Your Content Plan for 2020 Market Domination

Please note this transcript is machine generated so it is not perfect and should be used for reference only, you will get the best from the podcast by listening to it in it's designed format.

Hey everyone, as I record this podcast, it is currently a Friday evening, when technically I should be out at a ball. But I was having one of those evenings where I needed to be in, I needed to be cozy. The log fires on the dog is asleep at my feet and I felt inspired to record this particular episode. Now I find it really funny how we can be inspired at the most oddest of times. But I'm a big believer when it comes to creating content that actually following those times where you feel inspired is really important when you feel like you've got 1,000,001 ideas racing through your head, I really don't believe in pacing yourself. I think it's important to get it out of your system whilst you are tapped into whatever divine force is at work, whilst you have that inspired content creation mode that you seem to have sprung into.

That's something that I've always followed and I've learned my lesson when I haven't followed it and I have thought, well, I'm going to have those ideas tomorrow or have it next week. Don't worry about it and actually know, unfortunately, you know, everyone works differently. But what I have found from my experiences when the, when the tap is on, get the cup out and fill it up. So even if you're not creating all of the content in that moment, at least make sure that you write down those headline ideas, write down the bullet points that goes with those headlines because you can definitely take it that you're going to write down that headline and forget what it was all about. So do you take rough notes about the different content ideas that you come up with so that you don't lose those gems and those aha moments?

I genuinely think it's important to capture it at that time. So that's why I have decided to get the mic out and sit here and record this episode for you because I felt in the mode, in, in the mindset to actually create this for you. And actually I was thinking about this, it was around about this time last year that I was winding down for Christmas. But I was in a very different mindset last year. This year, I'm feeling really, really excited for 2020. I had last year as amazing as , you know, 2018 had been, I felt tired. I was exhausted. and I felt like I was ready for the break. I'm kind of seeing Christmas period. I'm really looking forward to it. We've got so many things planned, but I'm also really excited to get back stuck back in in January. We've got so many plans, whereas last year I was a bit like, do you know what?

I could quite easily not come back to work. That's how I was feeling at the time. I was feeling slightly de-motivated and do you know what I think that we all go through that. And I think it's important for us all to talk about these times because it would be disingenuous of me to pretend that I'm on all of the time because I'm not. And last year I had about four month period of hibernation. But what was really interesting is just before that hibernation period kicked in, I had created a ton of content. I batch created a ton content in one of those moments of feeling that sort of divine inspired time. I'd been jotting down all of these different ideas and I batch created a ton of blog posts, YouTube videos and some, some other bits and pieces. and I really dug into that and I strategically created that content, which I'm going to talk a bit more about in this episode about how I do that and what I believe to be the best content strategy for you guys moving into 2020.

But I did this and I had my tools and I have my team and I have my support and that content and outs and that content saw me generating thousands and thousands of pounds during a time where I wasn't really working as such, I was still delivering to my clients because out of everything that was the bit that I was excited to do. I was excited to serve my clients. It was the visibility piece that I was less excited about. I felt exhausted from feeling the need to be online all of the time. but having this batch content that I'd strategically created with these different points in mind, which I'm going to come to, it saw me through. And, this is something, that I talked about openly and I think I mentioned Alessia in the first episode of this podcast, Alessia Pandolfi and she was like, 'this is what I need'.

'This is what I want. I am exhausted from feeling like I'm being visible online all the time and I need a more strategic way of working when it comes to my visibility because I also got a lot of deliverables and output that I need to give my clients. I feel like I don't want to be feeling like I'm being taken away from that. I need to be able to balance and actually enjoy life and enjoy my business.'' So whilst Alessia had a few things that she came to me with. She wanted to create a high ticket offering, and she wanted to feel comfortable in her pricing. But another one of her big goals was wanting to create content that converts, that creates those sales. But without feeling like she's having to be 'on it' all the time. So she caught wind of this and that's about the time that we actually started working together to do the same thing.

