5 Tips to Improve Your Content Marketing

Do you want to become a leader in your industry?

Are you ready for a steady stream of perfect-fit clients to knock down your (proverbial) door?

Awesome! You are in the right place.

Becoming a known expert is easier than ever with the power of information —and you have valuable wisdom and insight to share!

The key to content marketing success is creating interesting content that your audience is going to find valuable, useful and shareable!

In our last post on the subject of content marketing, How to Create Engaging Content that Attracts Your Dream Clients, I talked to you briefly about something called VIRAS. VIRAS is an acronym that, when followed throughout the content creation process, improves our content and attracts more of the best-fit clients.

VIRAS stands for = valuable, inspiring, relevant, actionable and specific.

Let’s take a look at each of the five pieces of VIRAS —together they form a five-step process you can apply to improve your own content marketing.

1 // V is for Valuable

When considering content to share, ask yourself — will my potential client receive value from this information? Even better: will my perfect-fit client? If the answer is no, then skip it and focus on what WILL deliver value to a potential or existing client.

For example, is it important for you to know that I cleaned houses for 5 years during high school and college? Only if I can connect it to a specific lessons learned to deliver a valuable insight: such as, doing whatever it takes to reach your goals, time management, early entrepreneurial skills and developing boutique services that advance your income and opportunities.

2 // I is for Inspiring

Keep your content inspiring and positive. Although you definitely want to employ effective psychological triggers (like loss-gain, opportunity cost, and urgency), remain as positive as possible in your messaging. Walking the line between motivating and empowering is a skill in sharing content that your perfect-fit clients and customers will adore. Remain as positive in your language as possible —including reframing negative calls to action in positive terms.

For example: Although I could have written the first sentence of above paragraph as follows: "Don't use a negative tone in your content." Do you notice how that sentence elicits a different feeling? A simple reframe using positive language has a lighter tone and an empowering after-effect.

[Tweet "People won't always remember what you say, but they'll remember how you made them feel"]

3 // R is for Relevant

Is the content you are sharing relevant to your perfect-fit client? Only share content that is of direct relevance to your potential client or customer. If you can connect an experience, story, or insight to a current lesson that interests your Dream Client, then by all means, go ahead.

Here’s a quick example: Although I’m a certified yoga therapist and have a yoga teacher training school, I don’t share content related to yoga anatomy, therapeutic yoga or the Wisdom Method on this blog. Why? Because it’s not relevant to my perfect-fit client — unless I’m sharing exact strategies I used to grow my business.

[Tweet "Your business isn't about you: it's about the problems you solve for your clients. @thekellieadkins"]

4 // A is for Actionable

Your content needs to have a point. Asking yourself a simple question — “What’s the point?” — is a great place to begin to ensure your content is actionable to your client. There needs to be a clear action for the reader / viewer to take after consuming your content.

What do you want to the reader / viewer / listener to do after they read / watch / listen? What action-oriented tips will you leave them with? Is there a next step —either in another piece of Free content (perhaps behind an opt-in gate or application) or in a paid product or service?

5 // S is for Specific

Last but not least, ensure the content you are sharing is specific to a particular person, client or customer. Your mom may read your blog, but chances are you are not trying to attract your mom into your business.

Consider what the client needs that you, or your amazing offers, can provide. In fact, be sure that each piece of content you share has a specific gain for your client. Better still, noodle over the top 5 problems you solve for your Dream Client and create content that provides those solutions!

It helps to envision your specific Dream Client when creating content. Imagine them receiving the content in great detail: how will they feel before reading / watching / listening? How will they feel after? Who will they share it with? The more specific you become with your content, the more it will resonate with your Dream Clients.

[Tweet "Envision a specific Client to create content that converts "]

Pass each of the content pieces you create through this VIRAS litmus test and you’ll see more engagement and interaction on the content you create. This interaction will lead to you gaining more followers / fans who will want even more of what it is you are sharing. Keeping people waiting on the edge of their seat for the next thing you create is a total business sweet spot.

