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Brainstorming Content Ideas In 4 Steps

Brainstorming Content Ideas In 4 Steps

Brainstorming Content Ideas In 4 Steps

Since you’re someone who creates a lot of content, that means you also likely spend a fair amount of time brainstorming (or at least you should be doing this).

EXAMPLE: You need to brainstorm topic ideas. You need to brainstorm unique angles/approaches for your content. You need to brainstorm things like how to turn a step-by-step process into your own unique formula. And so on.

With that in mind, here’s a brainstorming checklist you can use to help you do all the brainstorming you need to develop content ideas, angles, talking points and more.

Step 1: Pick A Brainstorming Method

Many people think of going old school and taking pen to paper to do their brainstorming. You’ll want to experiment to see what works best for you, as some methods will open up your individual creativity better than others.

Here are different methods to try:

  • Pen and paper
  • Whiteboard
  • Large tabletop paper plus markers
  • Audio (record yourself)
  • Video
  • Text/document/app using your device
  • Mind mapping

NOTE: While you may be brainstorming on your own (which is fine), many people find it more effective to brainstorm in groups. Even having just one other person helps the two of you think up ideas that neither of you would have thought of on your own.

To that end, consider brainstorming with a knowledgeable friend. You can brainstorm in the same room using a whiteboard. Or, if you’re not local to each other, then you can use an online chat to brainstorm. Ideas include:

  • Use a platform like Trello.com.
  • Try using Skype.
  • Utilize a system like Slack.
  • Brainstorm using Google Docs.

… or use any other platform or messenger service that you prefer.

NOTE: Trello (and similar platforms) are specifically designed for helping teams brainstorm.


By the way, if you are serious and want to take your content marketing and your blogging to the next level, check out the Rapid Blogging Blueprint. This is a premium level training that takes you through each and every step of setting up your own highly profitable blog and profiting from it. You can check it out here.


Next step…

Step 2: Select A Brainstorming Topic

Before you begin brainstorming, you need to get very clear on what exactly it is that you’ll be brainstorming. If you’re not clear, you’ll likely end up thinking about all sorts of things… but not thinking or brainstorming deeply about any one of them.

To that end, start with a focused question. E.G., “What topics should I write about for my blog?”

Next…

Step 3: Shut Down All Distractions

The next part of good brainstorming is to get rid of all distractions and potential interruptions. For example:

  • Schedule a block of time when you don’t need to be anywhere else immediately after (so you can extend your brainstorming session).
  • Ask family members or roommates/housemates not to interrupt you.
  • Turn off all distractions, including TV, music, your phone, etc. If you’re brainstorming on your computer, close all windows and apps except for the one you’re using to brainstorm.

TIP: If you’re brainstorming using a device, and you’re prone to distraction, then you might use an app like GetColdTurkey.com. This app blocks your access to certain sites you find distracting, such as social media.

  • Be sure you’ve taken care of everything that needs to be taken care of before you brainstorm.

For example, walk the dog, feed the kids, feed yourself, get yourself a beverage and so on. You don’t want to get interrupted or distracted because you didn’t handle a task beforehand.

NOTE: If you live in a household where there’s a lot of noise and distraction, then you may want to leave the house in order to do your brainstorming. You can go to:

  • A library.
  • A coffee shop (works if you perceive the constant hum of this sort of noise as white noise).
  • A mall food court (same as above – do you perceive it as white noise or a distraction?).
  • An outside location, such as a picnic table at a quiet park.

And similar places.

You may find that going to different locations helps unlock your creativity.

For example, maybe you find yourself distracted at a coffee shop because you’re too busy people-watching. But perhaps an outdoor setting – such as a secluded, quiet park – keeps you focused and really unlocks your creativity.

Next…

Step 4: Start Brainstorming

Now that all those preliminary steps are out of the way, you can start brainstorming. Keep in mind that you’re just generating ideas at this point, and in no way should you be judging the ideas while brainstorming.

