Please Stop Creating Content (Do this instead)

This week, I had bunch of conversations with founders who were excited about the content they were working on. They had white papers and reports and guides, etc in process.

Unfortunately, I had to be "that guy" and tamp down their expectations.

These content pieces aren't bad in of themselves, but they rarely have the impact people hope for.  

Here's what typically happens. There's a lot of work up front. Research analysis, writing, editing and often some graphic design.

Then there's a big push. An email blast. A pop-up on the web site. A webinar. And people get some lift with it. Some more emails collected, maybe even some sales close.

But then the push ends - and so does the lift. It's back to the drawing board. On to the next piece of content that will hopefully give bigger lift.

And the pattern keeps repeating. Lots of energy expended. A bit of lift. And then the content disappears into the great Dropbox of campaign's past.

Your Customer Flywheel turns, sputters, but doesn't catch. Ugh.

The way to fix this is to stop thinking about creating content and start focusing on creating journeys.

You see, all of your customers and potential customers are on a journey that may bring them to buy. They are all at different points on the journey. There are people who:

1. Don't know you, and don't know if they need you now or later
2. Do know you, but don't need you now, but may later
3. Do know you, and need you right now
4. Aren't ever going to be a fit  (And that's OK)

With big content initiatives, the immediate lift comes from the people who need you now. But there will likely be significantly more people you will reach who don't need you right now - but may soon.

Depending on who you Google, the current estimate is that it takes 20+ touch points to create a sale. Those touch points represent the journey people go through to become your customer.

So for most of the people who engage with, your big content piece is really their "on ramp" on their journey.

It's up to you then to create a path for them to follow after the big content piece.

If you truly know your customer avatar and their pain points, you can create small hits of content that lead them down the path - and actually train people to become your customers.

The great thing it has never been easier to create a personalized yet automated customer journey. Email sequences. Re-targeting. Webinars. Assessments and quizzes. Whatever the flavor of journey you want to create, there are tools now that will enable you to do it all automatically in the background.

But you need to do solid up front thinking to design that journey.

Because, while a lot of the attention around marketing is focused on high intensity events like launches and conferences (back when did that sort of thing), the reality is that consistency will beat intensity.

Understanding and optimizing your customer journey is how you get your Customer Flywheel to really spin.

PS  Want to get your customer Flywheel Spinning? I've got a few spots open for my 1:1 coaching.  I’m offering a free, no obligation clarity session where we can work through a game changing issue for you.  Schedule here.

PPS Is your business Rocket Ship Ready? Take the free assessment and get your score.
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by
Steve August
March 4, 2022
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