8 questions to kickstart your startup's content marketing
A simple questionnaire to start (and ace) your marketing journey
Last week, I had updated and shared on LinkedIn one of my old hit essays, on how to become a better content writer in 5 minutes. It is a favourite of mine, and has everything in it for you to write the perfect blog post.
But as I shared it, I started getting messages about something more basic: Where to start? What to write about in the first place. So I put this together: 8 questions to kickstart your startup’s content marketing.
I’ve constructed this in terms of questions, so founders/marketers can answer them one by one, leading to an understanding that will help them craft their content strategies.
Are you selling to the SMB or to the enterprise?
Startups need to understand this really well. If you are selling to SMBs, TOFU content may be the best investment that leads straight to free trails/demos. If enterprise, MOFU and BOFU content may be your best chance at closing deals, and TOFU may have to come from targeted spends somewhere else.
Demand Generation for enterprise may or may not be content driven, but for SMBs it can really speed things up.
What do you sell? Is your positioning clear?
As a startup trying to break into a market, be clear in telling your audience what you are, and who you are for. One look at your website, and they should get it.
Here’s another tip for better positioning (from Andy Cunningham, author of Getting to Aha): First affiliation, then differentiation. Tell them what you are, and then then tell them why you are different.
Who do you sell to? What are they interested in?
It’s a simple question. It should have a simple answer. Do you sell to marketers or developers or finance pros? Okay, and if they are marketers, what are they interested in? What are they reading, what are they doing, what are their aspirations? Be clear, simple, and precise in this answer, and target accordingly.
Can you write down 5 topics your target audience may want to read?
Now that you are clear what your target audience is interested in, write down 5 topics they might want to read about, and convert them into blog/whitepaper titles. Also, the what is x - kind of educational content is also relevant, if as a business you want to explain something or take a certain stand (or even for SEO).
Where are you going to publish?
Own your audience. A blog on your website is still the best place to write as a business, for obvious reasons. But if you have a compelling story which you are confident about and want to see if it picks up and goes places, use Medium. But really, own your audience.
Now that you have a bunch of blog post titles, how are you going to create them?
With so many freelancers looking for work in this downturn, you can get value for your money and also support the ecosystem. There’s so much talent out there and it’s relatively inexpensive, especially in our country. Hire freelance folks, give them your ideas, expand upon them, keep the engine going, and keep shipping.
Are you telling your story?
Have you told your startup story in a compelling, effective way yet? Do it. That’s your secret weapon. One of my most read essays is about how telling your story may be the most important thing you’ll do. Companies like Freshworks, AirBnB, Readwise, Tesla were built on the bedrock of their compelling storytelling. Please pay attention to this!
Not convinced about content?
That’s fine, just go and write sales enablement stuff. Help your team sell. Make presentations, videos, how-tos, case studies and so on. All of this is content marketing too. Just for different stages of the funnel. If your demand generation is sorted, this is where you should be spending most of your time anyway.
If you have the answers to these questions, you are more than ready to start your and ace your content marketing. Go for it!
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