Play it Cool
A lot of content created for content marketing purposes is glorified sales copy. Subtlety is not always valued in businesses, and if you’re writing for a sales brochure you don’t want to hide your light under a bushel. Loud and proud is the way to go. But if you’re writing four or five blog posts a week, countless social media posts, white papers and infographics, you can afford to be a little bit more obtuse.
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Slowly Does It
As marketers have taken more control over the sales cycle a greater amount has been learned about how a lead becomes a customer. Nurturing ‘touches’ that may have existed in a salesperson’s head, are now automated emails, or notifications on an app. By turning the sales process into a Process with a big p we are much more aware of how much time it takes to find a customer.
All the Time in the World
That awareness should be filtered down into our content. We don’t need to rush towards the sale in all of our content, but we can afford to meander and take our time. Sure there’s a subtext to everything you write, and that subtext is “Buy Buy Buy!” and on some level your reader will be aware of that. But it should definitely stay in the subtext.
We have often said that content marketing is about educating your leads more than selling to them. You’re explaining to them how the problem they have can be solved. And… oh, hey, now you mention it, we do sell something that could help you out!
Don’t Hammer It Too Hard
We’ve all watched TV shows or movies that have a political subplot they’re trying to hammer home. If it’s too strong it becomes off-putting and distracts from the drama of the show. The same is true of content. Keep things simple. If you’ve mapped out your buyers journey you know there is a time for education and a time for sales. Don’t try and blur the lines between the two.
Content with your Content
Creating content consistently, for the foreseeable future can seem overwhelming. But if you’ve mapped out your buyers journey well, you should have a good idea of what types of content you need to be writing, where and when. If you stick to that underlying message you shouldn’t get too lost and you don’t have to worry about your content not being ‘salesy enough’.
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