Content is NOT king!

“Content is king”.

You hear that ALL the time. But I disagree. Content is NOT king!

Yes, content is absolutely essential for a business to be successful. And I don’t mean just any old content. It has to be GREAT content.

But we’re at a point now where great content is a given. If you don’t have great content, you aren’t even in the game. Average content won’t get you noticed and won’t bring you new clients or customers. Instead, I say…

CONTEXT is king!

And a huge part of context is – who’s sharing it. That is the critical element of content marketing that too few people are considering.

How do you get people to share your content for you? Well that’s the big question, isn’t it? Everyone wants to know the secret for creating viral content.

I want to tell you a story about a wine seller named Stephen Cronk.

Stephen was starting a new winery, and he was in a location where there were already 600 other wineries. He was going up against all these other well-established businesses and he wanted to figure out how to get his content out there and have an impact on his local wine market.

So he started creating videos.

They weren’t just any old videos though. They were authentic, personality-driven videos, with practical, useful information. They were also very optimistic; there was never anything negative in what Stephen shared. And the most important thing was, they were entertaining!

His early videos were OK, but the more he did them, the better they got. After a while, people started sharing them everywhere.  And then after he’d done over 200 videos he finally hit gold!  He did a video about how to open a wine bottle with his shoe!

And all of a sudden it went viral!

Viral content is…

Not only was it optimistic, not only was it authentic, not only was it practical, it was also highly entertaining.

That seemed to be the winning combination for what kind of content would actually go viral and help spread his message.  He got so much attention, he was featured in regional media outlets. His business just absolutely exploded after that one crazy video about how to open a wine bottle with a shoe.

When he started, Stephen developed an audience of people who were really interested in wine. People who wanted to understand more about wine and maybe even become wine connoisseurs.  Like Stephen, when you’re creating your quality content, you have to make it interesting. If it is entertaining and interesting, your audience is more likely to share it.

In addition, note that Stephen honed his storytelling skills over a period of time. He wasn’t a pro video blogger when he started, but he was consistent in showing up regularly.

So if you’re an entrepreneurs who says:

“I can’t do that, I can’t get on video, I can’t understand how anybody can do that, that’s just not my thing”… know that everyone starts somewhere. You’ll get better at it over time

Maybe you’ve got other ways of getting your message out there that are really working for you. If you have, that’s fabulous! But if you haven’t, and you’re looking for something else, a more effective way to share your information, then consider doing more videos, especially entertaining videos.

Let’s review what makes a video more likely to be shared widely. It must:

  • Be optimistic
  • Be authentic
  • Be practical
  • Be entertaining  
  • And most critically, be relevant to your audience.  

So ask yourself:

“What can I do to help get my material out there? How can I provide practical value for my audience? And how can I entertain them while I’m doing that?”

I’d love to see what kinds of things you come up with.

If you’ve got something really interesting to post about, take my challenge here and create a video that’s interesting, entertaining, practical and authentic (it’s really “YOU”!). When you’ve done it I’d love to see it.  Share your video in the comments below this blog post.

If you liked this post, join our 30 Days To a Flood of New Leads program! You will learn ALL you need to know to create engaging, valuable content, that inspires your prospects to take action!

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Non-text content marketing to get attention and engagement

Are you a small business owner who doesn’t enjoy writing?

Perhaps you’re just tired of writing and you want something different? Or maybe your audience doesn’t like to read as much as they like other forms of content.

If that’s the case, I’ve got some great tips for non-text content and information that will capture your audience’s attention.

Video and audio

Videos are huge right now and people love them! Not only that, but 50% of people fail to read past the first 100 words on a website, but 95% of viewers will watch about a minute of a video. Keep it short and you’ll grab your audience’s attention!

Videos are all over social media, like Facebook and Instagram. If you want to be found more easily, always make sure you post your videos on YouTube which is a Google-owned search engine.

Your website is a critical place for your videos. 

You can post a video on your homepage and in your blog articles. And use plenty of video testimonials because they convert like crazy!

For either your website or your social media profile, consider using product demo videos. These can either be live or animated. Make it fun and interesting and you’ll keep your audience wondering what will happen next!

So videos are great. They capture people’s attention right away because people love to watch things that move. It’s just the way our brains are designed.

In addition to video, audio files – short teaching episodes, podcast interviews, and snippets of  coaching calls, or even snippets from an event – are also valuable for your audience.

