How to Create Content That Drives Sales

Introduction

There’s a common misconception that content marketing doesn’t drive sales. However, my companies stand as living proof that content marketing is not only effective but also essential for brand survival. I’ve witnessed firsthand how content marketing has fueled the growth of each of my businesses.

Top tips to create:

Understand how the conversion funnel works

Create a customer journey map

Track leads and conversions

Promote diverse ads on social media

Develop a customer persona

If you’re looking to attract sustainable, long-term traffic without breaking the bank, content marketing is your ultimate ally.

The fundamental principle behind content marketing is straightforward: create valuable content for your target audience and offer it to them freely.

If you’re already creating and distributing content, you’re on the right path. But for those of you not seeing the desired results, it can be frustrating.

Why isn’t your hard work translating into increased sales? What’s missing?

In my consultations with businesses, I often come across a common issue – the lack of a well-defined content strategy. If this resonates with you, pay close attention to this post.

Continuing to publish new content is commendable, but it won’t be effective if it doesn’t drive sales.

Sure, content marketing serves various purposes – generating leads, acquiring new customers, increasing brand awareness, establishing credibility, and engaging with the audience – all critical for success. However, to achieve your ultimate goal – making money – you must learn how to create content that directly drives sales.

In this post, I will reveal the types of content you should produce to generate strong sales from your content marketing efforts.

Some of these content types might overlap with what you’re already producing to drive traffic, but others will introduce new strategies.

If you find yourself experiencing a solid level of website traffic but struggle to convert visitors into customers, this post is tailor-made for you.

Let’s dive into the world of content marketing that converts leads into loyal customers.

1. Understand how the conversion funnel works

Before you dive into creating highly relevant content, it’s crucial to have a solid grasp of the conversion funnel. While different marketing websites and experts may present variations, the underlying concept remains the same. The conversion funnel can be divided into three key stages:

Awareness (Top of the Funnel): At the top of the funnel, potential customers become aware of your brand. They are in the research phase, seeking answers and insights. Your goal here is to make your brand visible and provide valuable information that captures their attention.
Evaluation (Middle of the Funnel): Once consumers know about your brand, they move to the middle stage of the funnel. During this phase, they conduct further research and evaluate whether your product or service meets their specific needs. Here, it’s essential to showcase how your offering stands out from the competition and addresses their pain points.
Conversion (Bottom of the Funnel): The bottom of the funnel is where the magic happens – it’s the purchasing or conversion stage. This is the most critical area to focus on when creating highly relevant content. Here, you must convince potential customers why your product or service is the best fit for them. Educate them about the benefits of choosing your brand and address any objections they may have.

To drive sales and conversions, marketing campaigns at this stage can include demonstrations, free consultations, trials, estimates, quotes, coupons, and competitive pricing. The goal is to provide incentives that nudge customers towards making a purchase.

Whether your business follows a B2C or B2B model, evaluating your conversion funnel is vital. While there might be slight differences between the two, the core stages of the funnel remain consistent. Understanding the specific dynamics of your conversion funnel will enable you to fine-tune your content strategy and drive successful outcomes.

In conclusion, mastering the conversion funnel is the foundation for creating highly relevant content. By aligning your content strategy with each stage of the funnel, you can effectively guide potential customers towards conversion and achieve your marketing goals. So, take the time to analyze and optimize your conversion funnel, and watch your content drive results and propel your business to new heights.

2. Create a customer journey map

When it comes to understanding your customers and driving sales, journey maps are an invaluable tool that goes beyond the traditional conversion funnel. Instead of solely focusing on pre-purchase events like awareness and consideration, a well-crafted journey map delves into the post-purchase phase, prioritizing customer retention.

By analyzing your customers’ behaviors after their initial purchase, you gain valuable insights that can significantly impact your sales efforts. It’s essential to remember that your marketing efforts shouldn’t be solely fixated on acquiring new customers; in fact, targeting your existing customer base can be more cost-effective and yield better results. A customer journey map enables you to achieve just that.

Immerse yourself in the minds of your customers through the journey map, and watch your content strategy evolve accordingly, catering to their unique perspectives and needs. With this powerful approach, you can enhance your strategy, foster customer loyalty, and ultimately drive your business to greater success.