I’d Love to Hear from You

What were your biggest takeaways from today’s article? How will this help you move your business forward and attract more clients? Leave your insights in the comments below!

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I'm loving these content marketing tips from @thekellieadkins

How to Create Engaging Content that Attracts Your Dream Clients

Knowing how, and where, to attract your dream clients can feel elusive to most entrepreneurs. The “if you build it, they will come” philosophy doesn’t always hold up and, unfortunately, most entrepreneurs learn this the hard way! However, there is one strategy that does work when applied correctly and that strategy is: content.

Crafting the right content for your audience is critical to your overall success.

Engaging blog posts, videos, live streams and downloads can draw your potential clients in and help them feel as though they are in the right place. Aligned content can provide them with the “taste test” they need to move from prospect to customer confidently.

Let’s take a look at the steps required to take your content from boring to soaring.

Step #1 - Cozy Up to Your Customers

The first thing you need to do is understand who your prospects are and what they want. Not all people are created equal so what works in your business may not work in mine and vice versa.

The best way to figure out what people want, content-wise, is to look at your audience and do some research to figure out where they are. If you already have a content strategy, use data from your current content systems to determine which is performing the best. For some, that may be your blog or newsletter, for others, it’s social media.

Jot the following platforms down on a sheet of paper and rank them in order of most engaged to least engaged:

• Blog

• Newsletters / Monthly Content or Broadcasts

• Videos

• Podcasts

• Audiobooks

• Social Media platforms

The second best way to figure out what works is to survey your audience. You can use a survey tool to send a questionnaire to your list and your social media networks. Keep the survey short and sweet and ask questions like, “Where do you do most of your online content consumption?” or “Where do you spend most of your time online?”

Understanding your prospect’s behaviors, and their preferred consumption style, will help you to narrow your efforts in on what works.

Step #2 - Determine Your Own Level of Commitment

Creating content is hard work and is incredibly time consuming. Since we can’t create content for every platform, every day and maintain a high degree of quality, we need to be much more selective about where we spend our time.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• How many hours can I, realistically speaking, put into content creation?

• Which mediums are the easiest for me to create content for?

• What am I willing, and able, to create on a regular schedule?

Because consistency is key in content marketing, the most effective content to share is the one that you will consistently create. Consistency is how you build trust with your potential clients and generate the connections necessary for business.

Step #3 - Figure Out Your Posting Schedule

Once you know the platform you’re going to create for, based on your prospect’s preferences, and you’ve created a schedule that you can easily commit to, the next step is to jot down a posting schedule so that you can stick to it.

In most cases, a weekly schedule works best for most people (i.e.: 1 blog post per week, 1 newsletter per week, 5 social media updates per week, etc.) but you need to find the balance that works for you.

Also remember that different platforms have a shorter shelf-life for content. Choose the platforms where you are able to remain consistent in order to gain traction.

Prioritize your content schedule so your potential clients get in the habit of hearing from you — and get excited about what you are sharing!

One of the ways to get them excited is to ensure that your content is valuable, inspiring, relevant, actionable and specific (VIRAS). Read more about the VIRAS approach to content marketing here.

Step #4 - Determine Your Content Focus

What are the top struggles your perfect-fit clients have right now? Those solutions are a great place to start with content creation.

What are the problems people are coming into your practice with —and how do they feel after they’re resolved? That’s a great way to feature the transformation your services provide.

What are the results that your clients and customers have received from your signature offers? Divide those results into how-to articles and create content that walks them through the process of getting those results.

If you are just beginning to create a content strategy, you may need to get a high level overview of your existing content. Run everything through the VIRAS test and eliminate anything that is off-brand or irrelevant to your current work.

Questions + Taking It Further

If you have any questions about the first four steps, please leave them as a comment below or pop on over to join the discussion in the Kula, an incredible group of Conscious Female Entrepreneurs. 