At an event, record conversations with the people you talk to while you’re there; or maybe even invite the presenter to speak with you! Make sure you provide real value in your audio content piece, as with all your content pieces.

Interactive content

Offer your audience a variety of ways to engage with your content.

For instance, people love polls. They get lots of shares, at least in part because people like to compare their answers to how other people respond.

Another type of non-text content is surveys. Use surveys both to get people to engage, and to collect information for your company. Sometimes people want to respond anonymously, and sometimes they are willing to include their contact information and detailed answers to your questions. Once your prospect takes the time to take your survey, they are much more likely to engage with you in other ways!

In addition, surveys are great because you can frame the questions in such a way that you encourage people to think a little bit about how and why they may need help with a particular topic.

You may also consider creating an assessment for prospects to take (similar to a survey, but it is mostly intended to provide the prospect with revealing information about themselves). The idea is to include questions in the assessment that lead the prospect to recognize where they are falling short.

And of course, the questions are usually related directly to something you can provide for them as a service that will help fill a hole they haven’t even recognized yet. Assessments are valuable and people love to take them.

Visual content

A less interactive, but still valuable, type of content, are images.

One type of image is an infographic. People love infographics, again, because our brains love visuals. They are easy to digest and people love to share them.

If you want to include infographics in your content marketing plan, you can either hire someone to do it for you (such as on Fiverr), or you can try one of the online software program. Some, like Canva, are free, or you could purchase one of the many relatively low-cost programs available. They are usually a simple drag-and-drop interface.

Charts and graphs or snapshots of data make things really clear to understand.

Finally, bring your audience on a journey from point A to point B. Timelines are a great visual tool you can use that’s not written content.

I hope this has been really valuable for you. Think about what other types of content you can use to engage your audience, content that will help build connections and relationships; content that builds strong brand awareness.

If you liked this post, join our 30 Days To a Flood of New Leads program! You will learn ALL you need to know to create engaging, valuable content, that inspires your prospects to take action!

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Let me entertain you! Your guide to entertaining content

Do you ever struggle to figure out what kind of information or content you should be sharing with your  audience?

If you are looking for lots of interaction, the absolute best type of information to share is entertaining information.

Top three things to know about entertaining content that gets you new leads:

  1. It helps you connect to your audience at an emotional level .
  1. It needs to be shareable. People like to share things and they’re more likely to share something if it’s entertaining in some way.
  1. It helps create brand awareness and loyalty among your audience. And that’s good for you because the more people that share your content, the more new leads you will get.

Here are the different types of entertaining content you can test with your audience: 

Informational Content

Some informational content is not especially entertaining and can be seen as very academic. So even if you’re sharing something informational, it must be engaging as well as useful. It should be something your audience can use, apply and learn from. Make sure it has some entertainment value!

The four parts that make up informational content are:

  • It must be relevant – It needs to be relevant to your audience’s personal experiences
  • It must be engaging – It must hold their attention
  • It must be valuable – Which means useful or educational
  • It must be inspiring – You want to inspire them to take action

Beautiful Content

Photographs are the easiest way to present beautiful content, but it could be a video or even an audio. Generally though, photos – and infographics – are easy to share. And “cute” can also be counted as part of this category. How many cat gifs does it take to be cute ? I don’t know; I’m a dog person myself but you get the picture. 😉

Funny Content

Think of the Dollar Shave Club. They share really valuable information about why people would want to buy their razors, and they’re very funny in the process. What other funny content have you come across lately? It’s usually pretty memorable, isn’t it?

Sex Sells

Sex! You know if you talk about sex you’re going to grab people’s attention. Sex sells! You may consider including sexual allusions along with at least one of the other types of entertaining content.

Inspirational Content

Tell stories of heroes or compelling events. Include pictures or videos. Inspirational content makes people feel good and gives them hope. Give them the idea that they can do something on their own. You want them to think, “If somebody else can do it, I can do it too!” This is why inspirational content is really valuable. Inspirational content also “inspires” your audience to take action.

Shocking, Weird & Scary Content

Entertaining content can also be something shocking, weird or even a little bit scary! The whole point is you want people to start talking about it and to create some buzz! That makes it shareable. It makes your audience connect with it at an emotional level.

