There are some crazy statistics about how much content is put out every single day. It’s a lot of noise.

In order to cut through the noise and make sure you’re creating content that resonates with your audience, you have to know what to say. 

Metrics That Matter

Now, don’t get distracted. There are so many people out there that get so distracted by tactics.

Tactics are shiny objects that look like a solution for creating content. They are often accompanied by a person who is ready to teach you how to go viral. 

But, if you’re reading this post, you probably don’t need to go viral to be successful. You probably need just a handful of clients. You don’t need a million views to get those clients. And, if you do, you might want to look at your sales process because that is an alarming close rate. 

My point is, if you start chasing tactics, you end up chasing the wrong metrics. You aren’t in the business of likes or page views. Those aren’t the things that convert clients or make sales.

The metrics that matter are only those that move the needle for you — calls booked, subscribers added to your list, new customers in your system, people who didn’t know you six months ago who stumbled upon your stuff. Those are the people you want to talk to. Those are the people you’re creating content for.

Knowing what to say in your content isn’t always easy. Here are five steps to help you know EXACTLY what to say.

1. Know who you’re are trying to help

The first step to creating content is knowing who you’re talking to. 

Don’t talk to people who you know won’t buy from you. Think about the person you are trying to help. Go deep into that person’s brain. 

What is this person like? Where do they hang out? What do they value most in life? Think about the problems they have. What are the things that keep them up at night? What does a person with these problems need to hear?

2. Know the specific problems you solve

Now that you know who you are talking to, what are the specific problems that your ideal customer has that you can help them solve simply by using your product, service, or program? 

You can talk about it problem by problem. List out the problems that your clients come to you with. What are the symptoms of those problems? What are the different things that people need to know to move from identifying that they have the problem you solve to buying into your solution?

3. Tell a story about the problems you solve

Now, tell the story of the person who came to you with this huge, big, ugly problem and get into the details of the problem. 

One thing I see creators doing is focusing on the details of the solution. The solution doesn’t matter right now. The details of the problem and identifying those people that you can help are where you should focus. Tell stories of transformation over and over. 

4. Be open to ideas all around you

Keep your eyes and ears open because every conversation you have, every networking call, every coffee shop transaction, every email you get, can be a source of new content. 

Being aware of all the ideas that are waiting for you to discover them is how you keep that content machine going. 

5. Don’t stop creating content

I always have my studio set up so that when something comes into my head, or I see something out in the world, I can hit record right away. Some people want to batch it out. I understand that too. There’s no right or wrong way.

The only wrong thing is letting yourself stop the momentum of content. Once you skip a week, it’s easy to skip two weeks, and then it’s easy to skip three weeks. Before you know it, you begin to believe that it wasn’t working anyway. 

But content isn’t something that automatically produces results. Content is a seed. By continually creating and putting out content, you’re planting more seeds and watering the existing ones. 

Consistency will bring results.