Building genuine relationships through content is what drives me. It’s the core of who I am as a person, as well as how I view the world. I’ve seen first hand that when you switch from content marketing based on transactions, to one focused on human relationships, then you experience business and personal growth.
I’ve seen it with my business as well as my clients and members.
To make the shift takes courage. The courage to block out what #alltheexperts are throwing at you. The courage to ignore the FOMO. And the courage to do business (and content) your way.
If you’re ready to move away from treating your audience as simply a transaction and focus on the human instead, then here’s 3 simple steps that you can take to start building those genuine relationships.
Understanding your ideal client
I feel like this point is an overused ideology that causes business owners to skip over the work needed to feel connected to their ideal client.
It is so much more than putting together an avatar story.
I find that the people that I work with who have taken the time to spend time with their ideal clients are the ones who’re more likely to achieve success with their content. Ask the questions. Take them out for a coffee. Interview them over Zoom.
This is the best way to not only start creating content with a message that matters, but also to start building genuine relationships.
(You can use my un-boring ideal client avatar worksheet to help you).
Crafting a clear message that matters
A clear message is more than magnetising people to what you offer.
When you’re really in love with what you want to bring to the world and the change that you want to make, then anything can happen. A message that matters not only speaks to your ideal client, but also feels good for you.
It consists of 3 different parts – the WHO, the WHAT and the YOU and where they intersect is your message that matters.
(If you want to know more about a message that matters, take a listen to episode 65 and episode 74 of The Powerful Content Podcast).
Ditching the formulaic approach
Whilst templates and swipe files and even AI are fabulous tools to use for your content, you should always use them as a starting point.
Similarly, switching your language from ‘pain points’ to ‘challenges’ or ‘transformations’ to ‘possibilities’ helps you not only connect with the human that you’re creating content for, but creates a shift in energy in your relationship with them.
You can build a genuine relationship when you’re focused on service and creating something better for your ideal client, rather than telling them how hopeless their life is and why they need to work with you.
Choosing the right content channels
We need a way to get our content out into the world and in the online space, there’s plenty of options to choose from to help us build genuine relationships.
When you follow your strengths and your heart, it’s easy to determine where to play and what type of content will be the best way to create conversation, connection and conversion.
If you’re tired of being told what to do with your content creation or find yourself constantly landing in a pool of disappointment from trying ‘fail proof’ content marketing methods, stop and listen to your intuition. If something doesn’t feel right, it often means it’s not.
If you’re interested in exploring content marketing that starts with the heart and is built on genuine relationships, then I’d love you to join the Kickstarter campaign for my book. By pre-ordering a book or purchasing a discounted package, you’ll not only be setting yourself up for success, but contributing to a movement and helping other impact-driven entrepreneurs to embrace a new way of content creation. Here’s the link to get started.
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