In this article, I’m going to break down everything you need to know about the content fortress course. That way, you’ll know if it’s right for you.

But first, you might wonder why I’ve decided to write this article. And that’s because I understand the course is an investment, and I also understand that if you’re going to invest your money you want to know if this is right for you. 

The article is an unbiased view of the course to help you make an informed buying decision. 

And fun fact – this is exactly the kind of content we teach you to create in our course!

What is the Content Fortress Course?

The course will walk you through exactly how to use content marketing to help you attract better, higher-paying clients and customers. 

It isn’t just ‘theory’. It’s practical lessons that tell you exactly what content you should create and how you should create it. 

What problems will the Content Fortress course solve? 

The course is not for everyone, and it’s relatively specific with who it helps. Here are the problems the course solves: 

• You have no control over the leads and sales that come through your business and you’re relentlessly chasing after prospects
• You spend a lot of time with prospects who don’t buy from you
• Your clients don’t value your time or expertise
• You struggle with problem clients 
• You spend a lot of time communicating with clients when you’d rather spend that time actually doing work (or even some time off!)
• You do a lot of work outside of the ‘scope’ of the project and often have to have those ‘awkward’ conversations with clients

Why Have We Created the Content Fortress Course?

In all honesty, we didn’t wake up one day and just decide to create a course. The whole content fortress framework was actually a ‘happy accident’ born out of some pretty unhappy circumstances. 

We used to struggle with prospects who would appear so keen on signing up, only to ghost us. And we’d waste hours and hours on people who weren’t the right fit. 

We also used to struggle with clients who undervalued our time and expertise. We’d have problems with scope creep, clients demanding replies to emails in the evening or at weekends, and clients not wanting our advice – they wanted ‘yes-men’ who would do whatever they said. 

It had got to the point where we’d had enough. It was impacting our mental health (and I experienced some pretty scary physical side-effects of this stress too). 

We had previously used content marketing to generate leads and sales for our business, but then we thought to ourselves if we can use content to grow our business, can we use it to prevent those problems from happening? And can we use it to gain better, higher-paying clients? 

And that’s how the ‘Content Fortress’ came about – the fortress is a metaphor for your business, and using content to protect your business, time and mental health. 

What’s included in the course?

Here is exactly what is included in the course…

• An in-Depth 14 Module Video Course that will go through the 8 pillars that make a content fortress. 
• Fill-in-the-Blanks Written Content Templates – blog posts already bulleted so all you need to do is fill it in
• Copy and Paste Email Templates you can use to communicate your new content with your prospects and clients
• A Private Facebook community – where you can gain new ideas and feedback on your content
• A Content Planning Matrix with over 50 content titles/ideas
• Social Media Prompts to help you promote your content 
• The Content Fortress Course Workbook – fill in the workbook as you follow along with the course to help you create your content
• An SEO Checklist you can use for every piece of content you create 

What do the Video Modules Include? 

There are 14 modules in total. And in each module, there are 4-5 videos. 

We’ve kept each video bitesize (around 10-15 minutes each), because we personally hate videos that go on for hours and hours. 

Having bitesize videos gives people a choice: binge watch or just watch one or two, 15 minute videos a day instead.  

The course modules are as follows…

1. Content Fortress Overview – What the Framework is all about
2. Your Goals – Helping you hone in on exactly what you want to achieve from your content 
3. Repelling Content – How to repel those who aren’t the right fit for your business 
4. Attracting Content – How to attract those who have never considered you before or aren’t aware you exist
5. Sales Content – How to directly sell your products or services without being salesy (FYI, this content is an example of Sales Content)
6. Pricing Content – How to discuss pricing so you can charge more and raise your prices with ease
7. Guiding Content – How to guide your prospects into becoming well-informed, happy clients
8. Process Content – How to use content once you’ve made the sale to make your life much easier
9. Culture Content – How to use your values and beliefs to attract your ‘right-fit’ clients
10. Opinion Content – How to stop those irritating things that happen in your business and attract the right people
11. Tone of Voice (To be added soon) 
12. Storytelling (To be added soon) 
13. Writing for non-writers – how to easily write well (To be added soon) 
14. How to optimise your content (To be added soon) 

How much does it cost? And why is the price going up?

The cost of the Content Fortress Course is currently only $297 (early bird price) the full price will be going up to $497 on the 30th July 2021. Prices may include VAT depending on where you are in the world. 

The price will go up when all modules are added. Essentially, you get it cheaper because you’re buying in early. 

Why is the course so expensive? 

As I said earlier, we didn’t just wake up one day and decide to create a course. This is a culmination of years of practice and experimentation. 

We’ve put everything into this course. And we personally hate anything that’s just ‘theory’ based. So we’ve made it practical – telling you exactly what content to create (i.e. giving you the exact titles and what you should include) and how to create it. 

We’ve also included real-life examples in there – because we know that people learn best when they can see other businesses doing the same thing. 

The whole course took a year to create once we’d decided to do it. The reason it’s so expensive is mainly that…

• The examples we give within the course means we had to spend a lot of time interviewing other businesses successfully doing the same thing
• It took us a year to develop the course, ideas and content 
• The ‘practical’ nature of the course gives you the ‘how’ and not just the theory
• The software we use (we use Thinkific, which is a great platform for user experience but it is pricey) 
• The ROI – if you implement what we suggest in the course, it can lead to higher-paying clients, a lot less stress and a lot more time in your business 

Is there a refund policy?

Because all the elements of the course are downloadable, there are no refunds. 

Who is this for?

The Content Fortress Course is not for everyone and we only want you to buy it if it’s right for you.

This is for IF:

• You’re particularly interested in getting better, higher-paying clients or customers who are eager to buy from you
• You’re open to new ideas when it comes to creating public content – even if they sound a bit scary! 
• You value honesty and want to deliver your customers and potential customers the best service 
• You can invest some time into creating content 

This is NOT for you if:

• You’re a ‘stack em high, sell em cheap’ kind of business that competes solely on price (nothing wrong with that, this just isn’t right for you) 
• The thought of ultra-transparent content marketing (or anything public) turns you off. For example, talking about your prices publicly. 
• You don’t see the value at all in content marketing and would prefer to use ads or other channels instead 
• You’re not willing to invest time in content 

How long will it take to go through the Content Fortress Course? 

