You have no doubt heard the phrase, “content is king”, a few times in your online marketing career. And while that is true, it would be better stated to say, compelling content is king. If you want your content marketing efforts to bear fruit, you must create content your audience finds valuable and engaging.

Creating good content does not have to be a totally daunting task. By following a few simple steps, you will be producing content that your readers will love and share naturally.

1. Focus on Your Reader

This may seem obvious, but too many businesses use their blog posts as sales pitches and don’t take into consideration what the reader wants. You should create buyer personas for your ideal customers and create content for them. What are their concerns? What problems do they have? Pretend you are writing to one particular person. Answer their question. Give them all the information they need to make an informed decision. The more valuable and specific your content is, the greater chance you have to turn your reader into a customer.

2. Create A Publishing Calendar

As with most things, consistency is the key to better content marketing. By setting up a publishing calendar, you will always know what topics you need to write about and when they need to be published.

By keeping organized, you will never be at a loss for a topic, and your entire team will know what is expected of them. By keeping to your publishing schedule your readers will know when to expect new content as well. Don’t neglect your blog or update so sporadically, your readers can’t keep up.

3. Post Different Types of Content

You should be mixing the type of content and media you publish as well. Different people respond to different types, and this way you can take advantage of different social media platforms as well. Have a graphic design firm on hand to help hone your voice and content on your site. You should be posting text, video, and audio on your blog. Keep things current, trendy, and overall interesting to readers. Beyond that, you should mix it up even further. Post interviews, tutorials, list articles, case studies, podcasts, videos, and news articles from your industry.

4. Write for The Trash

Great content does not happen on the first try. It will take several drafts before you get the perfect piece of content. And that is okay. You will have to re-write and edit each one of your blog posts until they are the best they can be. Do not get discouraged if your first draft is not perfect.

5. Interact with Your Audience

Your content marketing efforts do not end once you hit the “publish” button. Share your content over all your social media profiles. Answer every question the readers leave on the blog post. By engaging with your audience, you will soon be seen as a trusted voice in your industry and more likely to convert more readers into customers.

By embracing these five tips you will be creating engaging content in no time. The more content you create, the larger reach your message will have and the more customers you will bring in.