Why do you do content marketing?
To nurture & generate leads? To boost brand awareness & increase customer retention? To boost sales? Or all of the above?
Whatever it is, creating better content & doing so more frequently is usually the answer to getting all you want from it.
And the best way to create better content, faster, is by having a solid content development process.
On this page, I’ll share with you a solid 5-step content development strategy that’ll help you finally achieve those content marketing goals you’ve set without too much stress.
With this 5-step process, you’ll be able to:
But, first…
Simple. Content development is the entire process of well… developing content, right from when you first got the idea until when it is polished and distributed to your audience… to achieve your business goals.
So naturally, it involves conceiving the idea, planning, production, and eventually, distribution.
Having a laid-out content development strategy that tells you what to do, when to do it, and how to do it to get the best results is something that’ll take you far in a short time, that’s why in this blog post I’ll share the ultimate 5-step process with you.
You can’t “create” a process if you don’t know where you are going.
So, before the thought of content creation even drops in your mind — it’s the 4th step, by the way — chill, and consider WHY you even created it in the first place.
“I want to make more sales”, or “I want to generate more leads”, won’t cut it. You need something more specific.
For example, “I want to get 100 leads in 3 months” or “I want to get at least 10 leads per day…”
Having something that specific, will help you gauge whether (or not) the action you’re putting towards it is the best way to go.
I want you to pause reading this blog post, find a sheet of paper, and write on it your goals for content creation.
Ensure it’s specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and has a time constraint to it… yeah, you guessed it — be sure it’s a SMART goal.
Okay, I’m waiting…
….
….
Done?
Cool.
Let’s move on to the next step…
Now, that you have a good idea of what you’re working towards… it’s time to do some research. And it’s pretty obvious why…
To achieve that goal, you need to know your audience like the way creepy stalkers know their target.
You want to know which type of content resonates the most with them.
LinkedIn posts? Articles? YouTube videos? TikTok & IG reels? Blog post?
Find out which, because there’s nothing more annoying than spending a lot of time creating content for a particular channel and seeing almost NO results from it NOT because you’re posting bad content, but because you’re promoting your business in the wrong place.
Luckily it’s easy, just look for where your competitors are saturated… and bam! That’s where you should be.
Moving on, some other things you want to learn about your audience are:
You can learn this true several methods, like…
Do this, and your success will come faster than you or anyone else can fathom.
You’ll find a ton of great content ideas & learn right off the bat how to create high-quality content that makes your target audience go “Hey, who’s this dude that knows me so damn well? I’m sure s/he can help me.”
Please don’t skip this step. It’s inevitable and if you do not do it now, your efforts will almost be near pointless & won’t get you any results.
Before you start typing away on your keyboard or videoing yourself on the camera, you want to do one more thing.
You want to build a content strategy.
Ask yourself this question: “Based on what I’ve learned about my audience, and what my goals for content development are, what is the best route to take so I can achieve my goals in the shortest time possible?”
You might want to grab your pen again for this.
What type of content will you focus on?
How often will you publish?
What topics will you talk about?
When you’re done, it should look like this:
“I’ll write 3 tweets about XX on Mondays to Thursdays. Every Friday, I’ll write a thread.”
Maybe with more details, but…
Be sure to not overwhelm yourself. Stick to what you can manage, or if you don’t have the patience it takes to start small… delegate the implementation.
Truth is, you might not get the strategy right at first. Who said you have to though? The most important thing is that you’re moving towards your goal.
If you end up being wrong, you’ve just discovered one way it won’t work. Use the feedback to adjust your strategy and go for it again.
Keep at it, and one day you’ll hit your target.
Let’s move on to the 4th step, which is often mistaken for the first.
You’ve defined your goal, researched your audience, built a strategy, now it’s time to implement it.
It’s time to write! Or create if you’ll be doing more than just writing. i.e. shooting video content.
These “tips” won’t help much if the idea your posts are based on is weak or plain BS. That’s why you should nail steps 2 & 3 before beginning to write.
Finally, we move to the last step…
This is pretty straightforward. You’ve done the hard work, now it’s time to let it out into the world for feedback.
Publish the blog post. Send the email broadcast. Hit “post” on that social media post.
It may become tedious at some point especially when you start producing content for multiple channels. But…
By that time, it would be obvious that you would need to start delegating some content work (We help biz owners like you with that, by the way. Watch this to learn more.), learn how to batch-create & schedule posts, and focus on the art of repurposing content.
Note: Various channels might call for various approaches.
And although this might be the simplest step, everything depends on it…
Be sure to commit fully and without reservation.
Distribute and publish as if your life depended on it.
So far, I have:
You ought to have defined your goal by now. If you haven’t done so already, do it right away.
Then, continue by researching your audience and complete the rest of the 5-step process until you have all you need to develop content that will draw in the right leads, increase your sales, raise your customer lifetime value, and get you whatever else you desire.
Good luck!
