Five questions you need to answer for yourself

The previous Nudge was all about getting the recognition you deserve, through a 3 step content process.

1. You need to come up with something to ‘write’ (ideation).
2. Actually write it (creation).
3. And then publish it (distribution).

Now, before starting on this process there are five questions you need to answer for yourself.

1. Who is your target audience? Who are you writing for?
   
   In my case, there are multiple target audiences. You belong to one of them. You’re a subject matter expert. You work in a knowledge-heavy B2B environment. You play an essential role in marketing your services. You know this, but you just don’t get around to it.
   
2. What is your goal? What would you like to achieve or gain? When will you be happy?
   
   My goal is to educate you. On the common hurdles you encounter when marketing your services. And on the most effective ways to overcome these obstacles. I’m happy when you learn something.
   
   At the same time, I want to strengthen my reputation as an expert in the field of personal branding and thought leadership. I’m happy when you keeping reading these updates, maybe give me positive feedback and think of me when your organization wants to involve their experts in their marketing.
   
3. Where will you publish? What platforms are you going to use?
   
   I’m a big believer of owned channels. “Don’t build your house on rented land” is my motto. That’s why I’ve opted for email and my website as main platforms.
   
   Email requires people (like yourself) to subscribe. But, once they do, I get a near guarantee that my message is delivered to them. Which is not the same as read, understood, or valued, but still okay.
   
   I also publish this content on my website. For the world to see and use. Including search engines and machine learning models. No guarantees that anyone will ever see it, but they could…
    
4. What language will you use?
   
   I’ve opted for English instead of Dutch, since a lot more people speak English.
   
   Also, I try to be mindful of my audience. You’re smart, knowledgeable, and highly experienced. In your profession that is, not necessarily in marketing. Therefore, I try to keep the marketing lingo to a minimum.
   
   On top of that, I’m a big believer of keep things simple. Which is something other than simplistic.
   
5. At what frequency are you going to publish?
   
   It’s tempting to say: “Whenever there’s something interesting to report.” In reality this strategy will lead to you not publishing anything. Ever.
   
   On the other side of this spectrum, content marketing gurus will tell you, you need to publish every day.
   
   The truth is, it doesn’t matter much. Just a pick a rhythm that works for you and your target audience.
   
   I decided to publish every other week, because that’s something I think you and I can both handle.

Did you answer all 5 questions? Congratulations! You’ve successfully articulated your own content strategy and made a few important tactical decisions.

I promise these will be of great help. They will guide you during the content process. And act as a personal motivator at the same time.

Hope this helps!

Thank you for reading Nudge #017, sent to busy subject matter experts on February 20, 2024.