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Founder: Our content strategy is not performing. Me: Let's audit your problems on 4 levels: 1. Is it a content foundations problem? 2. Is it a content ideation problem? 3. Is it a content creation problem? 4. Is it a content distribution problem? Spoiler: Most content strategies have problems at EVERY level. - Foundations can be unstable because of industry evolutions - It's hard to keep up with ideating new content ideas - Finding the right copywriters and designer is tricky - And you need to stay on top of every new channels In other words: problems can pop up everywhere. The hardest part? Problems are interconnected and impact each other: - Unclear messaging strategy → You can't ideate content - Always copying competitors → You can't create good content - Creating only technical content → You can't distribute correctly So your goal is to prioritize WHAT problem(s) to solve FIRST: - What problems have the most negative impact on performance? - Which ones are root problems that create other problems? - What efforts and resources do I need to solve them? The answers will give you a 'criticality score' for each problem. Once identified, it's all about ideating actions, planning, executing, and assessing results. It's not easy, but at least it's CLEAR. And clarity is the first step to fix problems. I advise founders on their content strategy, and I've noticed some patterns. Among the 20 problems I've listed in the graph, here are the 4 most common ones for each level: (1) Foundations → Messaging strategy is unclear (2) Ideation → Ideas are not based on content buying journey (3) Creation → Don't have the right copywriters and designers (4) Distribution → Not distributing on 5 layers of commitments When it comes to problem solving, clarity is king. Follow me for daily marketing tips

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Prospect: "I've been reading your content for 6 months" Here's how you can receive this kind of message: - Help your audience with educational content - Publish this type of content consistently - Promote your offer in your content too I've labeled it the "authority-first framework" - You build authority by proving your expertise - You build trust by showing your case studies - You build likability by helping your audience Authority + Trust + Likability = "We want to work with you" To create educational content, here's what you need to understand: - Your offer helps only prospects matching specific conditions - Problem: not all your target market match those conditions - Solution: help them reach those conditions with content When you follow this method, you can't miss. I'm going to give you a simple example to make it crystal clear: - You are selling a podcast recording software - Your prospects need to have 20 guests to get your offer - You create content to help them find the best guests Now remember: Content is not a random discipline where you publish random stuff. If you are serious to grow with content, check the 1st comment;

Founder: "Our content doesn't convert" Me:"Tell me first, who is your target audience?" Founder: "We target decision makers" Me: "And how do you help them?" Founder: "We help them boost revenue" You don't have a content strategy problem, you have a business strategy problem. It's broad and unclear. Unclear target audience → Unclear messaging → Bad content Here's the thing - to create good content you need: - Messages that explains how you solve specific problems - Clear copywriting that develop this messaging - A set of arguments that convince prospects How could you possibly write that without a clear target audience? Founder: "Yes but we don't want to miss any opportunity" Me: "Here is the process you should use then" 1. Get rid of the FOMO You are probably experiencing a heavy 'shiny object syndrome' as you want to target everyone. You don't want to miss opportunities. But the key is to target a very specific segment of power users to build momentum and initial traction. 2. Start from a specific audience (and problem) Always start from your audience problems and motivations. You need to understand WHY and HOW they buy to produce the right content. Study their buying journey to understand WHAT they need to see, to buy. 3. Write to solve the problems Based on the business' objectives, you research the audience and understand their problems and ambitions. Then, you ask yourself "where will I bring them with this copy?". And this gives birth to the core message of your copy. Follow me Pierre Herubel for daily marketing tips and consider subscribing to my newsletter (link in the comments).

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Your prospects have a 'buying radar': - Aggressive advertising = (-1) - Insightful content = (+1) The sum creates the 'brand perception': It's an unconscious calculation to know if your brand is worth it or not. So if you are constantly promoting with: - "Why you should buy NOW" (-1) - **Retargeting ads with FOMO** (-1) - "Get 1 month free if you signup" (-1) Your prospects will think "again?!" You are damaging your brand. And of course there are other tactics that are hurting your reputation: - Constantly using the straw man fallacy (-2) - Overpromising, but under delivering (-10) - Being too negative, or criticizing (-3) Now here's the truth: you still need to sell. And I'll be honest; yesterday I sent a promotional email "why you should join now" for my course. But before that, I shared 15 insightful content the same week including; - 5 Linkedin posts (+5) - 1 'how to' newsletter (+1) - 1 helpful video for my ICP (+2) So the email is not lost in a sea of promotional ads. It's an invitation to take the next step in their learning journey. *** This scoring system is a simplification to explain clearly the brand perception concept. Follow me Pierre Herubel for daily marketing tips and find my newsletter in the comments.