Content marketing strategies you have to pay attention to─it’s better to sell products than ideas

This article author Yukimi shares his experiences on travel, small farmers and food through blog. Thank you for authorizing the “Content Hacker” website to reprint it. Thank you hereby.

I recently participated in the [3rd Content Hacker Lecture (CHL3)] (https://www.contenthacker.today/2018/01/chl3-note1.html) hosted by the “Content Hacker” website, and gained a lot. This is an event co-hosted by two content marketing experts [Zheng Weiquan (Vista)] (https://www.facebook.com/iamvista) and [Qin Zhenjia (White Bear)] (https://www.facebook.com/guruchin). The theme this time is to share how to use writing skills to create a [content marketing strategy] (https://content.tw/power) - whether you are writing or having friends who are running a community, you have to pay attention to the details.

I don’t know why, but I always have an inexplicable enthusiasm for writing or improving my reading skills! This is my second time attending Content Hacking Seminar, and I think the content is really practical. Whether it is practical exercises, learning in the classroom, or even LINE group discussions after the course, the two teachers are very enthusiastic about answering students’ questions, which makes people feel very cordial.

Usually when attending a lecture, before the lecture begins, most of the lecturers are very careful with their words and will not say a word more. But before the lecture began that day, Bai Xiong and Vista shared a short section of Interview Tips: During the interview process, you can record and write down keywords while interviewing; because the process of writing down the interview content on paper will make the interviewee feel that you value him.

After the interview, you only need to organize your notes, and you can write a report quickly without spending too much time on processing. To put it bluntly, this is one of the reasons why they can write articles faster than others.

Having said this, I can’t help but think of my previous experience of paying to learn new software. The teacher who taught software at that time was very cool. If the students had any questions, they were not allowed to ask before class. They were not allowed to ask during class (of course they were not allowed to ask). If they had any questions, they were asked after class. However, of course you have to queue up to ask questions after class, but each student’s questions are different, and you often have to spend a lot of time waiting for the teacher to answer your classmates’ questions.

After finally getting in line, it was like seeing a doctor. After a few words, the next person was replaced and I went home with unsolved problems. Vista not only answers your questions, but also remembers your questions and even writes an article in response to your questions, which makes people feel that they are being taken seriously.

In Vista Shares Copywriting Skills, there is a way to solve the problem in writing. This is also the most difficult part for me. “Start, transfer, and combine” is easy to say, but when you actually start writing, you will know that it is not the same thing.

Solving the problem is to start. Not being able to write the “start” of the article is like constipation, which is a bit painful. Vista proposes several methods, such as:

2. Get straight to the point

3. Question and answer method

4. Golden sentence opening method

5. Situation depiction method

6. Pre-conclusion method

Among them, the “Golden Sentence Opening Technique” mentions that whether you are reading or reading online articles, when you see favorite words or sentences, sort them out first. You will intuitively use them in the future, and put them in your own database. You can even open a personal group on Facebook to store materials for future use.

The situational description method is to tell everyone a story first. The story description should have pictures, and the plots should also be collected. Vista cited the example of a cover story he wrote before when he was working in the media service, and told everyone that the stories of people are far more attractive than stacking numbers!

Bai Xiong’s sharing takes everyone in the lecture to fill in the goal setting checklist before implementing content marketing. To be honest, just the first form is quite nerve-wracking. It can’t be filled out in just a few clicks in class! The more I write, the more guilty I feel. Should I continue blogging? Looking back, it seems that the fan club that has not been updated for a long time seems to have grown up. By practicing the tables one by one in the lecture, I suddenly found that I have a lot of problems!

I also heard the chat between the teacher and classmates in class that day, which was very touching. I was afraid that I would forget it later, so I must take notes! Vista mentioned that we often post articles on Facebook, and some articles look complete and have complete information. But why do we, as readers, [don’t feel anything after reading it] (https://content.tw/power)?

Why don’t I feel it? Because Google is very convenient now, it is very easy for everyone to collect information, but information is only basic skills. Readers need to take time to read the content, but if the author just states some things and does not bring out the problems or propose solutions, he will inevitably fall short.

Writing should not only describe the whole story clearly, but also [bring “benefits” to readers] (https://content.tw/power).

In this fragmented era, it is no longer easy for people to read your articles. Even if it only takes 3-5 minutes, it is still very valuable. As authors, we should be grateful.

Writing articles is very hard, whether you are writing for yourself or for a manufacturer, in short, you most likely have a purpose in writing articles, which may be to promote products or share new knowledge. We must not only express our opinions, but also propose our own solutions. Being able to outline issues and viewpoints is the key.

Well, don’t be afraid of making mistakes, just write.

Just like whether everyone is reading Business Weekly or World Magazine, they just want to see the reporter’s point of view. If the entire article says that this is good and that is good, it will be like having no unique point of view and it will be a waste of readers’ time.

Speak your opinions, whether they are right or wrong, good or bad, you can actually speak them out generously and boldly! For example: Many people are writing articles about food. The photos are more beautiful than the last, the text is longer than the last, and every meal looks delicious. But every food blogger starts with menu, but after reading this, will readers still remember who you are?

Perhaps to readers, such articles still have value, but they are just catalogs or guides. In the long run, of course, readers will not know you and will not gain points for your brand.

Through this lecture, I learned a valuable lesson, that is, the essence of content marketing is not to promote products, but to deliver good ideas for products.

Thank you two teachers for sharing without any secret. Whether it is copywriting skills or content marketing strategies, they are very practical. After listening to the teacher’s sharing and feedback after class, I found that there are many areas for improvement! Improve writing power, just practice more. Read more other people’s articles and find time to write more! Poor writing should not be an excuse to hinder our progress.

★This article The author Yukimi shares his experiences on travel, small farmers and food through Blog. Thank you for the permission to reprint, hereby thank you.

★ Picture source: The 3rd Content Hacking Lecture On-site shooting

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Further reading

• “Read slowly and understand in seconds: Vista’s digital copywriting analysis time”: Vista new book publishing and event information announcement
• Experience from participating in the 2nd Content Hacking Lecture (CHL2)─Deconstructing previous experience and becoming your own editor-in-chief
• The secret of content marketing that turns passive into proactive─sharing the summary of the 2nd Content Hacking Lecture (CHL2)

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