Content strategy is a WHOLE thing. Having a content strategy that actually generates leads and is great for your SEO-it’s a whole ‘nother level. Listen, I get it. Creating content to market your business is a WHOLE job. Not to mention actually doing the job-job parts of your job. But, in this bonus podcast series (and comprehensive blog), I will walk you through STEP by STEP- how to create a content strategy that’s great for SEO and lead generation that doesn’t suck the life out of you.

Prep work: Get your content strategy lined out and feelin good using my why+wagon wheel content strategy creation method.

Step 1 for Your Content Strategy: Plan Out Content People Actually Want to Read That’s Keyword Rich

Basically, there are two different approaches to content planning:

1. Planning content based on research
2. Planning content based on inspiration

With planning based on research, you do your keyword research first and then create your content plan. If you’re like me, and you’d much rather come up with ideas when you’re feeling inspired and THEN optimize for keywords, then you’ll go with the second approach:

Inspiration first and keyword research second. 

Listen here to the podcast that goes into this in-depth:

Step 2: Outline Your Content for Clarity and Massive Time Savings

Listen, I 100% used to think I didn’t need to outline. After all, I AM A NATURAL, dear sixth grade teacher. I do not need to follow the ways of peasants (please hear my sarcasm). Until the poor teacher who had to deal with my cocky self made me test my theory… and…. she was right. I didn’t outline my essay, I got a worse grade than my norm, AND IT took me longer…. Lesson learned. 

Outlining your content not only keeps you on track better, but it helps you repurpose smarter later. Bonus points- it’ll help your TEAM work better when you’re in a position to hire help.

A good outline should have:

1. Your “thesis statement,” aka the thing that you are trying to prove
2. A rough introduction
3. Your main points
4. Supporting points
5. If you are an “I research and then I do” person vs. Faith who writes and creates out of inspired ideas and then does the research- you MAY want to think up some great keyword focuses supporting points HERE. (If you’re like me, you’ll do that during the optimizing stage.)
6. An idea of any other content that you want to reference
7. You CAN write a rough conclusion, but I honestly never do

Step 3: Write the Actual Blog!

Now, if you’re a natural writer, this part will be fun. If you’d rather talk all day than have to write one minute, you’ll want to hire this out. However, if you’re repurposing a podcast or Youtube video into a blog, this step will be SUPER easy for your team to take over BECAUSE you just outlined your content really well!

Here are the steps to writing your actual blog

1. Take the outline that you just wrote.
2. Fill in your outline! This shouldn’t take more than 30 min. Especially if you do this process right after you recorded the podcast or Youtube video
3. Write a heartfelt intro.
4. Heartfelt conclusion
5. Get actual links for anything you mention
6. You don’t need to be super wordy.
   • Search engines like 2-3k blogs sometimes, but Imma be honest, nobody reads that.
   • As SERVANT-hearted entrepreneurs like I talked about in ep 31- we’re going to create what SERVES first. 
   • Be clear
   • Don’t be afraid to show some personality.
   • Write something that someone would enjoy reading!
7. Copy that bad boy over to WordPress (or whatever platform you use for blogging)

Step 4 of Your Content Strategy: Optimize Your Blog to Get Found on Google!

This part, to me, is so so fun. Probably because it feels like cheating the system, but it’s not immoral or unethical, lol. Now, it’s not enough to know your keywords; you have to know WHERE to use them on your website AND blogs. So listen in (or read on) as I walk you through how to optimize a blog post using SEO and keyword placement tips.

Reason number 853 why I love SHOWIT for your website is because it works with WordPress for blogging. BLESS…

And one of the BEST parts of a WordPress blog is Yoast!

Here is the EXACT process that I use to optimize my blog 

1. Write a Bomb.com title
   • Keyword focus toward the beginning of the title
     • A great title has to be TRUE and Enticing
     • Tell them what they’re gonna get out of it, AND THEN DELIVER
     • HeadlineStudio by Coschedule is a great tool. (not free)
     • If you can’t swing that, just come up with multiple variations

2 . Create my images over in Canva

• I create everything optimized ratios for Pinterest
• Download images and name them
• Upload to blog

3. Add relevant internal links

4. Add relevant external links

5. Link to appropriate freebies

6. Optimize your H2 Headings using keyword focus phrase

7. Add an FAQ section if you can!

Step 5 of Your Content Strategy: Market and Repurpose Your Great Keyword-Rich Content

Now- I wish it was “build it and they will come” when it comes to content, but the fact of the matter is that- you need to market. You need to share. You need to repurpose your content! 

Marketing is simply letting people know that you can help them solve their problem.

Fact: You do not need to reinvent the wheel every time you post. If you’re not repurposing your content, then you are working too hard. 

Listen to the podcast for a detailed walkthrough.

For my detailed content repurposing guide, grab this cheat sheet. It’s SUCH a wealth of info and will REALLY help you get more bang for your buck with your content. 

There you have it! Truly, your content strategy really can feel authentic to YOU and still generate leads. When you really hone in on your person, what they are searching for, learn how to optimize and repurpose like a BOSS- you CAN generate more leads while saving time. Promise 😉