Want to attract more of your ideal clients without feeling overwhelmed? Don’t we all! Today we’re chatting about the three things you need to know before you create long-form content so that you can set yourself (and your business) up for success long-term. So, if you’re ready to grow your online business, to attract more clients, and to make more sales – this one’s for you! Let’s get started!
Links for This Episode
- Check out these DIY Resources and Templates
- Schedule your Mama Business Strategy Session
- Book Your Website Design + Systems Services
Podcast Episode Recommendations
- #66: Do You Have a Clear Strategy for Your Business Website? 3 Ways to Know
- #53: Not Sure What to Say? 4 Easy Ways to Create Value-Packed Content
- #58: 3 Hacks to a “Sticky” Content Strategy that Converts
- #12: 3 Reasons Your Small Business Needs a Website for Long-Term Growth
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3 Things to Know Before You Create Long-Form Content
Well hey there and welcome back to another episode of the Mama Business Podcast. I’m so glad you’re here. My little sister spent a week with us last week and we had the best time. My other sister lives here in this area and we had a portion of our kids hanging out with us and it was really just so much fun. And I love getting together with my sisters and with close friends and just knowing that we can completely open and honest with one another. It’s something that we can all leave feeling built up, like we belong, and that we a fresh new perspective on one or more topics that allow us to move forward in some area of our life with greater excitement or at least the knowledge that we aren’t in it alone.
I say this here because my hope is that every single time you show up here to listen to a podcast episode or to engage with my email community or whatever it is – I just hope that you feel heard. That you feel built up and that you leave feeling capable of creating change in your life and the lives of those around you and, most importantly, that you know you aren’t alone. That’s my goal and I’m so glad to be on this journey with you. Because we are all in it together – even from afar.
Well, we are working our way through this series all about designing a marketing strategy that works for you and your business. And while this entire podcast is dedicated to that, this current series that we are working through is designed to help you clearly understand the foundational elements of an organic marketing strategy that attracts your ideal clients, nurtures them into paying clients, and then allows you to serve them – knowing exactly what to do and when to do it. No confusion necessary.
The first foundational element we are working through is the Attraction Strategy. This is the critical part of any marketing strategy and that’s the process of attracting your potential ideal clients and taking them from not knowing you at all, to wanting to know more about you and how you can serve them. Without this foundation in place, no other marketing elements we try to use will be successful.
So, knowing that, if you’ve missed any of the last few episodes, you can check them out in the show notes – I’ll link them there – so that you can stay on track with. But today we are focused on the three things you must know before you create long-form content that will attract your ideal potential clients.
And like I said, keep in mind that this is part of the attraction piece of our greater marketing strategy. So, we will build on this as we move forward through this series, okay?
Step #1: Know Your Tech
The first thing you have to know before you create long-form content is your tech. It might seem silly that I’m starting with this and not the actual content creation, but really – if you don’t have your tech in place, the content will be useless.
So, what tech do you need?
Website
First, you absolutely need a website. This is where you will house your content. If you are writing a blog, the that’s where your written content will be. If you have a podcast or a video, then you’ll embed those on your website. This is a non-negotiable. There will be plenty of people out there that will say that you can keep your content elsewhere, that a website is over the top or an extra – but it’s not. Even if you make the choice to host your video or audio elsewhere, you need a place that YOU OWN where your potential clients and customers can always come to find you. A website provides that.
I actually did a whole episode on this topic about whether your business needs a website, so if you want to check it out it’s episode #12. And if you already have a website in place, but you aren’t sure it’s working properly when it comes to attracting clients, then you might want to take a listen to episode #66. I’ll link both of those in the show notes.
Ultimately, you need a website. So, that’s the first piece of tech that you need to have in place in order to successfully attract your ideal clients through long-form content creation.
Content Creation Tech
Secondly, you’ll need to have tech related to your chosen long-form content platform. Remember, you could choose from blog, podcast, or video content, right? If you chose blog, then you are probably good to go as long as you have the ability to type your content and get it up onto your website. Just starting out there shouldn’t be any additional tech necessary.
If you chose to use audio or podcast content as your long-form content platform, then you are going to need a few additional pieces of tech. Those could include:
- Podcast hosting – where your podcast audio is actually uploaded so that the world can hear it. Personally, I use Captivate.fm and I’ll leave their link in the show notes if you’d like to check it out. They are by far my favorite (I’ve used a couple), their customer services is awesome, and they provide great trainings on how to get started with their platform. So, if that’s the direction you plan to go – I highly recommend them.
- Microphone
- Recording and editing software
- Storage for your audio files (like Dropbox or an external hard drive)
… and possibly some background noise cancelling equipment if that’s a problem for you.
I could probably do an entire podcast episode on this topic, so if that’s something you want to hear, let me know – but ultimately, those are the things I use and it doesn’t have to be complicated.
