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Content that sells

When it comes to marketing, content sits at the core.

It is great that you have a website, but it is more important that you are able to sell your products and services through the website.

Though there are more direct means of selling (like ads), creating content that sells, however subtly, is very essential.

So, the next question is: How do you create content that sells your product and services?

Before we go deep into that discussion, let’s start with…

What is content that sells?

Content that sells is content that persuades the reader, viewer or listener to take an action. Sometimes, it goes beyond selling your products or services. You could sell a concept or an idea.

But the main goal of such content is to get your audience taking a definite action at the end. It could be to buy your service, watch a video, download an e-book, click on a link – whatever you want them to do.

How to create content that sells

Creating content that sells is very much like creating good content, except that in this instance, you try as much as possible to be persuasive enough to make your audience finally follow through with your call to action.

When creating content aimed at selling, here are some things that you should put into consideration:

1. Have an in-depth knowledge of who you are talking to

This is the most important step in everything we would discuss today.

It is fine that you have a message you want to pass across, but…who is your audience? What are they interested in? What do they like? What do they desire most? What are the things that trigger fear in them?

Get as much information about your audience as you can, starting from their demographics, like age, sex occupation, social status, hobbies, etc. Then move to their psychographic data, like fears and desires.

If you have the answers to these questions, you will be able to channel your offer to suit their wants and needs.

2. Make your message all about your prospect

Your audience or prospect is the most important factor in all of these. They are at the receiving end of the message and have all the decision-making power.

That is why it is important that you know all about your prospect before you begin anything. When you do, you can begin to create a message or an offer that is centered around their interests, needs, and desires.

It is very easy to get carried away by all the good things you are offering, but you have to make sure that it benefits your prospect.

Make sure that it is something that they can relate with and will change their lives for good in some way.

3. Provide value or help

The key to creating content that sells is crafting it in a way that it doesn’t seem obvious that you are selling. Instead, your prospects feel like you are providing them something of value.

That is the only way you can get people to take that action.

The truth is: no one likes to be sold. But if they feel like you are offering help or giving them a solution to their problems, then they become interested in what you are saying.

It all falls back to what your customer or audience needs. Make sure that whatever you are selling is something that will benefit your audience.

You can start by empathizing with them.

Make sure that your prospect knows you understand how they feel (whatever the problem is) and that you have something that can help with that. This way, you come from the standpoint of a concerned fellow or a friend.

For example, selling a product that helps to clear acne, you can start by describing what your prospect goes through every day with a skin filled with acne, how embarrassing it is and the numerous ways it affects their day to day life.

This makes your audience feel you understand what they are going through. Then, you go ahead to tell them that it doesn’t have to be that way. Let them know that there is a way out.

If you are able to do this rightly, when you finally tell them to click that link or download that e-book, they will be more than willing to.

4. Prove that you are in the position to help

You must give your prospect a reason to listen to you in the first place.

One way you can do this is by establishing authority.

You need to make your prospect understand that you have enough knowledge and experience on the subject you are talking about.

After this, you move on to include your credentials, or anything to show your expertise in that field.

You can also share stories about your experience or the experience of other people; how the solution you are offering has helped other people.

At this point, you should chip in proof (pictures, videos, written text), and testimonials.

All these make your customer believe that they can trust what you are saying; that you are in the right position to help them.

5. Do not limit your content to text

There are different types of content. Do not limit yours to text.

Feel free to include videos, pictures, memes, checklists, case studies, infographics, etc. – whatever works for your audience – as long as they are in line with your message.

It is best of you can create your own content, no matter the type. To protect your media, you can add your logo and/or watermarks that have your business name on them.

6. Put in a little bit of SEO practices

After the process of creating content, you need to ensure that it is out there where people can see it.

This is where the need for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in.

SEO makes sure that people can find you through search engines. If you do it well, in no time you begin to rank high for whatever keyword you are focusing on.

This means that when people search for whatever your message is, your content is among the first few that pop up.

To do this, you need to fix in keywords, include outbound and inbound links, use URLs that are user friendly, including header tags, etc.

I won’t be able to go into details here. However, you can learn more about boosting your content with SEO when you read this article: Search Engine Optimization: A Mini-Guide for Beginners

7. Add a clear and legible call to action

This probably might come last but that doesn’t make it less important. In fact, it is very important.

You remember that the purpose of creating content that sells is to make your audience take a definite action? You need to tell them what you want them to do.

Therefore, it is necessary to include a call-to-action.

Make sure it is clear, legible, short, straight to the point and easy to understand. You have already done a lot of persuasion at this point; so you should get your prospect taking action immediately.

In conclusion

Selling needs content. That is the only way you can pass across your message.

These tips will help you create content that will sell whatever it is you want to. Simply follow them and start smiling to the bank.

Have you created content aimed at selling something before? How did you go about it? What was your experience? Leave a comment and let’s talk further.


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Ebibote Opetu
Ebibote Opetu

Ebi was the Content Director of RenegadeCommerce. She handled the blogs and social media platforms of RC, its subsidiaries and clients.

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