Why you need content creation in your business endeavours

Poor old blogging and other forms of content creation have been copping a bad rap of late. I hear from businesses content hasn’t worked for them.

And yeah, they might be right. Maybe content hasn’t worked for them before.

But maybe, that’s because the content they chose to build sucked. Or the person behind the content produced a lot of stuff with not a lot of strategy.

The problem I see is everyone is in content creation mode. They aren’t necessarily thinking about connecting the dots. That’s what’s needed. Here’s why

A case for content creation

Content creation helps take your business further. It gives you the ability to work the crowd, stop the issues before they start, cut down your legwork and more.

Quote on a yellow page in black writing sums up the Unashamedly Creative content creation process- out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. Albert EinsteinWell executed content gives you the ability to move off having to pay for advertising to garner interest. By building a library of resources and being places people choose to go-to in order to learn, you’re ahead of the curve.

When you create your content, you’re creating a relationship with your customer. By supplying information for your customer to use at their leisure, they remain in control.

As a former product manager, I am adept at building the bridge between what your customers need and what you offer. This puts me in a unique advantage over other copywriters and content creators. I look at progress in terms of the whole sales cycle. Not just the activating events to do with attracting initial interest.

Satiating curiosity to create connection

Customers are always on the look at for new things. They want to discover new concepts and share these ideas at parties, around the water cooler and beyond. Self-researching customers want your help to do that, but they still want that high of feeling they’ve discovered you.

When we invest in content creation, we invest in the idea of our customer’s desire for knowledge. We also harness the storytelling and give our customers the words they need to spread word of mouth.

One of the interesting differences between Australian audiences and other countries is that our customers are discerning. They want quality- and they want it without high-energy sales jargon. Australians have a healthy dose of scepticism.

That means you have to dig deeper and supply a stronger case to build initial sales with content. Your audience wants specific, valid and rich information.

But they also want it presented quickly in a way they can skim it.

That makes content creation a challenge when it comes to conversion. And that’s something a lot of writers fail to understand.

You have to know more than what Google cares about. Or how HubSpot saves to build a sales funnel. You have to understand what motivates buyers to action.

That’s often the missing link in the content creation industry. We look at it from the writer’s perspective without caring about how people, sales cycles and repeat business operate.

A great content solves problems

Using content helps customers take control. That makes for a great customer experience. Not to mention takes a load off help desks, customer service and sales staff.

It also breaks through that cynicism and trust.

Imagine this post on content creation if I wrote it from the usual perspective. There would be sweeping statements about calls to action, click through rates, Google love, making your first sale and so on.

A lot of that thinking is shallow. It gets people to you through a search engine- but what then?

What you need is someone who is going to look at the strategy you need to improve your content creation activities. That means digging into what you have, questioning some of your choices, and building you something that leads you towards conversion.

We have to work together to identify problems in your business:

1. The problems your content currently has
2. The problems your competitor’s have when telling their story
3. How the website might be letting you down on the technical aspects of SEO
4. What problems you solve for the customer

And then find the solution.

A lot of content writers won’t have that conversation with you because they are scared they’ll lose the job. I’d rather risk losing you as a client than give you content that is crap.

If you come to me for content, I won’t be taking your laundry list of “write me X posts per month on Y” as gospel. I’ll be checking that to make sure you will get return.

Because what’s the point of me writing content for you that doesn’t get you anywhere? And what’s the point of you dictating the terms if maybe content isn’t your strong suit?

We both have to work to create content that you benefit from. And that means having tough conversations.

Search seeks out great content

We search for answers to our questions and solutions to our problems, not the business we don’t know exists. Content creation helps you cover all the bases while powering search via Google, Bing and other engines such as DuckDuckGo.

It also needs content that people don’t abandon. Or ignore. Or worse, make fun of.

Getting someone to land on your page or post is only one small aspect of creating great search.

It has to be content that helps people get on with their day. You have to help them make better decisions, choose a product, solve a problem, and book their holiday or anniversary dinner.

If you are in start-up, you’ll be using content creation to take a concept no-one has heard of and making it the everyday solution your customer needs.

No amount of keyword stuffing or getting someone to land on a page gets you to the sale.

From your perspective, wouldn’t you rather your customers come to you as warm leads as opposed to people who simply don’t know what you sell?

You have to find the way at telling the story no one else is. And that’s where I excel.

While everyone else is using the same tired, sagging analogies, I’m stitching a nagging, recurring idea into the mind of your potential customer.

It’s that itchy stitch that binds them to your product that converts the sale.

You’re in the driver’s seat

Content creation is already happening, even if you don’t do it yourself.

Someone else is reviewing your product and writing that blog.

Others are making the comments and creating discussions online.

You can count on friends of your potential customer to be offering an opinion on social media.

Don’t leave it up to chance. Get involved in that process in a positive way!

Let me give them the dialogue they need to describe you the way you want to be talked about.

What about content creation for inside your organisation?

Communicating well with staff has a positive impact.

Its learning made easy. With the right content, you can make training new staff easier. You can make levelling up and learning from each other a part of the culture you provide.

Content is a time saver. If your employees have a central place to go for information, they can get informed and get on with the job. That means productivity and great results.

You can focus on teamwork. With the right content plan and strategy, your staff always know what the goals are. That makes them better able to achieve the goals, stay on message and work together.

It creates strong culture. Ambiguity lends itself to misunderstanding, misuse and gossip. Clear communication reduces the opportunity for failures and breakdowns. By knowing where you stand and what the policy is, there’s no space for negativity.

People have a thirst for knowledge. We’re trained to think we’re entitled to answers and it gives us a greater sense of control over a situation when we have it.

Use that to your advantage. Don’t let your staff swim in broken links, old content, out of date ideas, knowledge gaps, and all the fun stuff that leads to gossip and conjecture.

Let me help you get organised and ahead of it. Let me build something that lasts that you can later update.

I work with organisations to find the breakdowns and build a better way forward.

I can help with this content (and more):

 

  • Content planning and scheduling: Let’s map out your venture into content creation for you. I can get audiences tuning in to catch up with your latest piece of captivating content.

 

  • Strategy and assessment. Tired of dust on the communication assets you’ve built for the staff? Falling into the gaps from pieces missing out of the approach with staff education? Let me audit your current methods, suggest a way forward and get the content organised so that can happen

 

  • Blog plans and blogging: Need a blogging plan to help engage the would-be writers in the office? Sick of having to come up with content creation ideas and need a fresh approach? Or need someone to take the load off and write those all-important blogs for you? I’ll take the pain out of producing quality on topic, regular blogs for your customers.

 

  • Newsletters: Bring the newsworthy back into your newsletter. I’ll have you gabbing over the cyber fence with your customers about the latest company news in no time.

 

  • Whitepapers, eBooks, articles: You share the knowledge and I write the content. Prove your industry knowledge in easy to read eBooks and other literature that add value to your customer experience and act as lead generation tools.

 

  • Guest blogging: Let me introduce you to the wonderful world of guest blogging. All without the dodgy ‘pay-as-you-go’ and scattershot approach.

 

  • Case studies: There’s no need to draw a circle in the sand and blush while asking for testimonials. Don’t forgo the case studies that show your worth. Let me design the approach, conduct the interview and write the goods.

 

  • Scripts for video or podcasts: I apply my experience in writing for TV, film, IVR systems, podcasts and radio to your business. Let’s make your scripted work approachable with humour, creativity and experience.

 

  • Quizzes and polls: Turn opinions into research and engagement for your customers. I’m a whizz at quizzes and polls designed to entertain and inform.

 

  • Book co-authoring and ghost writing: Take the hard work out of capturing your story. I can have your new book plotted, planned and on the way to bookshelves in no time.

 

As you can tell from the amount of content on my website, I really (and I mean really) love content creation. No matter the kind of content creation you need, I can help.

Why me specifically?

Feel free to check out my LinkedIn profile, my about page or the 400 blogs I have on this website. They’ll all give you a sense of who you are dealing with.

The short answer is because I care about the clients I work with. I am a continuous learner, I bloody love getting into it, word nerd style. Plus, I have a customer service, community, marketing and product development background. That means I can think around corners and help you build what you need to communicate better.

Bit sick of the soapbox spiel? Great. Let’s do what we should have been doing four paragraphs ago.

What are you waiting for? Get in touch now to get your content creation needs sorted. 

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