Content Marketing Strategist and Online Business Manager for Speakers, Authors and Coaches |Kenya Halliburton

Take Care of Your Content, So Your Content Takes Care of You

I know what you’re thinking. How can having tons of content to produce ever create any balance?

Personally I think this is the one of the best things about working as a publisher. Once you have installed your content marketing system in your business, you will no longer have to exhaust all your time and energy on last-minute and reactionary marketing.

What Does This Look Like?

It looks like:

• newsletters published on time without stress
• blogs published consistently
• email and product launch campaigns building trust
• peace of mind knowing it’s all done

Imagine how you’d feel if you knew your online content was taken care of…it’s one hundred time sweeter.

Here are 5 Ways Content Marketing Can Help You Enjoy Your Life and Business More:

1. Planning takes the guesswork out of your marketing.
   Strategy is the cornerstone of content marketing. By creating plans and setting goals, you can better predict how your content will perform. It takes the edge off and reduces stress and anxiety associated with operating in manic marketing mode.
2. Calendaring keeps you ahead of your marketing instead of chasing behind it.
   I love the magic of the editorial and marketing calendar. You can create your schedule to ensure that you get your content done with time to spare. The key to real freedom is using a calendar system that leverages your time and resources.
3. Passionate support get’s your content done so you can focus on what you love.
   Another important catalyst for achieving a healthy work/life balance is having the support to back it up. You should be the star of your online business, not lost in the marketing details. Line up proactive content production support to stay rooted in your brilliance.
4. Pre-scheduling content makes life easier.
   By using technology like Hootsuite and WordPress content marketing plugins, you can virtually publish your content on autopilot. This means you can save money  and relax knowing your audience is getting to know, like and trust you. And, you still have your head glued to your shoulders.
5. Vacations and life emergencies? No problem.
   The biggest threat to solo online business owners is life happening suddenly. You can’t get around it. Life happens. But, if you have a solid content marketing system holding your business together, when it happens, you can rest easy knowing your marketing is still working.How, you ask?All the pre- planning and pre-scheduled content will keep your message in front of your audience without them noticing a thing.

A gift that keeps on giving:

I have come to love content marketing as the foundation for any business. since you have to create content anyway, you might as well do it right.

Catch up on the Previous Gift in This Series…

• Series Introduction
• #01 Customer Influence
• #02 Creates Community
• #03 Influence
• #04 Profitable Progress
• #06 Meaningful Communication
• #07 Loyal Customers
• #08: Platform for Advocacy
• #09 Focus and Purpose
• #10 Competitive Advantage

Feedback is the breakfast of Champions ~Ken Blanchard

I cherish your feedback and want to make sure the information I provide is nourishing! Please let me know if you enjoyed this article and share any insights or question you have by leaving a Facebook comment below.

Kenya Halliburton

Kenya shows women speakers, authors and coaches how to consistently produce, publish & promote amazing web content that can convert prospects into hot & ready to buy customers & customers into repeat buyers. Find out how you can master your content , manage your business, get more clients and make more money by visiting http://www.myvirtualgenie.com/home/free-strategy-session/.

More Posts - Twitter - Facebook

Put the wind back in your sales!

What if there was a way to speak to your prospects and customers about the benefits your products or services provide all day everyday?

It sounds a bit ridiculous, however, keeping the lines of communication open to potential new business is possible. And you can do it without added expense or time on your part. Content marketing boosts sales.

The best way to achieve of course I am inferring you use is content marketing strategy.

Here are 5 Key Strategies to Getting and Keeping a Flow of Hot-n- Ready to Buy Customers with Your Content:

Publish content that builds trust:

Offer your audience “how to” content, tips and resources to wet their informational appetites. Your number one job is to get people to know, like and trust you enough to buy your stuff. So, since you can’t be available all the time to do that, your content needs to do that for you.

Publish content that educates:

Educate to sell. Of course, you don’t want to be all salesy with this strategy.  You should publish content that helps your audience understand how your services will make their life or business better. Your aim should be to softly guide them to a buying decision by highlighting the features and benefits of your offerings. Newsletters, white papers and FAQs are great examples of content to use for education.

