Content Marketing Essentials – The 1st – 5 Reel-Em-In Blog Post

Like What Your Reading? Please Share

What is the first blog post you should write?

“Hello, world” is not the first. Buy from us because we’re great is not the second. Third, is not look at the award we won.

Those three will not rank on Google page 1 nor bring a tsunami of traffic. Nor do those three answer any of the top 5 question people have.

Amazingly, these first 5 blog posts are the ones people want to read.

Content Marketing Essentials – The Big 5 Blog Post

The first 5 blog posts you must publish are:

• What are the prices and/or costs of your products?
• What are the problems with your products?
• Comparison, the ‘us vs. them questions’ and who is better?
• Reviewing the products or services (of competitors as/or solutions)
• Who (brand/product/service) is the best at _______

Want to know the best part?

These are the 5 biggest questions people want to have answered – before they splach the cash.

If people are thinking about these issues, then as sure as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West they want answers.

The bottom line:

People will get answers one way or another, from one source or another – if not from your website where¹?

Don’t Take My Word for it

Play the *what-if* game for a few seconds.

When you decide to buy a new refrigerator a few questions come to mind.

• How much will it cost?
• How reliable is this brand?
• Which brand and model is better?
• What are the reviews?
• Which is best and why?
• Will it fit in my kitchen?

You want answers to these 5 questions. Use this same principle with the questions your ideal buyer is asking.

“Brainstorm” the basic question your prospects are asking about your products and services.

You will come up with the mega list – which is great. Don’t throw that list away. Keep in mind the five suggestions are good.

Did I brainstorm these content marketing essentials questions? No, I won’t take the credit.

Marcus Sheridan – The Sales Lion did Brainstorm these questions.

…If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.

Isaac Newton to Robert Hooke, in 1676

And Marcus is a content marketing authority.

These 5 question every person asks in every industry, about every product, and business are not answering…

These 5 reel-em-in content marketing essentials hacks are shamelessly ‘stolen’ from Marcus Sheridan.

His hour-long speech at the Hubspot Inbound Marketing conference in 2013 (#Inbound2013) revolved around writing articles people want to read versus what we want to write.

At the core of his presentation are these 5 questions.

Content Marketing and Blogging saved River Pools and Spas

As a background, Marcus is the owner of River Pools and Spas.

He began the presentation by answering the 5 most common questions his prospects were asking about fibreglass swimming pools.

In the short version of his story, during the economic downturn in ’08 or ’09, sales of swimming pools all but dried up. He and his partner heard of this “new approach” called content marketing and decided to jump in feet first.

He began by answering all recurring questions his potential customers were asking about fibreglass swimming pools.

And during this intense blogging period, he and his partner identified 5 types of questions that every person asks in every industry.

And he realized few businesses were answering those questions.

Here are 5 examples of posts Marcus wrote for each question

• How much does a fibreglass pool cost?
• Top 5 fibreglass Pool Problems and Solutions
• Concrete vs. Fiberglass Pools vs. Vinyl Liner Pools: Which is Better?
• A Review of Barrier Reef Fiberglass Pools
• Who are the Best Swimming Pool Builders in Richmond Virginia?

Content Marketing is Giving Away the Recipe, Not the Secret Sauce

Do you give away your secret sauce when blog post writing? No, we don’t. We give away the *How* and *Why* and get paid for the *what*.

The wife and I are avid cooks.

No not Masterchef or Micheline star quality by any stretch! Nor is the food gruel from the gulag. We are amateurs.

We love cooking and expanding our palate and trying new techniques and styles. We own many cooking books by true masters. Michelle and Albert Roux, James Martin, Darina Allan and others which I cannot for the life of me remember.

You know what is crazy:

These Michelin-star chefs give away their receipts – all of them. The ingredients, quantities, and length of time to cook. The lot!

Even with all that – can I cook a plate of Michelin-star goodness? Do I instantly become a top chef because I have the receipt?

No, of course not. Not by a country mile.

My cooking is missing their secret sauce of experience, the subtle ability to add a bit of this and not that. I’m missing their passion, love, and taste buds from years of failures and successes.

Draw the cooking parallels with your business.

What would happen if you give away your receipt, give away the how-to’s, But charge big money for the secret sauce of your *what*?

Your uniqueness is not the butter, sugar, eggs or flour, or the fanciness of your raspberries (quality of goods matters). Instead, your “secret sauce” is your passion and own special mix of goodness which makes you you.

These 5 questions serve as stepping stones to help your prospects realise your special mix of goodness.

Giving away the checklist and the recipe, the how-to as this will build your actual and perceived authority and build trust with people.

Content Marketing Essentials the Dirty Laundry and Dust balls in the Corners

Discussing problems, openly, is risky, and uncomfortable. And very powerful.

The benefits of openness are just that – you are open, transparent and honest. These three are the hallmark of every great business.

Discussing problems openly is not risk-free.

Everyone gets to see your dirty laundry. You may scare away a few prospects.

Yet, you will build trust faster. Can prospects trust a business which is secretive, shady, and opaque?

The Implication of these 5 Content Marketing Essentials Topics

What is the price of your product/service?

Price is a self-filtering process. High prices will scare away a few prospects and attract many many others. And your competitors will know your prices anyway.

Being Honest and open has intangible benefits including building trust.

What are the problems with your products?

Be honest with yourself. Your products or services are not perfect or without fault. At some point, people will understand the drawback and problems of your product. This is normal.

Create a plan to manage these negatives earlier in the buying process. Better is engineering out the weak aspects. Being upfront will save everybody time and hassle. Yes, people will self–filter, yet this leaves more time to concentrate on the people who are interested and who matter.

Take Marcus’s River Pools and Spas for example. They sell fibreglass swimming pools. Installation requires a crane to lift the pool from a lorry into the back garden of the customer’s house. Built-in cement swimming pools do not have this problem.

I believe it is best to inform (educate) prospects from the start. And not surprise them at the end.

The Us vs. Them questions and who is better?

Us vs them question lends itself perfectly to a chart or a table format.

Listing the features of your product compared to 1 or 2 other like or simulars. People are already making these comparisons. You are taking the content marketing lead by publishing this comparison.

The comparison chart, naturally cannot be defamatory, derogatory or disparaging in any form or fashion.

Or you will immediately lose trust, turn people off and make seriously bad enemies of your competitors. Always use published facts and figures.

Additionally, there are search benefits. By naming your competitors in a blog post you will be visible in the search result for their branded terms. Which help you get more search traffic.

Reviewing the products or services (of competitors or solutions)

You must be creative with this topic. Reviewing a product or service without really trying can expose open you to some pitfalls.

Who is the best at _______

A league table is best for an independent body to generate. But, a list of businesses that provide the same service as you do will go a long way.

Content Marketing Essentials – Your homework write Blog Post.

What do you feel about these 5 blog post types? Are they too risky for you? Let me know in the comments.

New to Content Marketing? This Content Marketing FAQ and this Content marketing exposed – how to create B2B content are essential readings about blog post writing.

Like What Your Reading? Please Share