On Assumptions, Value, Consumption & Format
An introduction to providing value through content marketing
Assumptions
‘Writing a Blog’ or ‘Creating Content for a Blog’
I propose that most people are intimidated by the idea of writing a blog because of one simple word…
‘write’
Write assumes the context of basic elementary school English and the accompanying scrutiny of sentence structure, indents, paragraphs and other rules that have long been forgotten.
The phrase ‘writing a blog’ carries so many limitations because our fundamental understanding of writing is completely academic. We have been taught that there is only one way to write and we don’t want to get it wrong.
now… ‘create’
Create assumes freedom. Create engages our imagination and speaks to possibility, create makes us feel unique, create is exciting.
Without getting too romantic, we love to be challenged by original ideas and thoughts, both as consumers and creators. Create is the freedom to explore outside of rules.
I believe that a subtle shift in phraseology from ‘write a blog’ to ‘create content’ is incredibly liberating for those who want to share information, but have no idea where to start.
Value
As we proceed, I am making a little assumption of my own, namely that you can speak authoritatively on your subject matter and the quality of your material is average to above average, otherwise you will have difficulty setting yourself up as a thought leader.
What is ‘content marketing’?
“Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience — with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”
I like this definition because it includes ‘relevant and valuable’ as the content descriptors. That is exactly what your content should be… both relevant and valuable to your audience
Have you ever been to an FAQ section of a website where the questions asked were clearly questions the company wanted to showcase answers for, rather than actual questions you wanted answers to? A lot of blogs are the same way.
Before you put pen to paper so to speak, you should invest a significant amount of time understanding your audience.
Ask yourself:
- Who are they?
- What do they like?
- What do they talk about?
- Where do they talk about it?
- When do they do all this talking?
- How can I contribute to the conversation?
- Am I joining the conversation only to sell my wares or do I genuinely care about investing in this community?
People won’t care about you until you prove you care about them!
And just in case you need this clarification, caring about them doesn’t mean: upon first introduction spamming people with links to the crap you are selling. Rather, it means joining a community, providing insight in the conversation and contributing without any expectation of gain simply because you are invested in the community.
Content marketing is a long play, don’t expect any immediate gratification.
Ultimately, the goal of every business blog should be:
With your audience’s needs in mind, create valuable content for them, formatted in a way that respects their time. And to be prepared to do it for a really long time.
Consumption
Creating valuable content is one thing, getting it consumed is another. With increasing competition for attention online, and the fact that we are all busier than ever…
How do you compete?
The best content in the world is useless unless someone is there to consume it. So it’s fair to say that just creating valuable content isn’t valuable enough… understanding how & why your audience consumes it, is just as important as the quality of the content you create.
Figuring out what your audience finds valuable is the key to creating valuable content for them.
So where do you start?
Chances are, your audience has similar consumption patterns as you. Use this to your advantage. Look at this objectively, start by asking yourself, what do I find valuable?
Here is a quote from a book that has changed the way I both blog and share information.
“Format is the way you structure, organize and present content. The format (not the content itself) is what an audience builds a relationship with — it’s what they get comfortable with”
Format
At the start of this post, did you notice how the basic assumption about ‘write’ has more to do with format than actual subject matter? When we are faced with a task that we have no idea how to execute, we look for a familiar framework.
Trick Question: To be a successful blogger, should you spend more time creating content or formatting the content you have created?
Answer: Both. They should be done at the same time. (Which is why I have a man-crush on Medium)
Where the natural tendency is to ‘write’ (as defined by academia) you must take the step to incorporate format into your ‘create’ efforts so you can produce content that connects with your audience.
Format is the silver bullet in creating consumable content.
So this begs the question, how do you format content in a way that it contributes to the value of the post to be consumed by your audience?
To answer this, we have to go back to assumptions.
Don’t assume that anyone will consume all of your content all of the time. More specifically, don’t assume that anyone will read any individual post in it’s entirety. Frustrating, but likely true.
Format your content in a way that any reader can find value in 20 seconds, 2-6 minutes AND 10-20 minutes.
Again, think about how you consume content, do you read everything from start to finish right from the get go? My guess is no, your consumption probably looks a little more like this…
- You begin by skimming the post. You subconsciously evaluate whether it is visually appealing or not. If you see a big block of text without any headings, you are out immediately.
- Something has to catch your eye for you to invest any amount of time beyond 10-20 seconds. Typically this would be a graphic, video, audio clip, slide or list.
- If what you have consumed already has been valuable, you will then read the entire piece to gain a little more context.
- If the content is super relevant, you might actually follow some of the reference links for more information.
Use this post as an example…
If you scroll back to the top and re-read all of the block quotes, you will see that it’s entirely possible to consume this post in 20 seconds and leave with a general sense of what it was I was trying to communicate. And if that is all I get, I’m cool with that, at least I provided value, however small it may have been.
I have also clearly marked out each section with a bold title, just in case one of the block quotes earns a little more attention. Each section has been formatted in a way that they stand on their own to provide some structure for the reader.
Now, I respect Medium for its limitations, but on my business blog, this is where I would rely on some type of rich media to enhance the post over basic text.
With that said,Medium is unlike any other blogging platform in that its format actually encourages readers to consume posts in their entirety from start to finish, which is incredible! But back to the example…
Chances are, if you have consumed one of the four sections of this blog post and found it relevant, you would make the full investment and read it in its entirety for context. You might even follow the link to Andrew’s book Brandscaping or take a look at a couple of the other ‘recommended reading’ posts that I have linked to at the bottom.
Summary
Assumptions: Don’t come to the table with preconceived notions of how things have to be, have fun and be creative. Use your blog to share your passion!
Value: Create content that is actually valuable to your audience, don’t just put out crap. Quality > Quantity. Respect both your audience’s intelligence and time.
Consumption: Understanding how and why your audience consumes information will allow you to expand your reach. Reach is good. Reach is what allows you to “drive profitable customer action”.
Format: Format is the key to building a loyal audience. Your format has to set an expectation for your reader. It is crucial not only in attracting new readers, but also engaging with the ones you already have.
Creating content has to be a unique blend of subject matter and format with a deep desire to provide value to your audience.
