One of the toughest challenges we hear from our subscribers and entrepreneurs within Information Marketer’s Zone is around how you can produce content (written, audio or video) that grabs attention and generates action from your marketplace.
For anyone who has taken on building and growing their own internet business you will know that content is a pretty major part of the success or failure of that business.
Even the biggest names in offline business know how important content is, just take a look at Richard Branson, Gary Vaynerchuck or Tony Robbins and you will see that each and every day they produce content that gets dissemintated throughout the internet and often expands rapidly as viral, syndicated content pull in tons of attention, leads and sales for their respective companies.
So become a top-notch content creator is important, but if you are like many people we coach, you have signficant doubts about your ability to consistently produce great content.
Does that sound like you?
The good news is that content generation is not that hard, becomes easier as you get used to it and is one of the marquee methods we use to leverage our time as you create content once and it continues to work for you month-after-month, year-after-year.
Here are 5 techniques you can use to become an expert content creator:
1. Emotionally Charged
Scour the web for signs of emotionally important content…what I mean by that is topics, subjects, words that trigger many comments on blogs, many feedback messages on Amazon, many reads and responses on discussion forums, etc… show that a topic matters to your marketplace. Above all else, in today’s OCEAN of content, this helps you be relevant.
2. Questions Are Your Friend
I look at the questions being asked about that topic area – what are people frustrated with, what do they want to know? Starting with a question is SO much easier than trying to write something from scratch that is meaningful…give it a try, it’s worked for everyone I have ever suggested it to.
3. Be Inspired, Be Inspirational
Study the market leaders…I have a shortlist of “market authority leaders” blogs, facebook posts, Twitter posts, forums, etc…in each market we operate in. I study them daily for interesting content – often I will read their “take” and then immediately jump to my own take on the same topic – then use that to inspire content. Trick here is to let their coverage guide your thinking, but then make sure you have your own take on that particular topic.
 4. Have An Opinion, Have a Take
I know you have all read them too…don’t you hate when you arrive at a website and all you see is paragraph after paragraph of theoretical information? Most people search the web for advice, opinions, help…not to be informed. They look for applied opinions that are short, concise and interesting to read. Get used to producing content that fits this bill and you will find your ability to generate attention and action from your content goes up substantially.
5. Ride Big-Name Coat Tails
When I start off in a given niche market I often choose a piece of content from a big name in the industry (an author, celebrity, business leader, etc…) and quote that content adding my own opinion or information on top of their content. This way you grab attention from their reputation and get people reading your adjunct information. The only advice here is be relevant and useful in adding your content. Don’t simply mention the big name subject without having your additional content related directly back the content you are referencing.
There are many ways to turn your uncertainty about writing great content into confidence and results, these 5 techniques will get you started quickly.
Your Questions?
Do you have questions or a technique you can share around how you develop content ideas, research or produce content for your online business? Leave a comment.