3. Track leads and conversions

Understanding where your leads are coming from is crucial for driving sales and creating relevant content. If you’re not sure about the source of your leads, it’s time to address this issue. By knowing how customers discovered your business, you can gain valuable insights into their preferences and behaviors, allowing you to tailor your content to their specific needs.

To track your leads effectively, consider using UTM parameters. If you’re not familiar with them, don’t worry; they are simple to use and have probably crossed your path before. Have you ever clicked on a link from an advertisement and noticed a long, complex URL, even if it led to a company’s homepage? That’s a UTM parameter in action. It helps websites determine the origin of a lead, be it Facebook, Twitter, Google Ads, a social influencer, or an email marketing campaign.

Setting up UTM parameters in Google Analytics is a breeze. Just head to the “Demos & Tools” menu and select “Campaign URL Builder” from the options. Fill out the required fields accurately to avoid any confusion. Once completed, the tool will generate a custom URL you can use to track leads with precision.

The benefits of using UTM parameters go beyond lead tracking. They also play a significant role in measuring your return on investment (ROI). By knowing how much you’re spending on each campaign, you can directly link sales results to their success. This data-driven approach enables you to identify which campaigns are performing well and adjust your strategies accordingly.

As you venture into content creation that drives sales, keeping a close eye on your leads’ origins will give you a competitive edge. Tailoring your content to cater to your audience’s preferences and behaviors will boost engagement and ultimately lead to increased conversions.

4. Promote diverse ads on social media

Let’s take the next step and put our knowledge of UTM parameters to the test. Now that we understand the fundamentals, it’s time to apply them in a real-world scenario.

Social media is an excellent platform for experimentation because of its diverse options. Take advantage of paid promotions to target specific audiences with various types of content.

Start with a well-crafted hypothesis. Consider which content types you believe will yield the highest conversions for your specific industry, business model, and target market. Ensure that each campaign is distinct and tailored to its audience.

Of course, we don’t want to waste resources on irrelevant ads, so it’s crucial to focus on relevancy and weed out non-performing content early on.

Now, here’s where UTM parameters come into play. Utilize the parameters you’ve set up previously to track the effectiveness of different ads. Measure how each campaign contributes to direct sales and overall success rates.

With this data at hand, you can make informed adjustments to your content strategy. Emphasize the types of ads that delivered the highest success rates and directly impacted sales. This iterative process allows you to optimize your marketing efforts and maximize results.

By leveraging UTM parameters and analyzing the performance of different ads, you can fine-tune your social media campaigns and tailor them for optimal success. Remember, relevance is key, and your data-driven approach will lead you to a more effective and efficient content strategy.

5. Develop a customer persona

Now that you have a clear understanding of which content resonates with your audience the most, it’s time to take a step further and create customer personas to enhance your conversion rates.

Developing customer personas allows you to gain valuable insights into the individuals you are selling to. It’s an extension of the journey map we discussed earlier, but with a more detailed approach.

Building on the information you have gathered, you will continuously fine-tune your content strategy to address the specific needs of your target audience.

Delve deeper into the factors associated with your customer base:

image5 3 Creating customer personas allows you to narrow down your focus within your broader target market.

This means you won’t be working with just one customer persona; you’ll be crafting several personas, each unique and tailored to various factors. These personas will be influenced by a multitude of variables.

Ultimately, customer personas will become the cornerstone of your content strategy, ensuring that your content is relevant, relatable, and engaging to your audience.

6. Take advantage of different formats of content

Expanding your content strategy is the key to success. Don’t limit yourself to just one type of content; instead, explore a variety of strategies to captivate your audience. Consider incorporating blogging, infographics, case studies, and video content into your repertoire. The choice of content will depend on the platform and the audience you are targeting.

To ensure your content resonates with your audience, it’s crucial to personalize it. Utilize storytelling techniques to enhance your content and create a deeper connection with your readers. This personalized approach will ultimately drive more sales and conversions.

According to research, many businesses struggle with generating traffic and leads, making it a significant marketing challenge. By diversifying your content strategy, you increase the likelihood of appealing to a broader audience, as your content will cater to their specific wants and needs.

In conclusion, mixing up your content types is a powerful way to engage your audience and overcome marketing obstacles. Personalization and storytelling can significantly impact your success, leading to increased traffic, more leads, and ultimately, more sales. Embrace the diversity in content formats and tailor them to meet the unique preferences of your target audience.