Publish content from your customers:

Your customers are the bomb and hopefully they feel the same about you. If so, you’d be smart to capture their raves and let the rest of your audience know how much people love to work with you. This is a compelling way to get people excited about working with you too. You might do this by publishing testimonials or reviews from your customers.

Publish other people’s content:

You down with OPP? Not only was this one of the great hip hop songs of the 90s, it’s a great idea for getting your audience’s attention. Using other people’s content is great because it saves you time, while still providing visitors with valuable information to help them get answers they need. You can do this by posting news from your industry, creating industry relevant RSS feeds or publishing information through Storify.

Publish content that converts:
As you can see, it’s important that your content helps clients get important insight to make a buying decision. And, since you are the one that’s been giving it to them, it’s important that they buy from you. So, you also should create content with the goal of converting prospects into customers. You can use case studies and publish articles or other content that demonstrate the return on investment for working with you.

A gift that keeps on giving:

You can cut your sales cycle by increasing the opportunities to connect with and attract your market, by creating several different types of content. The above five strategies highlight the five types of conte. People have different preferences on how consume information. So, creating some mix of audio, video and written content will help you have something for everyone.

The Next Gift in this Series…

Work/ Life Balance

Catch up on the Previous Gift in This Series…

•  Series Introduction
• #01 Customer Influence
• #02 Creates Community
• #03 Influence
• #04 Profitable Progress
• #06 Meaningful Communication
• #07 Loyal Customers
• #08: Platform for Advocacy
• #09 Focus and Purpose
• #10 Competitive Advantage

Kenya Halliburton

Kenya shows women speakers, authors and coaches how to consistently produce, publish & promote amazing web content that can convert prospects into hot & ready to buy customers & customers into repeat buyers. Find out how you can master your content , manage your business, get more clients and make more money by visiting http://www.myvirtualgenie.com/home/free-strategy-session/.

More Posts - Twitter - Facebook

Nobody Does It Like You!

The cool thing about content marketing is that it helps you stand out in a way no one else in your market can.

How, you ask? 

Well, because nine times out of ten your competition isn’t content marketing on purpose.  Remember, many people still don’t get the whole “content marketing” concept.

They are still blogging, email and social media marketing just to be doing it. And, as a result, they get lost in the noise that the market just tunes out.

But, you?

You, miss smarty pants get the sweet satisfaction of knowing that your target audience is paying you with their attention and ultimately with their business.

What Does This Look Like?

There are two faces to your competition. The first is that of those who serve your same target audience. This is what we generally think of when we consider our “competition”. And, yes you are competing for the attention of your target market. In order to win the game of attention getting, you have to set yourself apart by providing valuable, relevant and entertaining content that positions you as the more desirable source of help.

The second face of competition is one that is often overlooked and is the key to stepping in front of your competitors. That face is the resistance of your target audience to make a purchase. Of course you know the times we live in. People’s sales radars are at a level red. So, arguably the best way to rebut this resistance is by publishing great information that makes them feel comfortable with you and lowers their sales walls.

Here are 5 Key Strategies to Gain the Competitive Edge with Your Content Marketing Efforts:

1. Coach to Sell
Coaching is the process of supporting and guiding an individual to achieving a particular result. Many times, people get stuck between the desire to solve their problem and  making a decision on who to pay to help them. By creating content, whether it be articles, videos or audios that gently educate them on the benefits of your products or services, you can inspire a prospect to choose you. For example, a video series on self-esteem, might motivate someone to purchase your book. Once they read your book they may be persuaded to purchase a higher level of service to get faster results.

2. Edu-tain
This is one of my favorite strategies because it allow you to inject your personality and energy into your brand’s messaging. Edu-taining your audience means providing them with both education and entertainment. This is the best way to create magnetic content and turn the heads of your target audience from your competitors to your solutions.

3. Practice Co-Creation
Rather than come up with ideas you think your audience could use, why not ask them then create it? Partnering with your audience creates a win win. They get to be apart of their own solution and you get to create products and services you know people will buy… because they asked for it. Try using social media channels for this purpose.

