Ok, so you know that great content can help you drive traffic, increase engagement, and grow sales in your business.
What you don’t know is where or how to start.
Content is often a scary word that entrepreneurs and business owners avoid at all costs. You don’t like doing it because you don’t know what to say or how to start. It can be very overwhelming.
This is what you share on a regular basis with your audience and there are four sub types of this content – blog, video, audio, and photo.
These are all pieces of content that people can view and interact with, which will make people aware of you, increase your engagement and help you gain repeat visibility (click here to learn more about the Content Funnel).
Premium Content
This is the type of content that you give away in exchange for an email address to help you build your list.
Premium Content can be an eBook, a whitepaper, a video series or a checklist/guide to help people get things done. It offers valuable information for “free” but requires that your prospective customer provide a way to connect with them on a regular basis in exchange.
Having both types of content in your business is integral to marketing your business the right way because without Regular Content, you will not build awareness and gain exposure and without Premium Content you aren’t building your list.
In part two of the Shop Talk Content Series, I talk more about this and teach you how to find out what’s working for your competition and create your own strategy:
That feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when someone asks for your web address.
Perhaps it begins with a flurry of panic because you realize you haven’t posted any new content on your blog in 2 years.
Or, it could be that fluttery sick feeling you get when you realize your pictures on the site are 3 years old and look nothing like you.
Maybe it’s the icky feeling you get when you think about how your content throughout the site, especially your products and services, are way outdated…
You get these feelings because you know that this is your “first” impression on the web. This is what everyone sees when they Google you and it’s not an accurate representation of you or your business.
You know this, but you still don’t fix it because it’s overwhelming. You have no idea where to start or how to get it all done.
Today, I want to share the first in a series of videos that are all about building confidence around making your website great again. Using some of the tools and structure I share in The Content Pilot, I will give you a sneak peek into the wide world of content.
We will cover:
1) How to fix up all the content on your site and make it better
2) How to increase traffic to your site
3) How to use that traffic to build your list
4) How to turn connections into leads and leads into sales
Click play and find out how to build this foundation in your business, then tell me in the comments, what is the number one thing on your website that you need to get updated?
I am so excited to share with you the new format for Shop Talk! This new series format allows me to go in-depth on several different topics and share more details with you. I hope you enjoy them! Here’s a short intro to tell you more:
The driving force behind every successful marketing plan (especially those for social media) is strong, strategic content.
Whether you are using social media to increase traffic to your site, build your brand, enhance your reputation, connect with your market or inform your audience, sharing the right kind of content for your audience is essential because, if you don’t, they don’t have a reason to continue reading or listening to what you have to say.
And, here’s the best part: Finding content that works for your brand and helps you meet your marketing goals doesn’t have to be overwhelming!
No, really! It can be easy to create awesome content that everyone wants to read because you already have everything you need.
Here are 4 Ways to Create Great Content:
1) Start with What You Have – Depending on what kind of strategies you are using, you may already have some content that can and should be shared through social media. Existing content like blog posts, website pages, company resources, product reviews, annual reports, company videos and photos are all excellent sources of content. Creating content in your business for other purposes? Don’t stop there! Evaluate whether or not the content is also conducive to your social media campaign and plan accordingly. In other words, try not to “date” the material and ensure that it includes images, catchy titles, etc. so you can use it over and over again on social media and it will really capture your audience’s attention.Also, as you gather the content you have, decide how it best fits into your overall strategy. Focus on sharing content that aligns with your goals for your business as well as the values of your company and your followers.
2) Find Your Audience’s Interests – Make a list of the types of content your market would be interested in. Chances are, you already have a good idea of who your market is and what kinds of things would influence a potential customer. If you aren’t sure, step back and do some market research. Creating this list will lead you to different content sources. For example, if your market is interested in how-to or informational content, you can start researching those areas.Another way to find content for your market is to find out where your audience already is and what draws them there. This can give you insight into how to create and share content that will resonate with your market. Are they on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social platform? Are they mobile fanatics or do they consume content via the computer? Are they taking part in groups or engaging on other pages?
3) Follow Thought Leaders – Thought leaders, industry experts and people likely to influence your market can be great sources of content. Start by making a list of 10 industry leaders and 10 respected industry publications. Follow what these people are doing and publishing and what topics the publications are focusing on. Share this same content with your followers (remember to always give credit to the original source), and create new content around these topics. This type of sharing can really give you a boost because it helps you to form relationships with clients, prospects, and others in your industry.
4) Tune in to Current Events – Keeping up with current events is a good way to find fresh content to share with your followers. Subscribe to industry newsletters or RSS feeds and use tools like Google Alerts to keep yourself aware of current happenings.It’s a good idea to focus on current events that directly relate to your business, industry and market. However, sharing and commenting on community news or major national developments can help your business join online conversations and can help you establish goodwill among your audience.
Finding fresh content to use for your social media campaign begins with understanding your market. When you know what interests members of your audience you can assess content your brand already has and decide what to use for your campaign. Then, you can find ways to use what industry leaders are saying and incorporate current events into your social media strategy.
