Heather Steele September 24, 2021 Let’s face it, most of us just don’t have time to run our businesses and keep up with writing content regularly for our websites and social media. Hiring a content writer is a great step towards upping your digital marketing game, but you still need to do a little homework to set your writer up for success.
Your writer may come to you with great ideas, but at some point, you’ll need to give them some topics to write about. Let’s look at how the ingredients in the Problem Solver MethodTM can help you discover great topics that will make people want to learn more about your business.
Blog Topic Idea #1: The Problems Your Customers Face
Here’s the thing… we humans like to work with and buy from people who understand us and understand what we’re going through. We want to feel like we’re working with others in our tribe. Nothing makes your potential customers feel more seen, validated, and understood than addressing head-on the problems and fears that keep them up at night.
When you’re working on topics for your writer, explore stories of different problems your customers have come to you with. What keeps them up at night? What do they worry about?
Your audience will immediately relate because chances are they have the same problems. You can have your writer create mini case studies or portfolio entries showing the unique ways you solved your customers’ problems.
Blog Topic Idea #2: The Bigger Problem
This one might feel a little uncomfortable, but it’s important to show your potential customers what can happen if they don’t take action to solve their problems OR if they hire someone less qualified than you to solve those problems for them. We call this building the stakes and it is an absolutely key ingredient in a successful content plan.
Think of some nightmare scenarios you can share and have your writer turn them into articles that show the bigger problem your customers might not even be thinking about.
Blog Topic Idea #3: Your Unique Value
How is your solution or the way you provide your solution unique? Now, think about how that unique approach actually provides more value to your customers. These unique values are what make clients want to hire you instead of anyone else.
Make a list and have your writer create articles about why you offer your unique solution or process (hint: make it clear that you want to provide more value and a better experience to your customers).
Just remember….no one cares about your business. Keep your value topics framed around the things your potential clients actually care about. Instead of singing your own praises, focus on why your solutions and processes are different and how that creates a better outcome for your customers. Remember, you want to show your audience that you share their values and you’re in their tribe, so keep your unique value framed around the values your audience cares about.
Blog Topic Idea #4: Prove Your Credibility
Now, I’m not talking about your degrees, your certifications, or your awards (in most cases at least). I’m talking about the credibility that your potential customers actually care about — the credibility that comes from others who have worked with or purchased from you and came out the other side better off for it.
Customer stories, testimonials, and reviews make ideal content for your website.
Think about who your best clients are and how your writer can turn their success stories into relatable content for your potential clients.
If you aren’t already, start asking for those reviews! And then take it a step further — schedule interviews with your best customers, invite your writer to participate, and watch them create amazing stories that will inspire your audience to trust and buy from you.
Blog Topic Idea #5: Share Your Process
We see many of our own clients hold onto the process until they are actually on a prospecting call or sending a proposal, but sharing your process with your audience through your social media and blog content is an ideal way to build trust and help them visualize solving their problems with your solution.
What may seem boring and routine to you is most likely a black box of confusion and anxiety to your clients. Sharing your process with them will help them feel more comfortable reaching out to learn more from you.
The more clarity your prospects have about what to expect, the more likely they are to move further into your sales funnel and become your loyal customers.
Limited Time Offer: Our writing team has openings for 2 or 3 clients who need help creating ongoing blog and social media content. If you’ve been thinking about hiring a writer to help you generate the kind of content that actually helps grow your business, schedule a quick call to learn more!
The Problem Solver Method
The Problem Solver Method is a content framework designed to show your customers exactly how you can solve their problems and help them win. That means every piece of content we write for our clients follows this specific formula that gets results. You can get your hands on the framework here — starting with our Problem Solver Method Website Content Course.
The Problem Solver Method breaks down any piece of marketing content and structures it in a way that helps the reader’s brain understand how you can help them survive (by solving their problems), and frames your solutions as the only path forward.
Why the Problem Solver Method Works
The Problem Solver Method is specifically structured around the way our brains perceive and process information.
Now, we’ll try not to get too technical here but let’s have a quick lesson in how the brain works. This is key to The Problem Solver Method and will instantly help you have a better connection with your prospects and contacts.
There are three parts of the brain that we use for different activities:
- Neocortex which is responsible for planning, concepts and abstract thinking
- Midbrain or Limbic System which is responsible for social and emotional thinking
- Basal Ganglia (Croc or Reptilian brain) which is responsible for survival, new situations, and fight or flight
The basal ganglia is the part of the brain that developed first, it sits right at the top of the cerebral spine and it is a very simple processor or gatekeeper for what information moves through to the midbrain and neocortex for further processing and understanding
This part of the brain can’t handle abstract ideas, in fact it will interpret new ideas or complicated concepts as a threat. It has a very short attention span and is constantly scanning the environment for anything that will help it survive, but because of its minimal processing power, it only picks up on things that are very clearly going to help it survive.
The problem is, people tend to speak directly to the Neocortex with abstract language and “big idea” content.
This scares the basal ganglia, it doesn’t understand what the heck we’re saying and assumes it’s either a threat or a waste of calories to process. It shuts down the perception of your message immediately.
This shutdown happens even faster if your messaging focuses on how amazing you are, because now the basal ganglia sees us as a threatening competitor for resources and propagation
The good news is, the solution is actually quite simple. We have to stop being cute and clever and immediately tell people exactly what problem we can solve for them. This signals survival and the basal ganglia allows our message through to the rest of the brain.
How the Problem Solver Method Can Bring You More Business
Does your website generate leads for your business? Do your visitors instantly understand how you can help solve their problems? Does your website make them want to learn more? If not, grab our website content course!
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