When writing content, there are many types you can use to engage with your audience. The MOST popular strategy people use these days is known as content marketing, which essentially sells a product through your words. Content marketing is so effective because if it’s optimized correctly, it’ll naturally rank within the SERP’s and can generate enormous traffic, and conversions. Remember, the bottom line for all businesses is to get a high enough ROI on your investment and this doesn’t matter if your “investment†is time, money, or both. Over the last several months, while writing content, I’ve been gathering statistics on what works and have found a new trend developing. I like to call this “persuasive†content because it pushes people to buy your products. Here are some of the factors involved…
- Establishing the problem
- Establishing course of action
- Tools to use
- Answering the “What If I Don’t?â€
- Covering all angles
The series has been split into 2 parts.
Establishing the Problem
I’ve always encouraged bloggers to write problem-solving content because this is the best type of content available online. When you solve a common problem within your niche, it’s a quick way to build traffic and loyalty from your readers. With so much content available online, it can be difficult finding the right type of content quickly, but providing an “in-depth†solution to your readers is a great way to build the initial traction. For example, when you explore the top 5 bloggers within your niche, you’ll notice they all answer common problems and show you how to streamline what you are doing.
JohnChow.com answers some of the MOST common questions about online money making, starting with setting up your own blog. Neil Patel at QuickSprout.com does the same thing and has created in-depth guides to help you. WPBeginner.com provides tutorials on how to use and customize WordPress and has gone as far as producing full videos as a guide.
When writing “persuasive†content, you want to make sure you have a common problem because the bigger the problem, the more people can resonate with it.
Establishing Course of Action
Now you have established a common problem within your niche and know thousands of people need your help. Now it’s time to establish a course of action, pinpointing EXACTLY how you’re going to provide a solution. This can take many forms but the MOST common are the following.
First, you can perform a case study, keeping track of all your steps along the way. The key to successful case study presentation is to make sure you have written down all the steps from beginning to end. Case studies usually involve a successful outcome and then you can present the results to your readers. Within the case study, you can cover things like:
- Tools used
- Time of study
- Charts and graphs
- Videos, etc.
Secondly, persuasive content is a great way to promote tools or software relevant to your niche. If you can prove the tool solves the entire problem, it’s an awesome way to generate sales and ROI. My friend, Matthew Woodward, has been crushing it by creating niche targeted video tutorials for his audience. They all represent a clever way to solve a common problem and generate enormous sales afterward.
Third, the last method takes a lot of time, but can be great for organic traffic. Write out a complete guide to solving the entire problem. I’ve seen many online and they are outranking other bloggers within the SERP’s in a few weeks. The fact they are so descriptive and detailed makes them very easy to interact with, increasing engagement through traffic, social shares, and mentions. For example, I’ve written guides on “guest blogging†that are roughly 10,000+ words and have huge levels of engagement. My guide is outranking some very high traffic keywords within the SERP’s and I can definitely convert my visitors into customers. Imagine if I promoted products in my guide and how powerful that’ll be for generating profits!
In the next section, you’ll learn about incorporating tools into your content to generate ROI. However, you have to be careful because your credibility will suffer if NOT done correctly.
Tools & Services (OPTIONAL)
This part is optional because sometimes, problem solving content isn’t going to be based around products or tools. However, online marketing has led to many advances, allowing for companies to profit through fancy marketing tools. No matter where I look, tools are popping up, all promising to streamline your blog growth. Some work very well and I continue to use many but some are get rich quick schemes so you have to be careful. When choosing a product to promote, it’s important you follow these guides. Promoting the wrong tools for strictly profit can hurt your relationship with readers.
- Test the product and have faith in the results
- Your readers come first then ROI
- Price matters because some might not be able to afford product
- Reputation of company matters
- Ease of use matters
Tools and services that help out in your niche is a great way to increase ROI but this shouldn’t be your first priority as your readers should always be #1.