The challenge for any copywriter is constantly finding exciting and fresh content. That can be easier to achieve if the subject matter is particularly interesting. It’s far more interesting to talk about beauty or cars than it is about tax documents or legal jargon. When writers encounter an obscure, untapped, or an industry where searches have little knowledge (therefore don’t search for very much), including B2B customers, generating any content–let alone fresh–takes skill and some strategies.
For example, we work with a number of different law firms and one of the challenges is developing resources for prospective clients. What may seem like boring paperwork and legal jargon doesn’t amount to very interesting content at first glance. But there are opportunities, it just requires a little more creativity to discover.
For one law firm we leveraged a common question clients were raising. We then provided a resource surrounding a topic that had little information available online, yet one where the law firm had expertise. Even though it was “legalese” it had appeal readers because it dealt with a particular injury they would have suffered. An exploration on whiplash injuries “WAD 1 2 and 3 means very little unless you’ve been injured in an accident. If you have, you will inevitably search for more information.
How can you find your own untapped content opportunities?
Here are 5 strategies for you to use when generating unique and interesting content for difficult markets.
1. Trust the data. Good marketing decisions are made with good data. Bonus points if that data is your own. Sift through your Google Analytics and Webmaster tools (Search Console) to discover keywords that people are already using to arrive to your website. Learning what visitors are searching will tell you what content is already delivering results. Use the clues to develop new insights and point to where you should pour resources for new content. If you don’t have data, or you are a new website, consider running a short AdWords campaign across a broad range of keywords related to your market to find out what people are searching for in real time.
2. Before you start writing, and as you glean data, determine who are you targeting with your content. Are you writing for prospective customers? Are you writing to B2B clients? Is the purpose marketing? Conversions? Are you writing purely to disseminate information? Knowing the who will guide how you write, how long your post will be, and what additional resources you might fit in. By the way, there are no set rules on the length of an article but longer seems to perform better, (go beyond 1000 to 2000 words).
3. Next step is to do a deeper dive in market behaviour with keyword research. That AdWords campaign you’ve run will give you insights into general market behaviors. It will show you what people are searching for and where you can design new content You should put together your own list of what you think customers would be interested in, and then use keyword research tools to generate even more suggestions. Finding related terms will act as a “thesaurus” to point to opportunities you’ve never thought of. Adwords has this sort of tool, and so do the top SEO tools (some are free).
4. Trust your own expertise. You are an authority and know best what your own clients or customers are asking. This would include questions and answers you would routinely put in a frequently asked questions area on your website. Consider the conversations you have with customers and determine if there are any prevailing themes from routine interactions. You might find out what are simple yet repetitive questions are areas you can develop content for users who are searching online. As you brainstorm new content ideas, ask yourself what resources might be interesting to perspective visitors? With the data you have, coupled with the additional insights you’re going to get from keyword research, you will discover new opportunities you never thought of. Although filling out a legal document might seem boring, it could be a useful search result for those trying to do it themselves. What seems like a mundane everyday tasks could be a worthwhile resource for someone else.
Don’t worry about obscurity either. Although it may indicate a smaller market, it also means fewer competitors and opportunity to rank faster.
5. Another strategy is to simply look at what competitors are writing about. If there are only a few competitors try to broaden the search to like-minded markets and niches. For example, if you’re a real estate lawyer, consider looking at the broader real estate market like trends in the local market or even nationally. You can also use those same SEO tools to glean information from competitor content include what’s performing the best and for what keywords.
A skilled copywriter and marketer will be able to glean countless opportunities to write on using these 5 strategies. If you have few options, remember, trust and use your own data, it offers the best start to set you on a path to create interesting content for your target.