Did you know that you can boost your content with a few tweaks so that you get better results from your marketing efforts?
That’s right. Small changes here and there can add up and improve your marketing over time. You just need to know WHAT changes make the biggest difference!
That’s why today we’re giving you five content tweaks that will help you generate MORE leads and sales.
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[01:09] A Few Changes that Boost Your Content Will Improve Your Marketing Results
[02:33] E-A-T Your Way to the Top
[08:25] Motivate Your Audience with a Call to Action
[11:21] Supercharge Your Headlines
[14:15] Promote Your Content so More People See It
[16:41] Optimize Your Content for Search Across All Platforms
[19:09] Wrapping It All Up
[20:30] Bloopers
A Few Changes that Boost Your Content Will Improve Your Marketing Results
[Meghan] Can you relate to the feeling that you’re creating all of this content, but it isn’t doing what you’d hoped it would do?
You feel like you’re not generating enough leads or you’re not seeing enough of an uptick in conversions. In other words, whatever your goals are, your content just hasn’t delivered the results you want.
If you’re at this point, we feel you! Know that you’re not alone. And, most importantly, don’t give up!
[Theresa] Like we’ve said before, content marketing is a lot of hard work. This is especially true if you don’t have the help of a team or marketing isn’t your jam.
When you’re busy delivering services, churning out content week after week can feel like a big burden.
[Meghan] But thankfully, there are some tweaks that you can make to your content to get better results from it. You can go back and make these changes in your existing content. Or, you can incorporate these suggestions as you move forward.
Either way, these tweaks will help boost your content and the impact it’s having on your bottom line.
[Theresa] That said, understand that these tweaks won’t generate immediate results. But, you’ll notice a difference over time. And you’ll start to see more payoff.
What we’re saying is that by making a few changes in what you’re doing, you can improve your success with content marketing.
How can you make your content more effective at generating leads? Try one of these tiny tweaks!Click To Tweet1) E-A-T Your Way to the Top
[Meghan] Number one is to E-A-T your way to the top. To the top of search engines and to the top of your prospect’s mind.
E-A-T stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. It is Google guidelines for evaluating websites.
Google’s mission is to put their users first and protect them from low quality content. It does that by recommending sites and content that display a high level of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness – or E-A-T.
[Theresa] I’m curious about what the E-A-T guidelines cover. Does it look only at the general state of your website and the quality of your content? Or does it extend farther than that?
[Meghan] Actually, E-A-T extends beyond your site and content.
The guidelines are like a rating system that looks at your website, its content, who is authoring that content, and any connections and links to other websites. So, these things together affect how Google perceives your E-A-T.
The purpose of looking at all of these aspects is to acquire a full understanding of your brand’s credibility, reputation, and expertise in a specific area. All of these aspects add up to form a picture of your brand as a reliable source or not.
It’s more complex and nuanced, and experts often aren’t 100% on the details because Google can be elusive. However, I’ve given you a high level description of it.
Just remember that Google is all about serving up the best, most reputable, and accurate content for its users!
[Theresa] So, then, brands who have a better E-A-T rating rank higher in searches.
E-A-T is important for both search ranking and conversion.
Although Google cares about your expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, these things also matter to potential customers. People want to do business with knowledgeable, experienced providers who they trust.
[Meghan] Right! These things also make a difference in how your prospects and customers perceive you—and whether or not to buy from you.
[Theresa] So, E-A-T is important for both search ranking and conversion.
Ways to Improve Your E-A-T
[Meghan] So, what are some tangible action items for you to do to improve your E-A-T?
Use Real Names for Authorship
Don’t use “staff member.” Instead, use the CEO’s name or specific executives’ names. If you have subject matter experts who know topics really well, have them author some content.
The point is to build up reputation, authority, and brand awareness. However, citing that a “staff member” authored the content doesn’t do that.
Include an Author Bio
This is just like using a real name for authorship. Put a person, a face, and qualifications behind your content.
Things like education, awards, credentials, and experience highlight your company’s expertise and authority.
Publish High Quality Content
If you’re writing two paragraphs on a topic or doing a two minute video, it’s likely that more robust content is going to win out.
Use your content to show off your expertise by being more detailed and informative. Link your content to authoritative research and data to give your content more proof.
Robust content is a better resource for people searching for information. In the long run, higher quality content signals to both people and search engines that you’re knowledgeable and trustworthy.
Acquire Links and Mentions from Authoritative Sites
When authorities in your industry recognize you with a link or a mention, that signals to your audience and to Google that you’re an expert. So, consider reaching out to these people or websites and even guest posting on their domains.
According to Moz, “backlinks to your website are a signal to search engines that others vouch for your content. If many sites link to the same webpage or website, search engines can infer that content is worth linking to… So, earning these backlinks can have a positive effect on a site’s ranking position or search visibility.”
