Create More Engaging Content With These 3 Tips
We live in a world where content is key - and the more you can create, the more you should receive when it comes to clients, right? Not necessarily.
The internet and the marketing world is completely saturated with information. Anything you want to learn about, you can now learn about with the click of a button. Search literally anything in Google and there will be hundreds of thousands of results. It's not longer about creating content - it's about giving valuable content to engage your audience. So, what can you do to create more engaging content?
Tip #1
Give amazing information, advice and tips. Make it realistic - make it doable. Explain why you are recommending these things to your reader. For example, the reason that I am recommending this tip is because more engaging, realistic information will make your reader feel that they are getting a lot of value from you. Value is the new currency in a marketing relationship. We used to be able to write content and be very vague and elusive, in the hopes of creating curiosity in the reader. Nowadays, when we search for something, we want answers - and vague and elusive information certainly doesn't cut it anymore. If you don't provide the content your reader is looking for, don't doubt that someone else will. Give real advice, real information and things that are actually going to sink in and change the way your reader thinks or acts. The reader will walk away from your content having learnt something that they can implement, for free, and this plants the seed for the reader to reciprocate the value they have gained from you - often by them returning to your site and becoming an engaged follower of your content.
Tip #2
Know your reader and write to them. This comes from the essential foundation of knowing who your reader (aka your ideal client) actually is. When it comes to content marketing, like blogs, the whole purpose of the content is to create a relationship with your reader. The purpose is not just to write a blog for the sake of writing a blog and crossing it off your to-do list. This will achieve nothing. Your content has to be targeted and focused, and the more you understand the person you are trying to attract and build a relationship with, the easier and more effective this process will be. Your content marketing, like your blogs, should be part of an education process for your ideal client - showing them that you understand their frustrations, their goals and their values, and that you know how to help them. A generalised blog with no targeted audience is not going to achieve this, and unfortunately is a waste of time!
NOTE: This is a game-changing aspect to keep in mind when writing any content, especially copy for your website. Your ideal client is focused on themselves and their problems and their frustrations. They do not care about you and your qualifications - they want to know if you can help them, which means writing all about their pain points, and how they can achieve change with your help. All the university degrees under the sun don't connect you to your ideal client and their problems, so don't get caught up in writing about you... write about them.
Tip #3
Never underestimate the power of stories. Story-telling allows us to create imagery and powerful connection. Add stories into your content and use it as an easy way to create rapport as a someone that has been through what your ideal client is going through, or establish yourself as an expert without sounding like a douche by talking about how you have helped other people overcome the problems your ideal client is currently experiencing.
When I first started practising as a Naturopath I lost countless hours of sleep and gained several grey hairs trying to figure out my place in the industry, and working on how to gain more confidence as a practitioner. I had put my head in the sand about the fact that, first and foremost, I was a business owner... a business owner that could help others in their health journey. Like so many praccies out there, I had really buried my head in the sand about the responsibilities that being a business owner brought, and this was mainly because I had no role model, no support, and didn't know where to look to get the help that I needed. I literally didn't even know what I didn't know when it came to marketing and business. When I realised that the world needed my gifts and talents as a healer, I started to look at my business differently, and I realised that being good at business was just as important as being good at Naturopathy. Without my business, I had no outlet to help others and create impact. It was this realisation that changed the way I looked at my competitors as well. You see, small businesses stand a high risk of failing in the first 3-5 years. Some might think, yay - all I have to do is be better than my competitor and eventually they might fail. But, I truly believe that entrepreneurs (especially healers!) shape the world, and there is no such thing as a competitor when it comes to those that help others. We all help others in different ways, and I'm sure you'll agree that we receive what we need in order to grow and expand. That's how I found myself starting Prac2Pro, and writing this blog. Because my purpose and place for impact in this world and this industry is in helping others share their gifts and talents. And, without understanding how to have a healthy business, we would all lose our platform to live our purpose. In my experience, life just isn't worth living without purpose.
Now... can you see the impact I have had by writing that little story? I have connected with the common frustrations of my ideal client (a practitioner that feels overwhelmed by all the aspects of business that seem almost irrelevant to their purpose as a healer), I have outlined the shared values of myself and my ideal client (helping others and creating positive impact in the world), and I have eluded to the fact that I am in a position to help (eg, stating that I have started Prac2Pro to live out this purpose of helping others help others). Cool, huh? How much more impact could you have if you wrote a little story about someone you have helped, or how you have ended up where you are today?
Bonus tip!
Keep consistent with your content. Don't write one blog every six months and then four in one week. Create a schedule that you can stick to, and take on that responsibility of doing what you said you would do - AKA staying in integrity!
I do this by writing down ideas that I have for blogs, and then on the day I allocate (every Sunday) I pick the one I want to write about, I put on some music, and I let it flow. Blog writing can be a fun and creative process. Take the pressure off and treat it like a conversation you're having with a friend who is interested in all the stuff you happen to know all about! Because, that's what a truly effective blog is!
Are you a proactive, passionate prac that wants to know more?