How to Create Content That Converts

Understanding Your Target Audience

The foundation of any successful content strategy lies in a deep understanding of your target audience. Stephanie emphasizes that this is not just a preliminary step but the most crucial part of the entire process.

“It’s absolutely the most important part and definitely it’s also the part that I would give probably the most time out of the whole,” she says.

Strategies to Identify and Understand Your Audience

• Interview Internal Teams: Start by engaging with your sales team, customer service representatives, and anyone else who interacts directly with clients. They can provide invaluable insights into customer pain points, objections, and frequently asked questions.

• Speak Directly to Clients: Stephanie advises that “You … have to speak to the clients themselves—that’s very, very important.” Conduct surveys and interviews, particularly with new clients, to understand their decision-making processes and what led them to choose your product or service.

• Use Onboarding Forms Strategically: Incorporate questions into your onboarding process that reveal why clients chose you, what problems they’re trying to solve, and what they hope to achieve.

Turning Information into a Story

Once you’ve gathered sufficient information about your audience, the next step is to transform these insights into a cohesive narrative.

“I like to actually turn that into a story,” Stephanie says. This approach helps identify gaps or “plot holes” in the customer’s journey, ensuring that your content addresses every stage of their decision-making process.

Mapping the Customer Journey

By turning data into a story, you can naturally segment your content into the three stages of the buyer’s journey:

1. Awareness: The customer realizes they have a problem.
2. Consideration: They begin exploring solutions.
3. Decision: They choose a specific product or service to solve their problem.

Setting Clear Goals for Your Content

Having a mission statement for your content ensures consistency and purpose.

Stephanie recommends having a mission statement for all of your content. While the ultimate goal might be to drive sales, each piece of content should have a specific objective, whether it’s to educate, inform, or inspire your audience.

Defining Content Goals at Each Funnel Stage

• Awareness Stage: Aim to inform and educate. Provide valuable information that helps the audience understand their problem better.

• Consideration Stage: Offer solutions and options. Compare different approaches to solving their problem.

• Decision Stage: Highlight what sets your product or service apart. Provide clear calls to action that guide the customer toward making a purchase.

Balancing Educational and Sales-Driven Content

Stephanie advises against overt selling in your content. Instead, the focus should be on providing value.

“Always educate,” she says. Modern consumers are savvy and can easily detect when they’re being sold to, which can be a turn-off.

The Power of Education

By positioning yourself as a knowledgeable resource, you build trust with your audience. This trust makes them more likely to choose your product or service when they’re ready to make a decision.

Writing Compelling Content

Crafting content that keeps readers engaged involves several key elements:

Focus on Reader Intent

Understanding why someone is reading your content helps you tailor it to meet their needs. Stephanie emphasizes the importance of addressing the reader’s intent right from the start.

Craft a Strong Introduction

“It’s very important that you actually go back to your intro once you’ve done all the writing and really think about what you’ve written,” Stephanie says. A compelling introduction hooks the reader and encourages them to continue reading.

Use Subheadings Effectively

Subheadings break up your content and make it easier to digest. They also allow readers to skim the article and find the information most relevant to them.

Effective Call-to-Actions (CTAs)

The placement and relevance of your CTAs can significantly impact conversion rates.

“You need to make sure that you have connected the pain points that were the topic of the article to the call to action,” Stephanie explains.

Best Practices for CTAs

• Place CTAs at the End: After you’ve provided valuable content, a CTA at the end feels like a natural next step for the reader.

• Ensure Relevance: The CTA should directly relate to the content they’ve just read, offering a solution to the problem discussed.

• Avoid Interruptions: Placing CTAs in the middle of content can disrupt the reader’s flow and may lead to lower engagement.

Leveraging AI Tools Wisely

While AI tools like ChatGPT have become popular for content creation, Stephanie advises caution.

She emphasizes that AI should supplement, not replace, human creativity.

Using AI for Research and Enhancement

Here are a few ways Stephanie suggests using AI in your content marketing efforts:

• Generate Counterarguments: AI can help identify potential objections or alternative viewpoints, strengthening your content’s credibility.

• Find Reliable Sources: Use AI to locate reputable studies, statistics, and references to back up your points.

• Create FAQ Sections: Stephanie recommends using AI-generated content for FAQs, which can address common questions without diluting your main content’s originality.

Develop Content That Converts

Developing content that converts is an art and a science. By deeply understanding your audience, turning insights into compelling narratives, and focusing on education over selling, you can create content that not only engages but also drives action.

As Stephanie aptly puts it, “You need to really care about … the ones that really have the problem.”  By implementing these strategies, you’ll position your brand as a trusted resource, making it the natural choice when your audience is ready to convert.