Want to learn more about creating great content that your customers want to see? The Content Pilot is a 10-week intensive program that can turn you into a content pro! Click Here for more info —> www.LisaLarter.com/ContentPilot
Ready to get going but need some help? Check out the Shop Talk Video below for ways to get started then join the conversation! Share some of your favorite sources for content in the comments below.
Content is the secret sauce, the missing ingredient when it comes to most people’s social media strategy.
If you are trying to turn connections into leads, and leads into customers, content is the number one way for you to establish credibility and increase awareness, visibility and engagement in your business. If people do not know you, like you and trust you, they won’t do business with you.
Your content is the best way for people to learn about you online because, let’s face it, most people Google you and check out the content on your website before they make their first point of contact.
In The Content Pilot, you learn in a simple step-by-step process how to create, curate and share content to drive traffic and get more sales.
Why should you spend so much time and effort on content? Because content is what people interact with on social media. It is the first impression they get of you when they land on your website and it is the key to building your list so that you can increase sales.
Most people overlook content because it feels overwhelming.
Some of the challenges you might face are:
“I don’t know what to say.” “Why would anyone want to read my blog.” “How can I make it more interesting and of value to people?” “What should I write about, when should I write it and how do I get people to know I exist?”
The best way to approach this is with a plan.
Here are Seven Simple Steps to Turn One Piece of Content Into Five:
Make a list of 10 questions clients ask you about your business.
Have someone interview you and ask you those questions, and be sure to record the interview. Your first piece of content is a recording of the interview.
Send the recording to someone and have it transcribed.
Have the entire transcription edited into a special report or eBook and offer it as a piece of premium content in exchange for an email address so you can build your list. Be sure to brand it nicely so you make a great first impression (I like KillerCovers for this). This is your second piece of content.
Next, take the transcription and break it into ten sections based on the ten questions you started with. Now, you have ten blog posts or a ten-day training program you can set up as a free offer. This is your third piece of content and allows you to get into your potential customer’s inbox ten days or weeks in a row – which is kind of awesome, right?
Then take the content, open up a PowerPoint presentation and create slides for each chunk of content. Use this as the basis for a free webinar offer where you basically read your transcript and walk others through your presentation. This would be your fourth piece of content.
Record the webinar using some type of screencast software (Camtasia, QuickTime Player Pro, etc.) and offer a recording that people can download and watch on their own. This is piece of content number five.
Bonus, take a highlighter and go through the content and pull out quotes and or tweets you can use as sound bites on social media.
Do you ever wonder how some people have created so much success online and wish you could do the same?
If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by creating content, go to www.lisalarter.com/contentgift and download this free ebook to get started creating your content plan.
And, be sure and join The Profit Primer for access to strategy, community and inspiration all FREE!
And, check out this Shop Talk Video on 3 Simple Ways to Get Started Doing Content in Your Business:
Please send me your name and email and I will send you information on my Private Coaching programs. I look forward to connecting with you!
Allyson Byrd
Allyson Byrd is also known as the “Profit Accelerator™ and she is celebrated as one of the world’s most trusted leadership advisors and sales experts for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
She exists to create inspiring moments that shock, awe, surprise and delight herself and others. This comes as naturally to her as breathing. She has used this gift to help 10,000+ students in 47+ collectively create over $330 million in sales! Her journey is incredible. But she hasn’t always lived life awake. It took her years to embrace the unexpected, and step fully into her power.
She worked for McDonalds as a highschool dropout. Yes, you read that right. After the first few weeks they placed her on a fast-track to management because they saw something in her…something she hadn’t yet accepted about herself.
We are all one shift in perception away from a mega miracle!
Your next-level shift will require you to see your reality with new eyes, just like hers did. It will require you to accept your past with love, and embrace new possibilities in your future.
You’ll be able to hear more of Allyson’s journey to success from an underprivileged life on food stamps, a dad in prison and single mom raising two kids to the ultra-passionate successful leader she is today and the undeniable stand she has for women rising into their greatness in her latest collaboration with Amazon Prime TV.
Allyson’s press features include CNN, USA Today, NPR, Time Money, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, CNBC, MSN, Black Enterprise, Essence and Entrepreneur.com.
Sara Yagoub
Sara Yagoub, The Intentional Entrepreneur, is a mother, wife, businesswoman, referral marketing expert, speaker, author, investor, founder of ‘The Referral Circle’, and Host of Renegade Radio Revolution™.
A former overworked corporate-yes-girl, Sara escaped the 9-to-5 grind using what she learned to build her own successful multi-million-dollar business empire. Through digital programs, workshops and speaking events, Sara empowers high-achieving female entrepreneurs to shift their mindset, up-level their consciousness, tap into intuition & live w/purpose.
She has been featured in Voyage Magazine, Glambition Radio, FDISM, Morning Laziness, and served as a keynote for many organizations and masterminds.
Ali Brown
Ali Brown is one of the world’s most recognized entrepreneur coaches. Ali Brown is the world’s most recognized coach for women entrepreneurs, host of the acclaimed Glambition® Radio podcast, and founder of The Trust — the new, private, premier network for 7- and 8-figure women leaders.