4. Be Consistent

Your advantage won’t stick if you are not producing relevant and usable content consistently. Be sure to create a realistic plan and schedule. Pattern your audience to know when and what to expect for you. This will build anticipation and hunger for your unique solutions.

5. Be Bold & Creative

Finally, be sure not to be afraid to try new things. Lead your industry and customers by trying something new or delivering your content or services in a way that is revolutionary, fresh or unique. There’s nothing that turns away attention and sales like cookie cutter solutions. Show your audience that you go the extra mile to make their life or business better, even if it’s a little ambitous.

A gift that keeps on giving:

If you install the content marketing model in your online business, you can emerge as a first mover in your niche and stand head and shoulders above the competition. The gift of competitive advantage is that you become the first resource in your prospect’s mind to go to when they have a problem they need to solve. It’s priceless for your customer and profitable for you!

The Next Gift in this Series…

Catch up on the Previous Gift in This Series…

•  Series Introduction
• #01 Customer Influence
• #02 Creates Community
• #03 Influence
• #04 Profitable Progress
• #06 Meaningful Communication
• #07 Loyal Customers
• #08: Platform for Advocacy
• #09 Focus and Purpose

Kenya Halliburton

Kenya shows women speakers, authors and coaches how to consistently produce, publish & promote amazing web content that can convert prospects into hot & ready to buy customers & customers into repeat buyers. Find out how you can master your content , manage your business, get more clients and make more money by visiting http://www.myvirtualgenie.com/home/free-strategy-session/.

More Posts - Twitter - Facebook

Content marketing gives you the ability to focus your marketing efforts on getting real results. You no longer have to produce content for the sake of publishing content just to play in the game.

Win Customers and Profits with Your Magnetic Marketing Message

If your message is scattered and unclear, the people you are trying to convince to buy your products/services will be confused and ” a confused mind always says NO!”.

If you want to your content to attract the interest and loyalty among of your target audience, your marketing messages need to have a clear focus and purpose..

The best way to create focus and purpose with your content is tho look at what you want to accomplish with your products and services. Create content that takes your audience on a natural path of education  back to your products and services. Look to highlight the benefits of certain features of your offerings and answer the “WHY” of how your offerings relieve your customer’s pain.

What does this look like?

I love looking to the example that Bloggers set for us. The aim for many Bloggers is to communicate and educate ideas around a certain subject or cause.  In order for a Blogger to create a successfully monetized blog, they have to ensure their content is always valuable, consistent and relevant. Many Bloggers use the “Editorial Calendar” as a way to organize and publish content that hits the mark. The editorial calendar allows them to reign in their focus and remain consistent so their audience is pattered to expect quality information that serves the purpose of entertaining, educating  or equipping them to solve challenges in their lives.

Here are 5 Key Strategies to Creating Focus and Purpose Content:

1. Get clear on the WHY of your brand and your customers. It’s a no brainer! When you know WHY you are publishing certain content and your line that up with WHY your audience is looking for your content, everyone wins. Using social media to engage your audience with surveys and polls is a great way to discover your audience’s why. Determining what action you want people to make will drive the WHY behind the content you decide to publish.
2. Map out your strategy and schedule with an editorial calendar. I mentioned this in an earlier gift. However, I can’t stress enough how important this is not just from a focus and purpose standpoint, but an editorial calendar is essential because it serves as a map that guides you to reaching your sales goals.
3. Avoid publishing content for content’s sake. All of the content you create should have a reason behind it. When you distribute content without a purpose it hurts more than it helps. Prospects don’t get the guidace they need to make a buying decision and you miss out on sales, not to mention the time and energy loss that went into creating it.
4. Stay true to your gifts, talents and resources. Take care not to get too overly ambitious with your content marketing goals. If you don’t like to or can’t write, don’t commit to writing a blog every week. Instead, look to audio and video vehicles to capture your message. You can repurpose into articles later by hiring someone to transcribe for you. Many webpreneurs are solo. Or have a limited team. So, evaluate what you can take on now and create a plan for bringing on other content streams when you have the resources.
5. Don’t Give Up! It is important to understand that content marketing is not the sexy “woo woo” way most gurus teach. However, I assure you many of them have content marketing working smoothly in the background. It takes some effort to find your rhythm. However, it is important that you don’t give up if you can’t keep pace initially with your calendar. Just keep tweaking until you find the rhythm that propels you forward.

