Are you a list-maker, in your head, on paper, or digitally? Then this post is definitely for you. On the other hand, for those of you who dislike listing to-do stuff and feel like lists are somehow limiting, it’s time for us to set you free with this content marketing tip!
We hope that, by now, you know we believe strongly in the power of content marketing as the key to growing your business online. However, once you get your head wrapped around that little gem, a new challenge rears its head: what should you write about?
Well, you need to create a content plan.
And so, you ask, “Just where do all these fantastic ideas for creating content come from?”
Take it as a given that you're not alone in wondering. We get that. We also get that it’s vital for you to also understand that, in the highly competitive world of online marketing, you simply cannot “wing it” with your content.
As with everything that has to do with online marketing, you need to take a strategic approach. You need to make a plan for creating high-value content that attracts both the search engines and your target audience. Believe it – without a solid content plan, you will continue to struggle to create something that has value, engages your audience, and converts.
But, hey. Once again, we’re here to help and support you by letting you know that there is a very simple way to create a solid content plan that you can complete in 5-10 minutes – literally!
The 5-Minute Content Plan
If you're willing to invest just 5 minutes of your time and energy, your new content plan can be completed in five minutes. Then it will become the foundation for all of the content that you produce, for three months, or six months, even up to a year. Here is a step-by-step process for creating a fresh content plan:
Grab a blank piece of paper – landscape not portrait (Wait! Did we say “paper”? Who uses paper anymore?)
At the top, write your topic title – “Interior Design Content Plan” (as just one example)
Below that, list 5-7 category topics – broad subject areas that matter to your prospects or clients, and you!
Next, give yourself five minutes to list as many related sub-topics as you can think of – specific issues or pain points you or your clients may deal with regularly
After five minutes – stop and check your list (You can expand on it whenever you need to)
Keep it close at all times, in a place where you see it every day – tape it to the wall near your desk or pin it to your dog’s tail. (NOT! LOL). Just make sure you have easy and regular access to your new content plan.
Wonder of wonders, you now have more than a dozen clearly defined subject ideas! And yes, this works for all types of content: blog posts, videos, social media content, emails and newsletters, articles, opt-in freebies – even ideas for products and services!
Tada! No more saying, “I don’t know what to write about!” Because you will!
Content Plan Example
Need a little clarification? Check out the content plan example below.
Easy peasy, right?
It should go without saying that the categories and subject ideas for each will vary from designer to designer and business to business. (Which is great, BTW.) This is just an example. But, it should be clear just how you can use your areas of interest, training, experience with past clients, and even market forces to determine what each will be.
Two of the best things about this approach are: 1) none of it is etched in stone and it can be revised at any time; 2) you now have a plan of action in place. You can finally stop trying to improvise your content and hope for the best!
And finally, while the details of your content plan will be different, the basics of this approach are the same everywhere and this exercise can work – and has worked – for thousands of entrepreneurs and online business owners.
What would your categories and sub-topics be after investing five minutes in this content plan exercise? Feel free to share a few ideas with us by commenting below.
Of course, if you still have questions about this content marketing tip that we didn’t answer in this post, Ted has more than 25 years of experience helping designers and furnishing dealers market their businesses successfully. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.
Once you’ve fully grasped the idea that content marketing and social media marketing are the keys to growing your interior design business, a new challenge rears its head, developing a content plan. “So”, you ask, “where do all the ideas for content come from?”The good news is, you're not alone in wondering. The bad news is, in the highly competitive world of online marketing, you can no longer afford to simply “wing it” each week.You need a plan that enables you to employ a strategic approach to online marketing and, without a solid content plan, you will continue to struggle to create content that engages and converts your target audience.The best news is, there is a very simple approach to creating a solid content plan that you can complete in 5-10 minutes – literally!The 5-Minute Content PlanThis content plan can be completed in five minutes and can literally create the entire foundation for all of the content that you produce, for six months to a year at a time. Here is a step-by-step process for creating a fresh content plan:
“Understanding the meaning of your search is crucial to returning good answers. So, to find pages with relevant information, our first step is to analyze what the words in your search query mean. We build language models to try to decipher what strings of words we should look up in the index.”Yeah, that’s as clear as mud, right?To make it as simple as possible, let’s think of it like this: Google’s goal is to offer a choice of websites that offer the highest quality information possible in answer to a search query.To accomplish this, they use what they’ve decided to label “synonymous search”. In other words, if you type a search for “How to change a light bulb”, the algorithm will also search for websites that tell you how to replace or exchange a light bulb.Google will also look for the most timely version of the information available, with a clear and succinct explanation for swapping a burned-out bulb.Quality Content is Critical to Your SEO StrategyContent marketing is a marketing strategy that revolves around the creation, publication, and distribution of content to a target audience in order to bring new traffic (and therefore new customers) to your business.Quality content writing is the most important part of your SEO. With quality, SEO-friendly formatting is very important because the Google algorithm looks for important words (keywords) at particular places on your web page or blog post.In other words, you can no longer simply stick the phrase “change a light bulb” in your content over and over again in the hope that Google will rank your site higher than your competitor’s. You must offer a better reason for them to rank your site higher, such as a better explanation of how to change that light bulb.Plus, as light bulbs and lighting fixtures evolve, you must continue to offer high-quality content that reflects and includes those changes. You can also offer a step up in the quality of your content, by adding “how to safely change a light bulb”.While search algorithms are constantly changing, there will always be basic SEO strategies that work for you and your website because finding quality content is, and always will be, the goal of search. This means that the role of content in online marketing will always be important to your ongoing success.Looking for more interior design marketing tips, trends, and ideas?