7 Worthy Ambitions Every Content Marketer Should Live By

Content marketing has provided a paradigm shift for traditional marketers.

Gone are the days when all they do is stuff keywords and optimize their sites for search – now, they focus on content as the major driving force in attracting and maintaining a following.

But it’s more than just writing how-to articles or adding infographics on conventional blog posts. Content marketing must be executed with a much deeper goal than content itself, to separate those who genuinely using content from those who think they are.

A true content marketer aspires to achieve most, if not all, of the following ambitions:

1. Put the customers on a pedestal.

It’s high time that marketing content would focus on the customers more than the product – explore their pains, acknowledge their needs, and see things in their points of view.

2. Make customers smart.

Companies in industries such as telecommunications and computer hardware aim first to educate their customers on how to make their user experience become more productive. Through content, you can help overcome objections and complaints, as well as illustrate the benefits of using a product or service.

3. Bridge the gap between buyers and sellers.

It is one of the tasks of content marketers to find a common ground between companies and consumers to help them better understand each other and work out a healthy, giving relationship.

4. Attract new people.

Aside from catering the existing customers, it is also an objective to bring more people in the loop.

Prospective customers sometimes do research before deciding to buy something, and through blog /articles they can be provided with an easier path in decision making.

5. Developing new ideas.

If you’re contemplating on new business propositions or re-positioning your key products, you can use content to see how people would react to them.  

Content is a breeding ground for innovation and reaction analysis, giving you a low-risk avenue to “test the waters”.

6. Build reputation in search engines

The right way. Google no longer rewards sites that use traditional SEO tactics to gain high rankings.

They now focus on originality, relevance, and credibility. This leaves marketers with no choice but to use high quality content to build a search reputation.

7. Tell the right story.

The effectiveness of a story relies mainly on the type of audience, the timing of the post, and the approach used in conveying the message.

Whichever way a content marketer chooses to walk on, the story must be able to sell the idea. To do this, paint a picture of their lives would change by using your product or service.

They should be able to “mentally try your product on for size” to facilitate them in their buying process. Harness the power of storytelling and use it effectively.

6 Ways To Come Up With Blogging Ideas When Your Brain Offers None

Some call it creativity gap. Others call it intellectual drought. But most people know it as writer’s block.

Whatever you call it, it’s not just a perceived mental state – it actually happens among writers from time to time, and despite its pervasiveness, many of them still are unable to come up with a resistance plan against it. For business bloggers, this barrier can significantly impact a marketing campaign, especially one that relies heavily on content.

The trick that most experts use to fight against writer’s block is to not force your brain to brew any ideas when it clearly doesn’t want to. 

Rather than settling with a substandard content born out of mind pressure, consider other methods that you can use to naturally cultivate an idea:

1. Curate
   
   When you’re broke, you’d borrow money, and then pay it back. Same thing with blogging; sometimes you have to borrow ideas which you think can be useful. And you can always return the favor by giving credit to your sources.
   
   Related: Creating vs. Curating Social Media Content For Your Business
2. Answer Questions
   
   As a blogger, you’ve probably received questions via email or the comments section of your blog. If you don’t have anything to write about, it’s about time you respond to those questions. It serves both of you; you now have a topic you can write about, and your reader would be pleased that his/her question was answered.
3. Do Interviews
   
   The thing about interviews is that it talks about people first rather than concepts. Articles based on interviews can give insight from people who matter in the industry, or those who know exactly what they’re doing.  Plus, interview sessions can also open doors to a lot of other topics you can write about in the future.
4. React to Current Events
   
   Writing about industry news and events makes your blog more pertinent and credible. It shows that you’re aware of what’s going on and you’re not timid to share what you have to say. Just make sure you know the distinction between a professional opinion and a personal rant.
5. Blow Up Comments
   
   Sometimes a person could post a comment that is by itself a bloggable topic. It wouldn’t hurt to go over the comments section of your blog and of others just to see if you can pick up nuggets that you can draw inspiration on.
   Related: Utilize Your Comment Box Wisely!
6. Agree Or Contradict
   
   Although agreeing is more commonly used by bloggers, contradicting someone’s opinion easily attracts more readers. Why? People like to see both sides of each story so they can satisfy their brains in choosing a side to believe in. But remember, telling people how you disagree with someone can sometimes be construed as a personal attack. Emphasize that the idea, not the person, is the one you’re opposing.