Building a Foundation with Your Content Marketing
Well friends, I am reentering once more. Here I am, a content writer, who fell off her own marketing bandwagon!
I have beautiful, inspiring clients who come to me for help with their web copy, blogging, email marketing, and other content strategies, helping them establish their voice and consistency to strengthen their brand.
Yet I’m over here neglecting my own house! And boy, did it get dusty up in here.
Fortunately, I recently returned from my first real vacation in over a year (a desperately needed escape and time to NOT think only about work). The space gave me the time to reflect, and on my plane home I had a slap in the face that it is absolutely time to focus on and reinvigorate my own marketing.
I’ve spent the last several months doing a lot of work on myself and my business, and have learned some crucial lessons and experienced some major mindset shifts. In doing so, I have seen growth and am ready for even more.
Are you?
Visibility is key!
It’s the writing and strategizing for my clients’ content that really fills my soul. I love helping them refine their message, reframe how they market their services, and boost their results. That’s what happens when you connect with your audience and implement consistent messaging and SEO strategies.
And if I want to reach new heights in my business and work with my dream clients, I have to do the same for my own brand.
All this to say, I get it. Writing and creating your own content can feel hard. I have been and am in your shoes, a busy business owner who would rather help her clients than write about her own stuff.
When you are so close to your business, it is only natural to get stuck in the weeds, overthinking everything. I have gotten in my head and overwhelmed myself with my own marketing strategy, thinking I need to reinvent the wheel week after week and month after month. Making it harder on myself than it needs to be—no wonder I kept dropping off the map!
Instead, I’ve come to the realization (thanks to my amazing business coach, Jodie Gallant) that:
It can be easy to show up authentically through my marketing.
I don’t have to come up with brand new content constantly.
It doesn’t have to be perfect or rigid.
I can do it on my own terms, based on what feels good to me.
That’s right, I, Stephanie, a marketer, had to be shown and taught these lessons to have my “Aha!” moment. Told you, no different than you.
Remember, the most important thing is to just show up because, as Jodie has been driving home for me for months, “If you’re not visible, you’re invisible.”
Tell your story
In the spirit of keeping it real, here’s a bit more about my own misguided approach.
One of the ways I was making it so hard previously was thinking I had to educate my audience about things like content marketing techniques and tools in order to showcase my knowledge and credibility.
I had totally overlooked the importance of telling my own stories in order to build those connections with my audience!
So use your content to tell your story. Share your journey, experiences, how you’ve helped clients. Show your audience what makes you unique and how you’re the best fit for their needs.
Keep in mind that a story is not simply a list of events that got you to where you are today. It’s your journey and the lessons you’ve learned along the way that you can share with others. Through storytelling, you’ll attract your dream clients, inspiring them and teaching them from your own missteps and lightbulb moments.
Build your foundation
So many people forget to start by building the foundation of their content marketing and SEO strategy. They worry only about how attractive their website looks or only focus on social media. Others treat each channel—website, blog, email, social media—as separate entities, resulting in disconnected, confusing messaging.
Everything should be consistent and cohesive across all platforms. In other words, someone should be able to recognize your brand message independent of where and how they see or hear it.
A solid content marketing strategy, however, begins with a strong foundation of website content. Consider your website your digital home that gives you clarity, ease, and direction for the rest of your marketing strategy and messaging. You can also break down the key messages and offerings from your website into email newsletters and social posts.
If you find yourself struggling to come up with enough different ideas to share in a newsletter and regular social media posts, start with blogging. Each blog post can be the focus of your weekly newsletter, and also be broken down into multiple social posts, depending on the topic and length of the blog.
Say you start with just two blog posts a month. That’s enough content for two biweekly newsletters and eight social media posts. Not to mention, consistent blogging will help boost your SEO so you show up higher in search results!
Showing up can be easy
See? No need to chain yourself to your desk for hours on a weekly basis, painfully coming up with new content. With solid website messaging and just two blog posts a month, you’ll be showing up regularly for your audience.
Commit to showing up—it’s the only way you’ll break through all the noise in this content-saturated world. Don’t be intimidated by SEO and content marketing. Embrace and invest in them as a way to increase your visibility.
Do you still feel that you just don’t have the time or desire to manage and create your content on your own? Sometimes an outside perspective is the best way to capture your voice. Schedule a free consultation with me today to find out how I can help you craft messaging that connects you to your target audience and helps you show up in search results!
And know that this is a judgment-free zone built by a gal who has made all the mistakes and wants to help you avoid them.