5 More Powerful Content Marketing Secrets

5 More Powerful Content Marketing Secrets (That Drive Conversions!)

As I stated in my last post, there is no single magic trick that will skyrocket your blog’s growth overnight. But fortunately for you, there are a lot of little things you can do, that when combined, will lead to steady continuous growth – the kind of growth that seems to take on a life of its own.

Don’t forget that while you are creating your content, you need to be continuously experimenting to see what works, and constantly learning from your audience. Test, test and test again!

And don’t forget to keep things simple…

Experiment – did it work? And if so, how can you make it work even better?

And learn – who is my audience? What do they want? What do they fear? How can I become so valuable to them, they turn to me and my blog for advice and help? Nail this and your conversions will take off!

Now that’s out of the way, let’s get into some more tips that will complement the others (in this post here) perfectly:

6: Don’t Be Afraid To Stand Out

The fact is, more content is published every minute of every day. It’s not enough anymore to have great content – you need content that stands apart from the crowd. It’s got to deliver value in a unique way with a radical new perspective.

Some tips to help you:

Try new content formats. For example, try an info-graphic instead of an article, or perhaps make a video.
Put a lot of thought into your headlines and make them really pop. If you can trigger emotions, curiosity, or a burning need to know what’s in your article, you’ve got a good headline.
For the content itself, either present something no one else has presented, or present the content in a way no one else has. I know, it’s a tall order but it’s something to aspire to.
Tell stories. It’s hard to go wrong if you become a great story teller. In fact, people will revisit your blog just to read your new stories.
Give stuff away. It could be pdf’s, prizes or whatever. Try creating info packed posts, and then giving away pdf versions of those posts for people to refer to later.
Take a stand. Don’t be afraid to express your opinions and back them up with evidence, facts, stories, etc. Having strong opinions you’re not afraid to voice can be one of the quickest ways to get your content shared and build yourself a loyal audience.

7: Work On Your Headlines

According to CopyBlogger, 8 out of 10 people will read your headline, but only 2 out of 10 will check out your post. Yes, headlines are THAT important.

To get your copy read, write at least 5-10 headline variations that each incorporate at least two of the following: Curiosity, urgency, uniqueness, usefulness, specificity and news.

Choose the best 2-4 headlines and promote your content on social media using the different variations. After a few hours see which one gets the most engagement and keep that headline.

As much as you might be tempted, don’t use click-bait headlines. When people see your post doesn’t line up with your headline, they’ll click away.

8: Draw The Reader In…

Keep your readers reading by using this old sales letter trick. Insert words and phrases that naturally pull the reader into the next sentence, and the next, and the next…

Examples:

“Here’s what I’m talking about…”
“You might be wondering…”
“I know you think this is crazy…”
“Here’s why…”
“Meanwhile…”
“On the other hand…”
“But here’s the really strange thing…”
“Want to know the best part?”
“And yet…”
“But that’s just part of the story…”
“As it turns out…”
“No wonder…”
“Sadly…”
“What does this mean for you?”
“I couldn’t believe what happened next…”
“Best of all…”
“By the way…”

9: Create Viral Content Using S.T.E.P.P.S.

Now, some folks will tell you that you can’t predict what will and what won’t go viral.

Companies have spent fortunes trying to make viral content. Sometimes they succeed, and many times they don’t.

So how can you, a solo entrepreneur, increase your odds that your content will go viral?

According to Jonah Berger, author of Contagious, there are six principles to making viral content:

Social Currency – People want to feel smart and cool, like they’re on the ‘inside.’ We share things that make us look good.
Triggers – Which gets more word of mouth – Corn Flakes or Disney? Be Disney and remember that top of mind is also tip of tongue.
Emotion – The higher the emotion, the more it gets shared. Remember, when we care, we share.
Public – There are always people who will jump on board the latest trend. Think if it as, ‘Built to show, built to grow.’
Practical value – the more valuable and useful content is, the more it tends to get shared. Think of it as, ‘News you can use.’
Stories – Stories are like Trojan horses, coming in under the radar in the guise of entertainment, when really they are delivering a message

You don’t have to hit all six principles, but the more you do hit, the more likely your content will go viral.

10: Use Great Images

I hate to tell you this, but odds are the images you’re using now aren’t helping you. In fact, they might even be hurting you.

You already know that great images enhance a great post. But for this to happen the images need to be relevant and interesting. A stock photo of models in business attire staring at a laptop won’t cut it anymore.

Best bets: Take your own photos. A photo of you holding something relevant or being in a relevant place will do wonders. People love to see who they are reading, especially if it is a REAL shot and not some studio photo that’s been photo-shopped to death.

Source HIGH quality free images and be choosy. It pays to spend that extra time finding just the right picture.

Here’s a list of 21 sites with ‘breathtaking free stock photos’ to get you started.

https://blog.snappa.io/free-stock-photos/

Don’t have free time to find great pics? Hire a graphic artist on Fiverr to do it for you. They already have great sources and a knowledge of where to find what you’re looking for.

If you want to save some cash and create and design your own images there are a number of tools that you can use which are pretty inexpensive and cost you less in the long run than continually outsourcing.

One such tool is Design Wizard and is well worth checking out to create stunning viral images and video. Check it out here

Try using these 5 “secrets” in your content marketing strategy and see what happens to your traffic, and more importantly, your conversions. I think you will be surprised 😊

I will cover even more of these tips in one more post, but for now don’t forget that if you want to know more about converting your traffic into customers, I have a great guide for you that can give your traffic and conversions an enormous boost. And even better, it’s free 😊 To download your free copy just click here

OK, that’s it for this time. Now go and put these tips into practice in your content marketing.