And she's done it. She's gotten a ton of time back. she has a very strategic content plan that is generating high ticket clients, which is exactly what she was after, which was fantastic. And by the way, if you guys want to do the same thing after listening to this episode, don't forget to book a call with me using the link in the show notes. That's bit.ly/claritycallpodcast. If you just click on that link and we can discuss how to start creating that strategy for you for 2020 but I think it's really important, like I said, to batch create content when you are feeling inspired to do so. Really dig into that and carve out time. Now, just very briefly, I want to talk about the times where I do also feel like content creation can dry up.

If you haven't done it in a while and it's that starting it back up again and you've been waiting to feel like, you know, when am I going to get these kind of inspired downloads that Jen is talking about and you're waiting any waiting and it doesn't ever seem to happen. Well, this is the thing, sometimes it won't. Sometimes you have to force yourself to get into that creative space. That's something else that I found as well after hibernating for a long period of time, I've actually felt that it's necessary to, okay, I've waited long enough now and it's not coming. I'm going to have to start, you know, start the tap dripping and it is a case of a blank sheet of paper and carving out the time to start creating that content and just starting, even if it is rubbish, drivel coming out, just got to get that flow.

it's a practiced skill that you do have to keep going, going with. So do make sure that if you are in that space where things haven't been flowing, you just got to start. Just make a start and it will come. I'm going to talk about some points a little while, which are hopefully gonna help you to think about, you know, how to, how to create that content for 2020. So there's also something else I want to mention here in terms of how the market is changing and what isn't working at the moment. And it was, my coach Jessica Lorimer, who I absolutely adore, she had first alerted me to it, but it was interesting. I noticed it, but she sort of sounded out to me and I was like, my gosh, yes, this is the way it's moving and it's this whole binge and buy idea ... the binge...

And buy that you would create X amount of hours of content and people will go and they will binge on all of your stuff, all of the value that you give. And then they will decide to buy after watchingX amount of hours worth of content. And it just isn't like that anymore. And I would argue, has it ever been, I'm a high paying client and I'm happy to give my money away where I feel there's going to be a good return on investment. Like the majority of people who are confident in themselves that they all get a result. If they get the right help, they will absolutely, spends that money. But I am, I'm a quick decision maker. I don't need to sit and binge on hours and hours of content to make a decision. and I've been spending a lot of money for, for a long period of time, particularly on my own coaching and my investing in that.

And I don't think that this, this has been working. If anything, it's been training people to sit and watch your free content and wait for more of it. And not buy, your training People out of buying. And, so I just, the massive shout out to Jessica Lorimer, because you know, she notices these trends and I wanted to share that with you as well because I think it's important that we stop doing this. We're actually not only causing ourselves harm in terms of stopping sales, we're also doing our client's potential harm as well because you're keeping them stuck in the same place by continually feeding them with this, with this free value stuff, which, which will really, if we're honest about it, it's only going to get them so far. They need more than that. They need accountability. They need to actually, I don't get to say it here, they do need to part with their money because people who pay pay attention and then taking it one step further, people who pay more pay more attention.

So you have to realize that by doing it you are actually doing everyone a disservice, including your potential clients as well. So I would suggest moving out of this whole 'constantly creating sort of free value' all of the time because it's just going to train people out of it. And actually we need to move our content into something, slightly more strategic. So my advice is to stop creating so much content. At one of my recent webinars, I asked how many pieces of content people were creating per day, per week, per month, and the answers that were given, were either loads or not enough, either loads because of the constant need to feel like they're visible or not enough because they didn't feel like they were being visible enough. And I even had one or two people say that they'd given up because they weren't seeing the traction they or wanted from their efforts.

And you know, I think that's possibly one of the biggest concerns for people who are creating content, aren't seeing the results is will this actually work? What is the point? And they're getting tired of trying to, you know, be out there and create the stuff and it's just not hitting, hitting the Mark. One of the biggest reasons that I've seen for this problem is that people don't understand that there are different layers to your content marketing. So we feel like we're being visible all the time and we get out there and we're on LinkedIn, on the public feeds or out there on our personal profile on Facebook and we're doing live videos, we're posting our little tips and tricks. we are going into perhaps different groups and different places even let's take into account networking events and we're showing up to them and we're showing our face.