Write everything down that comes to mind – later you can judge the ideas to see if they’re good or viable.

Let’s work through an example…

For the purpose of this checklist, let’s suppose you’re brainstorming topic ideas in your niche. You can start by asking a generic question such as, “What topics should I write about?” Then write down every answer that comes to mind.

 You can then ask yourself a series of more targeted questions to help you uncover even more ideas. For example:

  •  What topics do I know a lot about?
  • What sort of problems have I solved in this niche?
  • On what niche topic do people ask me for advice?
  • What topics do I like to talk about?
  • What topics do I read about often? (E.G., read niche blogs, newsletters, watch videos, etc.?)
  • What topics do people ask me about via email?
  • What topics do I have special qualifications to talk about? (E.G., You’ve won relevant awards, you’ve had a job related to the topic, you have a track record of producing good results for yourself and others with respect to this topic, you have a degree related to this topic, etc.)

Be sure to set aside individual brainstorming time for each targeted question you ask.

NOTE: As you can see, a brainstorming session can get quite lengthy, so be sure you schedule enough time to go through all the questions.

Now, let’s wrap this up…

Conclusion

If you’re creating a lot of content, then you’re going to need to do plenty of brainstorming. Be sure to keep this 4 step process handy so you can follow the steps and tips that you just learned for effective brainstorming.

By the way, if you really want to know more about the power of content marketing and blogging, you can take a look at the Rapid Blogging Blueprint training course or if you just want a few pointers for now you can grab the featured resource below for a  free detailed blogging report; download, read it and take action 🙂

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Questions To Ask To Discover Your Purpose

Questions To Ask To Discover Your Purpose

Questions To Ask To Discover Your Purpose

Discovering your purpose and calling in life is a thought-driven process. Watching self-help videos or reading motivational books may lift your spirits and give you some skills, but you’ll be no closer to knowing your purpose in life.

In fact, overloading your mind with extraneous mental clutter might cause more problems. To uncover one’s purpose, you’ll need to simplify things and get to your authentic self.

The key to doing that is to ask yourself crucial questions that help you discover who you really are. So often, we wear masks when out in the world that we never really get in touch with who we really are. The mask is all we know… and we act and think like how we believe we should.

By digging deep and asking yourself the questions that matter, you’ll discover what it is you truly want in life. It’s imperative that you be radically honest with yourself. Forget what the world has told you to believe in.

Go with your heart and answer the questions below:

  • What did you enjoy doing when growing up?
  • What were you naturally good at when young?
  • What do you enjoy talking about?
  • What activities can you easily spend hours on?
  • If you could start over in life, what would you do differently?
  • If money was not an issue, what activities would you engage in?

These questions can help to reveal your innate talents and desires. For example, you may have loved art and crafts – and might have been naturally gifted at them.

But somewhere along the way, your parents or teachers told you that subjects such as math and science were more important for landing a good job in future. So, you ditched the art and listened to them.

Years later, you’re stuck in a job you hate, and it’s related to math or science. But your heart and soul pines for more. Your dissatisfaction with your life cannot be explained.

There is a missing piece – but you don’t know what it is. In this case, you may miss being involved with art.

Getting back to it might bring joy to your heart. You may even wish to pursue it as a career and become a prominent success in this field. You’d never know unless you ask yourself what you truly love doing and if you’re good at it.

Once you know what you love, you can always practice and hone your skills until you master them.

  • What is your ideal life like?
  • How do you want others to see you?

These 2 questions will reveal your heart’s innermost desires. Your ideal life is the best version of you. It’s your dream you.

Your purpose will be wrapped up in this image. You may want to be fit and muscular so that you can inspire others to achieve their dream bodies too.

It’s quite common to see overweight people who have transformed their bodies and went on to become fitness coaches because they found that their purpose in life was helping others become fit and get the body of their dreams too.

Be willing to explore and be imaginative. Forget the limitations you’ve been led to believe. Ask yourself what you’d do if anything was possible. This is what you’d do if you were on purpose.

