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How to Create Amazing Content

You want to create amazing content that humanizes your brand. You need content with je ne sais quoi that gets customers to convert. But let’s be real: You don’t have time to maintain a blog, and keep your business running. And you especially don’t have time to learn French to understand what “je ne sais quoi” really means.

Creating amazing content is more than writing words on a website. It requires time to create art…

Content marketing is an art. The concept of marketing has been flipped on its head. It’s no longer what that you do. It’s who you are. It’s what you create.

Here are some tips for how you can create amazing content that’s true to who you are:

1. Integrate your work and play

Creating content is a lot more fun when you can truly be yourself. When you’re yourself, you can tell stories. And when you tell stories, your content marketing is holistic and comes alives.

Did you just return from a trip? Are you recovering from a long weekend with family? Did you have an interesting experience at your local coffee shop?

Your stories are your strengths. When you integrate your work and play, you give yourself permission to create amazing content for your business. It gives you more creativity to create content. And creativity? It’s the best (and sometimes only) way to stand out.

2. Create conversations

Markets are conversations. This concept isn’t new. But so many businesses forget its value.

Creating conversations is super important. You need to create conversations with your customers to create amazing content. Your content needs to cause some type of reaction. And when you can create conversations that cause reactions you can…

3. Get dirty. And have fun

You are a pro-fess-ional (said in an overly pretentious way). And the word “professional” may remind you of stodgy suits, big vocabulary words, and 3-hour meetings that make you feel oh-so-important (but yet entirely bored with your life). Where is there a place for…fun?

Everywhere.

If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong. Sorry. (Not sorry. No. Not in the least bit).

You see, here’s the thing:

You only have one life. And you have choices…choices! Stop waiting on the traditional systems of yesterday to save you. The tools are in front of you to create your own platform and pave your own path.

When you have fun with what you’re creating, your culture comes alive. Oh, and bonus: sales happen more naturally, too.

Show off your amazing personality by creating fun, engaging content. It shows you’re a leader in your industry. And leaders make an impact with their business (and make more money!)

4. Focus on one type of content. And do it. Do it well.

Your blog is the most important channel for your content marketing efforts. If you want to start creating content, but you’re not sure where to start, a blog is your answer.

A blog is the cornerstone for your business. And when you create written content, it can exist on the Internet forever, and get picked up by the Google. And who doesn’t want to be on the Google?

For more on blogging and your business, check out these presentation slides from a course I teach.

5. Read Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook

Ok. I’ll be honest. I didn’t initially like Gary Vaynerchuck. He seemed to be everywhere. And everyone was drinking his kool-aid. But then…I dug a little deeper, and learned he was from New Jersey. And that you see, changes everything.

Just kidding. It takes more than a man from Jersey to win my heart and mind. It takes wine. And Gary Vee? He has a library full of wine.

I had the chance to meet him over the Thanksgiving weekend at his Wine Library in north New Jersey. He was super fun, down to earth. And I was like, “oh, hai Gary Vee. I used to not like you. But now I do.”

I didn’t say that. I was a little shy. But not shy enough to get a photo with him:

Read his book. The case studies will make you cringe. Make you laugh. Make you think differently about how to tell your story in a noisy social world. It’s quality reading, folks. Pick it up and devour it. You won’t be sorry.

Do you need help with content marketing? Do content marketing avec moi (that’s French for “with me” in case you were wondering). See? Look at how I’m already saving you time. Seriously, check it out.

December 5, 2013 4 comments

Blog

3 Tips for Content Inspiration

Whether you outsource your content to a copywriting agency, or hand it over to a new web designer, you care deeply about who touches your business. YouÂ want to create content that entertains. You want to feel confident that you made the right decision. And that your business is not only in the right hands, but with the right minds. Here are three tips for content and copy inspiration – even when you lack control:

1. Create content that fascinates

You’re a passionate business owner bursting with ideas. But if you post every idea that pops into your head, you’re going to confuse your customers. You’re not speaking directly to them. You’re communicating based onÂ yourÂ passions, and your ideas. When you create content that fascinates by being interesting and engaging to your customers, you stop focusing on controlling your message. And you start creating copy that connects. Your copy should evoke emotion, offer an interesting fact, and tell a story.