The course has 14 modules, and each module has 4-5 videos. Each video is approx 10-15 minutes each. 

We did it this way because when we learn we like to watch maybe 30 minutes of content over our lunch every day. And we hate hours and hours of video! 

So in total, there are around 13 hours (approximately) of content. And then there’s added things like the resources you can use. 

The good thing about this though is you don’t have to watch the entire thing to get content ideas and start creating ‘Content Fortress content’. A lot of customers watch one module (such as Repelling Content) go onto create the content, and then watch the next module. And so on. 

Can I See Behind the Scenes? 

Sure, there’s a video you can watch below that shows you how it’s all laid out…

Who will be delivering the training?

We deliver the training, Martin (me) and Lyndsay. 

A bit about us…

For 10 years, we’ve run a web agency (Jammy Digital) and we worked with clients of all different shapes and sizes.  From big corporate clients to one-man bands. And small, local businesses to online shops that serve people all over the world. 

Over the years, we’ve worked with some good clients that make you love what you do, and some really bad ones that make you want to cry.

Throughout the ups and downs as agency owners, we’ve slowly crafted a business that only attracts the best clients. 

Whenever we look at investing in a course or programme, we look at the providers to see if they ‘walk the walk’ i.e. actually do the thing they’re teaching. And that’s incredibly important to us, which is why we have a very active blog. 

And why we produce content like this (and this is the exact kind of content we’ll encourage you to create as part of the course). 

What ongoing support will I get when I sign up? 

When you sign up for the course, you’ll be added to our VIP Facebook community where all our other students hang out. In this community, you’ll be able to ask questions and get feedback on your content. 

We also critique content in this community too! So we encourage you to share your content and we can tell you how to improve it.  

How do you access the Content Fortress content?

Once you sign up, you will receive an email from us with your login information.

Then you’ll log into a learning platform, Thinkific, using the login instructions in the email.

Once you sign in, you’ll see the dashboard area, which looks a bit like this. And you can access all the videos and resources. 

Is there an upsell once I’ve bought the course? 

I’ve taken enough courses in my time to know they’ll be an upsell, and usually, the upsell is some sort of 1-2-1 programme or consulting/coaching package. 

However, there’s no upsell with this course. The course will give you everything you need without you having to invest 1-2-1 time with us. As I said, we don’t hold anything back here.

What results can I expect?

Since we started creating content following this method we’ve seen some pretty interesting results such as:

• We’ve increased our prices by 500%
• We work with 50% fewer clients
• We have a 90% success rate when we send out proposals
• We’ve increased our website traffic by 10x
• We work fewer hours and get to spend more time as a family.

But for us, the biggest difference is that we are far happier. Our mental health has improved so much since we started prioritising it. Our content helps us to protect ourselves so we only attract the very best clients.

Can anything more be said about content marketing? 

When you go to Amazon and type in Content Marketing, there are over 10,000 results. It’s a topic that is widely talked about and we know of some amazing content marketers who have covered the topic in depth.

And even though we’ve read pretty much every decent content marketing book out there, this course actually doesn’t pull much from the topic of content marketing.

Instead, we did a whole lot of research about ‘communication’ – i.e. communicating with clients, selling, negotiation, and even how we communicate in our personal relationships.

We then applied a lot of this theory to content marketing. I don’t pretend to have invented anything new here. Far from it. There are no (or very few!) new ideas anymore, especially when it comes to marketing.

But I haven’t seen much about taking the strategies and research of good face-to-face communication and applying this to content marketing. It’s the marrying of the two subjects that’s relatively new.

How do I sign up?

If you want to overhaul your current lead generating strategy, and walk away knowing exactly how to attract better, higher-paying clients who you love to work with, check out the course below. 

Sign up now and access all the client attraction tools and step by step video training right away.

See you on the inside.

Martin Huntbach

Web designer & marketer for small businesses. Martin is an experienced search engine and web design specialist, with over a decade of experience working with large corporations to small businesses.

jammydigital.com

The post Everything You Need to Know About our Content Fortress Course appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

‘But I don’t have time to invest in x.’ 

‘But you’re more expensive than that other company.’ 

‘I’ve invested in something similar before and it didn’t work. Why should I trust you?’ 

These are the kind of thoughts running through your customers’ brains. 

So what’s the best way to deal with them? 

BY SHOUTING EVEN LOUDER ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF YOUR PRODUCTS/SERVICES! 

Because that’s pretty much what we do, right? We avoid bringing up the ‘negative stuff’. We prefer to talk about all the good stuff around who we are and what we do. 

But if you avoid your customer’s objections then you run the risk of losing sales.

Is your content a crappy salesperson or a good salesperson? 

A crappy salesperson will apply pressure to get a sale at all costs. They will lie. They will flatter. They will use trickery and psychological hacks. And they certainly won’t talk about anything negative. 

A good salesperson will encourage a prospect to voice their objection. And a good salesperson will be able to talk through this objection – presenting a different view or solution. 

A good salesperson may even agree with the prospect’s objection, and advise them not to buy the product/service (a frightening thought, right?) 

Your content should act as the ‘good salesperson’. It should explore your prospect’s objections and give honest answers to their concerns. 

Why You Need to Get a No, to Get a Yes…

In the book, Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, Chris describes the importance of getting the ‘no’ from a prospect. 

Prospects will often tell you what you want to hear, especially in face-to-face situations. People don’t want to offend you so they’ll say ‘oh that sounds good’ or ‘yes, I think we’ll go ahead!’ and then months go by and you’ve heard absolute zip from them. Despite you chasing multiple times. What fun. 