You’ll find your answers once you still your mind and listen to the voice within. This can be a difficult task and you may wish to start journaling to aid with the process.

Ask yourself the same questions daily and write down your thoughts. Keep digging deeper and give yourself the freedom to answer without restraint. The world has kept your innermost desires buried long enough.

It’s time you dug out your authentic self from underneath the burdening rubble of other people’s beliefs and expectations – and live life according to your true purpose.

“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky


By the way, if you want to know more about enjoying the journey to discovering your purpose then check out Enjoy The Journey. It is a premium training that will show you how to embrace the process and enjoy life’s journey when working towards a goal. Check it out here.


How To Find Your Purpose By Letting Go

Finding your purpose in life is a process where you dig deep within yourself to discover what makes you happy. You’ll need to look at your talents, skills, desires and what you really want.

The process requires you to clear the clutter in your mind and also in your heart and soul. Like the author, Deepak Chopra, says, “In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.”

That’s exactly what you must do – let go.

Don’t Let Your Past Drag You Down

All human beings have regrets, mistakes we wish we could undo, past memories of instances where people did us wrong and so on.

Millions of people relive these bad memories and experience the same negative feelings over and over. They’re in a vicious cycle that just doesn’t seem to end.

It’s impossible to discover your purpose if your mind and heart is filled with repressed anger and other negative emotions. In most cases, one will not be able to undo the mistakes of the past.

Holding on to baggage from years ago will only burden you. This excess weight will drag you down day by day and life will feel like a struggle.

The key to finding your purpose and putting a spring in your step will be to let go of the unwanted baggage you’re carrying. This could be memories, negative habits, toxic people and so on.

Benefits Of Letting Go

There are several benefits that can be accrued by letting go of past grievances and bad memories. It’s a cathartic process that will make you happier and feel a sense of ‘lightness’.

If you’ve made mistakes in the past, the first step is to forgive yourself. Regretting the same mistakes over and over is just self-punishment that will prevent you from redeeming yourself. Let these regrets go and strive to do better from here on out.

If others have done you wrong, the best thing you can do is forgive them. You don’t have to tell them a word, and you’re not doing it for them. You’re doing it for you.

As long as you have anger, sadness and hate in your heart for wrongs done by others, you’re robbing yourself of happiness that you could be having right now. Don’t let them live rent-free in your head and heart. Let it all go… for your sanity and well-being.

What Should You Let Go Of?

What one needs to let go of will depend on them. It varies from individual to individual. Here is a common list of things you should let go of

  • Any grudges, gossip, grievances.
  • Regrets because of mistakes you made in the past
  • Bad habits that have plagued you for years
  • A job that makes you hate your life
  • Fear of failure and the unknown
  • Jealousy and comparing yourself with others
  • Demanding partners
  • Toxic ‘friends’ and family members
  • Poor financial habits
  • Perfectionism
  • Trying to please everyone
  • A poor diet and a bad body image
  • Procrastination
  • Possessions that you no longer need

This list is just a starting point. You may have other things in your life that you need to let go of. A rule of thumb is that if it doesn’t make you feel good or serve you well, then you need to let it go.

Once you’ve rid yourself of what’s holding you down and holding you back, you can focus on what you want and how you can feel happy and fulfilled. That’s how you discover your purpose.

“You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – André Gid

4 Important Factors That Determine If Purpose Can Lead To Profit

Most of us would have seen the quote – “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” This quote has been around so long that some people attribute it to Confucius, while others say it’s Mark Twain who said it.

Whatever the case may be, there is a fallacy in this quote. You could love knitting and spend hours on the task. Yet, that does not necessarily mean you could make a living from it.

There are 4 important factors to consider when ascertaining if your purpose in life can derive profit for you. By finding a way to make a living while living your purpose-driven life, you’ll not only find happiness, but will also be able to generate an income that sustains a comfortable life.