Ask for Reviews
Acquire more positive online reviews to build your reputation (ex. Yelp, TrustPilot, Google Reviews, etc.).
Other people’s opinions about your business are more trustworthy than your opinion about your business!
Include Contact and Location Information
Don’t forget your contact information and your location on your website and in your online properties or profiles. You want to prove you’re a real person and legitimate. You don’t want people to think you’re some fly-by-night operation.
[Theresa] Okay, so as I’ve listened to your suggestions, I’m understanding E-A-T even more.
It’s about proving to your audience AND to Google that you’re reputable and knowledgeable. And that your content is accurate and reliable as well.
And by making these tweaks, you’ll increase your clout with Google AND with potential customers. Sounds like a super smart thing to do!
2) Motivate Your Audience with a Call to Action
[Meghan] Okay, the second tweak is to always include a call to action, or CTA, in your content. Motivate your audience by telling them what to do next and how to do it.
This one seems so obvious, but a ton of businesses don’t move their audience to action.
[Theresa] This one does seem obvious! For example, if you want people to sign up for your free thing, you gotta ask them to. You’ve got to inspire people to take action.
You’ll notice that we always include a call to action at the end of each episode. Sometimes we ask people to subscribe or leave a review. In our blog posts, we ask people to share the content.
[Meghan] Your call to action doesn’t need to be the same each time. Let your business goals lead the way. And, it’s better to focus on ONE call to action versus several.
Let me clarify. You can mention the call to action more than once, but don’t tell people to do four different things at once.
[Theresa] That’s true. You don’t want to confuse people with too many options. When there are too many choices people just won’t choose. Give them one action item, and that’s it!
[Meghan] Calls to action actually get people to take action—go figure, right? And, people taking action translates to more leads and sales from your content marketing!
[Theresa] Don’t take our word for it! Check out these amazing stats.
- Emails with a single call-to-action increased clicks 371% and sales 1617%.
- Adding CTAs to your Facebook page can increase click-through rate by 285%.
- HubSpot found that anchor text CTAs increased conversion rates by 121%.
[Meghan] The takeaway is to make sure to tell people what to do next and how to do it.
Use CTAs in your blog posts, videos, podcast, social media, and email. This tweak alone will boost your content and improve your results.
[Theresa] And, here’s a reminder for you. Always start with content strategy. A strategy identifies your content goals and helps you create a content calendar.
With the calendar, you’ll align your content with your offers, and that will help you plan your calls to action.
[Meghan] Great reminder Theresa! A simple strategy and calendar are super valuable for planning, and they make your content marketing far more effective.
Examples of CTA Verbs to Use
- Download
- Subscribe
- Follow
- Click
- Get
- Reserve
- Try
- Learn more
- Sign up
- Shop now
- Swipe [insert direction – up, right, etc.]
- Share
- Review/rate
- Buy now
3) Supercharge Your Headlines
[Meghan] The third tweak for boosting your content is to supercharge your headlines.
Why? Because headlines determine whether or not your target audience is going to consume the rest of your content. Only about 20% of people read beyond the headline!
[Theresa] Wow, that number is so low!
[Meghan] It is, and that’s why you’ve got to write headlines that are irresistible. Ho-hum, run of the mill headlines will not give your content the visibility and reach that you desire.
By improving your headlines, you’ll get more people to consume your content. And guess what? That means you’ll get more mileage out of the E-A-T factor and your calls to action too!
Your prospects need to go beyond the headline to be exposed to your expertise, authority, trustworthiness, and CTAs. So, the headline is a critical piece.
[Theresa] So, these tweaks work together to give you an even bigger boost. That’s brilliant!
You know, headlines appear in so many places in your marketing. Of course, there are blog post headlines. But then there are your email subject lines, sales pages, web pages, podcast episode titles, and even YouTube video titles.
All of these use headlines that draw in your prospects and get them interested in your content.
However, I don’t think people give headlines much thought. In reality, they are the beacon that gets your content noticed and viewed.
[Meghan] You know, you should spend a good amount of time on writing your headlines.
After all, an amazing piece of content with an unappealing headline will be seen by almost no one! Think about that for a minute! It makes you really consider the importance of a strong headline and title.
[Theresa] Yes it does! So, what’s your advice for how to supercharge our headlines and titles?
Tips for Improving Your Headlines and Titles
[Meghan] We could do an entire episode on writing better headlines—and maybe we will! But here are some tips that will improve your headlines.
Be Specific
Let people know what to expect.
Example: 7 Tips to Better Vegan Mayo. The person understands they’re getting seven tips, that the content is about improving food, and that it’s for those interested in vegan mayo.
Highlight a Benefit
Include a benefit in your headline to convince people why they need to read more.
For example, How to Optimize Your Blog Post to Rank Higher in Search. The benefit is to help the reader rank higher in search. The headline implies that consuming the content will result in better search ranking results.
Peak Curiosity and Emotion
Generate more interest and suck people in by peaking their curiosity and appealing to their emotions.