But once you get the ‘no’ you’re actually one step closer to getting a yes. When you get a no, you get to understand your prospects’ objections, for example, ‘it’s too expensive”, ‘I don’t have the time’ or ‘that guy over there is cheaper’. That’s then your opportunity to be the ‘good salesperson’ and counter those objections. 

Getting an objection (or a no) from a prospect can also give you a clue as to what others are probably thinking about your product or service. And this can be hugely powerful. Because this gives you the opportunity to tackle that objection before it comes up in conversation. 

Why You Need to Tackle the objection before your prospect mentions it 

There’s a phrase I see bandied around a lot. It’s… 

‘I see you.’ 

It’s important in relationships. If I’ve spent the day running around after our toddler, cleaning the house and working it’s nice when Martin says, ‘You’ve done so much today, thank you!’ 

It’s nice to feel appreciated. It’s nice to be ‘seen’.

It’s similar to what happens with objection handling. 

If you get in there first by voicing your prospects’ objections it will make them feel seen. It will make them realise that you understand them and that you respect them enough to bring up this objection yourself. It also validates their feelings and takes the awkwardness out of the situation (for example, I get that I’m more expensive). This automatically builds a huge amount of trust and loyalty with your prospect. 

So do not wait for your prospect to bring up their objection, tackle it head-on beforehand. 

Not sure what your prospect’s objections are? Ask yourself this question…

I get it. 

Getting to the heart of your customers’ objections is tricky. People are nice and often won’t tell us the ‘real’ reason they don’t invest. 

So if you’re struggling, ask yourself this one key question…

Why would someone not buy from you? 

It’s one of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself in your business. 

You’ll need to examine it fully. Think about things like…

• How your product or service compares to your competitors
• How expensive/cheap your product is 
• How much time investment is required by your prospect
• Is there something about you that perhaps could put people off 

List all these things and you’ll have a good idea of your prospects’ objections. 

How do you tackle objections before your prospect mentions them? Through Objection-Led Content! 

Now for the fun part. Because once you have an idea why people won’t buy from you, you can then tackle this head-on. 

And the best way to do this is by using content. 

Why should you tackle objections through content?

Typically, when we talk about objection-handling we think about it in terms of a sales call. Of speaking to our prospects directly.

And you might think to yourself, well, why shouldn’t I wait until I’m speaking to my client directly to talk through the objections? 

You could, but the point is they may not get to the sales call in the first place. 

People expect answers to their questions without having to speak to someone face-to-face. 

We value self-service (just look at the number of self-service tills in use at the supermarket). It’s easier and it gives the consumer more control. And we’re becoming more accustomed to it. 

Essentially, people don’t want to talk to you to find out the answer to their question. And if your website and content fail to answer that question they’re not going to pick up the phone and call you. They’ll move on to someone else. 

How to create objection-led content that actually sells

So how do you create objection-led content that actually sells what you do? Below are three great examples of objection-led content that will transform doubt-ridden prospects into paying customers. 

1. The Common Misconceptions/Concerns Content

I love this kind of content. This content essentially lists your prospects’ objections loud and clear, and then goes into detail about why your prospect might be incorrect in their objection. 

A fantastic example of this is from one of our 90-day challenge members, Fit Roots Martial Arts School, based in Slough. Jasmin published an article called, Kids Kickboxing: 6 Common Misconceptions Parents Have. 

It’s a fantastic article that tackles the potential customer’s objections head-on. 

Jasmin lists each point, such as ‘Misconception 1: Kickboxing is dangerous’ – she then goes into more detail about why this thinking is incorrect and backs up her point using a quote from a British taekwondo fighter. 

But my personal favourite is: ‘Misconception 5: Kickboxing is too aggressive’

This is where Jasmin states, ‘So, you’re trying to get your child to STOP fighting with their siblings, not learn how to get better at it.’ This made me laugh. Because it’s clear Jasmin knows her audience well and she’s voiced the exact concern some parents might have with their child learning kickboxing.   

And I love how she counteracts this objection with, ‘Kickboxing, just like many other Martial Arts can teach your child to channel their energy in a positive way. All you need to do is find the right school or instructor.’ 

This introduces the idea that Fitroots Martial Arts School is, of course, the perfect school to teach children how to channel this energy positively. 

This is exactly why this content works so well, you take the objection, empathise with it, state why it’s wrong and how your product or service can solve their problem. 

2. The ‘Why’ Content 

Prospects are like toddlers, they ask ‘why’ a lot. 

Why are you more expensive than that other company? 

Why do you take so long? 

Why do you expect so much of me? 

Why are you charging me more than that person? 

Why is your product made from x material and not y material? 

Unfortunately, they tend to ask these questions to themselves (unlike toddlers who ask them out loud every four seconds). But this does mean prospects fill in their own answers. So when a prospect says to themselves, ‘hmmm why are you more expensive than other companies?’ they’ll fill in their own answer. Which is generally not so positive, like  ‘they’re probably ripping me off.’ 

This is where ‘why content’ comes in. 

Why content explains why you do something. 

We did this with our blog post – Why we charge large businesses & public sector organisations more for website redesign.

On our web design pricing page, we stated that our website packages started from £5000+. But when we spoke to larger companies or public sector organisations we’d usually charge £15,000+. 

On a sales call, a prospect hinted around this, and we explained why we charged large companies much more. 

But we realised, this could be a potential objection for larger companies, who might think, ‘are they charging me more just because we’re a bigger company and can afford it?’ 

So we wrote a blog post tackling that issue head-on, and we sent this blog post to larger companies when they got in touch about hiring us. We had a few compliments thanking us for our transparency! 

For you, this could be completely different. But try to think about those ‘why’ questions your prospects or customers ask you. 

Another great example of this is from Tutti Frutti clothing, with their blog post ‘Why Tutti Frutti Clothing is not a certified organic brand‘

This is an excellent blog post that tackles a potential customer objection head-on. Rather than hide it, Ali goes into detail about why she’s not a certified organic brand, but how ‘the majority of my clothing is made using GOTS certified fabric…’ 

So the potential customer understands why Ali isn’t yet certified, but they also feel confident that Ali really does care for the environment and uses organic materials. 

