Your ability to convert prospects into loyal customers hinges in great part upon the quality of your content. If you are willing to invest time and energy in the content you produce, you will reap the rewards and grow your customer base. Whether you are the Marketing Director of a rapidly growing startup or the CMO of a well-established software company, there are some proven measures you can take to produce content that will convert prospects to sales. Below are a dozen surefire strategies to help you deliver stellar content.
1) Make award-winning content a top priority
“The demand for fresh, high-value content marketing is high. If you invest time in creating it, you’ll reap the rewards. But, the competition is strong. Most marketers are going give up, but those who learn the tricks and get customer insights will grow their businesses.”
– Neil Patel, Entrepreneur and Best Selling Author
The first step on the journey to outstanding content is to make a firm commitment to developing an ongoing content improvement strategy. Stellar content does not magically arise out of thin air. It requires time and an ongoing investment from a dedicated resource. If you are willing to put forth a sustained effort, you will enjoy the fruits of your labor in the form of increased conversions.
2) Know your target audience like the back of your hand
Building a strong rapport with prospective customers requires you to really get to know your target audience. Identifying your audience’s primary preferences and expectations will help you customize your content to best meet their unique needs. There are many ways that you can learn about your target audience, including the following:
- Attend or exhibit your products at industry trade shows
- Follow conversations on social media
- Keep tabs on your top competitors
- Conduct surveys of your existing customer base
3) Select content that is relevant to your target audience
Today’s consumers are inundated with content. In order to stand out from the competition, you must make sure that you are creating content that is authentic, believable, useful, and relevant to your target audience. This will help position you as a legitimate force within your industry while earning the trust of prospective customers. Most importantly, this strategy will help you develop a loyal customer base that looks forward to the valuable content that you provide.
4) Choose a captivating headline
“The headline is the most important part of any piece of writing… Without a good headline the rest will not be read. By improving your headlines you will find that your writing will no longer be ignored, dismissed or deleted as they will be hungry to find out more.”
– Tony Hetherington, Writer and Editor
Crafting a captivating headline is essential to capturing your audience’s attention and prompting them to want to read further. It is the first impression that your customer will have when viewing your content, which is why headlines play a key role in your content strategy. There are several key things to remember as you create your headline, including the following:
- Keep your headlines succinct, limiting them to no more than 10-15 words
- Make sure your headline accurately represents the content you are presenting
- Engage the audience by asking a compelling question in your headline
- Include a shocking number or statistic that will surprise the reader
5) Make sure your introduction is enticing
Now that you have successfully captivated your audience with a great headline, you now owe it to your readers to craft an intriguing introduction. Studies show that human beings have an average attention span of 8 seconds, which is even shorter than the attention span of a goldfish. This means that your introduction must be concise, clear, and direct and never dull! You
6) Use images and graphics to support key points
In addition to offering a great introduction, you will help increase conversions by featuring high-quality images and infographics. With researchers finding that color visuals increase the willingness to read by 80 percent, you should consider using a multi-media approach as you design your content. Using a multi-media approach is particularly effective if your target audience includes millennials, who tend to revisit sites that include visuals.
7) Ensure that your content is scannable and well-organized
“Your audience doesn’t come to your website to read flowery prose; they don’t have time for that. They come because they want to be able to easily get the information they need and move on to something else.”
– Kim Keller, Blogger and Journalism Professor at the University of Memphis
Creating content that is scannable and well formatted is vital to keeping your audience engaged and interested in your products or services. Achieving this goal does not require any additional time or effort, and will positively impact your conversion rate. Here are some helpful tips to improve the scannability and readability of your content:
- Break your content up into manageable sections
- Try to use sentences that are no longer than 8 to 15 words in length
- Use headers and bullet points to convey points
- Ask a colleague or trusted customer to review content before you post it
8) Feature relevant testimonials
“Testimonials are powerful, essential and free marketing tools that have always been important. Today they are vital…Any business that has a legion of raving fans who are prepared to come out and not only share their experience but also recommend that others use this business, has a huge competitive advantage.”
– Andrew Griffiths, Entrepreneur and Author
An effective testimonial is one of the most effective tools in your content arsenal. Testimonials can help you position your company as a trusted leader in your industry and can help convince prospects to try your products and services. When deciding what type of testimonial to feature, remember that options include quotes, video testimonials, and product reviews. With more than 80 percent of customers trusting online reviews as much as they would a recommendation from a personal friend or family member, you can hardly afford not to include testimonials in your content.
9) Generate positive emotions
As you review your content, stop and think about the type of emotions that your content will stir among members of your target audience. In general, you should steer clear of content that evokes fear or a negative response among prospects. However, one of the most effective ways to convert prospects to customers is to reference a problem and highlight the way(s) that your product or service will solve that problem. In this way, you succeed in reducing anxiety and generating positive enthusiasm among prospects.
10) Empower your readers with useful information
Delivering content that is useful or helpful will go a long way toward winning over prospective customers. Fortunately, you do not have to be an award-winning writer to deliver award-winning content. In fact, you can create useful content quickly by following a few key suggestions:
- Identify key questions facing your target market and answer them clearly
- Offer a solution to a current problem that is plaguing your target market
- Before you post your content, ask a few members of your target audience if they find the content helpful
- Post a case study or success story about how your product or service has positively impacted the life of a customer
11) Make sure your content is consistent with your headline
Content that is different from or inconsistent with your headline can cause prospects to stop reading and abandon your page. Some readers even view this type of practice as a form of deceptive advertising, which is discouraged by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). You can avoid frustrating prospective customers by ensuring that your content features material that directly relates to your headline.
12) Feature an irresistible call to action
“There are two main purposes of a call to action…: to tell someone what they should do, and give them the motivation to do so. A lot of people remember to tell people what they should do, but they forget the why part of that equation. Without that added in, you won’t see the types of conversion rates that you should.”
– Ana Gotter, Content Marketing Writer
Most CMOs and Marketing Directors are surprised to learn that 70 percent of small business websites lack a call to action. Failing to include a call to action on your website, marketing materials, or e-mail campaign can dramatically hinder your conversion rate. You can avoid missed conversion opportunities by crafting an irresistible call to action that motivates your customers to take the plunge and invest in your products. To optimize your conversion rate, make sure that your call to action button is vivid and placed in a highly visible location on your page.
What is the single best way to create stellar content?
Clearly, there are many steps you can take to create content that will convert into sales. However, the single best way to develop great content is to seek the guidance of an accomplished content delivery expert. A content delivery specialist will have the tools and resources to help you develop content that will entice your target audience and dramatically elevate your conversion rate. By enlisting the support of a seasoned communications strategist, you can enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your content is being developed by an industry expert.
Kenneth Hitchner is a communications strategist who protects and promotes brands. He is currently the director of public relations and social media at Creative Marketing Alliance and CMA Association Management. In prior assignments, he served as the spokesman for NJ Transit, the deputy press secretary for a Governor of New Jersey and the chief content officer for a nonprofit the put downsized, college-educated professionals back into the workplace during the Great Recession of 2008.