For instance, One Secret Trick that will Double Your Sales makes people want to read on to discover the secret trick. It’s alluring and irresistible.
Include a Keyword in the Headline
We’ve talked about how keywords increase your visibility in search and help prospects find you, so use one in your headline.
Maintain a Headline Swipe File
Keep a list of the headlines that got you to read!
Create your own swipe file of headlines that you think are effective so that you can use them for inspiration.
Use Headline Formulas
Keep headline formulas handy to make fast and easy work of writing headlines. You’ll appreciate formulas when you’re short on time and need inspirational ideas!
[Theresa] Those are terrific tips. They will improve your headlines and get more people to engage with your content.
Plus I’m a total fan of creating your own swipe files. Having one for your headlines will save you time and energy.
4) Promote Your Content so More People See It
[Meghan] The fourth way to boost your content is to promote it. This one is fairly self-explanatory.
You’ve got to get your content in front of more people so that they consume it. Because if no one knows about your content, then it’s not helping your business.
[Theresa] That’s right! Content creation is only a portion of content marketing. You should be spending a large portion of time on promotion.
Some marketers claim that 20% of your time should go into content creation and 80% of your time should go into promoting the content.
[Meghan] In all transparency, I struggle with this one! Not because I don’t want to promote my content. More so because I don’t prioritize promotion as much as I should.
I love the content creation aspect, so I tend to devote too much time to it. I’m a work in progress! On my list for the next year is more content promotion for sure. I used to be amazing at content promotion, but I’ve kind of slacked off since I left my previous business.
[Theresa] If you’re struggling to promote your content, I suggest that you plan for it. First, start by blocking out an hour once a week and dedicate it to promotion only. Then, create a simple checklist of tasks that are promotion related.
Pay attention to how long your promotion is actually taking you and what tasks you’re doing. Then tweak your process over time. This could easily become something you had off to a virtual assistant later on.
[Meghan] Awesome advice, Theresa! It’s better to make a plan than to make excuses.
Okay, so here are a few ideas to promote your content.
Ways to Promote Your Content
- Share it on social media – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest
- Create Slideshares
- Invest in ads (like boost a post on FB)
- Email your list
- Mention it in your email signature
- Reach out to colleagues or people who would share
- Mention it at networking events or when you’re speaking
- Put it a link to it in your bio
- Cross reference it across your own assets
[Theresa] Promoting your content doesn’t have to be hard. Start with one of these ideas and then add others in as you create processes to make promotion a priority.
What’s important here is that you incorporate content promotion into your content marketing. If you want to generate more leads by way of your content, you’ve got to get more people to see it!
5) Optimize Your Content for Search Across All Platforms
[Meghan] So, the last tweak probably won’t be a big surprise, but it’s to optimize your content for search—across all platforms.
Search is a big deal. People use the internet to research products, ask questions, find information, and check out businesses. And search is an epic part of that.
You want to make your content search friendly so that more people discover your content and your business.
[Theresa] And—as we discussed a couple of episodes ago—search isn’t limited to search engines like Google and Bing.
Pinterest, YouTube, and Amazon are very much search driven. In fact, YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google! And other platforms use search algorithms as well, including podcast directories and even Quora or Reddit.
So optimizing your content for search is a worthwhile effort. More people will find your content and that will help to generate more leads.
[Meghan] Now, what can you do to boost your content in terms of making it search-friendly? Since we’re talking about different platforms here, it’s tough to give super specific advice because each platform has its own rules.
But there are a couple of things you want to pay attention to.
How to Make Your Content More Search Friendly
Keywords
First, make sure you identify a keyword for each piece of content. Next, use the keyword phrase in the content.
Structure and Layout
Each platform has a correct way to structure your content for maximum exposure. Across the board, you usually want to use a title and description.
I’m always shocked how many people leave out descriptions in their podcast episodes. Certainly, that’s a huge mistake because crawlers and people won’t know what the episodes are about!
Images
Finally, I suggest you think about the accompanying image or images for each piece of content. Visual content is important to your audience and visual search is huge and becoming huger. (LOL, I know that’s not a word!)
For instance, people search images in Google, and your thumbnail image on YouTube affects views. So there’s the visual aspect of hooking the person in.
In addition, there’s the naming of the image and alt tags for search algorithms.
Again, these are different conversations for different platforms. However, those are a few examples.
Wrapping It All Up
[Theresa] Well, we’ve covered a lot of ground here. Hopefully you’ve discovered a tweak or two that you can start doing to boost your content. It’d be a shame to work so hard but not achieve good results. Adding one or two of these suggestions into the mix should start to make a difference so that you generate more leads with content marketing.
[Meghan] Absolutely! Just remember that content marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. After you make a change here or there, be sure to give it some time. Be patient! Over time, you’ll see improvement.
And with that, we’ve come to the end of this episode.
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