3. The Proven Case Study Content  

Another great way to overcome your audience’s objections is by using ‘case study’ content. This is great content that acts as proof that your prospects’ objections might be incorrect. 

For example, Jo Francis created an excellent blog post all about how to grow an email list using Facebook ads for just £110.00. 

For anyone who thought Facebook advertising didn’t work or was too expensive for their business has suddenly been proven wrong. 

A lot of business owners only add case studies to their website, but once you turn them into content they become share-worthy. You’ll notice that Jo doesn’t call it a case study. And it isn’t formatted as a case study. Instead, it’s an incredibly helpful blog post that has elements of a case study in there. 

It sells Jo but is incredibly helpful at the same time. 

This kind of content can work brilliantly if you also bring in objections to the content. For example, you could say ‘Before working with us, client x believed y.’ This will allow your prospective client to identify with the person featured within your content – building even more trust and smashing those objections! 

What Are Your Next Steps For Creating Objection-Led Content?

So there you have it. How to increase sales using objection-led content. Now it’s time to get cracking with your first piece of objection-led content! Remember, your first step is to ask yourself…

Why wouldn’t someone work with you? 

If you loved this and want more sales-generating content ideas and guidance, check out our course, Content Fortress. This in-depth course will help you use content to attract your dream clients that love who you are and are eager to work with you.

Lyndsay Cambridge

Owner at Jammy Digital, Digital Marketing Specialist and Writer of Young-Adult Fiction.

jammydigital.com

The post How to increase your sales using objection-led content appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

Yeah, you might quietly mutter the words ‘I never, ever don’t want to work with that guy.’

But you wouldn’t dare say it publicly, right? 

But if you don’t say it publicly, you could be missing a trick. 

When you explain who you’re not the right fit for publicly, two things can happen: 

1. You no longer waste your time communicating with people who aren’t the right fit
2. You increase your trust and loyalty with those who are the right fit. Because they understand that you don’t just work with anyone and everyone. And that you’re not out to make a quick buck! 

But the question is, how do you say it? 

And more importantly, how do you say it without coming across as a complete arse? 

This is where a ‘who we’re not the right fit for’ piece of content comes in. 

What is ‘wrong fit’ content? 

Wrong-fit content is a clear way of stating, well, who you’re not the right fit for. The idea comes from our Content Fortress framework, which helps you attract your dream clients (and repel the ones you don’t want!)

It’s clear and direct. It usually comes in a basic list format and is a pretty easy piece of content to create. 

Preventing problem clients from happening again 

You can (and absolutely should) use your own experience to create your wrong fit content. 

Chances are, you’ve worked with people and realised, for whatever reason, they weren’t the right fit. 

• Maybe they expected too much. 
• Maybe they expected things done too quickly. 
• Maybe they didn’t do something they had to in order for you to do your job. 
• Maybe you didn’t like the way they spoke to you. 
• Maybe someone misinterpreted what you offer. 

Whatever the reason, this content can help. 

Because when you have a problem with your clients, it’s your job to prevent that problem from ever happening again. 

If a client fools you once, that’s on them. If they fool you twice…well, you know how it goes. 

That’s why we recommend that you create content that prevents the same issues from cropping up in your business. 

Why is ‘wrong fit’ content so effective? 

Imagine you spend two hours every week talking to people who aren’t the right fit. This could be…

• Replying to emails 
• Going on video calls 
• Writing proposals 
• Meeting people face-to-face

All with people who aren’t the right fit for your business. 

Now multiply those two hours by your hourly wage. Let’s say £50. 

Over the course of a year that would be £5200. 

Now imagine at the end of the year I gave you an invoice for £5200 for absolutely nothing.

You wouldn’t be very happy, would you? 

And yet, this is what we’re doing day-in-day-out in our business. We’re wasting time with people who aren’t the right fit that ultimately cost us money. 

And don’t get me started on what happens if you actually take on a wrong-fit client. Because that’s even more stress and, potentially, wasted money!   

Essentially, wrong fit content prevents you from attracting people who will suck all your time, energy and money from your business. 

And when you put it like that, you can clearly see the benefits. 

First things first: how do you work out who you’re not the right fit for? 

Hold your horses! 

I know you want to drive right into creating this content. (It’s actually the most fun content to create). 

But, sometimes we really need to establish who we’re not the right fit for. 

And it’s not as obvious as you might think. 

Obviously, you don’t want to work with that guy who expects a reply to his email at 11 pm and never pays on time. That’s kind of a given! 

But think about…

1. Who isn’t quite ready for your products or services? 
2. What do people often ask you to do that might be out of scope?  
3. Who can’t fit within your processes? 
4. Is there anyone you clash with in terms of values or beliefs? 
5. How do you hate to be treated? 

Dig a little deeper into who really isn’t the right fit for your business, and once you have this, you’ll be able to create compelling ‘wrong-fit’ content. 

The Three Rules of Wrong-Fit Content

The problem with ‘wrong fit’ content is that it can easily go in the wrong direction. It can come across as arrogant, or disingenuous. That’s why you should follow these three rules. 

1. Don’t be sleazy 

Ever see one of those pop-ups that encourages you to sign up for someone’s freebie or newsletter? And when you want to exit it, it says something like ‘no thank you, I don’t want to be a millionaire who never has to worry about money again.’ 

Ugh. So sleazy! 

Unfortunately, this kind of thing can happen when you create wrong-fit content. If you’re saying things like ‘you’re not the right fit for me if you don’t want to be a millionaire’ or ‘you’re not the right fit for me if you want to work every hour in the day’ etc, then you’re doing it wrong. 

This is not an opportunity for you to sell yourself. Wrong-fit content is a way of getting people to prequalify themselves and understand if they are the right or wrong fit for you.  

2. Don’t be rude 

Another common problem with ‘wrong-fit’ content is that people can come across as rude. Let’s say you’re more expensive than your competition. You could say, ‘I’m not the right fit if you’re looking for the cheapest option or solution’ and then go on to explain how much you charge. 

But some people might word this badly. They might say, ‘if you’re a cheapskate, don’t hire me!’ or ‘you get what you pay for and if you’re looking for cheap then you’ll fail.’ Stuff like this (even if you think it’s justified) can come across as rude. 

3. Think of it as good customer service 

Ultimately, you have to think of this kind of content as ‘good customer service’. If you walk into a shop and a salesperson approaches you, how nice would it be if they told you honestly who wasn’t right for the product? If they were matter-of-fact, genuine and knowledgeable? If they were confident? 

This is how you have to imagine this piece of content. You are helping people make an informed buying decision. And in the process, you’re also benefiting yourself by only attracting the right people to your business. 

What are some examples of ‘wrong fit’ content?

I love learning by example. And luckily there are some amazing businesses producing this kind of content that will inspire you. 

Content 10x 

I love this article from Amy at Content 10x. They make it abundantly clear who they’re not the right fit for. And I love the handy little table at the start of the article. 

I also love how they state that ‘When we work with the right people, it helps us to do our very best work, which generates the best results for our clients.’ 

This is how a ‘wrong-fit’ article works so well. Because, yes, it repels those who are the wrong fit, but it also increases trust and loyalty from those who are the right fit. Just reading that sentence you understand that Content 10x doesn’t just work with anyone and everyone. They’re not out to make a quick buck. They care who they work with, and want to make sure that they get the best results for their clients. 

Mira Rutter 

I love Mira’s ‘wrong-fit’ article that she published as part of our 90-day content marketing challenge. And I particularly like how Mira takes into account who aligns with her values and beliefs. 

In her article, she explains that she doesn’t work with people who ‘are in business just for the money.’ 

Mira states that ‘It’s important to me that you truly care about the core of what you do. You use your talent, skills and knowledge for the betterment of the world.’ 

Mira’s has a clear idea who her ideal client is, and she isn’t afraid to say that she won’t work with people who just want to make money and nothing else. 

This means she gets to work with people who align with her values. Mira gets to do the thing she really loves – which is to help women achieve their financial goals and also make a difference in the world. 

Denise Cowle 

I love this no-nonsense blog post from MYMO member and amazing non-fiction editor, Denise! 

Denise states clearly that she doesn’t work with offensive material, explaining that ‘When I say offensive, you can take that to mean any form of hate speech: racist, sexist, mysogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, whatever.’ 

This makes sure she doesn’t have to get to the point of viewing material before she declines to work on it – which would take a lot of time out of her business! 

Denise also makes sure she helps those who aren’t the right fit. For example, she says she doesn’t work with fiction writers or writing that’s highly technical or scientific. But she doesn’t just leave it there. She actually helps those who aren’t the right fit by directing them to other editors that can help. 

Denise has really used this content to deliver excellent customer service. 

What are your next steps?

Ask yourself the questions I listed above and start creating your content. It can be a simple list of reasons why someone isn’t the right fit for your business. It’s actually one of the easiest and most enjoyable pieces of content you can create! And you can always check out our blog post on why we’re not the right fit for you too, for inspiration. 

If you want more content ideas like this and exactly how to create them, check out our book Content Fortress. It’s available from just £5.99! And it tells you exactly how to attract clients who respect your time and expertise, are eager to work with you and love who you are and what you do! 

Lyndsay Cambridge

Owner at Jammy Digital, Digital Marketing Specialist and Writer of Young-Adult Fiction.

jammydigital.com

The post How and Why You Should Create ‘Wrong-Fit’ Content  appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

That karma would shine down on me and clients would fall from the skies eager to work with me.

Did this happen?

No.

Because when you do this you’re playing a waiting game.

Your audience laps up all that free content, and you sit there waiting for the sale.

Your audience is in control.

But at some point, you’ve got to bite the bullet and ask for the sale. And you have to do it directly! Not at the end of a really helpful blog post where you scurry out like a mouse and say ‘oh, by the way, you might find my services helpful go check them out’ and then scurry back into your hole in the wall.

No. You have to directly and confidently tell people what it is you do, who you help and how you help.

Yes, you cover this on your product or service pages on your website. But people have to naturally find their way to these pages.

I’m talking about getting this information directly in front of your audience.

I’m talking about creating sales content.

What is Sales Content?

Sales content is exactly like it sounds, it’s content that is designed to get you sales. It includes everything you might talk about on a sales call. It answers all those questions you get from your potential customers. And it relates directly to YOUR products and services (not your industry as a whole).

We talk a lot about sales content in our book, Content Fortress. Sales content makes up one of the key pillars of content marketing.

The Huge Problem With Content Marketing…

Ever heard of the buyer’s journey?

The buyer’s journey is a process that your customers will go through before they buy your product. It consists of three stages: awareness, consideration and decision.

At the awareness stage, the buyer realises they have a problem.

At the consideration stage, they begin to research all the potential solutions to that problem.

And finally, at the decision stage, they’ve decided on a solution strategy and are looking at suppliers or companies to buy from.

An Example of The Buyer’s Journey

Awareness Stage Example

Let’s say you’re at a networking event and someone says to you, ‘oh, you sound great, do you have a website?’ and you realise that you don’t and this may be a turnoff for potential customers. You’ve become aware of the problem.

Consideration Stage Example

So you go home and begin to research all the available solutions to that problem. Building your website yourself on Wix. Building it using page builders such as Elementor. Hiring a freelance web designer. Hiring an agency. Lots and lots of lovely research. You download some checklists or guides from these websites to help you.

Now you’re at the consideration stage, where you’re researching all the potential solutions to your problem.

Decision Stage Example

You do your research and then you decide you decide on hiring a freelance web designer. And then you go about comparing different people.

You’ve found the solution strategy. 

