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Content Marketing Strategy

a woman with blonde hair wearing a white short sleeve shirt wearing a orange beanie and glasses sitting at a desk typing her content plan into a computer

Having a solid content marketing strategy is essential for any business owner looking to grow confidently and sustainably, especially one that is trying to manage their own marketing alongside all the other hats they’re wearing. But how do you build one that works for your unique needs while staying consistent? This blog will walk you through actionable steps to develop a strategy tailored to your ideal clients, leveraging tools and insights to simplify the process.

If the thought of even reading this is making you feel overwhelmed or unsure, check out our free marketing workshop or join the waitlist for our next marketing bootcamp for step-by-step guidance, and we’ll go through this alongside you.

1. Know Your Ideal Client Inside and Out

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make with content marketing is failing to define their ideal client. Without a clear understanding of who you’re speaking to, your content can easily fall flat. To avoid this, dive deep into the demographics, psychographics, fears, hopes, and motivations of your audience. Here are some examples:

  • Demographics: Age, income, and education level
  • Psychographics: What keeps them up at night? What do they aspire to achieve? What are their interests? What is their personality?
  • Behavior: Where do they spend time online? What content formats do they prefer?

Once you’ve mapped out your Ideal Client Avatar (ICA), your messaging will naturally resonate more with your audience.

Taking the time to assume these things can be helpful, but it will not replace the insight you will receive by doing the work to dig deep into actual feedback from the people you serve. Gathering this in a way that allows you to objectively see, digest, understand, and utilize is essential. If you’re unsure how exactly to do this, join an upcoming bootcamp where we walk through it step-by-step.

2. Build a Content Marketing Strategy Around Your ICA

Now that you know your audience, you can design a content marketing strategy that aligns with their needs and preferences. Start with these key steps:

  • Identify Your Goals: What do you want your content to achieve? Brand awareness, lead generation, or nurturing existing clients?
  • Choose Your Channels: Focus on platforms that your ICA frequents. If they’re active on Instagram and prefer podcasts, prioritize those…IF you don’t hate them. If you really dislike a certain platform and you’re the one creating/posting the content, staying consistent is a huge challenge. Keep this in mind when you’re choose the platform and frequency.
  • Craft Relevant Messaging: Tailor your content to address their challenges, answer questions, and present solutions.

3. Create a Schedule That Works for You

Consistency is critical in content marketing. Align your posting schedule with both your audience’s habits and your capacity. Here’s how:

  • Choose a posting cadence you can realistically maintain.
  • Use tools like batching to create and plan content in advance.
  • Match your schedule with your audience’s activity patterns for maximum engagement.

For example, if your ICA is most active on social media during evenings, schedule your posts accordingly.

4. Batch Your Content Creation

Batching is one of the most efficient ways to manage your content marketing workload. Set aside time monthly or quarterly to brainstorm, plan, and create content. Here’s a simple framework:

  • Brainstorm Topics: What are the pain points, questions, or aspirations of your audience?
  • Repurpose Across Platforms: Create a core piece of content (e.g., a YouTube video) and repurpose it into blog posts, emails, or Instagram posts. Algorithms and attention spans often prevent audiences from seeing duplicate content, so don’t worry about repetition.
  • Plan Themes: Tie your content to seasons, industry trends, or events for added relevance.

5. Leverage Keywords for Long-Term Impact

If your content strategy includes blogging or YouTube, keyword research is a must. Keywords help your content rank on search engines, ensuring it continues working for you long after it’s published.

Google Trends is particularly useful for identifying trending topics, helping you stay ahead of industry shifts. WordStream Keyword Finder, on the other hand, provides insights into keyword difficulty and competition, making it easier to choose the right terms to target.

6. Map Content to the Customer Journey

Your audience will be at different stages of their buying journey, which you need to keep in mind as you’re creating  your content marketing strategy. Here are ideas on how to speak to the various stages:

  • Awareness: Help them understand their problem and/or your solution with educational content like blogs or videos.
  • Consideration: Offer case studies or webinars to demonstrate your track record and expertise.
  • Decision: Present clear calls-to-action so they can easily take the next step (purchase or otherwise) when they’re ready.

7. Re-Emphasis on the Importance to Automate and Schedule in Advance

I hear often that marketing gets sidelined during busy seasons. Business is slow, marketing ramps up, business gets busy, no time for marketing so it slows down, business slows down, now have to ramp marketing back up – over and over this cycle happens and it’s exhausting! This is why scheduling is crucial. Here’s how to stay consistent:

  • Use scheduling tools for social media and email platforms. Reach out if you need recommendations.
  • Plan content drops a month or more in advance.
  • Maintain momentum even when client work ramps up.

This ensures your marketing remains active during busy periods without taking time away from your client work, which helps in providing more steady client flow and stops the roller coaster cadence!

Final Word: Confidence Through Strategy

Building a sustainable content marketing strategy takes time and effort, but the payoff is worth it. And after you do it once, it gets easier and quicker. By focusing on your ideal client, creating a clear plan, and leveraging tools like batching and automation, you’ll set yourself up for long-term success. Remember, consistency and clarity are your biggest allies.

If you’re ready to take the next step but need a little extra guidance, join our free marketing workshop to kickstart your efforts or get on the waitlist for our next marketing bootcamp for hands-on support.

Empower yourself to market confidently and sustainably—your business will thank you!

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