Ready for more? Head over here for 5 tips to improve your content marketing strategy for Coaches, Healers, and Helpers who want to attract more clients …with integrity.

Screw Marketing. Connect Instead

Let me guess: you're a conscious entrepreneur on a mission.

You love —and believe in —The Work.

But it'd sure be nice to have a few more clients.

The thing is...marketing yourself sucks.

You do The Work you do because it's your purpose, your passion and your mission.

You have a burning desire to help people heal, transform, and —overall —to suffer a little less.

Maybe that work is massage therapy. Or yoga therapy. Or acupuncture. Or soul healing. Or reiki.

Whatever it is —it's bigger than you.

You can talk a blue streak about The Work itself, am I right? You know the benefits, the methods, the techniques. 

And while that is a good thing, it's also why you sometimes have difficulty explaining to potential clients and customers WHY they need The Work.

Do you know WHY your clients need The Work?

Of course you know the surface-level reasons: less pain in movement, more ease in the physical body, deep releases at the energetic level, more health and wellbeing. 

But as a conscious entrepreneur, you have to take the next step —and connect with your clients about the deeper reasons The Work will change their lives.

And that?

That's marketing.

I know, I know: marketing doesn't exactly light your fire.

Rightly so. 

The Work —healing, helping, changing the world, making a difference in people's lives —that's what truly motivates you. The Work is why you get out of bed in the morning. The Work is your passion, your purpose, and your mission in the world.

But you can't heal, help, change the world or make a difference in people's lives if you are your own best kept secret.

You have to reach people to serve people.

Reaching (the right) people means marketing. Marketing. Even the word feels icky!

But what if I told you that there is a better way to "market" yourself —and your business?

What if I told you to screw marketing — and instead, focus on connection.

When you focus on connecting with the people you can actually help —the people who NEED and WANT what you have —you're merging mindfulness with marketing. 

Connecting in this way, is what I call Authentic Marketing.

Authentic Marketing is about making a conscious effort to find the right people (the people who need and want what you have), to connect with those people, and to communicate to those people exactly why The Work you do is a solution to a problem they have. 

Simple enough, right?

Actually, it is. So if you need more clients, I invite you to get started right now....

1) Who are your people?

Your people are the ones you can (and want to) serve with your work. They're the ones with whom you have dreams, desires, values, and goals in common. They're the people you'd probably be friends with under different circumstances. Your people is a specific group, with specific problems, with specific needs. NOT "everyone." Sure, "Everyone" could benefit from massage, yoga, soul healing or reiki. But it's not your job to convert the world. It's your job to connect to YOUR people.

You/your business solve/s a particular problem for a particular group of people —your Target Market (Dream Clients in my lingo). The right people.

Ask yourself ....

• Who MOST needs what I have?

• Whose problems can I solve?

• Who do I most want to serve?

• Who benefits most from your work?

Be as specific as possible: Male / female? Young / old? Married / Single? What are their worldviews? Political views? Income level? Education level? Children / no children?Likes/dislikes? Hobbies?

2) Where are those people?

Are they working on their novel in the local coffee shop? Hitting the streets with the local running club? Are they stretching and bending in a yoga class? Are they homeschooling their three kids? Working a 9-to-5? Figure out where they actually hang out —then go the extra mile and reach them online, too.

• Are they sharing on Facebook?

• Are they pinning on Pinterest?

• Are they insta-obssessed on Instagram?

• Are they watching How-To videos on YouTube?

• Are they listening to Podcasts?

Figure out where they are, then figure out ways to get in front of them (i.e., to connect with them!).

3) Why do they need you —and your Work? 

This is the toughest part of the equation for most conscious entrepreneurs and heart-centered business owners. You know why you love The Work. You know why you need The Work. But your people? That's a little trickier to discern.

I'm guessing with a little prompting, though, that you'll come up with a handful of stellar reasons your people need you —and your Work.

Let's start at the beginning ....