Most companies produce content that covers the first two stages. They produce helpful content that teaches people how they do what they do (how to build a website, for example). Or they help people get to the ‘decision stage’ by creating content that helps them choose the right solution strategy. For example, like our blog post ‘should you hire a cheap web designer or design your website yourself?’

But they fail to produce content that hits people at the decision stage. That sells themselves (over their competitors).  

The Buyer’s Journey Can Be A Slow One: Speed It Up With Sales Content

The buyer’s journey process can be quite slow – particularly for service-based businesses or high-cost products. It could take someone weeks, months or even years to go through this process.

When we create helpful content we imagine our audience reading it then thinking ‘oh that was helpful. I am now going to read their entire service page and then get in touch with them if I think they’re right for me.’

The reality is a bit messier.

The reality is they go away. Other stuff takes priority. You’re still in the back of their minds but they need more time.

In 2019, we looked at our previous 10 clients. 7 out of 10 of those clients were on our email list for at least 3 months. One person was on it for two years, consistently consuming our content until they made the decision to buy. Proof that this is much messier than we think!

This is why you need sales content because it hits your audience right between the eyes! They’re not just continuously reading your helpful content. You suddenly present your audience with sales content, and they then are encouraged to make a decision as to whether they should work with you.

How Sales Content Earned us £25,000+ From One Blog Post

In 2019, we produced a piece of sales content called ‘Why we’re raising our web design prices.’ In it was a clear call to action that said: if you buy before x date, you can still get our prices at the current rate. We emailed it to our list and made $25,000+ from that one blog post (that we can trackback directly).

Sales content was the content we’d been missing all along. People kept consuming our free helpful content but they needed that nudge help them decide if they actually wanted to work with us or not.

Get Your Web Visitors’ Email Address

That’s why it’s a good idea to get your readers email address. So you can continuously bring them back to your content. You can find out more about how to get someone’s email address in our blog post, how to create a lead generating website.

If you have an email list, you can simply send your sales content to them.

How often should you use sales content?

It’s worth pointing out that you shouldn’t use sales content all the time. People will get a little tired of it. Sales content should be used as a seasoning, not the main meal. Usually, one out of every five pieces of our content is classed as sales content.

More Examples of Great Sales Content…

We encourage our members in our 90 Day Content Marketing Challenge to create sales content. Here are some examples to inspire you!

The ‘Everything You Need to Know’ Blog Post: Debbie Ekins

We love ‘Everything You Need to Know’ Posts. They are blog posts that tell you…well, everything you need to know about a particular product or service.

They work well because it helps summarise what your product or service is all about and it answers all your audience’s questions or potential objections.

What we love about Debbie’s ‘Everything you need to know about my blog writing services‘ post is that she doesn’t shy away from the kinds of questions many businesses don’t like to answer (but our customers really want to know!) – things like ‘how much do you charge’ or ‘when do I need to pay’.

The ‘Case Study’ Blog Post: Jo Francis

I personally love case study blog posts. Most people put their case studies on a dedicated page on their website. Which means someone has to actively find the case study.

If you have a ‘case study’ blog post you can get in front of more people. You just have to reframe it slightly. A traditional case study is more about how you helped your client. A case study blog post looks at the steps you took to help your client achieve a particular result. It’s half helpful blog post/half highlighting your services.

Jo, a Facebook ads specialist, does a great job with this in her blog post: How to grow your email list by 1000 contacts for £110 ($150).

Jo explains how she worked with her client to grow their email list using Facebook ads. I particularly like how useful this blog post is to the reader. She breaks it down step-by-step. But Jo also doesn’t shy away from promoting herself too – and why shouldn’t she! Jo clearly gets great results for her clients.

The ‘Reasons to Buy’ Blog Post: Adanna Bankole

A ‘reasons to buy’ post generally focuses on the benefits of your products or services rather than the nitty-gritty details.

These posts work well because they highlight exactly what your customers will get out of your products.

I love how Adanna approached this blog post because it’s actually a pretty scary one to write! In her blog post, ‘4 Reasons to Buy My Business Plan Templates‘, Adanna talks about why you should invest in this product. She lists her reasons clearly like ‘it will save you time’ or ‘it’s more convenient. She also features a testimonial from someone who has bought the templates – a really nice touch!

The ‘My Services Explained’ Blog Post: Sara Bussandri

This is typically where you explain how your products and services work and why they work so well.

Even though it may seem obvious to you, a lot of people might not understand how your products or services actually work, and they may have a lot of questions about it.

Sara does a great job with her blog post: My blog writing service and packages explained. She explains why she doesn’t just write individual blog posts, why she doesn’t offer a ‘trial’ and she tackles the issue of how someone can actually write for another business (without being in it).

The ‘I’m Raising My Prices’ Blog Post: Janine Coombes

This is my ultimate favourite blog post! Is it scary? Yes! But it’s so much fun to write and it’s the one we’ve found delivers really good results.

We all should raise our prices at some point during our business careers. Normally, we do this ‘under the radar. We don’t tell anyone about it, we just simply change our websites to reflect our new prices.

With existing clients, it’s trickier, because we have to email them to let them know that there will be a price increase.

This is why we love the ‘why am I raising my prices’ blog post. Because it’s your opportunity to tell people how flipping brilliant you are and how much value you deliver. And therefore why (justifiably so) you’re raising your prices.

This is also a great thing to send to existing clients. As we always say, people don’t care what you say, they care what you publish. And if you state publicly that you’re raising your prices,  your client will believe and trust that this is a decision you’ve made for all your clients. Not just for them.

We love how Janine, a marketing coach, tackles this in her blog post: The 5 reasons I’m putting my prices up. Janine is super confident. She states that she’s raising her prices because ‘I’m seriously good at what I do.’ And then she goes on to explain what she’s done for her clients.

She breaks down exactly why she’s raising her prices in a transparent and frank way. And it works incredibly well for building trust and authority.

What Are Your Next Steps When It Comes to Creating Sales Content?

