Dear Stephana, Shelagh, Shala, Steve, Darlene, Michael, Melissa, Joyce, Julie and Jo. . . . . . .
The other day I was looking at a prospective client’s website, as well as their lead generation strategy and blog articles, and after ten minutes of perusal, I looked for a hint of whom they were marketing to, yet there was a clear refusal in giving me the answer. ;)
When creating content, the goal is to have a cohesive marketing message that positions you as a specialist and exhibits your expertise in every part of your digital and offline marketing strategy.
When I rebranded and shifted who I wanted to market to a couple years ago, I had an “aha!” moment when I realized that I was still creating content for startup business owners, when I wanted to work with clients who had been in business for at least a couple of years.
I had to make a conscious effort to stop creating content that was tailored more so for my previous market, and start only writing to the clients I wanted to work with currently. It wasn’t easy but it was effective when I polished my messaging.
If someone looked at only your blog posts, would it be obvious who your audience is and what results your services offer? It’s easy to get distracted from your platform and wander into irrelevant territories, but here is a quick checklist that can help you clarify your brand message, engages your perfect audience and demonstrates your brilliance in a way that builds your consulting or coaching business.
- Write to your ideal clients. Think about who your most favorite clients are or that you’ve worked with previously. Whenever you write a newsletter, a blog post or create any type of marketing, write with them in mind. Ask yourself if the topic at hand would appeal to them or be relevant. If the answer is yes, then you can proceed but if not, it’s probably best to find try another topic.
- Call them out: Try to tailor your content specifically to your industry so that it reaffirms to your reader that they are in the right place. Refer to your audience and their specific job titles or related groups in pertinent ways so that your content confirms that you speaking to them individually about congruent matters.
- Stay in your lane: Even though you have expertise in a wide variety of areas, don’t dilute your brand by veering into other lanes. Stay the course by writing about topics that fall within your brand.
For instance, a client of mine who is a Chief Financial Officer is extremely knowledgeable about marketing topics, but if his blog had articles about Facebook marketing, it would confuse his market, and possibly even damage his brand.
The thing to avoid here is the perception that you are a “jack of all trades, master of none.” You can do considerable damage to your brand by not reining as the King or Queen of your content.
Whenever I write a blog post, it has usually been inspired by something that recently happened, such as a challenge or big win that a client or I recently had. I usually go through this quick checklist to make sure it’s a fit, and then I can confidently proceed with writing and publishing my content.
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