What is the #1 result you can promise from your work?

Be specific and reasonable. If that's more ease in movement or more balanced emotions or less pain, then start there.

Now ask yourself: WHY do my people want and need this?

Let's look at a specific example....

Jane is a yoga therapist who can absolutely promise more body awareness as the #1 result of her work. 

Joe is her client. He's in his mid-60s and started yoga therapy to reduce the risk factors associated with his mostly sedentary life. As a result of the greater body awareness from his yoga therapy sessions with Jane, Joe feels more confident in his body and movement is more fun —he's able to keep up with his grandkids, has improved his golf game, and is now experiencing less pain in his body. All of these effects are are a direct result of his greater body awareness and are improving his quality of life.  

So how can Jane reach more people like Joe? 

Talking about "body awareness" is likely to fall on deaf ears. 

But talking about playing catch with the grandkids, taking walks with loved ones, and experiencing fewer age-related losses in function —that's going to hit home with Jane's potential clients, who, like Joe, want to reduce the risks of age-related decline.

That's the WHY that Jane can use to connect with more clients like Joe.

4) How can you best connect with those right people?

What are some real, tangible ways to actually get in front of the right people? Keep in mind that you don't serve everyone—so you don't need to be everywhere. There is no need to be at every networking event —or in every Facebook group —sharing and promoting your Work. Give focus to the spaces (real life and virtual) populated by lots of the right people.

Choose the method of connecting with your Dream Clients that actually suits your strengths and skills, too. If you hate writing but love sharing helpful videos, skip the blog in favor of Webinars, Livestream and video tutorials.

Here are some examples of ways you can connect with more of the right people:

• Lead / participate in live events —workshops, speaking events, meet ups, local events, networking groups. Grab emails from attendees whenever possible.

• Write and share Blog posts. Related to their problems —and how you can solve them. Include an email opt-in at the end of each post or in your website sidebar or footer.

• Create and share Videos. Related to their problems and interests and your unique solutions

• Create and share Podcasts / audio teachings. Related to their problems and interests and your unique solutions

• Create and offer E-books / guides. Help them (you guessed it) solve a problem. Bonus: offer this is as a "free gift" when people sign up for your email list! Here's my free Guide

• Social Media / Status Updates —Choose 1-2 platforms where those right people are hanging out. Show up and share every day. At a loss for what to share? Start here: ask questions, be helpful, inspire.

• Create a helpful forum where you can answer questions, be available for on-the-spot support, and connect with more of the right people. Like this one here.

5) When will you show up and connect?

Connection works best when you can count on it. That means you need to continue to show up for your people in a regular way. Because if you truly want to connect with the right people (and eventually, turn those right people into raving clients and customers), you must first build a foundation of trust.

The easiest way to do that is by showing up —consistently. Connect, educate, elevate and inspire regularly. Consistency is key here! Not only will this build your credibility in your field, it will also deepen the connection with your clients-to-be. This doesn't mean that you're pushing your amazing products or services down their throats —it does mean that you're showing up, being helpful, and inspiring about 80% of the time. The other 20% percent of the time, you'll be sharing how you can solve their problems, how you can help them get what they want, how you can help them heal...you get the idea.

Listed below are sample schedules for maximum efficiency and engagement. If all of this is new to you, choose only one Action Item from the list below and commit to creating some helpful, inspiring, and engaging content that you can share with your community.

Sample Schedule #1

• 1 blog post / video / podcast each week

• 1 daily update on a Facebook page

• 10 Tweets per day

Sample Schedule #2

• 2 daily images on Instagram

• 1 LinkedIn post each day

• Once weekly newsletter

Sample Schedule #3

• 1 daily Livestream 

• 3 Facebook Posts daily

• or some combination of the above

Still at a loss for what to share that will encourage connection with your people? Here are some helpful guidelines for crafting delightful, helpful and inspiring content

• Video is the best way to attract and engage attention. Keep it simple. Record on your smartphone and upload directly to Facebook. Stream live on Facebook. Start a Vlog on YouTube. The sky is the limit.

