7 Steps to Creating Engaging Content

CONTENT CREATION SYSTEM™
How to write great content for your blog posts,
webpages, emails, flyers, and brochures in 7 simple
steps.

WHY YOU NEED QUALITY CONTENT
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In 2012:
 2.4 Billion Internet Users (274 million in North America)
1.2 Trillion Searches on Google (67% market share)



2.2 Billion Email Users (Average open rate of 28%)

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What are people doing on the internet? Looking for
information.

Copyright © 2013 by Boutique Marketing All Rights
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Source: http://royal.pingdom.com/2013/01/16/internet-2012-in-numbers/

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GOOGLE AND SEMANTIC SEARCH
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Why? Because internet users demand good quality
content.

Source: Ricardo Bilton http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/02/things-not-strings-how-googles-new-hummingbirdalgorithm-sets-the-stage-for-the-future-of-mobile-search/

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“Core to what Google is doing with [these new
updates] is a shift in focus away from keywords and
towards intent and semantics, which are infinitely
more relevant to users.”

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ENGAGEMENT BY DESIGN: CREATING
CONTENT WITH A PURPOSE

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HOW TO MANAGE YOUR CONTENT AND YOUR
TIME

Create an editorial schedule.

3.

Write faster.

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Think quarterly, not weekly.

2.

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1.

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HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD YOU SPEND
WRITING?
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More complex sales pieces will take longer and less complex
pieces, like an internal memo, will take much less time.

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How much time? Realistically, you should spend anywhere from
an 1-1 ½ hours creating an original piece of content.

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7 SIMPLE STEPS

3.
4.
5.

6.
7.

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2.

Decide
Choose Your Topic
Free Write
Walk Away
Find the Thread
Edit
Post

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1.

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STEP 1: DECIDE
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Step 1 is to decide what type of copy you’re going to
write (blog post, newsletter, email, etc…), who your
prospect is, and what action do you want her to take.

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STEP 1: DECIDE
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Type of Copy: Knowing what you’re going to write will give you an idea of the
how long your piece needs to be, and about how much time you’re going to
spend writing.

An email anywhere from 50-200 words.
A newsletter should be anywhere from 50-500 words long.

Who You’re Writing To: To write good copy you need to have supreme clarity
on who you’re writing to and what problem you’re trying to solve.
A copywriter’s trick is to create a detailed persona of your ideal prospect or client
and write only to her.

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In general a blog post should be between 200-700 words, depending on your industry.

What’s Your Call to Action: You’re writing copy because you want to build
credibility, create or sustain relationships, or you want them to buy your product.
Knowing your call to action before you write will give your writing direction and
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purpose.

STEP 2: CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC
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This is where most people become stuck in the writing
process, they have no idea what to write about. However,
now that you’ve already gone through step 1 the process
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has already gotten easier.

STEP 2: CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC

Make a list of problems that your current or ideal customers are having.

2.

Go to Amazon.com and look up bestsellers in your field and read the table of contents.

3.

Read the reviews about these books.

4.

Visit other blogs on a similar topic.

5.

Type keywords into Google Search and make note of the auto-finish. For example if
you type, “how to market” Google will try and finish the sentence for you. This will give
you a clue to what people are searching for.

6.

Go to Google+ and look under “what’s hot.” This will give you an idea of the topics that
are trending.

7.

Read journals, magazines, and papers that your clients are likely to read. Visit the
comments section to see what you’re clients are thinking about.

8.

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1.

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Here are some copywriter’s tips to help you source ideas that your customers will love:

You never know when inspiration will strike, so be sure to keep a piece of paper with
you so you can write down ideas.
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STEP 3: FREE WRITE
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Free writing is a technique that is very much like stream of consciousness writing.
Free writing will allow you to develop your idea more fully and you may even come up
with a new one.

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STEP 3: FREE WRITE

1.
2.

Write down or type your topic.
Spend no more than fifteen minutes writing stream of consciousness on your
topic.
• Do not worry about punctuation, spelling, or grammar.
• Keep writing until you feel you’ve exhausted the topic and then write for a
minute or two more.
• You will veer off the topic and that’s okay. You’ll write down every cliché you
know about your topic and that’s okay too. Just write.
• Free writing will help you to move beyond the frustration of having to write
perfectly.
•
It is your most powerful tool in your writer’s toolbox. As an added benefit, it’s
also very relaxing.