But nothing, nothing seems to happen. And the reason is, is because that's just the first layer of your content strategy and actually what you're not doing potentially is inviting them into the next layer into a more intimate conversation. That can't necessarily happen in public. It really depends on, on your industry. and what your helping with as to how open people are about having those types of conversations in public. But even then, even if someone is having this great conversation with you in, in the comments of a social media post or, or even for instance has replied to one of your emails to say, Oh my gosh, that's resonated so much with me. We need to take that conversation to the next level and we need to get them into something more intimate. Whether that is inviting them to have a discussion with you on a call and actually, you know, speaking to them there or offering that conversation in a different space, perhaps in a direct message.

and this depends on platform to platform, by the way. You try and do that on Facebook and people kind of get that, Oh, stranger danger don't, don't type messages to me in my inbox on LinkedIn, that's far more acceptable. So you do have to look at the different platforms that you're using for your visibility to understand if, if that's appropriate, if you're networking, inviting someone to go to a one to one is totally it wholly acceptable. So you do have to kind of look at the different ways in which your being visible as to whether it's appropriate or not, but you do still need to take it to the next level. We can talk about this in terms of just a for now for an easy, way of describing this is that perhaps your out there on, on your Facebook feed and your talking, about a problem that your prospect is, is suffering from and you are looking to talk around that and talking about how you help to solve that problem.

That's great. But then where's the invitation? If people aren't asked to do something and there is no call to action, then they'll read it and go all that stuff. That's great. It's, it's highly unlikely that people will reach out to you if they haven't been invited to. So you have to give them some kind of information. If, whether that is send me a personal message, whether it's why don't you find out some more information here and download this content. Then you've got their email address to get them somewhere else, to get them into a more intimate conversation over in your email. Whether that is, come and join my Facebook group where again, that pulls down that that fourth wall where, where they feel a bit more special, a little bit less vulnerable in that public situation, they feel freer to talk. So think about your content as a journey and as a funnel and make sure that all of your content has a call to action on it.

And that could even be PM me or it could be book a call here and just having that call link so that people know that they can do that and that, you know, that's how you get in contact. And it's a very, very simple tweak, but it can yield so many results just by adding that call to action into your content. So how about the actual contents of your content? So I want to talk you through my five points that I believe are crucial to your content standing out in 2020. And then I'm going to talk you through a very simple content creation method that I use. So the first thing that I believe is very important is relevancy, and by that I mean is that if you want content that captures the right audience, you need to be putting out the right kind of hooks or bait for want of a better word.

If you want to catch a certain type of fish, you've got to have the right type of bait, and that might sound very kind of alluring, but it's the most simplistic way I can describe this because what I see so much of the time is people putting out some sort of giveaways. You know, you have enough free iPad or a free Amazon gift card, you know, if you come and do this thing or join my wait list or whatever else. Now everybody wants an iPad. Virtually everyone wants a gift card. Like who wouldn't want that? And that's the question you need to be asking yourself actually is, who doesn't want my thing? Well, who am I excluding? And who do I actually want in? Who is the person that's actually going to end up buying from me? So when you're looking at putting content out there, it has to be congruent to what it is you're selling.

The same buying intent has to be at the forefront of your content. And in this same thread is when they actually go to buy from you. So have a good thing about the relevancy of what you're putting out there and who it is you're trying to attract. And when you're writing your content, think about one person or one entity, and I use the word for instance, if you're thinking about a particular type of corporate organization, we have to think about one person in order to make sure that our content isn't irrelevant, broad or fluffy, and that we're actually really laser targeting the content so that when they read it, it truly does resonate with them. So it's like, okay, wow, yes, this person who's writing this totally gets me. And that's exactly me because the next thing is that has to be meaningful. If it doesn't mean anything to anybody, then it really isn't going to be read.

Watch, listen to, you have to make sure that you connect with people on a meaningful level, whether that's through emotion or whether it's through understanding or you know, whatever that is, but we do need to make sure that, that it's meaningful to them. So relevancy and meaningfulness. The first two things that you need to be looking at when you are creating your content, does it have those elements in that? If not, then go back and look at your ideal client and get that clarity first around who it is you're speaking to because it's from there that you create great content. The next thing, the third point is creating something that is both intriguing and fresh. One of the best ways to get people reading, watching, listening, and continuing to read, watch and listen, is to build in curiosity, to build in that intrigue, that interest in every line so that they are, you're opening up a loop that has to be closed.

