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"What should we be creating content about?”
This is one of the most common questions we hear as companies begin their journey with inbound. To best answer
After six months of publishing between four and five pieces of content a week that sought to answer the most common questions potential River Pools buyers had, Marcus Sheridan performed a deep-dive analysis of how their content was performing. Specifically, he wanted to see if there were any patterns as to which pieces of content were the highest-performing drivers for their business.
Through his analysis, he found there were five distinct categories of blog article topics that rendered the greatest amount of website traffic, lead conversions, and sales:
In our experience, these topics (which we call “The Big 5”) have shown, time and again, to drive the best results for businesses in a way that transcends all industries -- B2B, B2C, nonprofit, and everything in between.
However, there is a paradox that exists with The Big 5.
As buyers, we are obsessed with finding answers to the questions that fall into those five categories, more than any other. But as companies, we often want to completely avoid addressing the topics that fall into those categories, more than any other.
Talking about our problems, pricing, etc., makes us uncomfortable. Your challenge as you work through this playbook is to put aside that discomfort.
In the following steps, we will show you how to effectively address each of The Big 5 topics, but you will only see the results you’re looking for if you fully embrace the role of the teacher, answering any and all questions as honestly and thoroughly as possible.
Think about the last time you tried to find the pricing for something -- anything -- online, and you couldn’t find any information on pricing whatsoever. It’s frustrating, right?
Of course, there are very valid reasons why you may think you can’t write about pricing.
Maybe there are a lot of variables that go into the pricing of what you sell. (Particularly if you’re in a service-based business or consulting field.) You might also be worried about tipping your hand to the competition about how much you charge for what you do.
No matter what the reason may be, know this -- the more upfront you are about your pricing, the more likely you are to build trust with your audience.
Your buyers are performing as much research online as possible before making a
For example, if you’re in the market for a new Jeep Cherokee, you would more likely search for “jeep
Knowing this, we only have two options as businesses.
We can allow our buyers to discover our flaws and problems on their own, meaning they will ultimately trust us less. Or, as soon as they walk through your virtual “front door,” you can say, “Here is our elephant. Do you have a problem with it?”
Hundreds of thousands of comparisons are searched for online every day. That’s because buyers are often choosing between two or more products or services. So, for these articles, you'll want to focus on the questions you’ve received from customers and prospects that specifically deal with a comparison between two or more options they can choose from.
Depending on your industry, you may need to address many different types of comparisons in your content.
Buyers are obsessed with reviews.
That’s why websites like Yelp, Angie’s List, and so on, are so popular. Again, if you fully embrace the notion of being the best teacher in your space you can create reviews and
But you have to be honest.
Similar to reviews and ratings, buyers across all industries are constantly searching online for rankings and “best”-focused content -- the best products, services, vendors, or whatever they may be searching for.
One word of caution, however, before you proceed with creating your “best in class” content. You shouldn’t include yourself in any content in this category that addresses providers in your industry. You will lose all credibility with your audience if you do.