The Task Makes You Happy

This is the litmus test of finding your purpose. If the task you’re engaged in makes you happy and you enjoy what you’re doing, you’ll naturally be inclined to do more of it without any ‘forcing’ on your part.

People drag themselves to work because they dislike their jobs. They get no satisfaction from what they do, and the mundane tasks they’re engaged in saps their energy and soul.

A part of finding your purpose is to engage in work that brings you pleasure. It could be writing, painting, dancing, construction, training animals, etc. As long as it makes you happy, you’re on the right track.

You’re Naturally Good At What You Do

If you were good at art since young and you loved it, that’s a sign it could be your true calling. So often, the world tries to shape and mould us into what we’re not.

Parents try to impose their wishes on their children and stifle their kids’ natural talents. A kid who loves telling jokes is often told to stop ‘playing around’ and focus on his/her studies.

The child’s natural talent at comedy is never given room to grow – and the world loses a talented comedian. The same applies to other arts such as dancing, painting, etc.

People measure talents based on the jobs they can get in future. This is myopic.

The key to finding purpose in life is to focus on your natural talents and hone your innate skills until you’re very good at what you do.

The World Needs You

To get paid for what you do, you MUST bring value to the marketplace. Your natural talents and skills must be needed by other people.

A good writer must be able to write books that people crave to read. An exquisite dancer should have moves that awes the audience. The talented artist should create works of art that captures people’s imagination.

Your success in the marketplace is directly linked to the demand for your work. Being good at what you do and loving the process is just half the equation. The other half is that people must want what you have to provide.

You Must Get Paid For It

As obvious as this sounds, many people tend to forget about it. You can only profit from your work if people pay you for it. So, if you wish to make a living doing what you love, you’ll have to find a way to market yourself and your products/services.

This is the key to living life with purpose without going to a job you detest. Initially, it may be a struggle when you’re learning the ropes and trying to get your name out there.

However, if you stay the course – success will inevitably be yours. Always make sure you love doing what you do and you’re great at it. Then check if the world needs what you do and if they’re willing to pay you for it.

Satisfy these 4 factors and the world will be your oyster.

As you probably already know, having a strong mindset is critical to any attempt to finding your purpose and passion and staying focused on them, so click on the featured resource below to get a detailed free report on how to develop a strong mindset. Download, it read and take action 😊

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4 Ways To Find Topics For Your Content

4 Ways To Find Topics For Your Content

4 Ways To Find Topics For Your Content

The kind of content you’re going to need will vary and include things like lead magnets, paid products, blog posts, guest posts, newsletter content, video content, social media content and so on. That means you will need to come up with a whole lot of topic ideas for all of this content.

The question is, how do you generate all these ideas? That’s what this checklist will help you do.

Let’s get started…

Step 1: Check Paid Products

Your first step is to look at paid products – especially popular bestsellers – to help you generate topic ideas. One advantage of this method is that you get to multitask. Not only do you get topic ideas, but you also get to do your market research at the same time.

Here’s how to use paid products to generate ideas:

  • Look for bestsellers. You can search for your niche keywords on sites such as ClickBank.com, JVZoo.com, Udemy.com and Amazon.com. Then pay attention to what topics sell well in your niche.
  • Browse tables of contents. The idea here is to look at the tables of contents inside popular products in your niche, as each chapter or section may be a potential topic idea.
  • Check sales letters. Search your competitors’ sites for infoproducts, and then read the sales letters. Each item in the bulleted list is likely a potential topic idea for you.
  • Search Google. Here you search for your niche keywords alongside words such as book, video, membership site, buy, purchase, download and similar. The product as a whole will help you generate topic ideas, plus the table of contents or sales letter will give you even more ideas.
  • Read niche magazines. Check the cover articles first for ideas, as these tend to be the most popular topics. Then read the table of contents to generate even more ideas for your next piece of content.
  • Check PLR content. Go to sites that sell private label rights content – there you should be able to generate dozens of additional ideas for your own content. Bonus: if you hit upon a topic you really like, you can purchase the PLR and use it to create your content.