Focus on where your story, and the stories of your customers collide. Stories become souvenirs when you find ways to mark moments with meaning.

2. Code word “apricot!”

In a New Girl episode, Jessica Day (played by Zooey Deschanel) suspects that one of her students in a community college is a killer. She creates the code word of “apricot” if she needs her roommate Nick’s help. When the suspected killer appears during her office hours, she screams “Apricot!’ to Nick on the phone, and he comes to her assistance. Jessica then tells the killer that she’s on the phone with her grocer who’s hard of hearing (ha! I love this show).

You may think that code words are just for fun. And that you can only say it with family or friends. But what about if you start any new project with a code word? It’s a word that you can say to your copyeditor, web designer, or graphic designer before your project begins. The code word prevents the need to go into details about any potential annoyance factor in the future. The conversation can be dropped, and the project can move on without any awkward “yeah, you’re asking too many questions and slowing down the project” conversations.

Apricots are tasty and (just a bit) classier than using the other a-word, anyway.

3. Realize that you can’t have total control.

It’s nice to paint a rosy picture, with you frolicking in sunflowers and fall foliage in the background. Your product placed picturesquely in the perfect sunlight.

Professional photos can help control your messaging. But wanting complete control over every single touch point can cost you. Here’s why:

Pretend you’re walking down the streets of NYC with a friend. A million different choices for restaurants exist. And you’re deciding where to go. Then, the owner of a restaurant steps out of an Italian restaurant and screams “eat here! This is the best restaurant in New York!”

Ok, the “eat here!” part may resonate with you. You’re hungry. And you want to eat. His comment to “eat here!” puts the idea in your head. But the “it’s the best restaurant in New York” line? You don’t need to be a original New Yorker (or a Jersey girl) to possess some healthy skepticism. You may wonder:

1. Who is this guy?

2. Why is he declaring that his restaurant is the best if there’s not a soul in a seat?

This business owner is screaming for control of his message. He’s forcing what he wants you to think. He’s screaming at his customers, and forcing his beliefs on innocent passerby’s. His desire to have complete control backfired. You and your friend go elsewhere, because you don’t trust the business owner who talks about “how he’s the best.”

You roll your eyes, and readily relinquish your hunger to a juicy steak instead of his sad spaghetti.

Relinquishing control of your message allows your customers to tell others what they think. This can make a much greater impact. Of course, this can only happen when you are the best restaurant, do phenomenal work, or make a melody that moves people.

Be the first to know.

Complete with blog posts, resources, and tools

October 31, 2013 2 comments

Blog

Why Engaging is More Important than Going Viral

Many businesses want to “go viral.” And it’s no wonder. Going viral means that your content resonates so much that people talk about it all across the Internet.

The viral content (whether it’s a blog post, video, or tweet) catches on fire and it becomes enthusiastically shared on Twitter, Liked on Facebook, and commented on.

Just like Gangnam Style or the Harlem Shake (yeah, like that).

Photo credit: koreanet

Sure, going viral may be on your wish list. And while this seems like a good idea in theory, first ask what this will do for your business in practice. It’s often not a good long-term approach for many businesses.

Why?

1. Companies should work to create a vibrant customer community. The importance of building a loyal, engaged audience should not be underestimated. If there’s no community that’s alive to support your instant success, what’s the point? That’s like landing on the moon one day, to sitting in your living room the next. You’ll get whiplash. You’ll be disappointed. And it won’t have lasting impact.

Tip: You can build a customer community by consistently creating high-quality content. Doing so allows you to bubble up slowly from a strong foundation, not skyrocket to the top. Remember that patience is necessary. Your audience won’t flock to you overnight. But if your expectations are managed, this won’t be a problem.