• Create stunning images. Ensure they have a "branded" feel —use all the same fonts, similar color scheme, follow the style of your website whenever possible. Use this free tool to easily design and share effective images.

• Share your wisdom and experience. Remember those problems your Dream Clients have? Solve them and share away. Example: The "What I Know / What I've Learned" Post / Blog / Update. The "How to Post."

• Ask questions and/or Poll for opinions. What's your favorite podcast / Coffee or tea? /  Do you hang out in your yoga clothes all day, too?

• Share others people's content. It's totally cool to share, retweet and re-post others' work as long as a) you give appropriate credit and b) it will resonate with your own community

• Educate! What does your Dream Client need to know that they don't know already? Teach them. Tell them. Show them.

• Share lists. List Top Tips for the outcomes your Dream Client wants or needs

• Share tidbits of your personal life. Caution: this can backfire! Consider if what you're sharing is relevant to your Dream Client. Also: never talk about the shit when you're in the shit. Sit with it first —share the lesson later.

Liked this post? You'll love the Conscious Entrepreneurs kula —a (free) community of healers, helpers and conscious entrepreneurs committed to creating whole health, wise wealth and balanced business. Plus: me! I show up and share —you guessed it— helpful, inspiring and relevant content everyday.

With boundless gratitude for the opportunity to connect, 

Kellie

xoxo

Do you want more clients and more authentic connection in your business? Then I made the Business Energy Cleanse just for you. 7 soulful lessons to guide you back to the truth of your business mission —and provide a solid foundation for attracting more perfect-fit clients with authentic connection and sacred strategy. Buy the Business Energy Cleanse now.

Still at a loss for what to share? Here are some helpful guidelines for crafting delightful, helpful and inspiring content

• Video is the best way to attract and engage attention. Keep it simple. Record on your smartphone and upload directly to Facebook. Stream live on Periscope (and come say "hi!" I'm just getting started over there: I'm @kellie_adkins). Start a Vlog on YouTube. The sky is the limit.

• Create stunning images. Ensure they have a "branded" feel —use all the same fonts, similar color scheme, follow the style of your website whenever possible. Use this free tool to easily design and share effective images.

• Share your wisdom and experience. Remember those problems your Dream Clients have? Solve them and share away. Example: The "What I Know / What I've Learned" Post / Blog / Update. The "How to Post."

• Ask questions and/or Poll for opinions. What's your favorite podcast / Coffee or tea? /  Do you hang out in your yoga clothes all day, too?

• Share others people's content. It's totally cool to share, retweet and re-post others' work as long as a) you give appropriate credit and b) it will resonate with your own community

• Educate! What does your Dream Client need to know that they don't know already? Teach them. Tell them. Show them.

• Share lists. List Top Tips for the outcomes your Dream Client wants or needs

• Share tidbits of your personal life. Caution: this can backfire! Consider if what you're sharing is relevant to your Dream Client. Also: never talk about the shit when you're in the shit. Sit with it first —share the lesson later.

Liked this post? You'll love the Conscious Entrepreneurs kula —a (free) community of healers, helpers and conscious entrepreneurs committed to creating whole health, wise wealth and balanced business. Plus: me! I show up and share —you guessed it— helpful, inspiring and relevant content everyday.

Even More Resources

• Love to organize? Here's a resource for organizing your content ALL YEAR long. (No opt-in required) Sweet!

• Statistics on Social Media use in the US (spoiler alert: everyone is on Facebook)

• Is your Dream Client a Millenial or a Gen Y?  They're definitely hanging out online -and oversharing.

• Think your Dream Client isn't using Social Networks? Wrong. (and if they aren't yet, they will be soon)

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This post is part of the Bravery Blogging project, hosted by the delightful folks over at Makeness Media. Read more brave blogs by searching #braveblogging on all social channels.