{"id":17471,"date":"2022-03-25T06:17:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T06:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amplifiednow.com\/?p=17471"},"modified":"2022-09-27T11:20:45","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T18:20:45","slug":"content-marketing-strategy-template","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/content-marketing-strategy-template\/","title":{"rendered":"How to build an easy-to-execute content marketing strategy (+ FREE template)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you want to create a content marketing strategy, but your eyes glaze over when you start thinking about it, you&#8217;re in the right place. Let&#8217;s talk about how to make it easy, and how to make it impactful. Both are important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #37352f;color:#37352f\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #37352f;color:#37352f\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/content-marketing-strategy-template\/#Select_a_starting_point\" title=\"Select a starting point\">Select a starting point<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/content-marketing-strategy-template\/#Get_someone_to_ask_you_questions_to_help_you_brainstorm_ideas_for_content\" title=\"Get someone to ask you questions to help you brainstorm ideas for content\">Get someone to ask you questions to help you brainstorm ideas for content<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/content-marketing-strategy-template\/#Go_beyond_competitor_research_and_create_content_that_helps_you_stand_out\" title=\"Go beyond competitor research and create content that helps you stand out\">Go beyond competitor research and create content that helps you stand out<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/content-marketing-strategy-template\/#Create_a_content_calendar\" title=\"Create a content calendar\">Create a content calendar<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/content-marketing-strategy-template\/#Create_content_that_has_a_chance_of_getting_some_attention_from_Google\" title=\"Create content that has a chance of getting some attention from Google\">Create content that has a chance of getting some attention from Google<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/content-marketing-strategy-template\/#For_every_new_article_spend_more_time_than_you_want_to_coming_up_with_a_title\" title=\"For every new article, spend more time than you want to coming up with a title\">For every new article, spend more time than you want to coming up with a title<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/content-marketing-strategy-template\/#Run_every_article_through_a_checklist\" title=\"Run every article through a checklist\">Run every article through a checklist<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/content-marketing-strategy-template\/#Use_the_Video-to-Blog_Post_Checklist_if_youre_starting_with_video\" title=\"Use the Video-to-Blog Post Checklist if you\u2019re starting with video\">Use the Video-to-Blog Post Checklist if you\u2019re starting with video<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/content-marketing-strategy-template\/#Start_the_repurposing_process_before_you_hit_publish\" title=\"Start the repurposing process before you hit publish\">Start the repurposing process before you hit publish<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/content-marketing-strategy-template\/#Conclusion_building_a_content_marketing_strategy_isnt_complicated_Executing_that_strategy_takes_some_work\" title=\"Conclusion: building a content marketing strategy isn\u2019t complicated. Executing that strategy takes some work.\">Conclusion: building a content marketing strategy isn\u2019t complicated. Executing that strategy takes some work.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Select_a_starting_point\"><\/span>Select a starting point<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before I get too into the weeds when it comes to creating a content marketing strategy, I like to ask people what comes to mind when I say that word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Responses vary, but generally include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Blog posts<\/li><li>Social media content<\/li><li>Email newsletters<\/li><li>YouTube videos<\/li><li>TikTok videos<\/li><li>Instagram posts<\/li><li>Written content<\/li><li>Audio content<\/li><li>Video content<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Content is <strong>anything you put online that represents your brand<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you create content, make sure you create it for these two places before going anywhere else:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Your website<\/li><li>Your email newsletter<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s it. Every other place is simply amplification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We created the \u201cMegaphone Method\u201d to illustrate this. It starts with video in the graphic, but you can substitute that initial video for a piece of long-form written content (like what you\u2019re reading now).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Starting with owned content is superior for a number of reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Your email newsletter and online content are less prone to getting turned off by some algorithm.<\/li><li>Your social media audiences do not have 100% overlap, so even if you just mentioned something on Instagram, tomorrow, you can make sure to say that very same thing on Twitter without worrying about repeating yourself.<\/li><li>If you start with your blog, then you\u2019re never putting yourself in a situation to develop independent strategies for the different platforms. You\u2019re a service provider, not a full-time social media amplifier!<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Okay, so we\u2019ve agreed that you\u2019re going to come up with a content marketing strategy primarily for your blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Get_someone_to_ask_you_questions_to_help_you_brainstorm_ideas_for_content\"><\/span>Get someone to ask you questions to help you brainstorm ideas for content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This part feels overwhelming on your own, which is why I think you\u2019d be better off if you had someone else ask you questions to help you brainstorm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without an outsider, you may come up with scintillating topics like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>\u201c3 ways my product is the best thing on earth\u201d<\/li><li>\u201cPersonnel update! We just hired a new such-and-such!\u201d<\/li><li>\u201cMy company was just given an award that I\u2019ve never heard about before!\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Or worse, when you start doing competitive research, you\u2019ll come across a company that has a huge team of content writers and they\u2019re putting out fresh new content every single day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In content marketing, <a href=\"https:\/\/hubspot.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HubSpot<\/a> comes to mind when it comes to a giant company putting out all kinds of content every single day. How can I compete with HubSpot?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The truth is, I can\u2019t. Our company is different, our offers are different (<a href=\"\/digital-marketing-template-library\/\">the vault<\/a> is awesome but it\u2019s not a CMS!), and so looking at what they\u2019re doing for content <strong>shouldn\u2019t <\/strong>make me feel like I\u2019ll never be able to write anything at all related to helping people with content marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Silly example, but in every industry, there are huge players who are winning the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But your clients aren\u2019t going to those huge companies. They\u2019re coming to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Go_beyond_competitor_research_and_create_content_that_helps_you_stand_out\"><\/span>Go beyond competitor research and create content that helps you stand out<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s all well and good to start with competitor research, as long as you find legit competitors, not just the big players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Side note: <\/em><\/strong><em>We used to do a fair amount of work with financial advisors, helping them come up with strategies to amplify their expertise online, and every time I asked one of them who they considered their competition, they said \u201cFidelity\u201d or \u201cVanguard\u201d which might be true on some level, but not really. By digging deeper, we always found an answer that was much more of a direct competitor. Their prospects had already ruled out Fidelity and Vanguard, so their real competition was someone else in their area who offered similar services.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But don\u2019t stop at competitor research. That\u2019s only half of the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s easy to see what your competitors are creating, but in order to stand out, you\u2019ll need to answer questions like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>What sorts of questions are people asking you throughout the sales process?<\/li><li>When you\u2019re on a sales call with a prospect, what\u2019s one question you wish they\u2019d ask you? You know, the one where your answer would almost certainly close the sale?<\/li><li>What do people misunderstand about your industry? Where are they accepting the hard path simply because they don&#8217;t know there&#8217;s an easier way?<\/li><li>What sorts of problems does your ideal customer have that you can help them solve?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Create_a_content_calendar\"><\/span>Create a content calendar<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that you have a decent list of topics you brainstormed, put that on a calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can use the one in the <a href=\"\/digital-marketing-template-library\">Content Playbook<\/a> as a jumping-off point, but remember: content calendars, like planners, are only as good as the person who fills them out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>So if you\u2019re not going to use a spreadsheet for a content calendar, a) me neither, and b) don\u2019t bother downloading something you won\u2019t use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the calendar is useful for a couple of reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first is committing to a posting schedule. And now let me talk about posting. Whatever you can do consistently is <em>far better than<\/em> whatever you can do occasionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So if you can only commit to writing one blog post per month, so be it. Make it the best blog post you can (none of those personnel updates!), and publish one post per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, the more the merrier, but this feels like someone who has all of a sudden gotten into the idea of exercising. \u201cI\u2019m going to exercise every day! Twice a day! WOOOO!!!\u201d and then that lasts exactly as long as it takes to pull something, injure something, or get sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, commit to writing a post a month. Go ahead, write 12. Schedule them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if you want to get on Google\u2019s good side, you\u2019ll want to post much more consistently than once a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On that note\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Create_content_that_has_a_chance_of_getting_some_attention_from_Google\"><\/span>Create content that has a chance of getting some attention from Google<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For every article you intend to write, use Google yourself and get some intelligence on search intent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s that jargon you say? Well, you\u2019ll want to find the top ten (excluding ads) search results for each keyword you search. Your goal is to be one of those ten, so do a little digging and find websites that have a lower <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/marketing\/domain-authority\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">domain authority <\/a>than yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After you do that, it\u2019s time to forget about the robots and write the best article you can on your topic, meant for humans. The robots will crawl your site, but it\u2019s humans who are going to buy what you\u2019re selling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your article needs to solve a problem. Put another way, you\u2019re going to create content that solves the search query. \u201cHow do I &lt;&lt; x y z &gt;&gt;?\u201d someone will type in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Answer them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"For_every_new_article_spend_more_time_than_you_want_to_coming_up_with_a_title\"><\/span>For every new article, spend more time than you want to coming up with a title<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of my favorite parts of the Content Playbook is the \u201cBlog Post Title Templates\u201d piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the best types of blog post titles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Numbered lists<\/li><li>How to<\/li><li>Step-by-step<\/li><li>Comparison<\/li><li>Alternatives<\/li><li>Surveys<\/li><li>Case studies<\/li><li>Definitions<\/li><li>Myth busting<\/li><li>Expert roundup<\/li><li>Beginner\u2019s guide<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These are useful in the brainstorming phase, too, but they\u2019re a good list to run through when you\u2019ve finished writing your article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Run_every_article_through_a_checklist\"><\/span>Run every article through a checklist<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not really all that important to do what the search engine plugins say to do in order to rank. But some things matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Things like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Making sure there\u2019s a mix of headings (h1 is the title, h2 and h3 are subheadings)<\/li><li>Adding bullets or otherwise breaking long paragraphs into shorter ones<\/li><li>Adding an external link, preferably one that helps you define what you\u2019re talking about (no need to link to your direct competitors!)<\/li><li>Adding an internal link, but only if it\u2019s relevant<\/li><li>Putting your keyword\/key phrase into your title and meta description, at least one header, and at least one paragraph<\/li><li>Adding a relevant call to action at the bottom of your article<\/li><li>Adding a table of contents if you\u2019ve written a long post<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Use_the_Video-to-Blog_Post_Checklist_if_youre_starting_with_video\"><\/span>Use the Video-to-Blog Post Checklist if you\u2019re starting with video<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This checklist from the vault is gold. Pure gold. And by that I mean, we use this for our high-end, high-ticket clients. So if you want to give yourself the same level of service we reserve for our clients, use this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Start_the_repurposing_process_before_you_hit_publish\"><\/span>Start the repurposing process before you hit publish<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s really tempting to put this off for your future self but don\u2019t. If you get into the habit of creating social media content <em>while<\/em> you\u2019re creating blog content, you\u2019re not going to feel nearly as overwhelmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So right now, while it\u2019s fresh, do the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Create an email newsletter version of the blog post. (And <strong>oh my god<\/strong> do not write five words and put a link into your email client! Remember: the point of collecting emails is to have a deeper communication with the people who\u2019ve asked to join your list. It is NOT to get more clicks on your blog post!)<\/li><li>Create a Twitter thread (complete with an intro, numbers for the end of each tweet, and a follow-up \u2018liked this? Here\u2019s how to share it\u2019 CTA at the end.<\/li><li>Skim for short, pithy quotes and drop those into your social media scheduler.<\/li><li>Take one of the stories out of it, plop it under a picture of your face, and BAM you have yourself at least one Instagram post!<\/li><li>Create an Instagram carousel<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion_building_a_content_marketing_strategy_isnt_complicated_Executing_that_strategy_takes_some_work\"><\/span>Conclusion: building a content marketing strategy isn\u2019t complicated. Executing that strategy takes some work.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>But you can do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Investing in your content will pay off in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Treating your website like a magnet for your next best clients to come to you, ready to do business with you, and NOT as yet another thing on your never-ending to-do list is powerful reframing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You paid a lot of money for your website to look as good as it does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s time to let it start working for you.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you want to create a content marketing strategy, but your eyes glaze over when you start thinking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18612,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17471"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17471"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20242,"href":"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17471\/revisions\/20242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kathleencelmins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}