7. Keep up with the latest news and trends

Staying ahead in the game requires staying in the loop. Keeping tabs on local, regional, national, and global news is crucial to stay relevant in today’s fast-paced world. But that’s not all; honing in on news and trends within your specific industry is equally important. Take a close look at your competitors. Have they beaten you to the punch with a successful strategy? Knowing what works for them can give you a competitive edge.

Stay informed by relying on accurate news sources and subscribing to industry newsletters. Attend events to network and gain valuable insights. When something major trends, seize the opportunity to promote your content.

Remember the ALS ice bucket challenge craze? If you were in the business of manufacturing buckets or selling ice, that trend was a golden opportunity for your content strategy. Even if your products were bathing suits or goggles, you could have still gotten creative.

Of course, it’s essential to be ethical in your approach. Taking advantage of charities is a big no-no. But there are plenty of other newsworthy headlines and trends you can capitalize on to elevate your content strategy creatively.

In conclusion, staying relevant means staying informed. Keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your industry and beyond. Analyze your competition and leverage trends to make your content strategy shine. With creativity and strategic thinking, you can make your mark in the ever-evolving world of content marketing.

8. Teach and make sales with webinars

Let me be clear from the start: Creating content that drives sales doesn’t have to be pushy or sales-oriented. It can be highly educational and still be effective in driving conversions. In fact, certain types of content, like webinars, are particularly well-suited for both educating and converting your audience.

Webinars are a powerful type of content that can yield impressive results when done right. Take KISSmetrics, for example, they produced 77 webinars with a total of 155,386 signups. While only half of those attendees showed up, they were able to convert 22% of the attendees. Adobe and BuzzSumo also experienced high conversion rates of 19% and 20%, respectively.

Now, let’s dive into how to create a webinar that captivates your audience and leads to conversions. Webinars are essentially video conferences where you present live to your audience. The focus is on teaching your audience about a specific topic, usually a how-to guide or strategy. Webinars typically last from 40 minutes to 2 hours, providing you with a unique opportunity to have your viewers’ undivided attention.

To create a successful webinar, there are five main parts you need to include in your presentation:

Introduction: Start by introducing yourself and the topic to cater to both your regular audience and potential new viewers. Reinforce your expertise and why they should pay attention to your presentation.
Core Content: This is the meat of your webinar, where you walk your audience through the process or strategy you’re teaching. Transparency is crucial at this stage, sharing personal company information and real results to prove the effectiveness of your strategies.
Results and Outcomes: Show your audience the potential results they can achieve if they implement your teachings.
Exclusive Offer: Present an exclusive offer that’s tied to the topic of your webinar. This can be an incentive for your audience to take action.
Question Period: After your main presentation or even after your offer, have a question period to address any queries your audience might have. You can even have two question periods, one before and one after the offer.

Webinars provide an unparalleled opportunity to educate and engage your audience, making them a valuable tool for driving conversions. By following these key components and delivering valuable content, you can create webinars that captivate your audience and lead to meaningful results for your business.

9. Get your product reviewed by influencers

Picture this: you’re selling an amazing coffee product, but your blog content just doesn’t seem to convert into sales. Why is that? Well, one of the key reasons could be that your content doesn’t align with your product.

Let’s take the example of a coffee seller who writes a blog post about “The 5 Mistakes You’re Making When Brewing Coffee.” While it’s a great read for coffee enthusiasts, it doesn’t directly relate to buying their coffee. It’s important to strike a balance between informative content and sales-oriented content.

Enter the magic of product reviews! A product review is the most direct form of content that drives sales. But here’s the catch: you can’t review your own product convincingly. So, how do you get those coveted reviews? It’s time to seek out content creators who are willing to review your product.

Finding the Perfect Reviewers

To start, compile a list of potential reviewers who share your target audience. Let’s say you’ve launched a cutting-edge time management tool. Your mission now is to gather reviews that will drive sales.

Begin your quest by searching Google for “top time management tools.” Explore the results on the first page and jot down the alternatives.

Next, dig deeper by looking for sites that have reviewed those time management tools. Search for “Review of [Name of Competing Product].” Look beyond the top results and venture into the 3rd, 4th, and 5th pages to find reviews on less authoritative sites. These writers are more approachable and likely to accept review requests.

The Power of Social Proof

Starting small can lead to big rewards. Reach out to smaller bloggers who have reviewed similar products. They may not have a massive audience, but their reviews can still generate valuable sales.

