In 2020, if you have an important message to share with the world, you know you have to be in the business of creating good content. But you can’t just dive into blogging without thinking through a few key things that will help guide the content you create.
First, you have to create an in-depth audience profile, which will help you understand the specific demographic and psychographic information about your target audience. The second step is to think through how you want your content to impact your audience.
Ask yourself, how will my content transform my audience?
Let’s say you’re an environmental expert passionate about sustainable materials and you want to help families cut down on non-recyclable waste in their homes. You’ve deeply defined your audience as “Convenient Chloe,” a busy and financially-conscious mom with two to four kids living in the suburbs along the east coast who values convenience and efficiency in her home. You’ve decided to start a blog offering educational information about the environmental impacts of different household products. You’re off to a great start!
But imagine “Convenient Chloe” stumbles upon one of your blog posts about why silicon is more environmentally-friendly than plastic. She might learn something new, and even think your blog post was interesting and very well-written. But if she doesn’t know what to do with the information you’ve given her, you’ll not have accomplished your goal of helping families cut down on non-recyclable waste in their homes.
The way to avoid this mistake is to decide how your content will transform the lives of your audience before you begin publishing any content.
How will your content change the choices they make and the actions they take? What will your audience believe and do differently after watching your Youtube video or reading your book? Will they purchase different household products? Will they earn more money next year? Will they vote differently at the polls in November?
Begin by reviewing your audience persona and imagine them watching, reading, or listening to your content. Decide specifically what knowledge you want them to take away and how and how that knowledge will transform their lives, and write that down into a statement.
For example, you don’t just want “Convenient Chloe” to know about green, reusable household materials. You want her to change her buying habits because you think her life and the world at large will be better off if more people like Chloe reduced their single-use plastic consumption.
Your audience transformation statement might be: After reading my blog, Convenient Chloe will choose to purchase more reusable household products for her family.
Formally writing down an audience transformation statement will guide you to create the most useful content for your audience.
It will guide you to provide specific, practical tips for busy suburban moms like Chloe on how to switch over to reusable products without breaking the bank or creating more work for her. Rather than merely educating your audience about reusable materials, maybe you’ll recommend she swaps plastic sandwich bags for silicon sandwich bags and replaces saran wrap with silicone stretch lids, and then you’ll show her where she can order these products.
That kind of simple, actionable information is what your audience needs to change their habits and transform their lives for the better—and what you need to make an impact in the world with your expertise.
In my next article, I’ll cover the third step to creating useful content: defining your tone. We hope that these insights are helpful to you, but they aren’t the only way that we are available to help you build your content strategy.
We work with thought leaders and thought leading organizations every day to get their meaningful messages in front of their audiences and achieve their goals. Do you need that kind of support? Let’s talk!
Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash
