The “sales funnel” is a multi-step process where you guide potential customers to being actual customers. Much like a funnel, the beginning is wider and the end is narrower. This is because your number of potential clients is much larger than the number of people that wind up being actual clients.
Focus on the top of your funnel, content marketing
When building our sales funnel, we will start at the top. This is where we are trying to attract potential leads and convert them to actual leads.
This process, unsurprisingly, is called “Lead Capture”. There are two pieces to the lead capture. The first is phase of lead capture is attraction. You need to get the attention of your potential customers. This is usually done with content marketing. You create content that your ideal client is seeking.
So How Do We Get Started with This “Content Marketing”?
You need to create content that is of interest to your target market. To be able to do this, you need to define your target market. Without that, coming up with compelling content will be nearly impossible. Let’s review two examples.
An accountant that specializes in early-stage venture-backed startups can publish articles on preparing reports for potential investors. They could write about cash flow reports and why they matter to investors. They have defined a niche. Because they defined a niche, they can write content that interests them.
An interior decorator would be our second example. They could target professionals that would like a MidCentury Modern style in their office. They could write about elements of design in the Mad Men offices. They could write about the best MCM chairs for a meeting room. An article about MidCentury Modern in a current day office would also be a great fit.
You need to define your target market. Then write the kinds of articles that would interest them.
Where Can I Learn More about Content Marketing?
My favorite resource for content marketing and copywriting is CopyBlogger. They have great resources. They have information on creating compelling content. They have guides on creating a content plan. Its a great all around resource for a content marketing plan.