Nostalgic Content

Do you have pictures from a reunion? Or from your home town from long ago? Something from your business’s history? Or even some world event that happened decades ago that’s really powerful that people connect to and is relevant to your audience? Remember, your goal is to connect with your audience at an emotional level. Nostalgic content can help you do that.

Combine several of the above!

You can look at something funny and weird. You can look at something that’s inspirational and beautiful. You could even look at something that’s weird and shocking. Think about all the different images and videos that you’ve seen out on the internet or on your TV. Under which of these categories does that content fit?

Often you will see that one piece of content actually employs three or more of these elements! Now you are really connecting with your audience!

So I hope this has been a valuable way for  to take a look at content and figure out how you can use it. If you’re interested in getting 30 days of great content to a flood of new leads then I invite you to join the course that I’m offering right now. Click the link below and tell your friends about it and I look forward to seeing you there.

Sign up for 30 days of great content to a flood of new leads!

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Why you can’t sell to someone who doesn’t trust you. Part 2

In part two, I’m going to reveal how to present your unique solution that will solve your audience’s problem. (See part 1 here)

The second step is to show them how it’s possible to solve their problem.

You can do this by giving your audience a series of steps they need to take to solve it. Or, you could give them a case study of somebody else who has solved it already.

Now the person isn’t just problem-aware, they are solution-aware

So we’re moving up the ladder in awareness, simply by providing them with great educational material. You become their go-to person for this problem, and now they are even considering doing something about it!

Don’t stop there though. You continue to not only tell them the why and the what but now the how too. You provide them with hope. They don’t have to live with this problem forever.

As we discussed in the previous article, first describe why this problem is an issue for them and how it’s making them feel.

It’s very likely they can’t even identify it themselves yet. Use powerful words and powerful language that speak for them: “This is a real problem, I must do something about it”.

I emphasize this again: educate your audience about their problem. When you educate them, you become their go-to person

Because you become the authority regarding this problem in their life, you become “top of mind” for them.

The material you provide for them can be in print, digital, social media or videos. Almost anything! This is content marketing and you need to keep doing it to stay top of mind for your audience.

So they’re now both problem-aware and solution-aware. The final step is where we hit the jackpot…

That is when your prospect becomes aware of your product or service.

Now, a word of advice.

Do remember that they have multiple ways of getting a solution. You’re not the only person or company out there who is trying to help people with this issue.

You need to be fully aware of what your competition is doing. Identify for yourself how you are different from your competition, and what is unique about what you’re offering.

This will establish you as a brand they want to keep coming back to over and over again.

What does it mean to have a “unique solution” to their problem?

It could be a number of things…

  • You have a unique system that solves the problem.
  • You have unique resources to solve their problem.
  • You have a special guarantee that nobody else offers.

Think about Domino’s Pizza…

“Hot Pizza in 30 minutes or it’s free”

Their pizza wasn’t anything special but their guarantee was out of this world.

A lot of people loved that they were going to get their pizza in 30 minutes and it was going to be hot… even if it wasn’t the best pizza.

Have some way of differentiating your service or product above everyone else’s. Otherwise, you won’t stand out in the market. If your product or service is not unique, you’re going to lose your prospects.

And if you aren’t unique, and you aren’t educating them, you will lose your prospects’ trust

If they don’t trust you enough, they’re not going to pull out their wallets and give you their money. It’s that simple.

Let’s summarize:

Step One

You start out with the prospect who is not fully aware of what their problem is. You put out content to make them problem-aware. You help them articulate their problem. You tell them WHAT the problem is and WHY they have it.

Step Two

You let them know that there is hope for solving this problem. There are other people who have solved it. You tell them what the SYSTEM is for solving the problem.

Step Three

The final step is product or service-aware. This is when you have to stand out from the competition. You show them that you are able to solve their problems in a way that no one else can.

Until they’ve gone through this prospect-awareness journey, they are not ready to buy.

So don’t try and sell them when they first meet you. They need to develop a relationship with you. You need to develop a relationship with them. Only then do they want to pull out their wallets and give you their money in a mutually-beneficial relationship.

Where have you jumped in too soon to make an offer? What was the result? What do you think would be a better result if you had waited to develop that relationship?

I’d love to hear a little more about it, so please comment below!

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Why you can’t sell to someone who doesn’t trust you. Part 1

People only buy from you when they know you well.

They have to really know you, like you and trust you.

