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How To Create High Quality Content Which Converts Into Sales
Whatever type of business you are in, there is absolutely no doubt that high-quality content sells.
But for the vast majority of us, producing a consistent flow of quality content that readers will find engaging, useful and will act upon, can be a pretty daunting prospect over the long haul. Particularly as we will need to create fresh and motivational content for as long as our business is in existence.
A decade ago, ‘content creation’ would have meant writing – and people who didn’t consider themselves adequate copywriters would have had little choice but to outsource their content production to a freelancer or agency. These days, ‘multimedia marketing’ is the name of the game and we are lucky enough to have a whole gamut of tools at our disposal to help us create more meaningful content through video, audio, social media and so forth.
The most successful online content creators view their sites in the same way a magazine publisher would: that is, by producing an editorial calendar that will map out their content-production schedule 3-6 months in advance ideally.
Planning too far ahead
means you run the risk of topics becoming stale or inappropriate and you will
want to ensure that all your content is ‘on the radar’ of your target audience
– ripe and relevant.
The best way to achieve this is by brainstorming a list of
potential topics you want to cover using mind-mapping software if this works
for you. Otherwise, you can simply jot down a list of bullet points. Once you
have some likely content topics to explore and research further, you will need
to decide what the best communications channels will be for delivering that
content and also schedule it on your editorial calendar. (This could be as
simple as using a spreadsheet).
Tips for Producing Sales-converting Content:
Make your content goal-centricIt’s that age-old conundrum:
Who are my customers?
Where do they hang out?
How do I reach them?
Unless your business is micro-niche specific, it is highly likely that your target audience will comprise several different ‘buyer personas’ and it can be helpful to create a buyer persona for each type of customer to ensure that your content meets their needs.For example:
-
Gender
- Age (group)
- Education
- Profession
- Income (buying power)
- Lifestyle (hobbies; TV choices; holiday destinations; eating
habits – whatever is relevant to your product or service in helping you build a
profile)
- Shopping habits
- Buying decisions
You might think that your website or blog would benefit from a single consistent voice, but having members of your team contribute ideas based around their areas of specialism, ensures for a diverse mix of content that could help you appeal to a wider readership. For example, your sales team could put on a webinar or sales presentation to help your customers sell more. Your graphic design specialist could create an illustrated PDF of how to develop a brilliant logo for a product or service.
Give your prospects a choice of media
Each of us has our own preferred method for absorbing information, be it through reading a brochure or PDF, listening to an audio (MP3) or watching a video, so it’s vital to give your audience a choice of media through which to absorb your messages.
Many companies that sell via video also provide a downloadable text copy of the video content to reinforce their brand’s key messages. Whatever communications channels you decide to use, if you are giving away valuable information, be sure to capture your prospects’ details on your website or dedicated ‘squeeze page’ before allowing them to access your materials, so you can add them to your email list.