It's like leaving. You want a cliffhanger that you can't, you can't not know and that's what you're looking for in all of your content, particularly when it comes to your call to action. So when you're looking at how you're building that content, you want to be thinking by the time you get to the call to action. They need to be salivating or frothing at the mouth to get that next thing. So have you built that urgency? Have you built that intriguing curiosity for them to find out the next thing whether is to directly speak to you or whether it's to download something or go somewhere else. You need to be priming them with that curiosity and that intrigue and that need and want to find out more. But on the other side of this, it's also ensuring it's fresh, I guess as you probably have its own point in itself and that's if people have already heard the message before, if they've already seen content like it, then they're going to tune out.

And this is where all the people out there who copy other people's content are going to be failing miserably because at the end of the day, you have to write from the heart. You have to write from you, from from your mind and your mindsets. It's got to be unique to you and you have to write it in a way that has a style that grabs attention. Like I said, if the message has been heard a zillion times, they're not going to, they're not going to tap into it. They need to tune in because it's something new and fresh. So when you're looking at your content also, you know, I don't know what you to get stuck into comparison. It can't comparisonitis mode. You know, if at this point it's about just getting pen to paper as it were and getting something out there and that's going to help you start from where you're at, then go ahead and do that.

At the end of the day, it's better to get started than to get stuck. But if we're looking for excellent content and you're looking to take it to that next level, looking for that freshness and what you're creating is very, very important. And then the next thing, the fourth point that I want to mention is sophistication. Now I'm talking about sophistication in a way that again, we have to look at who are we targeting? Who is this content designed for? And is the message that I'm providing? Is the information within this, this article, this podcast, whatever it is you're creating, is it sophisticated enough that's going to blow their mind or is it going to fall flat? Because again, they've heard it before. So sophistication in your messaging is very, very important. So think about your ideal client and where they are on their journey and actually what is it that they need to hear in order to get them to sit up and listen and take action.

Because if it's an immature marketing message, it's not going to be listened to, are going to be, you know, not necessarily even, it's not even going to resonate with them or anything like that. They're just beyond that stuff. Now. So be very clear about where, where your ideal client is on the journey. Yes, you might understand your niche and your industry and you know, a ballpark of, of the, of the type of person that you're, you're helping, let's just say entrepreneurs for the moment maybe, but actually where are they on their entrepreneurial journey? Are they starting out, you know, is the messaging you're giving way too overwhelming for them? Is it too sophisticated or are they further along the line? And actually you need to make sure that you are upping your game in terms of showing them that you have intelligent knowledge of where they're at and a true understanding of the level of which they're at, so sophistication is really important.

And then the next thing, the last thing that I think is so important to inject into your content for 2020 is thought leadership. Now this is something that gets missed off so many times. And when I'm talking about thought leadership, I'm talking opinions. Okay? So if we're going to talk about this in layman's terms, that's what I, what's what I mean here. And to be a market leader, this is so important. You need to express opinions about the things that matter to your ideal client that are relevant to your area of expertise or industry and the actually take a strong stance. So why did we find it so hard to inject this into our content? The first one is we're scared of the feedback and criticism that comes with sharing a strong opinion. You might be perhaps even unaware of the opinions that you have because you're out of touch with what's being shared in the industry.

And if that's the case, there's an easy fix. You just get in amongst it and become more aware about what other people are talking about. That's not a hard thing to do, so you make sure that you are making an effort to do that. If you're feeling a bit out of touch with, well, you know how, because if you don't know the different sides of the coin, you don't know where to sit. So become aware of where you sit and really stressed that opinion or the perhaps we don't believe that our opinions matters. That's also another one where we worry about sharing an opinion for the sake of getting attention that might bring an negative response. Now this is the thing is whilst you need to inject opinions and thought leadership into your content, be intelligent about it. Don't do it for the sake of stirring the pot because those are the types of posts that tend to backfire.

