Composing a piece of content for your business shouldn’t be a burden. It shouldn’t feel difficult. Ideally it is a joy to create….because you know it has a noble purpose. Creating business content will always be joyful if you remember just one thing: business content must fulfil a promise.
A business owner is simply a ‘purveyor of goods and services’ (isn’t that a gorgeous romantic way of viewing yourself!). The process by which you attract someone’s attention to your goods and services (versus someone else’s) is called marketing. That marketing requires words and images to be placed together in carefully concocted ways which is widely called content. The strategic distribution of that content is called content marketing. This process is as old as the hills. Think back to the oldest trade in the world… Ladies of the night would dress in a way that stood out, they would tease passers-by with whispers and promises, they would stand on the most highly trafficked corner, and encourage repeat business and word of mouth referrals.
The big secret to creating business content is…
Regardless of how you dress it up, business owners (and the content they create) make promises to their intended audience to make their life better. In the business most of us are in – coaching, consulting, speaking, healing – when you write blogs or social media posts or emails or a book, you are in the business of promising to bridge a gap in the reader’s knowledge, skills or abilities… as well as possibly inspire them to do something different with that new knowledge. The reader believes that they will be changed by the time they turn that last page or watch that final video frame. In fact, they are desperate for that change. So don’t deny them that. Ensure your content delivers on the promises of a better, more efficient, more fulfilled, easier, happier, sexier, healthier, richer life.
It’s also true that our audience asks us to make and fulfil promises. If we listen carefully to our clients, our prospects, our peers, our industry we can find clues everywhere to what promises they want us to deliver on. Whether it’s before or after a session with a client, or at a networking or training event, there will be conversations you have that are filled with hints and suggestions on what you should and could create. This act in itself – careful, purposeful listening – can be a game changer for those creating business content. Continue reading
