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How to Get Lucky With Content Marketing

How to Get Lucky With Content Marketing

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Do you feel like you’re fighting for every page view your blog receives?

Do you wonder why you’re struggling to find readers when other bloggers seem to just hit “publish” and the world comes running?

It may be tempting to throw up your hands and say, “those other guys have all the luck,” but it won’t get you anywhere.

The truth is, those “lucky” people are doing something you’re not doing.

(Or they’re doing what you are doing, but better.)

If you want to get lucky, you’re going to have to give up the “poor me” attitude and make some changes. Here are some ideas.

Listen before you talk

Two guys walk into a bar (humor me here). The first guy walks up to a woman and says, “Hi. I make a lot of money and drive a really fast car, so you will definitely want to go out with me. Here’s my number. When you’re ready to go out, call me.”

The second guy sits down at the bar and listens. He hears the woman next to him complain to the bartender that the last Italian restaurant she tried was terrible, and that she couldn’t seem to find good Italian food nearby. When there’s a break in the conversation, he says, “Excuse me, but I couldn’t help overhearing about your bad experience with some of the local Italian restaurants. Have you tried Davio’s Cucina? It’s really excellent.”

Which guy is more likely to end up with a date?

I’m betting on guy #2. Instead of just blathering on about himself, he waited and listened for an opening. He started a conversation based on a shared interest. And because he'd been paying attention, he found a great angle to quickly capture the woman's interest.

When you’re trying to get people to read your blog post, newsletter, or free report, the biggest mistake you can make is to assume that other people are just dying to learn about you and your product (or service). They don’t care about you.

Figure out what they do care about and start there.

Don’t try to be someone else

You know those cheesy pick-up lines you occasionally hear in bars? Lines like:

“Are you an angel? Cause I think I just died and went to heaven.”
“If I could rearrange the alphabet, I would put U and I together.”
“Do you have a map? I keep getting lost in your eyes.”

Each of these lines must have worked for someone, somewhere, at some point in time. But that doesn’t mean you should use them.

There’s a lot you can learn by studying successful copywriters and marketers, and you should learn as much as you can. But you can’t blindly copy what they’re doing.

Swipe files and traditional copywriting techniques are only useful if you can intelligently translate them to your market.

That means you have to figure out how to apply those techniques while still being yourself. And you have to make sure that your content is still something your audience wants to read about.

Stop talking to yourself

Let’s say you’ve just moved to a new city and want to throw a party at your place. Should you (a) sit in your condo and yell, “Hey! I’m having a party!” and then wait for people to start showing up, or (b) go to the next condo association meeting, mingle with the neighbors, and invite them to come by this Friday evening for drinks?

If you think the answer is (a), you seriously need to get out more.

If your blog is getting 20 visits a day, you can’t just keep posting stuff there and praying for more readers. You’ve got to get out and meet some new people.

How? Join a LinkedIn group in your niche and start answering questions. Write a guest post for a popular (and relevant) blog. Comment thoughtfully on other bloggers’ posts and start to make friends. Ask your Facebook friends to forward your stuff to people they think might enjoy it.

The point is, you have to go where your people already are before you can get them to come to you. Find them, talk to them and then invite them back to your place.

You might just get lucky.

About the Author: Traci Feit Love is a writer and communications consultant specializing in content marketing and smart copy. Visit her website for more information or to sign up for her free e-course, “How to Get More High-Paying Clients.”

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