Ali’s coaching and consulting enterprise has ranked within the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies in the nation. She has been named one of Forbes’ Women to Watch, is one of EY’s Winning Women Entrepreneurs, and was featured on the ABC hit primetime show Secret Millionaire.
In addition to leading The Trust network, Ali specializes helping female leaders who are making or on track for 7-8 figures strategize and realize their next level of leadership and revenues. Her coaching and mentorship have been featured on CNN on many other media outlets.
Ali and her family are based in Scottsdale, Arizona and travel often with their 8-year-old boy-girl twins.
SAMPLE INTERVIEW TOPICS:
The radically different mindset shifts it requires to break-through into 7-8 figures and beyond.
The big problem with how women network and with the existing business communities out there
How to stand out within the online mess and position yourself as a ‘category of one.’
Business trends for the 2020s to be aware of and critical pitfalls to avoid.
Why formulas are good for building your business, but they can BLOCK you from unlocking your personal genius.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS:
What was your background before becoming an entrepreneur, and then how did you become an entrepreneur coach and mentor?
You’ve shared that your experience on ABC’s Secret Millionaire was a turning point for you. How did that change the trajectory of your business… and life?
I hear you often give clients the opposite advice of many other business coaches. Can you tell us more about that?
What are some of the winning strategies your multiple 7-figure and 8-figure clients are currently implementing that we can learn from?
You use a term called ‘excellence burnout.’ Can you explain what that is, and how can we watch for signs?
Has having a family changed how you work and how you lead? And if so, in what ways?
Legacy and leadership.
Alan Weiss
Alan Weiss is one of those rare people who can say he is a consultant, speaker, and author and mean it.
His consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has attracted clients such as Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, State Street Corporation, Times Mirror Group, The Federal Reserve, The New York Times Corporation, Toyota, and over 500 other leading organizations. He has served on several boards of directors in various capacities.
His prolific publishing includes over 500 articles and 60 books, including his best-seller, Million Dollar Consulting (from McGraw-Hill) now in its 30th year and sixth edition. His newest is Your Legacy is Now: Life is not about a search for meaning but the creation of meaning (Routledge, 2021). His books have been on the curricula at Villanova, Temple University, and the Wharton School of Business, and have been translated into 15 languages.
Tiffany Peterson
Tiffany Peterson is a seasoned speaker and international coach guiding individuals, teams, and audiences in creating thriving personal lives and successful business results. Her podcast show ranks in the Top 1% of all global podcasts.
Before founding her own company, The Lighthouse Principles, Tiffany worked with and for many popular brands: Franklin Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the world famous Rich Dad, Poor Dad series, and Jack Canfield, creator of The Chicken Soup for the Soul series, helping each of these brands set new sales records and experience expansive new growth.
Tiffany is passionate about empowering others with proven, universal success habits and her tried and true sales strategies. She has coached people all around the globe to successfully create with intention a life and a business that they love.
For more information about creating your ideal life and results, visit www.TiffanySpeaks.com
Sigrun Gudjonsdottir
Sigrun is an award winning business coach, best-selling author, and multiple 7 figure entrepreneur. She is on a mission to accelerate gender equality through female entrepreneurship. She’s been called the leading business mentor for online entrepreneurs in Europe, is a TEDx speaker, and host of the top-rated Sigrun Show podcast. Sigrun has been featured in Forbes and numerous leading media publications in Europe and in 2021 she won 5 Stevie Awards; as the Heroine of the year, Entrepreneur of the year, Solo entrepreneur of the year, Manager of the year, and Sales Achievement of the year.
Tanya Dalton
Tanya Dalton is a transformational speaker, best-selling author, and nationally recognized productivity expert. She helps female executives and entrepreneurs step into purposeful leadership.
In addition to having her first book, The Joy of Missing Out, being named one of the Top 10 Business Books of the year by Fortune Magazine, Tanya’s podcast, The Intentional Advantage has received millions of downloads from listeners around the world. She is also a featured expert on several networks including NBC and Fox and is a VIP contributor for Entrepreneur.com. Tanya has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications including Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, and Real Simple. She has been awarded the elite Enterprising Women Award and has been named the Female Entrepreneur to Watch for the state of North Carolina.
Tanya is also the founder of inkWELL Press Productivity Co. a multi-million dollar company providing tools that work as a catalyst in helping women do less while achieving maximum success.
Her highly anticipated second book, On Purpose: The Busy Woman’s Guide to an Extraordinary Life of Meaning and Success, launched last fall through HarperCollins Publishing.
Lisa Larter
Lisa Larter has successfully built two businesses that generate in excess of seven figures and has helped many of her clients reach the same mark.
Founder and CEO of the Lisa Larter Group, she is a master strategist, author, speaker, podcast host, social media expert, consultant, and business coach. Lisa inspires entrepreneurs and business owners to see the possibilities for their organizations for growth and success. She deconstructs modern marketing and creates (and implements) strategies for businesses that are guaranteed to increase visibility, inbound leads, and revenue.