A gift that keeps on giving:

Once you have a lock on your focus and purpose, your content marketing efforts will magnetize your target audience to you. Not only will you be able to focus more on creating better results for your business, your customers will be more sucessfull and purpose driven in their loyalty to your brand’s solutions.

The Next Gift in this Series…

Competitive Advantage

Catch up on the Previous Gift in This Series…

•  Series Introduction
• #01 Customer Influence
• #02 Creates Community
• #03 Influence
• #04 Profitable Progress
• #06 Meaningful Communication
• #07 Loyal Customers
• #08: Platform for Advocacy

Kenya Halliburton

Kenya shows women speakers, authors and coaches how to consistently produce, publish & promote amazing web content that can convert prospects into hot & ready to buy customers & customers into repeat buyers. Find out how you can master your content , manage your business, get more clients and make more money by visiting http://www.myvirtualgenie.com/home/free-strategy-session/.

More Posts - Twitter - Facebook

Content marketing gives you a channel to broadcast your own thoughts and opinions regarding important issues. It’s a great way to voice and share your thoughts to others in order to influence and advocate what you believe in.

What does this look like?

International Empowerment Speaker and Author, Catrice Jackson puts a lot of spice into her messaging. Her marketing mix has that “something-for-every woman” appeal. She uses social media, books, video, and podcasting to build awareness and rally women around the cause of becoming  the best of who they are.  During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, for example, she committed a radio show to advocate healing for victims of domestic abuse.

Catrice’s content marketing savvy is a shining example of how building strong content channels can provide you with an opportunity to make money and meaning in the world with your unique gifts and talents.

Here are 5 Key Strategies to Creating a Platform for Advocacy with Content:

1. Use articles and blog posts to highlight issues close to your heart: If you enjoy writing, you could dedicate a monthly article to tackle issues or shine a light on a cause that touches your heart. It’s a great way to engage people and connect with your audience on a human level.
2. Support/Partner with others who are advocating for your cause: You could add a lot of fire power to your cause by supporting the efforts of someone with more visibility or partnering with them to help expand the reach of awareness into different corners of the web.
3. Create a radio show or interview an expert to bring awareness to your cause: Using the platform of audio or even video to broadcast support and awareness for a cause is powerful leverage with high impact.  It propels your visibility and allows your audience to connect with you on a more intimate level.
4. Use your own products and services to fund your cause: Another great way to advocate for your cause using your own content is to donate all or a portion of sales to a selected charity. It allows your customers to not only get a solution to their problem, but to make a difference as well. It’s a win, win, win for everyone involved.
5. Measure the effectiveness of your message: Don’t forget to get in the trenches and see which platforms really moved people to participate and support your cause. Dig in the social networking and ask questions to see what  others are passionate about.

A gift that keeps on giving:

Positioning yourself using content marketing strategies is not only great for your bottom line, It’s truly a gift that keeps on giving.  Even in tough economic times, challenges and tragedy, people find the strength and resources to pull together and help a fellow brother or sister in need. because no matter where we find ourself in life, we all have something to give. Sometimes all that is needed in someone to expose the opportunity.

“If you have much, give of your wealth; If you have little, give of your heart” Arab Proverb quotes

The Next Gift in this Series…

Focus and Purpose

Catch up on the Previous Gift in This Series…

• Series Introduction
• #01 Customer Influence
• #02 Creates Community
• #03 Influence
• #04 Profitable Progress
• #06 Meaningful Communication
• #07 Loyal Customers

Kenya Halliburton

Kenya shows women speakers, authors and coaches how to consistently produce, publish & promote amazing web content that can convert prospects into hot & ready to buy customers & customers into repeat buyers. Find out how you can master your content , manage your business, get more clients and make more money by visiting http://www.myvirtualgenie.com/home/free-strategy-session/.

More Posts - Twitter - Facebook