, and find my love for writing again! Once a month works for me, and once a week does not (at least right now!). Figure out how often you can create content worthy of your audience reading, and stick to a schedule!
What are you passionate about?
I used to try to write about commercial real estate. Have you ever read articles on that subject? Talk about boring! It takes a very specific reader to enjoy reading about Net Leases and Forecasting Rent Rates! I don’t enjoy reading that type of content, and I really didn’t enjoy writing about it! I found that I enjoyed writing about all things business, whether productivity or marketing or anything in between! I realized those were topics my readers also enjoyed… another WIN-WIN!
Creating Content for your audience is challenging enough! Creating content you are passionate about will not only make it more enjoyable for you, but it will also be more enjoyable for your audience! Make sure your passion and emotion show through in your writing too. Don’t be afraid to give your opinion and show your true colors! Remember, your audience follows you because… well, YOU are YOU!
Create the content you love! Create content you are proud of! Create content you want to share with the world! In doing so you will increase your audience, improve the bond with your followers, and create a momentum to continue creating!
Or you could continue to dread it, which ultimately will show in your work. Cobwebs will begin to form on your digital platform due to inconsistency and likely resentment. Don’t be that person!
So… will you consider making a few changes to start Creating Content You Love?
I HOPE SO!
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