Is your content bringing you sales? Or just getting crickets? This will help

If you sell professional services – especially transformational services like coaching or consulting – one of the best ways to market yourself is by creating content (articles, videos, social media posts, podcasts) on a regular basis.

The evidence is clear: successful experts share their expertise as part of their strategy.

And yet…a lot of people who try this strategy get frustrated.

They end up in the Cricket Zone where nobody pays any attention.

Or the Friend Zone where they get lots of “engagement” but no sales.

Here’s why…

Great content (the kind that promotes your business and leads to sales) has 3 parts – and the part that matters the least tends to get the most attention.

1. Production Quality: Does it Look Good?

Beautiful design. Whiz bang special effects. Great lighting and smooth transitions. Clever and catchy wording.

This is the glittery eye-catching part of what we see when we see in celebrity-level videos, websites, images and podcasts.

We also see it from non-celebrity-level people who are trying to emulate them.

This is what freelance professionals tend to focus on as well. Graphic designers make beautiful designs. Writers use elegant (and grammatically correct) language. Video editors create stunning special effects.

While this can elevate a good piece of content, it’s the least important consideration.

This is why a lot of expensive content does absolutely nothing in terms of sales and marketing.

It’s missing the other two more critical factors.

2. Relevant to Future Clients: Does it Connect?

Content is relevant and connects with your audience when they find it engaging, interesting, useful, inspiring, helpful or entertaining.

Your audience decides whether or not your content is relevant!

When your content is relevant, people will pay attention. They may respond by liking or commenting.

While content that connects can bring you a big audience, without the final piece of the puzzle, you’ll end up in the Friend Zone.

3. Effective for Marketing: Does it Sell?

If you’re using content to promote your services, it needs to fulfill its role in your marketing strategy. Effective content will:

• Showcase your expertise and show that you’re good at what you do (without “giving away the farm”)
• Be related to what you’re selling and show your future clients how you could help them
• Invite them to take the next step

Is your content landing in the sales zone? Or is it getting crickets or “friend zoned”?

• Cricket Zone: unless your content is relevant to your audience, they will ignore it (no matter how much time, effort, money you may have put into it)
• Friend Zone: the land of likes, comments and appreciative messages, you may even build a large audience (of people who won’t buy anything)
• Sales Zone: high quality is the icing on the cake here – the 20% of effort that gets you 80% of the results is found lower on the diagram (whew! it doesn’t have to be perfect!)

Want to learn more about how to create effective marketing content that engages your future clients and leads to sales? Check out my free ebook: how to create a trusted advisor marketing machine