I do believe in absolutely researching all the sides and really putting yourself in the shoes of each side of you know, if the argument as as it were, because I think unless you can come and have an understanding from all sides, you can't form a strong opinion because you'll just somebody that will come along and we'll fire you down because you haven't really thought through what you're talking about because you've just decided that you need an opinions and you're going to have one, and then you just look like a fall. Again, I'm not one to mince my words. If you found out by now on this podcast, I'm not going to fluff it up for you. What I'm doing is I'm helping you to be a better leader and in order to be a better leader, we have to be thinking strategically about forming those opinions.

So do your research, do your thinking time on the opinions that you're going to putting out there to ensure that you have a well rounded one and that you are happy to defend your point of view. Because at the end of the day, let's not pussyfoot around. You're going to get trolls. Okay? And there's no point we saying, well, you'll be fine because people will speak up. They will have a different opinion. But who are you trying to attract? You know, from what side of the coin are you trying to get people from and all of those other people who don't resonate with that opinion, they don't really matter, but nobody's going to pay attention to you if you consistently sit on the fence. People want you to be fighting for them and their cause. And if you're not on their side, they're not going to feel that resonance and that connection and that trust because they need you in their corner.

So who's corner are you in and what is it, what cause is it that you are fighting for? That would be my biggest piece of advice when it comes to thought leadership to find out those things because then you can really get behind that cause and you can defend it for you know, on behalf of those that you want to serve. If you truly believe in what you have to say and it comes from a place of good intention for the people in your market, then why not share your opinion? And if you believe in the work you do and you get great results for your clients, your opinion matters. Some of the world's most love leaders or thought leaders, Brene Brown, Gary V, that also depends on what side of the coin you sit with, that Seth Goden, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, they all had very strong opinions and still do.

Some of them have very strong opinions. Sharing your opinion. Does it mean you have to be a Dick about it? There we go. I'm going and have to put in an explicit on the, on my first several episode on my podcast. But even then you're still gonna find people who disagree. You can't be a thought leader without ruffling a few feathers, a great quote, from Debbie Millman, the queen of branding. I just want to read this out to you. She said one piece of advice I think that we should ignore is the value of being a people person. No one cares if you are a people person, have a point of view and share it meaningfully, thoughtfully and with conviction. And I just think that sums it all up. In order to resonate with people and for people to be back you up, be in your corner, you have to find your tribe, your people and the meaning and conviction behind the cause that you are supporting.

A really quick tip to help you start creating some great content for 2020 is first of all, in fact, I can do this in two parts. And the first thing is, is get clear on who you're speaking to and not just in a, in a general or I knew who my ideal client is not filled out an ideal client avatar. Brilliant. I mean, really get clear on the kinds of problems they have. What are their goals? how is it that these problems are impacting them? What symptoms are they experiencing and not from a place of being in an ivory tower and knowing will I know what's wrong with them? I know what the root causes. Yes, you do know what that is because you are the experts, but they need you to come at it from a different level. They need to know that you get them and that you understand what they're experiencing both from a positive and a negative angle.

So you need to understand who they are, what makes them tick, and really what is going on at that. That third layer that isn't just, you know, tick, then they need to lose weights, well I can help them because I'm a weight loss coach. Know what, what is really going on for them specifically, you know, are they also diabetic? how is, what's the biggest problem for them because if they wait, is it perhaps that their sex life is on the rocks? Is it that they can't bear to show themselves up on stage or to stand up in a meeting? Like how is it impacting their life specifically? And that's where you can really dig into a specific person that you can help. And that's when you can really start to specialize. And when you do that and you, you have that grounding and who you're talking to, your content really comes to life and really starts to make a big impact.

So after you've got that clarity, I tend to write down the three things. What are their goals? What are their problems that achieving that goal? And then what are their objections to doing something about solving that problem or achieving that goal? What is going on for them that is stopping them from taking the action. So I write all of these D three things down and Trello, by the way, just a bit of a product placement there. Trello is a great place to do this. Google it if you don't already know about that. And you can use the three lists, columns to write down goals, problems and objections. And you can list out those different things side by side so you can really see them. and then you can look at your USP's and or even just your selling points. You know we've talked about your concrete USP in the first episode of the podcast.

