Three-Step Awesome Content Development Strategy

According to marketing guru David Ogilvy, “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”

So, what does that mean for your content development strategy?

It’s simple really; spend as much, if not more, time on the headlines that will draw readers to your content as you do on the content itself. That means, when you’ve finalized the content, write up to 10 different headlines to promote it in social media. Tools like Twitter require a lot of postings to gain traction; so, this process comes in very handy there.

Example

I create an ebook called “How to Develop An Easy-To-Use Content Development Strategy.” The headlines will vary by social media, marketing platform, and target market needs. All the headlines lead back to the same piece of content.

Headline Examples

The ten headline examples below could also be used as Tweets.

Tip: If you plan to do that, remember to include relevant hashtags by topic (e.g., #ContentStrategy, #ContentDevelopmentStrategy, or #MarketingStrategy) and by industry (those in your target market you want to attract, e.g., #CPAs, #SmallBizOwners, #NJBiz, etc.).

1. How To Develop An Awesome Content Development Strategy for [insert target market]
2. Stop Struggling – Develop a Content Development Strategy in 3 Steps
3. 3 Ways to Develop a Kick-Ass Content Development Strategy
4. Avoid These Content Development Strategy Pitfalls
5. Are You Making These Content Development Strategy Errors?
6. Don’t Be Daft – Get 3 Killer Content Development Strategies Today
7. Be The Queen [King, or Rock Star] of Your Company’s Content Development Strategy – Here’s How!
8. Create A Content Development Strategy Like the Pros
9. Who Else Wants to Create an Awesome Content Development Strategy?
10. The Secrete To A Great Content Development Strategy The Pros Won’t Tell You

Your Assets

Content development is based on three things:

1. Your client or industry needs and pain points.
2. The assets you already have.
3. Resources – time, money, effort you have to put toward creating and marketing the content.

You probably already have a bunch of assets at your fingertips, including blog articles, tips,
Q & As, photos, worksheets, graphics, how to’s, slide decks, interviews, awards, events, and more.

The Process

Step 1: Create an asset inventory. Use something like Excel or an online cloud application to help you to organize content by theme, industry, pain point, and resources needed to complete the online resource.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2: Create it once. Then, share it many times using a variety of intriguing headlines and formats. See the flowchart below for guidance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 3: Share the content based on your social media platforms. Often content sharing is based on a few factors, including:

• Industry seasonal needs or cycles
• Trends
• Client needs

Knowing those factors, create a content strategy to meet all your needs. Here’s what it could look like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that you’re armed with the strategy, it’s time to get your hands dirty and create the content or modify existing content.

Then post the content on social media and other marketing channels, such as email, online advertising, speaking opportunities, etc. Here are some social media posting guidelines from Constant Contact, but also, review your social media metrics to determine the best times based on your actual audience’s engagement factors.

Now go out there and slay them with the content you’ve created!

Additional Resources

• A Six-Step Process to Write Web Content Quickly and Easily
• Boost Content Engagement by Injecting Trivia and Quizzes
• 10 Easy Ways to Overcome Content Development Challenges
• Using PowerPoint to Create Social Media Content
• Blog Like A Pro – Activity Sheet

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