Important…

Remember, you’re generating IDEAS as you go through all these paid products. In no way will you copy anyone’s work. Rather, you’re just looking for topics to write about (using your own perspective, information and style of teaching).

Step 2: Browse Free Content

The next step is to check free content to generate even more ideas.

Check out these ideas:

  • Check blogs. Each of your competitors’ blogs can help you generate dozens of ideas. Each post is a potential idea, plus each major point within a post can be a separate topic idea.
  • Visit niche groups and forums. Another good place to get ideas is on niche groups (such as Facebook groups) as well as niche forums. View popular posts to get topic ideas. Also check the archives to see what topics come up repeatedly.
  • Browse social media. Check your competitors’ pages on Facebook and Twitter, paying particular attention to posts that get a lot of likes, shares and comments.
  • Visit YouTube. Insert your niche keywords into the search bar, and you’ll likely get dozens of videos in return. Each video is a potential topic idea, plus you can watch the videos to get even more ideas.
  • Check SlideShare.net. Pay particular attention to the most popular presentations.
  • Browse Quora.com. Each question on this site provides a potential topic idea, plus each answer will give you even more ideas.
  • Subscribe to niche newsletters. Each email you receive could give you at one or more potential topic ideas.
  • Check your inbox. Here you check the emails your audience sends to you, such as their questions. Each of these questions is a potential topic idea.
  • Run a Google search. Here you can enter a broad search for your niche keywords and see what comes up. Or you can run specific searches, such as: [niche keywords] FAQ. (Each question and answer is a potential topic idea.)


By the way, if you are serious and want to take your content marketing and your blogging to the next level, check out the Rapid Blogging Blueprint. This is a premium level training that takes you through each and every step of setting up your own highly profitable blog and profiting from it. You can check it out here.


Next…

Step 3: Use Keyword Tools

Still another way to uncover topic ideas is to use a keyword tool such as WordTracker.com (or your favorite tool).

Simply enter your niche keywords, and the tool will return dozens of results, each of which is a potential topic idea for you.

Step 4: Check Your Content

You can also generate topic ideas by checking your own content on your blog, social media and other platforms. This is an often overlooked place to find ideas for new or updated content but shouldn’t be overlooked because it can be a real opportunity to find fresh readers.

As always, pay particular attention to popular topics (such as ones that get a lot of comments on your blog).

Then ask yourself these questions:

  • Can you update this piece of content and republish it? Let’s suppose you’ve found an older, outdated piece of content that was popular when you first published it. Can you update the content and re-publish it on your platforms?

For example, if you have a gear list for bloggers that you created five years ago, you can update the list with the latest tools.

  • Can you expand on this content? Let’s suppose you have a short blog article. Can you expand on each point in the article to turn it into a report or other longer piece of content?
  • Can you turn this content into multiple smaller pieces of content? Let’s suppose you have a blog post that shares ten tips. Each of those ten tips is a potential topic idea, meaning you could turn each tip into its own full-length article.
  • Can you change the content into a different format? Let’s say you’ve found a checklist on your blog (like this one). You could expand on it and turn it into a regular article or a report. Or you might turn a text article into a video, or a video into a text article.

Conclusion

If you follow the steps above, you’ll easily create a list of more topic ideas than you have time to write about. And that is a good position to be in!

If you really want to know more about the power of content marketing and blogging, you can take a look at the Rapid Blogging Blueprint training course or if you just want a few pointers for now you can grab the featured resource below for a  free detailed blogging report; download, read it and take action 🙂

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Creating Harmony Between Work And Home Life

Creating Harmony Between Work And Home Life

Creating Harmony Between Work And Home Life

The connection between your work and home life is extremely strong even if it’s almost invisible. Have you ever had a day when you just couldn’t do your best at work because you had some family issues at home?

Or maybe your gym workout wasn’t as good as it normally is because you had a quarrel with your spouse?

We’ve all had times where our emotions affect our work performance… and the reverse holds true too. Work problems can show up as squabbles in the family life too.

We’re not like airtight submarine ballast tanks that operate independently and function normally by shutting out different parts of the tanks if there are leaks.

Human beings are much more complex. Our work life and home life merge in a multitude of ways. The best way to ensure that we are performing optimally will be to harmonize our work and home lives.

Watch Your Diet

You are what you eat. If your diet is high in processed foods and you’re burning the candle at both ends by guzzling caffeinated products constantly, you’ll not be feeling your best.

Good health leads to better work performance and a clean and nutritious diet is crucial to ensuring you are getting all the nutrients you eat. What you eat is just as important as what you do not eat.

It’s easy to let your diet slide and grab whatever food is most convenient rather than what’s best for your health. In many cases, our jobs are sedentary.

This leads to creeping weight gain and before we know it, we’re overweight or obese. This leads to a lack of energy, lower concentration and higher stress.

By cleaning up your diet and eating what’s right for you, you’ll indirectly elevate your work performance to the next level.

Relationships Must Not Be Sour

Avoid arguing or fighting with your spouse constantly. Strife in the home is a vexation to the spirit and it’s difficult to give your best at work when you’re replaying the tense scenarios at home and reliving the negative energy that comes from these types of situations.

Aim for consensus rather than conflict. Communicate with your spouse and family often to ensure that everyone is on the same page. There’ll be fewer occasions where people in the household butt heads.

You’ll have more peace of mind and be happy at the work place, even if you’re working from home.

Late Nights

Late nights can lead to groggy mornings. Sometimes we feel a need to stay up late so that we squeeze in as much life as possible into our day. There’s even a slang for it these days – FOMO, which stands for fear of missing out.

We want to do more work, binge watch as many Netflix shows as we can, party hard and so on – and we want to do it all at once. When you’re young, this is possible.

As you get older, one late night at a pub might leave you feeling groggy for two days. So, it’s best to err on the side of caution and not overdo things.

Go to bed earlier so that you wake up feeling refreshed. You’ll be ready to give your best at work when you’ve had a good night’s rest.

Bad Habits

It goes without saying that negative habits such as alcohol, smoking, etc. can take a toll on your health. Other addictions such as gambling, addiction to pornography, etc. can lead to disastrous consequences at home, which in turn will affect your work adversely.

So, keep an eye on the activities in your life that may come back to bite you. Once you lead a clean lifestyle, you’ll find that there’s harmony at work and at home.

While challenges may crop up, they will be fewer and far between… and much more manageable. This is a good place to be.

Gratitude At Work And Home Provides Peace And Acceptance

There’s a saying that gratitude is the best medicine because it heals your mind, body and spirit and attracts more things in your life to be grateful for.

When you have an attitude of gratitude, it’s almost impossible to be unhappy and discontented. The problem that most people face is that they want to be grateful, but life just gets in the way.

If they have a job and their boss is unreasonable, they hate their job instead of being grateful for being employed. If they’re in good health, they may dislike being a few pounds overweight.

If they’re earning three thousand dollars a month, they envy their neighbor, Bill, who makes 10 thousand dollars a month. It never ends.

Here’s what most people don’t understand – you can be grateful for what you have without forcing yourself to like your current situation.

You may hate your job, but you can be grateful that you have a source of income to pay your bills and put food on the table. Now go ahead and look for a better job.

The same applies to everything else. You don’t have to like the way things are, but you have to accept them and look for the silver lining in the dark clouds.

There are a few ways you can do this.

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness helps you live in the moment. If your work at home business isn’t thriving as well as you had hoped, be mindful that you’re at home in comfort.

You don’t need to put up with a daily crowded commute. You’re still making money and that’s good. Now ask yourself what else you could be doing to take your income to the next level.

Be mindful at all times and watch your thoughts. Every single time a negative thought creeps in, replace it with something you’re grateful for. This one habit alone can be a life-changing one.

