Last week, I had the pleasure of joining Ann Smarty on Viral Content Buzz’s weekly Twitter chat.
I have to admit, of all social events, a Twitter chat is one of the easiest (and most enjoyable). If you haven’t tried one, it may be time. Ann Smarty is your go-to expert for figuring it out.
Here’s a roundup of her questions and my answers, all focused on advanced content marketing.
Q1 You have an impressive background. How did you end up being a digital content creator? How did you imagine your career when in college?
I didn’t intend to do business writing when I started out. I wanted to write fiction. (Typical, lol.) I had worked in PR and did a lot of pro-bono work, then finally decided it was time to earn money as a writer.
I learned copywriting and got a corporate job. Good training. I wrote tons of content, web pages & sales collateral. Weirdly, though, in all my jobs, I end up writing content.
I think my background in fiction makes the difference. If you think about it, the best content has a story arc. That’s key to getting people engaged.
When starting out, I didn’t know enough to imagine my writing career clearly. Lol That might be a good thing. All I knew was I wanted to reach the world with my stories. In a way, that’s what I’ve done.
Q2 How to produce awesome content? What’s your favorite actionable advice?
Awesome content starts with awesome ideas. You have to spend time brainstorming ideas. Once your idea is solid, you have to make sure you’re saying something worth reading. Ask yourself if YOU would read or share your content. If not, you need a better idea.
To me, writing is about iterations. Massage your message one layer at a time.
#writingtip 1: Say what you want to say, then back it up with a story or solid proof.
#writingtip 2: Watch your verbs. Make your writing as active as possible.
#writing tip 3: Eliminate wordiness. Remove anything that’s not on point.
Q3 How to increase conversions via content marketing? How can content help in generating leads?
To begin, content is top of funnel. It shouldn’t read like a sales page. But all content should *support* your products, campaigns & funnels.
Tip #1: Write a post talking about the solution customers need. Link to sales page that makes the offer.
Tip #2: Do a video series interviewing people who use your product/get great results.
Tip #3: Make a list of FAQs. Write a blog post answering each question in depth. Great for SEO too!
Tip #4: Make a list of objections. Write a post addressing each. Be transparent, not salesy.
Quality content is your best lead generator. Think epic blog posts and ebooks. Make them truly useful.
I asked readers to share their best “quality content” tips. Some of the answers:
All good stuff!
NOTE: I’m omitting Q4, about training that’s no longer available.
Q5 As a writer and entrepreneur, how do you remain productive? How do you hold yourself accountable?
My best productivity tip: Do one task every day to get closer to realizing your vision. At the beginning of every day, I decide what that one thing will be. I try to do it first thing. At the end of every day, I list what I did. Generally, I’m not happy if I only got 1 thing done. lol
I don’t have an accountability partner but thru social media, everyone is watching. That motivates me.
I also like to reverse engineer my goals. I need to see the big picture + the one thing I’m doing now.
My father used to say: Can’t never did anything. That runs thru my head a lot. Keeps me moving forward.
Tip: Always shoot for the highest possible version of your goal. If you fall short, you’ve still gone far.
You can read VCBuzz’s roundup of this chat here.
And one last tip: Follow @VCBuzz and get involved. You’ll enjoy the interaction and may learn a thing or two.