So there you have it. Some great examples of businesses using sales content. And there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t do this too!

If you want help, support and some accountability when creating sales content (and lots of other content too), why not join our 90 Day Content Marketing Challenge? This THE challenge that will help you create content that delivers you rankings, traffic, leads and sales.

The doors are next opening on the 22 April. Join the waitlist now.

Lyndsay Cambridge

Owner at Jammy Digital, Digital Marketing Specialist and Writer of Young-Adult Fiction.

jammydigital.com

The post What is Sales Content and How Can It Get You Sales? (With Examples) appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

We 10x our website traffic. We built an audience. And we increased our prices (by a lot).  

We gained huge success for our clients. And we achieved success for us, too.  

We achieved the thing we’d always dreamed of. 

But this isn’t a fairytale story. 

Because even though we achieved this level of success, we were desperately unhappy. 

We were stressed. We were constantly communicating with clients – chasing after them for things we needed or explaining our processes. We hated dealing with scope creep and writing out awkward emails. We felt like we could never catch our breath. 

On the outside, we appeared successful. Like we’d made it. Behind closed doors, we struggled. 

It took its toll on us and on our mental health. The blur between work and life merged.

We would constantly talk about work, and if you’ve ever heard the phrase ‘you work to live, not live to work,’ it definitely felt like we were doing the latter. 

The Tipping Point

We got to the point where we realised we couldn’t continue doing what we were doing. We were too burned out. 

So we made a commitment to making things better. We realised if we could use content marketing to grow our business, could we use it to create a better business? 

Could we use content to communicate better (and actually less) with our customers? 

Could we use it to pre-qualify our leads? 

Could we use it to get fewer clients, but ensure the ones we did attract paid more and respected our processes and boundaries? 

So we set out to create content that did just that. 

The aim wasn’t to get more leads and sales. The aim was to use content to create the kind of business that supported the lives we wanted to lead. 

No client project is ever perfect. So after each project, we examined what we could’ve done better. Where could we communicate more? How could it have gone smoother for the client and us? (We still do this process now, by the way.) 

And all we do is produce content to fill in those gaps. 

Do this a few times and all of a sudden your business is way more efficient – you have more time and, better yet, your clients are super happy with the level of communication and service. 

To find out more you can check out our blog post ‘What is a Content Fortress and Why is it Vital for Your Business’. 

Content Fortress: A Happy Accident Born Out of Unhappy Circumstances 

So that’s why we wrote the book. 

We didn’t set out to do it. 

It wasn’t some carefully crafted ‘new angle’ on content marketing. 

We did it to protect our time, our business and our mental health. We did it for us first. And if you’d have told us at the time we’d be writing a book about it one day we’d have laughed at you (sorry). 

But when we started talking about the concept of Content Fortress to other business owners, that’s when we realised how helpful the concept was. Because they too had struggled with work/life balance, or attracting the wrong kind of clients or spending too much time communicating. They had struggled as we had. 

And that’s the thing about stress and owning a business, it feels like you’re the only one in the world to struggle with it. 

The more we talked about it, and how you can use content to help, the more we could see just how beneficial it was. 

A book just made sense. Ultimately, it’s our way of helping those who needed to feel happier in their business. 

And we hope we achieve that, even for a small number of people. 

Because of all the things we’ve done in our business, this is what we’re most proud of. Is it the most profitable? No. It is the easiest? Nope. But it’s the most rewarding thing we’ve ever done. 

Contribution to MIND – a Mental Health Charity 

MIND is a charity that helps support those who are struggling with their mental health. They do amazing work such as offering mental health telephone support, legal help and lobbying the government for better funding and treatment for those suffering from mental health issues. 

10% of Content Fortress sales will go to MIND. (We wanted to make this a percentage of sales rather than profit, as profit margins on books are tiddly!) 

So if you’ve purchased Content Fortress, thank you so, so much. 

As of December 2020, we have raised £328.40.

This was transferred to MIND via PayPal on the 9th of December 2020. 

On Thursday 4th March 2021, we donated £256.74 to MIND via PayPal.

Taking the total donated to:

£585.14

We’ll donate every few months as sales come in, and keep this page up-to-date so you can see where we’re up too with donations. 

Finally, if you fancy reading the book, you can buy a copy directly from us below.

Martin & Lyndsay

The post Why We Wrote Content Fortress appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

But, in this case, what’s inside the fortress is your business. And instead of stone, the fortress is made up of content.

It may sound a little drastic. Having to ‘protect’ your business with a fortress of content. This isn’t life or death, is it? We’re not at war.

Of course not. But you are the most important asset in your business. And you must protect yourself to guarantee the future health and success of your business.

We’ve found that the easiest, simplest and most effective way to protect yourself and your business is through content.

Our Fancy-Pants Definition of a Content Fortress:

A Content Fortress is about using content to protect your business, time and even your mental health.

It’s a proactive prevention strategy, ensuring you only attract and serve the right customers. Each piece of content that you create, using this strategy, is another stone in your content fortress.

Content Fortress: A Happy Accident Born From Unhappy Circumstances

We’d used content marketing to grow our business. And it worked well…

• We ranked on Google
• We 10x our website traffic
• We had a steady flow of leads and sales
• We raised our prices

BUT…

Something was wrong.

None of this stopped us from getting stressed. In fact, when we reached this level of success, we were more stressed than we’d ever been. We were constantly busy, sometimes dealing with difficult or demanding clients, and our work/life balance was pretty much 100% work/ 0% life.

So it got us thinking. If we could use content marketing to grow our business, could we develop a way of using content to protect our business from difficult client situations and, more importantly, protect our time?

That’s when we started to build a Content Fortress (although it didn’t have such a cool name at the time).

Identify Your Gaps – Fill Them With Content

Building a Content Fortress is all about identifying the gaps in your business–in your processes, in your communication, in all those problem areas that cause you stress and hassle–and using content to improve them (or eradicate the issues entirely).

