P
eople in the First Century pass Christians for cannibals. People thought Christians were really gathering to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus Christ. The image of such meetings was grotesque. Many did not understand. Some persecuted them to punish such barbarism.Jesus himself said it: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:56). When the crowd heard him, some of them went away disgusted. Others fled offended. His harsh words diminished the number of his followers. His close friends considered retiring. Jesus asked them if they wanted to leave. So…
Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.
John 6:68
If that happened to Jesus, what will become of us! The content of your message is not for everyone, but for those who understand their need for it. It is for that group of people that you must share your relevant, useful, and transformative message. Therefore, how do you make your digital message reach your ideal audience so that they can receive it well? Today I want to give you 6 suggestions to help you create more relevant web content.
1. Define your model audience
To reach a group of people, you must first reach one person. Whenever I write, I have this one person in mind. I choose someone real, someone who comes closest to the profile of those I want to reach.
Let us say this person’s name is Adele. I think about her age, her cultural heritage, her profession, her interests, her activities in the network, her hobbies, and even imagine her physical aspect, if pertinent.
Then I start asking her questions. Adele:
- What are your prevailing needs?
- What problems do you have that urge a solution?
- How can I help you solve your problems?
- What is the best way to go about solving them?
- What are your motivations?
If you cannot answer these questions, you probably still do not know whom you do want to reach. Define your audience; it is a primordial matter.
ACTION: Write the profile of your ideal Adele on a page.
2. Clarify the things you want your audience do
If you do not know what you want Adele to do, she will not know what to do when she sees your message either.
We call this primary concrete action is known a Call to Action or CTA, for short. The psychology of the message also recommends accompanying the main action with a secondary action to give your readers an option.
Be sure to ask for specific actions with active language. You achieve this by using imperative verbs: buy, donate, take, download, follow me, or write, for example. If possible, accompany the verbs with adverbs of urgency: now, right away.
ACTION: Write a list of possible actions that Adele could take.
3. Refine the five dimensions of your message
When my customers ask me how long before their website will be ready, I always answer them: “It depends on you.” This is because it is easy to maintain the technical aspects of a website, compared to generating appropriate content.
Start thinking in terms of your IDEAS. IDEAS is an acronym that I use to define the Identity, Direction, e-Strategy, Alignment, and Seal of your digital presence. These are the five dimensions of your online message (check this article for more details).
I have developed a questionnaire to identify the five dimensions of your message. If you want a copy, click on the following link and you will receive it by mail:
ACTION: Download and complete the IDEAS questionnaire.
4. Create a list of phrases and keywords
For most, this exercise is not so natural. Just ask someone for a list of phrases and you will make their mind go blank. That is why I get the list indirectly with the IDEAS questionnaire.
The phrases and keywords serve to organize all the content. I use them to form the body of categories and labels of all your web pages. They are also useful for search engines to index your website.
The IDEAS questionnaire includes a final section to write this list. Click to download it now:
ACTION: Write an extensive list of phrases and keywords for your website.
5. Write descriptions that invite action
The title, phrases, keywords, and descriptions of your publications are part of your meta-content.
Search engines use the meta-content to compose the results displayed to users. For this reason, pay close attention when composing the descriptions of your website and each page or entry.
Make sure that:
- They are consistent with your content
- They highlight the benefits to the reader
- They include the most important phrases and keywords
- They call the user to take action
- They generate a sense of weight, importance, or urgency
Use everything you learned from the previous steps when composing your descriptions. For example, instead of “Learn SEO step-by-step,” better write, “SEO in 3 easy steps: Learn without delay!”
ACTION: Write descriptions that invite action.
6. Publish variety content
All the steps above are preparations to make your web content relevant, but most important of all is to publish variety content.
Not all your followers have the same interests. When you publish variety content, you involve different groups or segments of people.
My advice to you is:
- Decide which are the 5-6 most your audience is most interested in
- Make an extensive list of possible topics and group them by categories
- Rotate your publications among your main categories
- Publish series of the same topic; you can reuse that same content for other purposes
- Stick to a regular calendar and be consistent
I maintain an editorial calendar in Google Calendar, which I review and adapt frequently. In it, I register my ideas for future articles. Right now, I have programmed the weekly topics for the following two years. However, my calendar is a flexible guide and not a rigid itinerary. I adjust it with the changing interests of my audience.
The calendar also includes short publications for social networks derived from the weekly article.
ACTION: Create an editorial calendar in Google Calendar with your topics for the next six months.
Please answer the following questions:
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