The most successful dealers and resellers understand that they are selling solutions to customers’ problems–that they are not just pushing hardware out the door. In other words, customers will pay a premium if you can show that you have the experience and knowledge to help them achieve their business goals.
A few months ago, I wrote about the value of content marketing. Now I’d like to provide some tips for creating content that prospects will value. I’m going to focus on written content like blog posts or white papers, because that’s usually what people are most comfortable starting with.
1. Have a single, well-defined objective in mind before starting. Lack of focus will kill the effectiveness of any piece of content. If your area of expertise is document management, think of a few areas that your customers often struggle with. Pick one as your topic and stick to it. Save the others for future blog posts or white papers.
2. Outline what you have to say. This doesn’t have to be a formal outline. You just want to get an idea of how best to structure your thoughts around the topic. Think about the logical sequence and where you want supporting material like graphics or images to go.
3. Think about why a potential customer might want to read what you write. You want to hook readers early, and the best way to do that is to give them something they can relate to at the beginning. For example, you might give an anecdote about a client that had the problem you are about to write about.
4. Think about your conclusion. This should be a summary of the key take-aways you want for the reader. It’s also an opportunity to put a subtle pitch in for your services.
5. Don’t oversell yourself. A hard-sell for your services will turn off readers; they will dismiss what you wrote as just another marketing promotion. They will make the connection with you if they’ve learned something of value.
6. Write a draft, and re-read it carefully. Even seasoned writers find errors, logical flow problems, or omissions in first drafts. Some people will do a first draft and wait a day before re-reading it with fresher eyes.
7. Ask others to read what you wrote. This might be a peer, someone who knows nothing about your topic, or both. This step is necessary to ensure that all errors are fixed and that readers will interpret what you wrote in the way you intended.
Creating good content is hard and time-consuming, but as I said in my earlier article, content is now core to any marketing efforts. The pay-off is worth the effort, and it will get easier the more you do it.
