Reasons abound when you don’t want to do something—”I haven’t the time,” “The team is just me,” “Our audience needs new content.” But are those the real reasons? Or are they excuses to thwart your fears of the unfamiliar, the unexpected, and the unknown? If it’s the latter, try some of these techniques to get over the uncomfortable and tackle these five things in your content marketing program.
Communicate with Your Perfect Customers
One fear many content marketers face is the reluctance to engage directly with their ideal customers. This fear typically stems from the notion that gathering such insights requires significant time and effort. While setting up interviews and surveys can be daunting, avoiding this task can lead to a lack of relevance in your content. Engaging with your audience to understand their pain points, needs, and tasks can offer invaluable insights that shape a more effective content strategy.
To conquer this fear, involve the entire marketing team in recording a detailed target persona that aligns with your content strategy. Start by examining your organization’s current customer base and market research to gain insights into the ideal customer. This foundational work helps you understand who your target audience truly is, beyond just demographic data. Engaging in conversations with members of your target market, either through scheduled interviews or quick surveys, allows for in-depth discussions that reveal their challenges, goals, motivations, preferred channels, and content types. This information should be meticulously incorporated into a comprehensive customer persona document outlining all relevant interests and needs.
Suspend New Content and Revamp Existing Content
Another common fear among marketers is pausing the creation of new content to refresh what’s already published. This apprehension often originates from the belief that frequent publishing is the key to success. Contrary to this belief, overlooking existing content can result in missed opportunities to enhance audience engagement and retention. From my experience, refreshing content regularly has significantly improved rankings and reader involvement, proving its value over time.
Begin by assessing each content piece’s key metrics, such as traffic, engagement, conversion rates, and search rankings. This step is crucial to identifying top-performing content within your library—a typically small fraction—but highly impactful. Using SEO tools to reevaluate your targeted keywords can uncover shifts in interest or changes in search behavior. Setting criteria for prioritizing which content to revamp, such as high potential keywords, evergreen topics, or outdated information, ensures that your efforts are focused where they’re most needed. Updating these content assets with quality enhancements will breathe new life into your content and make it more relevant to your audience’s current needs.
Regular content audits can help you stay ahead, allowing you to refresh one piece of content weekly whether it’s managed internally or outsourced. This methodical approach ensures that your entire content library remains robust and current, ultimately boosting overall engagement and maintaining steady traffic.
Request Genuine Feedback from Industry Colleagues
No one enjoys hearing negative comments about their work, and this aversion can prevent many content marketers from seeking valuable feedback. However, the content marketing community is vast and predominantly supportive, making constructive criticism a powerful tool for growth. Building a network of industry peers helps you access diverse perspectives, critical insights, and collaborative opportunities that can elevate your content’s quality.
To diminish the fear of feedback, acknowledge the supportiveness of the content marketing community. Build a network of industry peers by attending in-person networking events, participating in online forums, and joining relevant groups on platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook. These networks provide a well of knowledge and experience that can help hone your work. Engage with peers met at these events through group messages or direct outreach. Discussing pressing challenges or recent insights with people who understand your field can offer fresh ideas and improvements that you might not have considered.
Creating a culture of open, honest feedback within your professional circle not only enhances your content but also fosters mutual support and continuous learning. The more integrated you are with your peers, the more you’ll find their insights invaluable, allowing your content to evolve and stay competitive.
Check Your Content for Plagiarism
Many content marketers hesitate to run their work through plagiarism checkers, fearing the discovery that their ideas or phrases might not be as original as they thought. With the overwhelming amount of information available online, it is highly probable that someone has already expressed similar ideas, potentially using nearly identical words. However, ignoring potential plagiarism issues can have severe consequences, including damage to your brand’s reputation, loss of trust among audiences, and even legal repercussions.
Recognize the seriousness of plagiarism and its potential to harm your brand. It’s essential to use plagiarism detection tools like Copyscape or Grammarly to ensure that your content remains original. Microsoft Word also has a “similarity” check feature within its editor tools, providing an additional layer of scrutiny. After running your content through these tools, assess the results to determine if any text requires rephrasing, new citations, or if it consists of common knowledge phrases or idioms that are usually exempt from plagiarism concerns.
Using plagiarism checkers proactively can safeguard your content’s integrity, ensuring it remains original and credible. Additionally, checking your published work can help track if other websites have copied your content, allowing you to take necessary actions to protect your intellectual property. Embracing these checks as a regular part of your content creation process will build confidence in the uniqueness and quality of your work.
Seek Assistance from Internal Teams
Content marketers often fear seeking help from internal teams, concerned about being perceived as bothersome or doubting their colleagues’ willingness to assist. Overcoming this fear is essential, as interdepartmental collaboration can provide valuable insights and expertise, enriching your content quality and effectiveness. Whether you need technical insights, customer feedback, or creative ideas, your colleagues possess knowledge that can significantly enhance your content.
Start by identifying your needs and determining which ones require input from other departments. Specify the expertise required, such as developers for technical insights, customer support reps for user feedback, or designers for creative input. Clearly articulate your request by explaining its importance and how their contributions can make a meaningful difference. This transparency encourages cooperation and helps colleagues see the value in assisting you.
Make their tasks easier by providing outlines or key points they need to address, allowing them to focus on their core contributions. Additionally, facilitate interdepartmental meetings and brainstorming sessions to nurture a collaborative environment. Initiate projects that require input from multiple teams to ensure everyone feels valued and involved. By fostering a culture of collaboration, you can tap into a wealth of internal knowledge and shared goals, ultimately enhancing your content strategy.
Conclusion
Excuses come easily when you’re reluctant to tackle a task: “I don’t have the time,” “I’m working solo,” “Our audience craves new content.” But are these genuine reasons or simply shields to protect you from your fears of the unfamiliar, the unexpected, and the unknown? If it’s the latter, consider adopting some helpful techniques to push through the discomfort and enhance your content marketing strategy.
First, break down your tasks into smaller, manageable pieces. By doing this, even the most daunting objectives will appear more achievable. Another method is to schedule dedicated time blocks for these activities. This helps you allocate specific moments to focus entirely on the tasks without distractions.
Next, leverage tools and resources designed to streamline your workflow. Many apps and software solutions can ease your workload and lessen feelings of overwhelm. Additionally, actively seek feedback and engage with your peers or mentors; their insights can provide valuable perspectives and bolster your confidence.
Don’t forget the importance of setting realistic goals and celebrating your small victories along the way. Achieving minor milestones will build momentum and encourage you to keep moving forward. Lastly, remind yourself of the big picture. Stay focused on your long-term goals and the benefits that overcoming these challenges will bring to your content marketing program. By applying these techniques, you’ll find yourself better equipped to face fears and thrive in your efforts.