Nervous to Start Content Marketing at Your Startup? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Be

Amanda Sibley, Director of Marketing at HubSpot for Startups, is an absolute pro when it comes to using content to drive growth. Recently she visited with Startup Grind to share her best tips for getting early-stage content marketing off the ground running. With years of experience helping startups fine-tune their content engine, Amanda brought a ton of action-based strategies and tactics to the table. Buckle up, viewers. This was a great one.

Click here to watch a full recording of Amanda talk or keep reading for some of the highlights.

Key Takeaways from #SGvirtual “Content Marketing for Your Startup”

1. In case you’re on the fence — yes, content marketing is very worth the effort.

Content marketing is a scalable way to grow traffic and leads — without needing an ongoing budget. Not convinced? When you create content that’s able to be used again and again, you’re creating value that doesn’t require additional budget every time it’s reused, reshared, or repurposed.

What’s more, having a clear content strategy from the beginning can be a huge boon for a startup down the road. Organic traffic and SEO help potential customers find you and your product or service when searching online. When done strategically, investing in content now can help compound your discoverability exponentially over time. Up and to the left, please.

2. Not sure what to write about? Keep a pulse on your customers and your eyes on the data.

Great content ideas are hatched in the intersection of “What do my customers want?” and “What is the keyword data showing me?” When considering content topics, always be sure to look at your numbers without losing touch of what your target customer actually wants or needs. Survey them. Ask them what they’d like to read. Notice trends in the FAQs you keep getting from users.

Once you’ve got a great list of ideas going, prioritize any content idea finalists based perceived impact and available resources.

3. Set goals for every piece of content and then test, test, test.

Not every piece of content will be a slam dunk. In fact, there’s often a big learning curve when you first set out on your content strategy journey. To avoid investing too heavily in a content piece that may or may not work for your audience: start simple (no need for movie-level production on your first product demo video), set specific goals for what you want to achieve from your content (more engagement? more delight? more customers?), and then test, test, test.

And when you do find something that works? A.B.R (Always Be Repurposing). Every successful content piece created should be able to be repurposed often and support multiple goals.

4. Consistency is key.

There’s no hard fast rule when it comes to the ideal posting frequency. Instead, focus on consistent publishing in the early stages. Consistency builds trust with your customers or readers while also helping you establish an editorial routine. A good way to do that is by setting a publishing goal and then sticking with it. Once per week is a great goal in the very beginning, especially if you’re resource-strapped.

And as soon as you do publish, it’s time to promote the heck out of it in order to get in front of the most eyes. The first 24–48 hours are the most important since Google’s algorithm can pay extra attention to an initial burst of engagement. After the first few days, continue to promote using ongoing email, social, newsletters, etc. Amanda has some great recommendations & templates for how to do this in her “Content Marketing for Your Startup” talk.

5. Nervous to write? Don’t sweat it. Creating content is the easy part — you just need to start.

Everyone has a story to tell and everyone can write. It’s just a matter of honing your skills by practicing, plugging into the right resources, and connecting with people who can help you elevate your writing.

Ask people to review your content. Get feedback. Seek to learn from experts. Most importantly, just start getting words on the page. Go get ’em.

And if you really don’t have the time or writing chops, you always have the option to hire a creative intern, student, or freelancer who can crank out interesting pieces.

6. Your content an expression of your brand’s language. Be sure writers have the resources to learn it.

It’s never too early to make sure your voice stays aligned across your messaging. Create a basic voice & style brand kit (it can be as simple as a Google Document) early on so that anyone in the company who’s creating content knows which voice to use, and how to use it.

7. Stuck? There are so many tools to help startups determine what content to create, create it, and measure impact.

We’re in a golden age of tools for content creation and content marketing — take advantage of that! Here are just a few content creation and content analytics tools to add to your stack:

• Google Analytics for website traffic.
• Google Search Console or Google Keyword Planner for keyword suggestions.
• Buzzsumo, SEMRush, or ahrefs for keyword research.
• Unsplash for free, high-quality photos.
• Canva for easy design.
• Coscheduler for headline analysis.
• Wordlift for metatdata generation.

Want more? Click here for the full recording of “Content Marketing at Your Startup” — which includes in-depth strategy frameworks, recommendations for content promotion, and a list of the easiest types of content to start creating.

Interested in learning from other experts on how to take your startup up a notch (or 10x notches)? Have a look at Startup Grind’s calendar of upcoming events.