Keep A Gratitude Journal

One excellent way to establish gratitude as a habit will be to keep a gratitude journal. Many successful people write down three things that they’re grateful for every single day.

This action helps you focus on what is good in your life. It aligns your thinking towards positivity. This is crucial to having a healthy and happy mindset.

An attitude of negativity will only make things worse and your constant setbacks and bad luck will be a self-fulfilling prophecy that only keeps you in a hellish prison of your own mind.

Keep a gratitude journal. It’s a key to a kingdom of riches that await you.

Be Grateful For Your Challenges

Even when times are challenging, seek to find something to be grateful for. You’ve just started a new exercise regimen to lose weight and your legs ache?

That’s fine. At least you have a pair of legs that work. It’s just a matter of time till they get stronger. See… this simple shift in thinking motivates you to do better rather than hate yourself for letting your health slide.

Help Others

Here’s a hard truth – there will ALWAYS be people worse off than you. It could be financial worries, emotional turbulence, health issues, etc. We’re all fighting our own battles, but some definitely have it harder than others.

By lending an ear to those in need and doing what you can to help them, you’ll feel empowered and happy that you were able to assist someone else. There’s immeasurable power in helping your fellow man.

It not only helps them, but it helps you too. You’re never be totally broken, if you are able to help someone else… and if you can help them, you can help you.

And this knowledge will keep you going even when times are bad.

The pointers above are just the tip of the iceberg. Many books have been written on the power of gratitude and there are so many practices from journaling to yoga intentions to much more where gratitude is used to elevate you to the next level.

Do your research and make gratitude at work and at home a part of your life.

Whatever you want in life will require discipline to achieve and maintaining a healthy work life balance is a small part of that. And if you want to know more about harnessing the power of self-discipline, then check out the featured resource below for a free report; download, read it and take action 🙂

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4 Steps To Set Your Content Goals

4 Steps To Set Your Content Goals

4 Steps To Set Your Content Goals

Before you sit down to write a single word on your next piece of content, you need to set a goal for the content.

That way, you can craft the content around achieving that goal.

How do you set these goals? That’s what you’re about to find out.

Let’s get started…

Step 1: Consider The Big Picture

 

Before you pick a goal for an individual piece of content, you’ll want to first review your overall goals for your business and your content strategy. That way, you can ensure that your individual pieces of content do indeed support your overall goals.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • What do I hope to accomplish with my overall content strategy?
  • Who do I want to help with my business and content?
  • What type of content will best help me achieve this goal?
  • Where should I post this content?

In other words, you want to determine who you will help and how you will help them.

For example, your overall business (and content) purpose might be to help single moms live balanced, empowered lives (while generating income for yourself).

 The key here is that you need to be specific with your goals.

For example, what kind of help will your business provide for these single moms?  How many sales do you want to make? How much time can you invest in this endeavor?

Pick measurable, specific and realistic goals for best results.

By the way, if you are serious and want to take your content marketing and your blogging to the next level, check out the Rapid Blogging Blueprint. This is a premium level training that takes you through each and every step of setting up your own highly profitable blog and profiting from it. You can check it out here.


Then move on to the next step…

Step 2: Determine The Goal For This Content

Now that you’ve got a good understanding of your overall goal (i.e., your business and content strategy), you need to decide the goal for the specific piece of content you’re about to create. For example, do you want this content to:

  • Generate traffic? If so, how? (E.G., SEO? Viral Traffic? Other?)
  • Build your list?
  • Presell a product?
  • Get people to join a contest?
  • Encourage people to join a webinar?
  • Get people to fill out a form (such as a quote form)?
  • Get people to call your business?
  • Establish your expertise?
  • Build your brand?

And similar. Select your goal, and then move on to the next step…

Step 3: Select Content That Fits Your Goal

Now that you know your goal, your next step is to determine the best content format to achieve that goal. For example:

  • How to/tutorial.
  • Tips list.
  • Single tip.
  • Opinion article.
  • Resource/gear list.
  • Checklist
  • Worksheet
  • Template
  • Swipe
  • Planner
  • Video
  • Audio
  • Live content (webinar).
  • Meme
  • Comic
  • Infographic
  • Product review.
  • Product comparison.
  • Case study.
  • Motivational story.
  • Direct ad.
  • Search engine optimized content.