2. The focus should be on creating good content targeted to the right people. If your viral content doesn’t reach the right people, then it doesn’t matter if your video gets 1 million page views or ten. The results will still be the same. Sure, you may extend the reach of your brand. And this sounds great in theory. But think about what this really gets for your business? Will it just give your business more attention? Or actually bring in more customers?

Tip: Think about what your customers need to hear. Answer their questions. And use the same channels they use. If they’re not on Twitter, don’t think you need to be there because everyone is doing it. Be smart about the channels you use, and where you distribute your message.

Photo credit: will-lion

3. The harder you try, the less it resonates. Odds are, that you won’t go viral, anyway. Instead, execute on goals that are actionable, and create strategies that make sense for your business. If a part of your strategy is to be to be the next YouTube star” you might want to rethink that.

Tip: Inject your content with currency. It’ll be shared in a way that’s natural. How do you give content currency? Use emotional triggers. Tell stories. And use tasty words. Mmm, words.

4. A piece of content does not have to “go viral” to be successful. If you set clear goals and objectives that you can measure, you’ll know if it’s a success. This can mean a few thousand views or a few hundred. It’s up to you to determine.

Tip: Think through the distribution of the content. Make it easy for your customers to read and share. Add the ShareThis button on your blog posts. Or the Digg Digg plugin. Tools like click to tweet allow easy sharing within a post. For example, click this to share this section of this post to see how it works. Pretty cool, eh?

Going viral is not always the right solution or a strategy. Know what works best for your business, and stay grounded. You don’t always need to be high up in the sky to see the bigger picture.

What are other alternatives to going viral to achieve success for your business?

June 3, 2013 8 comments

Blog

10 Ways to Take Charge of Content Strategy

A solid content strategy drives actions that differentiates a company and delivers results. Since we live in an opt-in culture, the only way to get the good-kind-of-attention is to create content that is relevant, informative, and on-brand. Intruding into the user experience with an inconsistent brand no longer works. That era is over. Take charge of your content now, before it gets increasingly more difficult to catch up.

Here are some ideas:

1. Write what matters now. Not what was going on in 2010. Unless you’re the next Aaron Sorkin with a storyline better than The Newsroom.

2. Create grains of viral marketing influence:

Combine influence with content over a long period of time to achieve a state of criticality with your audience such that your ongoing efforts create more and more avalanches, with the full understanding that the content you’re writing today might have almost no impact or might create a giant landslide.

I think that last sentence needs to be “no foreseeable impact.” Everything has some amount of impact, whether its big or small. Not to get all new-agey, but we’re all energies that ebb and flow. It’s just a matter of what energies becomes consequential.

3. SEO and SEM are important and should be kept in mind while creating your content. Good content strategies have these built in. If you’re not sure why or how they all go together, read Why Content Marketing, Social, and Search are the Winning Trifecta.

4. Create or curate your own valuable and compelling content on a consistent basis. Think about how often relevant content can be posted to the blog, or start a weekly podcast series. Be realistic but also get out of your comfort zone. Posting content only once every few months doesn’t cut it.

5. Add visual media to your content strategy. I see many businesses still using Flickr, which is ok if you’re a professional who wants to maintain copyright and control of your brand. There’s also instagram for sharing more personal photos. And Think Stock is top-notch for high-quality images.

6. Get together an engagement team to enable a creative idea-sharing culture. Ask questions. And listen. Make it your sounding board for generating new ideas.

7. Implement a plan for how to create, deliver, and manage content. Creating and managing content isn’t easy, but someone needs to do it.

8. Streamline the process. Create a system that’s efficient and easy. You’ll know what works best for you and your organization.

9. Make sure quality control is baked into the process. Don’t release content for the sake of releasing it. Make sure it’s compelling and valuable and true to your brand. If you’re not sure what it offers your audience, or it isn’t consistent with your brand, don’t publish it.

10. Be flexible. A solid strategy allows for flexibility to adapt to opportunities that arise along the way.

August 20, 2012 2 comments