On the flip side, as well as preventing problems, it’s also about working with your dream customers. It’s about how to educate your prospects, and get them to a place where they’re your dream customers, who understand who you are and how you work. The kind of customers that get you out of bed in the morning.

An Example of Content Fortress in Action…

If you want to see an example of this in action, we published a blog post why new business owners shouldn’t thousands invest in a new website.

We did this because…

• New business owners needed a lot of our time and support (not just with their website but with setting up a business)
• The projects took a long time as they didn’t have website-copy, a logo or branding.
• They would want to wait until their site was live until they started selling (and had to get their investment back quickly)
• They would need to change their website shortly after it went live, because a lot changed for their businesses within the first twelve months.

It’s fair to say that new business owners weren’t the right fit for us. And, spending thousands on a website wasn’t the right thing for them either.

By creating content, we prevented new business owners from working with us. But we also educated them on the best route to take.

Instead of saying no in an email, feeling awkward, typing and then deleting the email a thousand times. Or coming across as arrogant–like we didn’t want to work with new business owners. We explained our reasoning through content.

It saved us time, money and stress.

Since then no new business owners have asked us to build them a website. But…people have read that blog post, and come back years later when they were in a better position to invest.

People Don’t Care What You Say. They Care What You Publish.

We could just send an email every time a new business owner asked us to design a website. We could just explain our reasons why we don’t do it.

But when you publish something, it commits you to it. It proves to your prospect that this is true. It shows them you take it seriously. And it shows them that this is not just something that applies to them, it’s how you run your business for all your customers.

You can say all sorts of things to your prospects and customers. But, the sad fact is, people, don’t care what you say. They only care what you publish.

Making A Commitment To Yourself

Building your Content Fortress helps you stick to your own rules. Because we’re all tempted to take on the wrong fit or bend our processes a little. Especially when money is waved in front of us. Even if you have that niggling feeling in your stomach, telling you something isn’t right. You say, oh it’s fine. Yes, there are some red-flags with XYZ. But it’ll be okay.

You’re only human. We all get tempted! But content is a great way to keep ourselves in line. We can’t go back once it’s published.

The Eight Pillars of the Content Fortress

There are eight pillars that make up a content fortress. By producing content around these eight pillars, you will…

1. Attract your dream clients
2. Prevent customer issues
3. Communicate better with your customers
4. Have happier customers who are more likely to recommend you

The Eight Pillars That Make Up Your Content Fortress

During stressful or uncertain times in our business, we turned to content to help us. We wanted to create a business that supported the life we wanted to lead. And we discovered that there are eight different types of content you can create in order to protect your time, and work with your dream customers.

In our book, Content Fortress, we do a deep dive into each of these pillars, with examples from businesses who do it well. But here’s an overview to help…

Repel Content

There’s a lot of talk about attracting your ideal clients. But not so much about repelling those who are the wrong fit. You have to actively repel the ‘wrong fits’ from buying from you. And you have to do this BEFORE they get in touch. Why? Because you don’t want these people taking up any of your time. You don’t want them disrupting your day. That’s why content is the best way to do this.

Attracting Content

In the same way as repelling content, you have to ‘actively’ attract your dream clients. The problem is, our ‘dream’ clients aren’t always paying attention to us. You need to create content that proves to them that your products or services are helpful and relevant–even if they’re unaware of you, your product. Or even if they don’t think you can help.

Sales Content

Sales content is for those lurkers who are ‘on the fence’ about working with you. They know who you are, and they know how you can help. But they’re still a little unsure. This kind of content gives them the push (or shove) that they need. It gives them the confidence that you’re the right company for them. It sells your products and services just like a good salesperson could face-to-face.

Pricing Content

Every single customer who gets in touch with you will ask you about the cost of your products or services. But the kind of ‘pricing content’ we’re talking about goes way beyond talking about the cost of your products or services. It’s about creating specific pieces of pricing content that will attract your ideal customers and keep your current customers happy. It’s not ‘here’s what I charge’. It’s ‘this is why I charge what I charge’.

Guiding Content 

Guiding content is content that helps your prospects become better, more well-informed customers. This means by the time you take them on as a client or customer you spend less time educating them. You get started on the project or deliver the product much quicker, and your customer feels completely at ease.

Process Content

Process content tells your customer exactly what is happening at every stage of the buying journey. From the moment your customer hands over their precious cash, to the moment you deliver your product (and beyond) they should be informed about your process and what happens next. This is a biggie in terms of keeping your customers happy.

Culture Content

Culture Content is a way of using who you are, your values and your story to attract your dream clients. Knowing and promoting who you are and what you stand for isn’t some cringy marketing exercise (well, it doesn’t have to be). It’s vital when it comes to attracting your dream customers. The kind of customers that get you out of bed in the morning.

Opinion Content

We all have opinions about what we do. About our work, our customers and our industry. We form these opinions through experience and knowledge. But often, we don’t share these opinions with our prospective clients, and we definitely don’t do it in our content. But we should, because this is the way you can attract like-minded customers who you’ll love to work with.

Try This Simple Task…

Now all of that can feel a little…scary. It seems like a lot there. But you don’t need to produce content for each pillar straight away. Try this simple task first.

Think of the last time you had an issue in your business – it could be a miscommunication with a customer or taking on the wrong kind of client.

Now, think of how you can prevent this from happening again. Because you’d do things differently, right? Now think of a piece of content you can create to combat this problem from happening again. Just like we did with the blog post, ‘why new businesses shouldn’t spend thousands on a website’.

That’s all you have to do, think about it. Got it?

That’s Content Fortress. It’s learning from all those issues in your business and using content to prevent them happening again.

If you want to delve deeper into what Content Fortress is all about and how it can help your business, pre-order our book. It’s £12+ delivery. And 10% of sales go to the mental health charity, Mind.

Also, those who pre-order will get a place on our Content Fortress live training taking place in October – for free. Click the link below…

Martin & Lyndsay

The post An Introduction to Content Fortress, and Why is’s Vital for Your Business appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.