And similar.

Example #1: If your goal is to generate viral traffic on social media, you’d likely select a short piece of content such as a meme, tip or quick video.

Example #2: If your goal is to presell a product, then there are two approaches: 

  1. Direct sales approach. Here you use a promo piece of content, such as a product review or comparison. 
  1. Indirect sales approach. Here you create “useful, yet incomplete” content. For example, if you’re selling a weight-loss course, then you might offer five weight-loss tips. The content is genuinely useful, but it’s incomplete because it doesn’t completely solve the reader’s entire problem. You can then point them to the course for additional help.

TIP: Be sure to pick a topic that also helps you achieve your goal. You may need to do some market research to be sure this is a topic that your audience really wants.

Pick the format and topic that best fit your goal, and then move on to the next step.

Step 4: Craft Content Around Your Goal

Now that you’ve decided on a goal, format and topic, you can start creating your content.  Be sure that you structure your entire content around achieving your goal.

Example #1: If you’re looking to generate sales from your free content for a paid offer, then your free content should include the benefits of the paid offer.

 Example #2: If you’re looking to build your expertise, then be sure your content is “fresh” – it should include a unique angle/approach to the topic, and/or unique tips or other information that people can’t find anywhere else.

 NOTE:  Please keep in mind that no matter what the goal is for your business, the goal for your audience is always to provide useful content that will help them solve their problems, reach their goals and/or enjoy their interests.

No matter what your goal is, you’ll want to end the content with a call to action (CTA).

Your CTA should have the following parts for best results:

  1. Tell people what to do.
  2. Tell people how to take that step.
  3. Give people a good reason to act now.

A good reason to act now may take multiple forms:

  1. When there is a (real) limited time only offer that would provide additional paid help to your audience. E.G., “This offer ends soon, so grab your copy right now…
  2. When there is a built-in deadline that is important to the audience. G., “And do it now, because your wedding day will be here faster than you think…”
  3. When there is a legitimate danger to the audience if they don’t act quickly. E.G., “Don’t become a victim who gets scammed or robbed – find out how to protect yourself from con artists and thieves when you travel overseas…

For example, here is a CTA for joining a list:

 Your next step is simple: click here to join the mailing list in order to get “Part 2” of this article. And do it now while you can still get this valuable information for free.

Let me share with you a few other templates you can swipe and use:

Purchase a Product:

If you liked these five tips, then you’re going to love getting your hands on the complete guide to [achieving some result]. Click here to get your copy – and be sure to use coupon code [insert coupon code] to save [$ amount]. But hurry and order now, because this offer expires [insert when it expires].

Join a Contest:

How would you like to win [describe two or three of the top prizes]? It’s easy to enter – just [describe how/what to do]. Click here to enter for your chance to win – and hurry, because this contest ends soon.

Share this Content:

If you loved this content, then you’re going to want to share the smiles with your friends. Click here to share it on Facebook, because you know your friends are going to love this as much as you did.

NOTE:  A quick word about “urgency” … while there is no doubt that you can forcefully call people to action with manipulation and get higher conversions, please don’t do this.  Rather than attempting to talk people into something they don’t really need by pushing their internal “fear of missing out” button, give them a compelling reason to make an intelligent decision to buy your product if it’s something they actually need.

Now, let’s wrap this up…

Conclusion

Some marketers push out content just to fill space. Don’t do that. Instead, create content that helps you achieve a goal. You can get started doing this with your very next piece of content by utilizing what you just learned inside this checklist.

If you really want to know more about the power of content marketing and blogging, you can take a look at the Rapid Blogging Blueprint training course or if you just want a few pointers for now you can grab the featured resource below for a  free detailed blogging report; download, read it and take action 🙂

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