If you choose to do video content, then your needs will be similar, but with the video component. You’ll need:
- Video hosting – more than likely you’ll choose to use YouTube because it’s an amazing search engine, but there are others.
- Microphone and Camera
- Lighting that doesn’t make you look washed out or shadowy
- Recording and editing software
- Storage for your video files
…and once again you might need some additional equipment based on the sound and what people will see in your room around you. Like you might want a divider or…who knows.
So, quick and to the point, you have to have your tech in place. That means knowing what tech you need and actually implementing it. And remember – the sooner the better.
Step #2: Know Your Topic
The second thing you need to know is your topic. Now obviously your general topic is whatever industry you are in and whatever services or products you provide, correct? But in this case we need to be more specific. You need to know what your potential client is asking. She or he is just getting started on their journey to finding a solution. How will they get to you? How will they know that you are the one that can provide that solution?
One of my favorite ways of doing this is by using a web. You can probably remember those from school when the teacher would give a big topic and ask you to brainstorm some smaller topics based on that. So, take that general topic and just start breaking it into smaller topics. For example, if you are a financial planner, you might write finances as the general topic. The smaller topics might include debt, savings, budgeting, retirement, or whatever else you might come up with. From there, you might even break it down further. Obviously, you won’t be able to cover budgeting in one blog post or audio recording, right? Instead you might have subtopics that include: creating a grocery budget, school expenses, holiday budgets, meal planning, etc. You get where I’m going with this, right? That’s a great way to brainstorm ideas so that you can get started.
The other thing I highly suggest you do is to actually ask your ideal clients. If you have clients already – ask them what they are or were searching for when they came to you. If you can think about someone who would be a perfect client, have them tell you what they are wondering, searching for, considering, or struggling with. You don’t necessarily have to pressure them into being your client, in fact, sometimes it’s better to say, “hey I’d love to ask you a few questions – no sales pitch, no strings attached”. I’ve done this a lot, and quite honestly, sometimes they do turn into clients, but I get a lot of good information each and every time I do it. And sometimes that’s more valuable long-term.
Remember, your long-form content is the hook – it’s created to answer a question and offer solutions to a problem. It points to you as the expert and it ensures you are credible and someone that they can trust. But, you have to know your topic in order to actually be successful in doing so.
So, what questions are your potential clients asking?
What issues are they searching for?
What answers to do they need?
It’s time to give them.
Step #3: Know Your Technique
The third thing you need to know is your technique. And…there are a lot of things that could play into this and we will definitely have more discussion around this in the future, but essentially – you need to know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to YOU creating consistent content on your preferred platform.
So, this could be scheduling. Knowing exactly what day of the week and what time you will sit down to create the content. Maybe it’s when the babysitter is around. Maybe it’s when your kiddo is napping or at school. Whenever it is, you know so you can show up consistently.
Knowing your technique could also be having a clear structure that you use for every piece of content you create. An outline that already has the details you need and the links that you incorporate consistently.
Maybe it’s a checklist that you make sure you complete each time you record an episode or publish a blog post. One that doesn’t leave you guessing whether you missed a step.
Whatever it might be – you need to know. And I’m not going to say that you will get this right immediately. Gosh no. I’m still refining my technique for this, but you do need to be aware of what will get you to the finish line, because the last thing you want to do is end up overwhelmed or second guessing yourself because you aren’t sure that you did it right or you aren’t sure what to do next. Not only is that frustrating, but it needlessly takes you away from things that need your attention as well. Possibly more important things.
So, take the time to put this in place, and then refine as you go.
Also, if you are looking for a system to allow you to do this, I have the Mama Business Hub ready for you, complete with tutorials to get you up and running so that every piece of your content creation process is ready to go when you are. You can find it at sarahbrumley.com/resources if that’s something you are interested in.
Take Action Before You Create Long-Form Content
And that brings us to the action part of this episode. And we all know that action is where the dreams turn into the reality. And today’s action step should be pretty clear:
- Know Your Tech – that means actually understanding what you need and then putting it into place. I gave a pretty thorough list of the tech you need, so start putting it together.
- Know Your Topic – what is your potential client searching for and how can you answer their questions. My guess is, you probably know, but use that web activity or talk to a few prospective clients and get really clear on this. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself for it later.
- Know Your Technique – for consistency. What do you need to put into place so that you can be consistent, time-wise, content-wise, etc.
These are critical elements of a long-form content strategy that will attract your ideal clients for years to come. But the longer you wait to put these into place, the longer you wait to see those amazing results. So, today’s the day to get into the know – to implement the pieces of this attraction strategy that we can build on going forward.
And, as always, if you are struggling with this – don’t hesitate to reach out. You can head to sarahbrumley.com to learn more about how I can help you with strategy or with setting up your systems. Once again, just head to sarahbrumley.com to find out more.
No matter where you are in this process, though – just know that I’m cheering you on! You’ve got this! Have an amazing day and I’ll chat with you again next time.
