Overwhelm —one of the most common objections to content marketing. That said, it's also one of the most powerful tools you can use in your business to experience growth like never before. If information and option overload has kept you from pursuing content marketing, it's time to clear things up so you can start reaping the rewards.

 

In this episode, Adam welcomes Lyndsay Phillips, CEO of Smooth Sailing Business Growth where she helps entrepreneurs attract and acquire more customers faster with powerful content marketing. Together, they'll share both content marketing fundamentals and specifics, along with actionable steps the overwhelmed entrepreneur or business owner can take to get started with content marketing today.

 

Episode Discussions:

• Where to get started with content marketing
• Attracting ideal clients and serving them more effectively
• Producing content: How much, how long, how often
• Avoiding the marketing bandwagon
• Determining which social media platforms are right for you
• When to switch social media channels
• Why to consider hiring a copywriter
• Topics, examples, and ideas to kickstart your content creation
• How to find your customer pain points
• Staying top-of-mind with email marketing
• Connecting and reaching out to your audience
• Facing your video anxiety and Facebook Live fears
• Polished vs. not-so-polished videos - which gets more engagement
• Content marketing tasks: what to outsource and what to DIY
• Resources and inspiration for good content topics and headlines
• Finding support when you feel stuck

 

3:38

"Unless you find a way to harness the passion and show [prospects] a workable simple strategy, you'll firehose them with information and they'll be left not taking any action at all."

4:43

Where to get started with content marketing

Create a customer avatar: Think about who you do and don't want to attract.

Decide from there where to focus your time and energy.

 

6:06

"Content marketing is a great way to not only attract your ideal [client] but also to kind of reject those you really don't want to work with."

6:14

Niche down

Don't be afraid to weed out those that aren't your ideal client.

You'll find better clients that fit your needs, work well with you, and allow you to help them more effectively.

 

6:41

Decide which platform is right for you

Perform competitor analysis - what's working for leaders in your industry?

Find the commonalities between your best clients.

Survey prospects and clients - where they hang out and get resources and information.

Know what medium your audience likes to receive information

 

 9:17

"You can't jump on every trend new trend...You have to really think 'is it smart for my business? Does it make sense?'"

9:41

Switching social media platforms

If you're not seeing return, you're either doing it incorrectly or your market isn't there. That's when it's time to switch course.

 

11:11

Take your personality into consideration

"It took me a long time to do a video and a podcast show, I'm not gonna lie — I was totally chicken. But sometimes you just gotta suck it up and do it anyways."

11:36

What to write about

Your clients and prospects 3 biggest pain points

What questions do you get from clients and prospects?

Consider what motivated them to approach you

Uncover their blocks and how you can help them with your solution

Reverse engineer from your offer

 

14:38

Hiring copywriters

Copywriters can help get you started and provide insight

Find freelancers on sites like Upwork or post on Craigslist

"There are so many great copywriters out there that just know how to spin that stuff. So, they are the whiz's for sure."

15:14

Ideas and examples for content

People like numbers and knowing what to expect in an article.

• Top 3 Reasons Why...
• How to Increase Your Monthly Revenue By 15%
• 5 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid If You Want to…
• The Fruit You Shouldn't Eat If You Wanna Lose 10 lbs

 

16:30

Inspiration for good content topics and headlines

• Magazine covers, emails, social media
• com - shows what content is doing well across various social platforms.

 

17:34

Content: Quantity, length, and frequency

Factors: Time and budget

• Publish fresh content on your website for SEO every week
• Post on social media a few times a day
• Keep going as long as you're getting engagement
• Make adjustments when losing engagement
• Be consistent

 

20:34

Content marketing tasks to DIY and tasks to outsource

• Outsource: Hire a writer and spend a few minutes adding your own voice to the content.

Hire a content marketing company or agency to help you strategize, set up blog posts, SEO, create graphics, schedule social media posts, etc.

 

• DIY: Connect with your audience on a human level, build relationships, include a personal element where your audience will get to know you better and trust you.

 

23:51

Have fun with livestreaming

Use it to build your brand and connect with your followers.

Be authentically you

"If you can be natural and authentic and true to yourself and to your brand, that's what's gonna come across and help connect you with your followers."

25:38

Overcoming video anxiety

Start somewhere. Your videos will improve naturally over time.

 

27:02

Lindsay's last-minute takeaway

Get support and reach out to resources if you feel stuck.

Find a VA or content marketing firm that will create a strategy for you and get you started.

 

Mentioned in this episode:

Lindsay's website - Smoothsailinggrowth.com - Click the 'Start Here' page

 

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