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Here’s how it works:

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Free writing is a technique that is very much like stream of consciousness writing.
Free writing will allow you to develop your idea more fully and you may even come up
with a new one.

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STEP 4: FIND THE THREAD
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Either re-write these paragraphs on another sheet of paper or cut and paste them in a new
document. Usually these are your opening paragraphs. Now you just need to finish the piece.

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Spend 5 minutes going over your free write. You will be surprised to see that there is a paragraph
or two that kind-of make sense.

Just like in the free-write, don’t worry about making the piece perfect, not yet. Just spend another 14
15 minutes or so finishing your piece and make sure that you add your call-to-action near the end.

STEP 5: WALK AWAY
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Step 2 should have taken you about 10 minutes and your free write, step 3, no more than 15
minutes.

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If you already had a good idea about the needs of your ideal client then step 1 should have taken
you no more than 5 minutes.

And step 4 another 15 minutes.

So far you should’ve put in about 45 minutes of writing your post. Now comes the most crucial
step in the writing process, walking away.

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STEP 5: WALK AWAY

2.

By breaking up your writing you’ll feel less overwhelmed.
When you come back to your writing your mind will be fresh and you’ll quickly be able
to find what is salvageable in your piece and what isn’t.

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You need to learn to let your writing rest for an hour or even a day. This serves two
purposes:

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STEP 6: EDIT
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--John Irving

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“More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer is rewriting.”

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STEP 6: EDIT

Ask yourself these three questions:
1.

Is it Clear?

2.

Is it Simple?

3.

Is it Direct?

Master copywriter Michael Masterson says, “Good writing is clear thinking.” If it
sounds good when read aloud then you’re ready for the final step.

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As you’re reading you’ll stop and make corrections. After you go through the entire
piece, read it aloud to yourself again.

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Now that you’re piece has rested, it’s time to finish it. A copywriter’s trick is to read
your copy aloud to yourself. You’ll find the inconsistencies, awkward sentences, and
the lulls.

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STEP 7: POST AND PROMOTE
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Now it’s time to release it into the world.

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So, if you’ve done all the steps you’ve spent about 60-75 minutes writing your piece.
Congratulations!

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STEP 7: POST AND PROMOTE

Oh here’s a last piece of advice. Don’t be afraid to check your analytics often. This will
give you more insight into what your clients and prospects are looking to read.
Happy Writing!

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Promote it on all of your social media channels and ask your partners and friends to
share it. If it’s good then they will.

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You can re-write and re-edit a piece indefinitely, but you’ve got a million other things to
do, so post your piece and promote it.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

For example, did you know that people retain more information
when they read on paper versus online?



Did you know that only 20% of people will read a webpage in it’s
entirety?

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That 8 words is optimal for email subject lines.

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That long form copy on landing pages will convert better for many
products and services.

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Each piece of copy has it’s own structure.

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HOW TO CREATE ENGAGING CONTENT IN 7
SIMPLE STEPS
11/8/2013

Wednesday’s, December 4th, 11th, 18th
from 7:00-9:30 PM

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The workshop series will be held at The Life Oasis in
Torrance

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HOW TO CREATE ENGAGING CONTENT IN 7
SIMPLE STEPS.
Discover the secrets to creating engaging blogs, webpages, emails and landing
pages.



Learn how to create an editorial schedule to manage your time.



Create a detailed client profile and refine your brand message.



Be given fail-proof templates that you can use to re-create great copy again and
again.

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When you finish with this series, you will have created an email series to sell your
product or service, at least one blog post, Q1 editorial schedule, and improve at
least one of your cornerstone pages for your website.

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11/8/2013

In this hands-on 3-part series you will :

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REGISTER TODAY AT:

http://www.GreatContent.EventBrite.com

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Register before November 28th and Pay only $147

11/8/2013

Cost is: $197

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7 Steps to Creating Engaging Content

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