And there’s a process for getting them from not knowing you even exist to knowing you well enough and trusting you enough to pull out their wallets.

Today I’m going to show you three steps to gaining the trust of your audience using great content marketing.

You see, no one wants to buy content marketing. Instead, what all business owners want – and NEED – is a great relationship with your audience.

And who is your audience? Those are people who are already in your world. People who mention to you they’re reading your material,  and who are engaging with you, or at least discovering you in one way or another.

That audience may come to you through ads, or referrals. And to build up that relationship, you offer them valuable information, or what is also known as content.

Content should be valuable, inspiring and educational

You’re the expert. You’re the authority.  Educate your audience to help them solve their problem in ways they haven’t thought of yet.

Instead of content marketing, many people also call it education-based marketing.

Use content marketing to build trust

So how do you develop this trust relationship? You have to go through a three step process:

You start with people who don’t even know you exist, and who barely even know they have a problem. What are they doing about it? They’re probably ignoring it and denying it.

Think about it….

How many times have you heard of somebody who’s had an illness, pain, or ache and a family member or good friend has said to them over and over again “you really need to go and see the doctor about that problem.”

Their problem is obvious to everyone else but that one person, and they’re in denial about it.

They first need to become aware of the fact they have this problem.

Your job as the entrepreneur is to identify their feelings, their pains and their problems. You need to do that in visceral terms. So they realize they have a problem and that they need to do something about it.

If they don’t do something about it, it’s just going to continue. Some people are happy to keep going that way, but most people want to solve their problems and there’s only one way they can do that.

The first step is to become educated that the problem even exists.

So step one is what I call ‘Problem Aware’. In very strong language, it’s your job to let them know they have that problem.

So now you’ve got them to the point where they say “okay I have a problem and it hurts! What do I do about it? “

You move them to step two which is to become solution-aware.

They need to recognize there are ways to solve their problem and there are many people who have already solved this same problem.

This is where you give them information that explains to them this is what the problem is.

So in the first step, you are talking about the problem: “This is why you have it and this is why it feels this way”.

Next you help them become aware that a solution exists.

In part two I’m going to share how you can present your solution to their problem so they see you as the person that can finally help them and lead them to become a customer.

So check back in and see what the next step is, in creating a trust-based relationship with your audience.

When have you – or someone you know – not paid attention to a problem that was really obvious to everyone else? What did it take to become “problem aware”? Please let me know in the comments!

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How information clutter is ruining your chances of being seen and remembered by your best prospects

Will your ideal prospective customer remember you when they are ready to make a purchasing decision?

Seriously.

While there is some question about the accuracy (and origins) of the numbers, we are often told that 20 years ago, consumers were exposed to 2000 messages a day, and that number is now around 5000 messages a day.

Regardless of the true number, I am sure you know it’s pretty high! We really are completely inundated with information. All day long.

It’s hard to remember!

Because of this constant bombardment of information and messages, we have trouble remembering what we did at 2:15 three days ago. And many people also have trouble remembering the name of the notary who helped them sign an official document 3 weeks ago.

So when your prospect is really ready to buy a product or service that you provide, it’s very likely they won’t remember you, your company, or your brand.

Whether you are an online business, focusing mostly on coaching and/or education, or a brick-and-mortar business, counting on lots of foot traffic, if prospective customers don’t remember you, what can you do about it?

Stay top-of-mind

You must focus on creating the brand recognition that is the lifeblood of any viable business. Because your prospects are not all ready to buy at the same time.

Some will be ready to buy today.

Some need a little more time or information.

Some need to develop more trust with you and your brand.

Some are only beginning to look for information.

Be prepared for the fact that your message WILL get buried. Just continue to create valuable content. Eventually, that familiarity will build trust in the mind of your prospect.

When you post something, don’t add to the “clutter”. In addition to being valuable, your content must also be engaging, relevant, and inspiring.

Create text, video, audio, and interactive content that captures your prospect’s attention.

Post frequently on social media. Sponsor local events. Send out print newsletters that are 100% guaranteed to land in your prospect’s mailbox (you can’t say THAT about email!).

This is one of a series of articles about relevant, valuable, engaging, and inspiring content as part of a profitable content marketing plan.

It’s your turn! What did you find most valuable in this post? What action will you take now, to make sure you don’t add to the clutter too, but still manage to stay top-of-mind?

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