Introduction
Federer and Nadal. Fish and chips. Salt and pepper. Some things are just easier to think of in pairs. For inbound marketers though, it’s content and marketing.
Let’s start in the shallow end. What even is a content creator? A content creator is simply someone who (either flying solo or working within a team) produces entertaining or educational material catering to the interests and challenges of a target audience.
When it comes to their content, what separates highly respected content creators from their run-of-the-mill counterparts are the words “compelling” and “valuable.” But creating such content does not happen with the click of fingers. Instead, like many things, it’s a case of forming the right habits.
So, let’s take a closer look at just what those habits are.
Daily Immersion
The first habit you’ll need to form is scouring the internet for daily news within your industry. But why make it harder for yourself? By setting up an RSS feed to keep things all in one place, you’ll save yourself a hell of a lot of time and effort. Work hard and smart, not just hard. Don’t be too shy to ask your colleagues what they’re reading and, while you’re at it, learn which blogs your buyer persona reads too. It all adds up!
Write and Write Again
Don’t find the time, make the time. Highly respected content creators know that something inspiring can come from their writing even when they wake up feeling anything other than inspired to write in the first place.
It’s not a case of a daily dissertation, but spending as little as fifteen minutes each day getting thoughts and ideas down is ideal. Find it hard to do it first thing? Don’t worry. Play around with it. Find a time that works for you. Just make sure that time is every day!
Are They Listening?
Highly respected content creators know their audience back to front. Have you examined yours? What problems are they facing that you haven’t already solved? As a wise cartoon mandrill monkey once said, “look harder.” You might just discover the dormant creative opportunities that will truly turn their attention to you.
Your Voice is, well, Yours
Let’s face it. The competition is fierce, and you need to stand out from the crowd. Even when the subject matter is inherently bland, the readers who arrive at your content to get informed, will tend to come back for your personality. With that said, make you have one.
Sure, your employers will have content guidelines that will more or less need to be followed. But they’re not standing over you with a stick, so get into the habit of letting your creativity flow. You’ll be much more valuable in doing so.
Add to the Debate
Curating others’ content is a worthwhile habit to get into. Just make sure when sharing content that you have something valuable to add yourself. If you’re taking your daily immersion seriously, you have a lot more stored away than you might think.
Get to Grips with your KPIs
Generating Internet traffic is somewhat of a Holy Grail for digital content creators, with it generally seen as a top marketing challenge. A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a specific metric you’ve chosen to measure how well your content is doing against your expectations. That could be “social media traffic” whereby you’re monitoring the number of visitors that come to your content from a social media post. So, focus on a specific KPI then optimize your content for it.
Just don’t be a slave to Google’s search algorithm regarding organic traffic. Keep it onside by studying how it ranks content. Knowledge is power.
Hi, Nice to Meet You
There’s no room for resting on your laurels here. There’s always more to learn. So get out there (technologically speaking at least). Listen to the ideas of others and consider how they align with your own. There are countless opportunities to move that online networking into the real world. If networking isn’t really your thing, don’t worry. You’re likely not giving a speech in front of the world at Apple’s headquarters, so start small. The company kitchen is as good a place to start as any. Just go from there.
The Curiosity – Solutions Loop
Highly respected content creators are inherently curious and it’s the insights that come with it that makes great content. But, remember, it is the proposed solutions to age-old problems that gets content creators to the top of the pile. We’re not recommending you play the devil’s advocate on every single occasion, but it’s certainly worth getting into the habit of questioning the status quo when it feels right. A balanced contrarian standpoint should help you to think more critically about the content you’re consuming – something that should only benefit content of your own.
So, there you have it. Sure, with content creation comes pressure. But when doubts arise try to think of the words of Brian Tracy: “Successful people are simply those with successful habits.”
As always, the best of luck.
The Byter Team
