Content marketing isn’t hard. In fact, it’s easy peasy lemon squeezy.

It’s hard only because you aren’t aware of what turns prospects on when they consume content. Once you know what they are looking for, getting conversions through content is a piece of cake.

Prospects perceive value differently than you

Most of the time, we marketers see value in terms of features, benefits, and USP. That’s our point of view. Until you learn to see what’s truly important for the prospects, it’s going to be tough to sell anything.

Your prospects perceive value very differently. They see problems and potential solutions. Not features or benefits or USPs. None of that matters if they don’t see how the solution helps them solve their problems.

There’s a disconnect between marketers and prospects. One side is trying to add value through products and services; while the other side is trying to solve problems at hand. Do you get what I’m trying to say here?

Engagement is the first commitment

In your content, what you should be doing is problem-solving. Not by introducing your product or services and how it works. But by brainstorming ideas on how to use your products or services to achieve your prospects’ desired results.

A perfect example to illustrate my point: https://www.clickfunnels.com/blog/sales-funnels/

Doing this will turn a scroll into an engagement. And that brings your prospects one step closer to the sale. In today’s digital landscape, the most valuable asset is not an email anymore. It’s attention.

People can give fake emails to download your stuff. But if they engage with your brand, that’s a different story.

I think it’s time to change your KPIs and objectives. Emails used to be an asset, but now it’s a commodity. The only way you turn emails back into assets is through intent and attention management. Get your prospects’ attention and keep it as long as you can.

Make sure they see you as credible & authoritative

People are serious about the problems they want to solve. With that being said, they are dead serious about the solution provider too. They want the best and brightest they can afford.

Prospects pay attention to ideas and solutions rather than plain product recommendations and reviews. The latter part comes after the decision is made. If you want to lock your prospects’ attention, do it earlier in their journey.

Because the bottom of the funnel is usually where decisions are already made. That means, focusing on the bottom of the funnel is like arriving at the party after the main event. You pretty much missed the fun part.

Another thing to take note of is credibility and authority. Your prospects are restless. They will scour every corner of the internet, looking for their solution. You, as the marketer of a solution provider, should appear trustworthy.

Here’s how you do it…

#1 - Give them practical golden nuggets

Your prospects are desperate for a solution. Guess what they are expecting?? Results. The power of simple and practical golden nuggets is vastly underrated.

Amateur marketers are so busy selling they overlook the most effective attention-grabbing aspect of their marketing. This is a great blue ocean strategy for marketers.

Imagine this…your toilet is leaking. The entire house smell like piss and s**t combined. Your neighbors are complaining about the smell. Your family is having sleepless nights because of it.

You look up Google to find out how to stop the smell. Then, look for someone who knows how to fix the damn leak! You found an article that explains to great specificity on how to get rid of the smell. At the bottom, a number to call for help.

You did exactly what was instructed. The smell is gone. Thank god. The plumber arrives just in time before it gets worse.

In that scenario, would you compare other plumber websites??… Ones that only showcase reviews and testimonials. And awards and recognitions. Probably not. The moment you found that article is the moment the competition becomes irrelevant.

Marketers, give your prospects results in advance. They’ll thank you for that and are more likely to do business with you.

#2 - Get your branding on-point

There are two reasons why you should put emphasis on your branding. Firstly, it’s to increase your credibility and authority. Your brand message, personality, and tone boost your brand’s trustworthiness.

Prospects love that. They want to work with people who pay attention to details and deliver quality results. Your branding reflects these qualities to them.

Secondly, it’s what most marketers aren’t aware of in their branding effort. A strong and on-point branding increases brand recall. In other words, strong branding will make prospects remember you longer. This aligns with the keeping attention part of your content marketing.

The better your content and branding are executed, the more space your brand occupies in your prospects’ minds. So when it’s time to make buying decisions, your brand comes out in the top 5 of their list. Bingo :)

#3 - Simplify your content relentlessly

Most content you see on Google is very detailed and thorough. Especially blogs run by SEO agencies. For me, their content are unnecessarily overwhelming. That’s what happens when you write for search engines.

Prospects want value. They want it fast and digestible. They’ll try to solve problems on their own whenever possible. And if they can’t…that’s when they pay you to solve it.

Remember the toilet example? Simple, digestible, and practical. Prospects perceive you as credible when your suggestions and ideas work. Your content could be longer. It depends on what problems you’re solving.

But it should never, by any means, be overwhelming. Don’t give 5 examples when 2 is enough. Don’t write 15k words when 2k words are enough. Just like cooking. Salty food will ruin the dining experience.

The best tip to simple content is to be straightforward and deliver results in advance. You can never go wrong following this tip.

Finally…

Take off your marketer's cap. Put yourself in your prospects’ shoes all the time when creating content. Whoever has the most helpful and engaging content wins the game.