You are not your customer.

Sounds obvious, but when it comes to content creation and copywriting, it’s easy to forget. Lets face it when you sit down to write content, there’s only you there. Even if you have a clear idea of who your customer profile, it’s easy to forget that what you might think is pretty normal, may be quite different in your customer’s eyes.

We cover this in today’s episode of Content Marketing… Stripped! (Sorry – I vertical filmed by accident!)

Here are some of the main differences you should remember when writing content:

1. Language

A common mistake I see made by big businesses when creating content, is the use of internal language for external communications. Project names, acronyms, and other company descriptions might seem perfectly normal to those ‘in-the-know’ but they could be completely baffling to your customer.

If you’re using the terms and phrases you use to write to your colleagues, as you are to write to your customers, you could be building a barrier without even knowing it.

[signup-form id=”12713″]2. Needs and wants

You know what your customer needs, but are you writing content that appeals to their wants?

Are you selling the virtues of getting fit because it sleeping aids medications will be good for your customer’s health and energy levels? This might be the last thing he cares about compared to looking hot on the beach. Remember, because you’re an expert you will probably love the process more compared to your customer who loves the results.

For example if you’re a career coach you may love the process of getting clarity while your customer simply wants to know what job to choose next. Make sure you’re appealing to the needs and wants of your customer, not yours.

3. What’s valuable?

Do you know what really gets people excited about your product or service? If you run a group coaching program you might think that the different modules, and lively community  are the most valuable aspects, but to your customer it might be having direct access to you.

If you’re hosting a short film event you might think that people are drawn in by the different filmmakers and the venue, but your customer might love the fact it’s free and in a convenient location. Take time to get to know your current customers and ask them to be honest about what they LOVE about you.

4. Urgency

You’re always ready to sell right? But your prospect isn’t always ready to buy. She might just be in the research phase, or planning ahead for a purchase next business quarter. If you only ever publish sales copy that promotes your product or service, you might be putting off the future customers who just want to find out a bit more before they buy.

5. Community

Another common mistake when planning content marketing is hanging out in the wrong circles. Marketers try and market to marketers, copywriters join writer’s boards and forums, web designers share tips with other web designers.

Don’t forget your watering hole is likely to be very different to your customer’s. Find out where they hang out and make sure you have a trail of content that leads back to your site.

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