Here are 3 Content Rules you could ACTUALLY APPLY. With examples! Let´s get to improving your content!
1. Have a Clear Success Measure
(Content Rule 3: Build Momentum)
"Good content always has an objective; It's created with intent. It therefore carries triggers to action."
It is nothing new that we should measure our achievements, in fact, the last 4 books I´ve summarized here mentioned it one way or the other.
But let´s return to it once again.
We should have a clear goal for each content piece and create it with that goal in mind.
In the few last content pieces, I have set a focus on 1 goal, which is quite common, and you can use the same one too.
The goal was increasing e-mail subscribers in the period between the publication of content pieces.
So If I earned 1 subscriber in the previous piece, to also have 1 or more in the current one, during the time period until the next content piece publication.
The results were:
0 Subscribers and 4 Form visits for Marketing 4.0 ( Three pieces ago )
1 Subscriber and 4 Form visits for Content Inc. ( Two pieces ago )
Youtility‘s results are analyzed in a separate blog post. ( Last piece )
Content Inc ConvertKit forms.
Marketing 4.0 ConvertKit forms.
Don’t wander around aimlessly. Set a clear, measurable goal.
With this content piece my goal in the two week period after the launch of it’s last ad is: At least 1 e-mail subscriber and 4 form visits.
(With the same amount of ads as earlier)
So I plan to have a PDF offering with 10 Free audiobooks on YouTube(As usual) and for the blog post I’ll remove the buttons, and make an embedded form of a 5 Common Marketing Mistakes PDF (A test contrary to the button’s I’ve had for a long time)
What is the goal for your next content piece?
What is your one Call to Action for your next content piece?
By the way elaborate analysis of the last post’s numbers is in a separate blog post here if you’d like to check it out.
2. Present Real-Life Examples
(Content Rule 7: Show, dont just tell)
"Good content doesn't preach or hard-sell. Instead, it shows how your product lives in the real world."
Just as in the principle above, showing how you really use what you teach, may prove a lot more beneficial than just talking about a theoretical scenario.
Eventually we want to make a true impact on the lives of our audience, and help them improve their lives.
For those who have entertainment as their main goal, I suppose, they would still want to make a vivid image of the entertainment situation they’re trying to describe, although in these cases, it doesn’t necessarily have to be real-life 🙂
Don’t just kind of show it, show it with extra detail, like the image from the blog post Content Inc. below
How can you help your audience apply what you teach in the best manner possible?
3. Interact With Your Audience, Its Not a One-Way Media
(Content Rule 9: Stoke The Campfire)
" Like a good campfire, good content sparks interaction and ignites conversation between you and your customers, and among your customers themselves "
There are many ways we could interact with our audience. One idea that is presented in the book is “showcasing your community.”
Which is basically as far as I understand, giving a shoutout to some community members who participate in our conversations.
Which is exactly what I’d like to do for this post.
I´d like to mention two examples of audience members who commented on my YouTube videos, who use the 2 Content Rules above.
Clear CTA - Professor Paul of Advanced Ideas
Below is a video explaining what is functional fitness and what are it’s benefits, with the clear goal of promoting a functional fitness course which professor Cline created. (The link to the course is in the YouTube description)
It is a great example of having a clear success measure which, I assume, is clicks on that link.
What would make it even better according to Content Rules is if he had a specific number in mind too.
For example: 1 link click per 20 views.
Step-by-Step Application - Domingo Jaramillo
What can be more real-life, than a how-to, step-by-step technical guide?
In the video below Domingo Jaramillo shows us exactly that.
This one may actually help someone do something, which is as I wrote earlier the whole purpose of our content.
Apart for showcasing your community you may also engage with your audience by:
-Making a content piece with the main goal of encouraging comments.
Here’s an example of Rick Kettner’s video where he does this. My Favorite Books From 2021! What Did You Read?-Simply answer the questions and comments of the audience on your content.
-Comment on their creations.
-Host a group call or event.
To name a few.
How are you going to make your content more engagement-inducing?
Mentions:
ConvertKit – My email service provider, which I neither recommend or disrecommend, as It’s the only one I
have experience with.
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