Compose a thoughtful email, praising their previous reviews, and offer them a free copy of your product. Highlight the unique features that set your product apart from competitors. Remember, providing an incentive like a free sample can make all the difference.

Gradually Aim Higher

As you gather reviews from lower-tier sites, use their names as social proof in your outreach to larger sites. Demonstrate that your product has already been well-received by other audiences. This builds credibility and increases the chances of getting reviews from bigger players.

As you progress, target even more prominent sites, using the reputation of the sites you’ve already secured reviews from. This step-by-step approach can lead you to the top-tier sites, generating even more sales.

A Journey of Patience and Success

Keep in mind that this process takes time and dedication. It may span several months to complete, but the initial reviews you gather along the way will already contribute to increased sales. Stay persistent, and soon you’ll have a trail of reviews that showcase your product’s excellence.

10. Design an email sales funnel

In the world of digital communication, email holds a special place. People trust and value the emails they receive, especially from familiar sources, and often take action based on the content they find within. It could be a simple reply or even a purchase through a provided link. This trust and attention make email marketing the most effective channel for driving sales.

If you’re serious about content marketing, having a reliable email solution is a must. Without it, you won’t see the desired return on investment. Don’t worry, though; it doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavor. I’ll share some eye-opening numbers shortly to illustrate the significance of email service providers, and fortunately, there are cost-effective options available.

At our company, we invest nearly $2,000 each month on our email service, and we make sure to send out email blasts every time we release a new blog post. Additionally, we utilize email to announce webinars and execute drip sequences to engage our users. However, if you’re on a tight budget, you can opt for a free solution like MailChimp.

Our content strategy is aggressive, with one to two articles published daily, complemented by a few infographics each month. The result? A substantial increase in traffic month after month.

Now, let’s talk about how to generate sales through emails effectively:

When it comes to selling products through email, the last thing you

want to do is send out random emails saying “buy our stuff.” Instead,

take advantage of the opportunity to build a sales funnel through a

series of interconnected emails sent to your subscribers.

This email series serves as a mini sales funnel, guiding your audience

towards making a purchase:

Educational (first 1-5 emails): Start by providing valuable lessons to your subscribers, helping them fully understand their problem. For instance, if you sell high-end coffee, educate them about the health benefits of premium coffee and how to differentiate between low and high-quality blends.
Product Introduction (1-2 emails): Present your product as a solution to their problem. Avoid the hard sell; simply make your readers aware of what you offer.
Product Offer (last 1-5 emails): Finally, provide limited-time discounts or bonuses to encourage purchases, especially for time-sensitive products like courses.

While this sequence can vary based on the complexity and cost of your products, having a well-structured email funnel is incredibly effective in driving sales.

Additionally, consider following up with customers who make a purchase. This small gesture can foster long-term loyalty and create lifelong customers.

By approaching the sales funnel as a cohesive whole, each email you

send brings your audience one step closer to making a purchase. Embrace the power of email marketing, educate, and engage your subscribers, and you’ll be well on your way to driving significant sales for your business.

11. Use content to get access to your target audience

When it comes to selling products, blog posts and other content channels might not be the best platforms. Readers and viewers are often not in a buying mindset when consuming such content. Instead, a more effective strategy is to leverage these channels to attract attention and traffic, and then convert that traffic into email subscribers. With an engaged email list, you can sell products much more effectively.

Option #1 – Embrace the Power of Blogging: Blogging has proven to be a potent tool for businesses. Multiple 7-figure ventures have been built primarily through blogging. However, selling directly in blog posts may not yield the desired results. The key lies in strategically placing signup forms on posts, encouraging visitors to join your email list. By offering valuable content and enticing lead magnets, you can effectively convert traffic into loyal subscribers. Check out these blog posts that can guide you in creating compelling content and boosting your email list:

“No More Tricks: 5 Ways to Create Content That Google Wants to Rank”
“Triple Your Email Opt-in Rate by Using This 6-Step Lead Magnet Creation Process”
“The Real Secret to 1,000 Blog Subscribers in 60 Days or Less”

Option #2 – Utilize Social Media for Lead Generation: While selling directly on social media might not be fruitful, it can be a powerful tool for lead generation. Redirect your social media audience to blog posts or landing pages offering lead magnets, prompting them to join your email list. Platforms like Facebook even allow integration with your email list, making it easier for followers to sign up. Otherwise, drive your followers to pages with opt-in forms to boost your email list.

