Part 1 of 2 in our Content Series
At this point, I'll assume you've selected a niche market. Now what you're going to do is consider what it looks like to create content that will appeal to this niche market. A successful content marketing strategy isn't just about producing content, it's about creating transformation for your audience.
The 3 Different Outcomes People Want To Buy
Here's the thing to remember: People don't want to read or buy "information."
Instead, what they are really buying and wanting is a tool for transformation. They are after an outcome. They want a specific result. And, typically, this result falls into one of three categories:
-
Problem, which is where you help people solve a problem.
-
Pursuit, which is where you help people achieve a goal.
-
Passion, which is where you help people enjoy an interest.
Regardless of what type and topic you choose for any specific piece of content, the way you keep consumers pleased with what you make available is to deliver information that can lead to transformation. You want to help your target audience make progress from "before" to "after" in their objective.
The purpose of your content should always be to facilitate movement.
Don't ever lose sight of this: your content should help others take action towards getting results. This is an important foundation to build your content marketing strategy upon, so let's take a look at each of these three "crowd-pleasers" more closely.
Category #1: Problem
The outcome that your customers are interested in for this category is to solve a problem.
Many people consume free content and paid information products because they have a specific problem which needs solving. Often, those who want to solve a problem have had it for some time, and they may have even tried (unsuccessfully) to solve it before.
Examples of Problem-Solving Content
Let me give several examples of problems people would like solved across a variety of niches:
- Someone has back pain and is looking for relief.
- A person just lost their job, and they're searching for a way to make money online (start their own business).
- A dog owner has a problem with an unruly puppy – she's looking for a solution to stop bad habits (like jumping) and do some obedience training.
- An affiliate marketer is struggling to get traffic to his website, so he's looking for a solution to his lack of traffic problem.
- A middle-age man was just told by his doctor that he needs to lose weight to reduce his risk of a heart attack, so he's looking for a way to lose weight.
Get the idea? This is what many people are looking for as they consider whether to read or buy content. They want help solving a problem.
Category #2: Pursuit
The outcome that people are interested in here is to achieve a goal.
Now, take note that sometimes "Problems" and "Pursuits" overlap, and sometimes "Pursuits" and "Passions" overlap too. For example, someone may have a problem (excess weight) and they've set a goal (lose 50 pounds in one year).
Point is, don't get hung up on exactly which category a topic may fall into. Instead, just be sure that whatever topic you choose does indeed fall into one or more of these categories.
Examples of Goal-Pursuit Content
Let's take a look at several examples of "Pursuit" and how your content's outcome could revolve around helping people achieve a goal:
- A person wants to hike two Colorado "14ers" next summer (these are mountains that are at least 14,000 feet), but currently he's a couch potato and needs help achieving this goal.
- A person wants to write her first romance novel and has set a goal to do it in the next year, but she doesn't know where to start.
- A person has set a goal to start showing cocker spaniels, but she needs help with every step of the process.
- A beginning bodybuilder wants to enter a competition next year, so he needs help with the bulking and cutting cycle so that he enters the competition in peak form.
Typically, the people who are most interested in reading a lot of content or even purchasing content to help them achieve a goal are the ones who very strongly believe in their goal. The best goals for you to consider addressing in your content are those that take weeks or months to achieve. If they don't take long, then people usually don't need a lot of content.
For example, it's going to take months for a couch potato to train for his first race (even a short one like a 5k). This person will be interested in acquiring a lot of content that may potentially shorten the time and help him avoid mistakes.
On the other hand, those who set a goal to drink more water aren't going to need a lot of content on the topic. They can start today and achieve their goal today and every day thereafter. They don't need a blog full of tips and tricks to achieve that goal. It's like, "Fill up a glass with water. Drink it. Goal reached."
Category #3: Passion
The outcome that your readers are interested in here is to better enjoy a passion/interest/hobby. People consume content on these topics because the content makes it easier, faster, more affordable or in some other way more enjoyable to take part in the hobby. Plus, simply reading about the topic is part of the enjoyment they get in the hobby … that's icing on the cake.
Examples of Passion-Based Content
Let me give you examples for this category of outcomes:
- Showing someone how to select a classic car to restore.
- Helping someone enjoy golf more by showing him how to shave strokes off his game (and beat his buddies!).
- Giving people a guide to Disney so they can make the most of their trip.
- Giving people ideas for throwing fabulous themed dinner parties.
In other words, these are things that people don't have to do. Rather, they do them because they enjoy them. And a person with a passionate hobby is just as likely to consume a lot of content as someone with a pressing problem. In fact, consumers spend billions of dollars every year on hobby-related content and products.
By building your content marketing strategy around these three outcome-focused categories, you'll create content that truly resonates with your audience and drives meaningful engagement. In Part 2, we dive deeper into implementing these strategies.
0 Comment
Reply