So if you haven't listened to that, make sure you go back and listen to it because that's extremely important to have. But then also you just have selling points as well that might not necessarily be unique to you, but they still serve as a, as, as a good selling point. So you want to be looking at all of those, have those at the ready because then you can say, okay, so how does my selling points? And my USP and my knowledge around my industry and what I do, how can that help each of those areas? And how can I educate my market? Or in fact, let's even think about this now, my individual within that market. Cause when we're talking to one person, how can I help that individual within that market to overcome those problems, achieve those goals and change their mindset around their objections by coming from it at a different angle.

And that's where you can inject that thought leadership into your content by helping people to see things differently come, come at it from a different angle to help them overcome that, their fears, their objections, their concerns, their confusion, the lack of clarity that they have. The, I don't know if this is possible for me that, I mean there were the objections around this and the individual to the person you are looking to serve. So if you can find all of those things and you can look at how you help each of those points, you can start to create content around each of those different areas. Sometimes we're pulling it all together. Sometimes by singling out a particular problem. Sometimes I singling out a particular objection. Now the more technical the objections gap because the objections, journey can go through whole different stage. So for instance, the first objection could be is it possible for me that I can overcome this challenge or is it possible for me that I can achieve this goal?

And you need to create content at that first level that helps them experience that, yes I can, I work here now and it's possible for me. Then another objection pops up and another objection pops up all the way to when it comes to buying your particular package and you need to create a piece of content around the price objection. You know, why does it cost this much? How can you help them make it more affordable by payment plans? They know that's your selling point is the payment terms potentially, but actually they can pay over a certain amount. So you can see that the objections change every stage. But there is gen generally a sequence of those objections they have on one after the other and they won't even get to the price objection because they're still at the objection of 'is this possible for me?'

So you have to be very clever about creating that content that overcomes those objections that each of the stages, now this might sound all very complicated and to a certain extent, yes it is, but let me tell you, it's necessary. If you want to succeed with your content in 2020 we all have to up our game slightly because people are inundated with content all of the time and they're choosing out of 80% of it because we just gone perhaps even more. I'm picking that figure out the air. I'm basically telling you that their tuning out of a lot of stuff, and if it's not resonating, if it's not meaningful, if it's not helping them move along that line to make progress, then they're just going to tune out of it and it's not going to hit them at all. So whilst it is getting ever so slightly more complicated, we're going to have to get better at doing it because if we don't keep up, if we don't start being more strategic about how we create our content and seeing it as a journey and using those call to actions to take them through that journey, then we're just going to get left behind and you're going to get left in that.

That whole problem of, well, I'm visible all the time, but I'm never seeing any traction. I've never see anything happen. Well, it's because you haven't got all of the pieces together quite yet. And the thing is you can't be that. You cannot be perfect. There is no way that's possible, but you can absolutely certainly work towards it. Like I said at the beginning of this episode, Alessia was in, was in the exact same boats. If any of you listening who was feeling overwhelmed by creating the content for 2020 and they thought that doing the behind the scenes office walkthrough and chucking out and curate some curated content from other people was going to be enough and you're now thinking, okay, I'm going to have to really up my game. But it's all quite overwhelming. Alessia was in the same spot as you when she first started working with me.

Now, you know, she's not a content specialist, but I get people coming to me who know that, that, that she's worked with me, complimenting us on the content that we've created for her and she gets people coming from it, you know, high paying clients from that content that was not happening before and it's taken, you know, it's taken a good six months for her to really hone in that talent. The, the results started happening much quicker, but she, you know, in order to master the way she created content and to actually see those continuous solid results, it does take time. It isn't a quick thing. So what I don't want anyone to feel is concerned or confused that it's not happening right now, but you have to start somewhere and you have to. The first step is recognizing that it's time to up your game when it comes to content creation for 2020 so there we have it.

Those are my biggest tips I can give you to start dominating your niche, dominating your market with your content moving forward into next year. I wish you the best of luck and if you need any help with with doing that, without, without creating that content plan, finding more clarity on who it is you're targeting to create it, then do make sure you book that call in with me at bit.ly/claritycallpodcast And get that call booked in and it's been great speaking to you guys about this. Again, hit me up at jen@jen-hall.com if you have any other questions, anything that you want to say, have your say do let me know. I love hearing from you, and do make sure that you subscribe to the podcast so that you don't miss any episodes and I'll see you in the next episode.