What Is Content Marketing?

marketing Jan 12, 2020

You swipe right on someone cute. They swipe right too, and you agree to go out for coffee. Everything’s good until, halfway through your latte, your date proposes. 

Beyond inappropriate, right? 

Marketing is a lot like dating. 

You want to develop a good relationship with your prospective customer without forcing them to commit too early. Because if people have to commit to an answer too early, it’s more likely that the answer is going to be no.

 

If you’re looking to get more organic (AKA free!) traffic to your website, have you thought about creating a quiz?

Quizzes are an incredible way to get potential customers onto your email list so you can form a relationship with them and turn them into actual paying customers.

Want to create your own quiz? Download your step-by-step guide here.

Together we’ll transform your website into a lead-gathering machine.

 

 

And this is where content marketing comes in. 

Rather than trying to ram home a sale like a desperate used car salesman on steroids, content marketing allows a brand to talk to a prospective customer in a relaxed way before they sign up to buy something.

Content marketing is about brands telling educational and entertaining stories to attract (or retain) customers.

Think of it as your business bestie, your wingman who’s out there on the internet while you’re tucked up in bed. Your content marketing tells potential clients what you know, what you can do for them, how you can make their lives easier. 

Most people are not going to buy anything from your website the first time they come across it, so content marketing is a great way to keep in touch with them so that when they are ready to buy, they'll think of you.

 

 

This kind of marketing is not new. 

In 1895 agricultural machinery maker John Deere launched a farming magazine called The Furrow

Skip ahead to 1900 and Michelin, a French tire manufacturer, developed the Michelin guides, a book that taught motoring enthusiasts how to maintain their cars and find a decent hotel for the night. 

Four years later Jell-O gave out free copies of a recipe book featuring their products. Two years later this had gotten them $1 million in sales. The crazy thing about Jell-O is that it was invented and patented about 50 years before it started making any money. People simply did not know how to use it.

Want a more recent example? The Lego Movie. Although the movie is a product in its own right, its reason for existence is to sell more Lego. 

 

 

How can you use content marketing?

Marketing should be used to attract customers so you don’t have to chase them. The best way to achieve this is by producing content that is relevant to your customers and industry. Become a trusted resource to attract buyers who will take action when they are ready. 

Here are some examples of marketing that is useful for attracting customers.

  • A hairdresser could send existing and potential customers tips and photos about what hair styles, cuts and colours are trending. 
  • If you are selling swimming pools, you could produce a checklist of things to do when buying a pool. 
  • A virtual assistant could send people a list of all the tasks that their potential customers could outsource.
 

 

What questions should you ask when planning your marketing?

  • Who is your ideal customer? 
  • What is keeping them up at night? 
  • What do they care about?
  • What do they love to do?
  • What questions do they have about your product / service?
  • How can your product / service help them?
  • How would buying your product / service make them feel?
  • How can your product / service help them change their social status?
  • What objections do they have to buying your product / service?
  • What do they need to know or believe in order to buy from you? 
  • What is unique about your brand?
  • How has your brand helped its customers?
  • What will the content achieve?
 

 

If you’re looking to get more organic (AKA free!) traffic to your website, have you thought about creating a quiz?

Quizzes are an incredible way to get potential customers onto your email list so you can form a relationship with them and turn them into actual paying customers.

Want to create your own quiz? Download your step-by-step guide here.

Together we’ll transform your website into a lead-gathering machine.

 

 

About me…

Hey, I’m Your Quiz Queen + Storytelling Coach, Jo Ellis.

I help entrepreneurs create fun and engaging quizzes to attract their dream clients.

Find out which type of quiz you should create here.

Get your free guide to creating your first quiz!

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