Option #3 – Tap into Slideshows and Videos: Beyond blogs and select social media platforms, there are numerous places to find traffic for your email list. Slideshare and YouTube are two popular options for business promotion. If you manage to create a popular slideshow on Slideshare, you can reach a vast audience. Include a link to your website, ideally a landing page with a lead magnet, either in the last slide or the description. YouTube, with high-quality and consistent video production, can attract thousands of views, or even go viral and reach millions. Drive traffic back to your site by linking to a landing page or blog post in the video description.

12. Focus on the types of blog content that convert

While many types of blog content may not directly drive sales, there are specific content types that can significantly impact your bottom line. If you’re seeking to boost your blog’s revenue, it’s time to incorporate more of these content types into your regular publishing schedule.

Content Type #1 – Step-by-Step Tutorials: Tutorials come in two powerful variations, both of which are excellent for driving sales.

The first type entails providing in-depth guidance on how to use a particular product. Take, for instance, my comprehensive guide to link building, where I dedicated a chapter to explaining the ins and outs of utilizing the tool ScrapeBox.

image17 The key to crafting an effective tutorial is to not just offer incredible detail, but also to make it genuinely useful. Show your readers how to accomplish tangible goals with the product:

image12 In this example, I demonstrated how to find free proxies and build links with the help of the tools.

This type of tutorial works best when you’re dealing with a fairly well-known product (like ScrapeBox) that already has recognition in your niche. Consequently, this type of tutorial can be an effective affiliate sales tool.

The second type of tutorial involves guiding your audience through a process and integrating your product into one of the steps.

Ann Smarty, for instance, often writes tutorials on her own and other sites, where she cleverly includes her product, MyBlogU, as a valuable tool to help her audience achieve their objectives.

For instance, she penned a post on how to create newsworthy content:

image14 In the article, she references MyBlogU as a way to accomplish a specific step in the process:

image00 Content Type #2 – Unbiased Product Reviews: A well-crafted product review can sway even the most hesitant potential buyers to make a purchase.

image09 However, the key to a successful product review lies in its authenticity. Most reviews fall flat because they are excessively biased, lack specific details about the product in use, and appear to be written solely for sales purposes.

To create a compelling product review, follow these four essential steps:

Select a type of product in your niche (e.g., link-building tools).
Purchase the products you’ll be comparing (investing upfront will allow you to write a credible review).
Test the products (evaluate their performance according to their intended use).
Quantify the results and share them in a detailed review.

image15 Content Type #3 – Convincing Case Studies: Case studies can be a powerful tool for attracting new customers.

These studies offer a comprehensive account of how a past customer successfully used your product or service.

They are most effective for complex products where potential customers may be unsure whether the product is right for them or not.

HubSpot, for example, frequently publishes new case studies because they recognize their value:

image20 Crafting an effective case study involves several crucial steps.

By incorporating these three content types into your blogging strategy, you can unlock the true sales potential of your blog. As you focus on delivering valuable and engaging content that showcases the benefits of your products or services, you’ll find your blog becoming a potent sales tool that captivates your audience and drives revenue growth.

Conclusion

Content marketing is undoubtedly a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. However, it’s not enough to just generate traffic; you must convert that traffic into actual sales. To do that, relevance is key. Understanding how to leverage different elements at the bottom of the conversion funnel is crucial. By creating a customer journey map, you can gain valuable insights into your consumers’ desires and needs.

Tracking customer behavior using UTM parameters and measuring campaign success is essential. Social media promotion is a great way to amplify your reach. Identify the most successful promotions to build comprehensive customer personas, delving deeper into your customers’ minds.

Utilize the resources, tools, and analytics mentioned earlier to decipher the type of content that resonates most with your audience. Adjust your content strategy based on these findings. Staying up-to-date with the latest news and trends ensures your content remains relevant.

By following the tips outlined in this guide and making your content more relevant, you’ll notice a significant impact on your sales numbers. At AlphUset, we’re here to help you find solutions to your marketing challenges. Our original content is crafted with care and verified before publication. We promise never to gate our articles or ask our readers to pay for our valuable insights. Join us on this journey of discovery as we uncover products and services that can make your business bloom.

Resources

Best Website Hosting for Blogging: Bluehost

Best Domain Provider for Blogging: GoDaddy

Best Platform for Blogging: WordPress

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