Content marketing; what’s it all about, eh? Since founding your startup you’ve no doubt had every Tom, Dick and Sally telling you that you need to get on the content marketing bandwagon. But if you’re not a writer, how do you start producing content that promotes your startup?
The answer is to start with the basics, take it one step at a time, and to have a very clear vision of who your web content, blog posts and campaigns are aimed at.
So, let’s explore how to write killer content for your startup…
Know WHY you’re in business
Whether you want to create an amazing company website, write the coolest blog posts or start running content marketing campaigns, it all starts with knowing WHY you’re in business.
You might know WHAT you do, but do you know WHY you’re in business? Having a clear company vision and values is important. If your key aims are to disrupt your sector, attract the most innovative talent and make your customers’ lives easier, that needs to come through in every piece of content you write.
Having your vision, values and personality wrapped up in a clearly defined brand identity is the first step in your content marketing journey. With your brand as the bedrock, you can then begin to build up your content and reach for the stars.
Aim your content at the right audience
The more tailored and targeted your content is, the greater the chance of the content finding the right audience. And this means sitting down to think about WHO you’re selling to.
Without a clear idea of your ideal customer, you can’t write a blog post or landing page that effectively engages with their needs. So a big part of the content marketing journey is deciding what your perfect customer looks like, and then creating bespoke content that addresses their issues, challenges and product/service requirements.
Having these ‘ideal customer profiles’ also helps when it comes to using targeted, paid advertising, making the most of social media and running highly targeted digital marketing campaigns.
Don’t be scared of writing
So, you’ve got your brand sorted and you know who your ideal audience is. Great! Now what?
Well, the only way to get the content marketing ball rolling is to start writing. And that needn’t be as daunting as it sounds. As a non-writer, the thought of sitting down to write a blog post can seem like a scary prospect. But, think about it; we all write things every day!
Every Facebook status update, every shopping list and every email reply you create requires you to write. It’s just putting one word after another, really – and hopefully making some sense along the way too.
So don’t be scared of writing. Your first attempt at a blog post may not be worthy of comparison with the letters of Oscar Wilde, but it will be YOUR content, your ideas and your opinions – and that’s what makes your content unique, genuine, honest and (hopefully) engaging.
Keep it simple stupid!
Short, simple, concise content is what works best.
Being long-winded, wordy and using archaic language impresses no-one and most definitely won’t help your content find an audience.
What’s important, is getting your message across clearly. And the best way to do this is usually in the most straightforward terms. That doesn’t mean dumbing down or removing personality and individuality from your writing. It means understanding your topic, highlighting the most important elements and explaining them clearly. Makes sense really, doesn’t it?
So, the key to good writing is a simple one:
Keep it simple, stupid! (making a handy acronym – KISS).
How to write killer content for your startup
Founding a startup is no easy business. But one thing’s for certain – if no-one knows about your amazing products/services then the job of winning customers is going to be an uphill struggle.
If you’ve got the drive, ambition and motivation to found a business, then you owe it to yourself to put equal amounts of effort into marketing and promoting your company. And it starts with the following key steps:
- Define Your Vision – Your business mission and your manifesto
- Know Your Audience – Understand who your customers and target audience are
- Create Your Brand – Including your personality, style and tone
- Improve Your Writing – Focus on great readability and good grammar
- Build A Website – Content is vital for SEO and strong brand messaging
- Have A Content Plan – Do some planning and put timelines in place
- Get Blogging – Tell stories to engage your audience
- Start Getting Social – Tweet and share your content on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and your choice of social channels
- Run A Campaign – Broaden your reach with email, newsletters and ads
- Analyse Performance – Review your engagement and analytics so you can continue to provide content that resonates.
Do your startup a favour and start exploring the content marketing journey.
If you’re eager to start writing, the following book gives you all the advice you need to get started, broken down across ten easy-to-read chapters with tips, advice and simple hacks you need to start making the most from your content marketing.
How To Write Killer Content For Your StartUp
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