We have all seen those generic articles floating away in cyberspace, their titles range from "10 tips to be a better man", "10 ways to be a better woman" or "How to get your ex back".
Those articles are supposed to be customized according to the audience they are meant for, but in reality, they have nothing to do with you or your life. They don't deliver any value and they are a waste of time, energy and money.
If you are an affiliate marketer, you have probably fallen into the trap of those articles yourself.
But why do we make those huge mistakes?
There are various reasons for this, but one of the main ones is that we are either too lazy or we are simply not aware of the consequences.
Before we begin, let’s look at some post titles and convert them to specific, engaging titles. You can improve the titles that you provide to your writers in your content briefs.
Content briefs are another aspect that you need to incorporate in your content production process, but more on that, some other time.
Let's Start!
Example Generic Title #1 : What Is The Best CMS Platform?
Converted to Specific Title: How To Choose The Best CMS Platform For Your Business
Example Generic Title #2 : How to Find The Best SEO Company?
Converted to Specific Title: How To Find Best SEO Agency In Los Angeles
Example Generic Title #3 : What Are The Best Ways To Write A Posts?
Converted to Specific Title: How To Write Awesome Blog Posts That Can Make You Money
Example Generic Title #4 : What Are The Best Ways To Start A Small Business?
Converted to Specific Title: How To Start A Profitable Online Business In 2020
Example Generic Title #5 : What Are The Best Tips To Be Happy?Converted to Specific Title: How To Achieve Happiness In Your Life
Example Generic Title #6 : What Are The Best Ways To Lose Weight?
Converted to Specific Title: How To Lose Weight Fast and Healthy
Example Generic Title #7 : What Are The Best Ways To Start A Blog?
Converted to Specific Title: How To Start A Profitable Blog In 2020?
These are just examples, but you can see how easy it is to transform generic titles into specific ones. The idea is that when you write a post, you should know exactly who you are writing for, what they want and how you are going to deliver that value.
Remember, there is no such thing as one size fits all. You should not be writing posts for everyone in the world. You should be writing posts for people who want to read your posts and engage with you.
If your post title doesn't have anything to do with your audience, it is unlikely that they will click on it and read it.
I'm not saying they won't read it, but simply that it won't be their first choice. It will take them a lot of time and hard work to find out whether your article is worth their time.
Don't you want to take that work out of their hands and make them happy?
A post title is the first thing that will get people's attention. If you are not grabbing that attention with a specific and actionable title, you might as well give up. No one will ever read your article.
Your post titles are the first impression people get about you. If they see that you are providing value to people, they will want to find out more about you and what you have to offer.
Of course, there is a lot more to writing a post than just the title, but the title plays a huge role in getting someone to actually land on your website or blog.
If you are not telling your readers what they want to hear or if your title doesn't grab their attention, they will move on to something else. And that's going to waste a lot of time, energy and money.
Plus some disadvantages that you are better off without:
No matter what you do, be it online marketing or something else, you want to be relevant. If you are not relevant and professional, people won't trust you, they won't like you and they won't work with you.
The same principle applies to your content as well. No matter if it's an article or an email, it should be relevant and customized for the person you're sending it to. Generic content is not relevant and it won't give any value to your reader, which means that it is a waste of time and energy.
If you write a lot of articles, chances are someone will read them (at least one person). But if your content is generic, your audience will never be interested in what you have to say. Furthermore, they will never come back for more either.
Why? Because they were never interested in the first place! Generic content doesn't build your brand or position you as an authority in any industry. It doesn't deliver value and it doesn't attract your ideal customer! In fact, this type of content does nothing but make you look unprofessional and irrelevant!
As I have already mentioned above generic content doesn't deliver any value and it doesn't show your expertise in any way. Some people might argue that writing articles at all isn't a way to show your expertise or your value to your readers...but writing generic articles definitely isn't!
Think about it...if someone wrote an article on how to be a better man and you read it, would you feel like you have learned anything new? No, you wouldn't. And that's because those articles are not tailored to your preferences and to your situation. They don't present any new information or any new strategies that you haven't already heard or seen somewhere else.
If you want your business to grow, you have to stand out from the crowd. If your content is generic, it won't help you in that regard. You see, people are too lazy to read generic content and they will eventually get bored and they will stop reading altogether. And even if someone reads your articles and gets something out of them, chances are they will never come back for more. Why? Because they will find someone who can give them more value!
As an affiliate marketer, the main goal of your content is to get leads and sales. If you are using generic content, it's not going to happen. Why? Because if your content is not relevant and it doesn't deliver any value, no one is going to buy from you or sign up for your list!
The solution is simple - customize your content and make it relevant! But how do you start doing it? It's easier than you think. All you need to do is follow this step by step process:
You can't write something relevant for a person who's not even real! So first of all, identify who your ideal customer is and what he wants. This step is crucial because it will help you position yourself as an authority and an expert in your industry.
It will allow you to create better content that will be more relevant for your readers and that will help you get more results! Don't take this step lightly because if you don't identify your ideal customer, all the other steps won't matter!
Now that you know who the ideal customer is and you have already started providing value to them on a regular basis, it's time to develop a relationship with them. It's a long and hard process, but once you get it right, it will pay off big time!
One of the things I like to do is to write a customized email to each and every person who signs up for my email list. I usually start off with something like this: "Hey there! Thanks for signing up for my email list. This is going to be the best way for us to stay in touch."
And then I go ahead and ask them some questions based on the persona I have created for them. Here's an example:
"I have created a persona for you and your situation based on all the information you provided. I know you are interested in dieting because you mentioned it in your profile. What type of diet are you looking for? Would you like to lose weight? Or maybe build lean muscle?"
And that's just one example, the possibilities are endless. You can add whatever questions you want and then deliver value by telling them about yourself, your expertise or why they should buy from you.
That way they will feel more comfortable buying from you because they will know what they are getting into. They will feel like they know you and that will help them trust you even more!
Now that you know who your audience is and what they want, it's time to see if your content is relevant enough for them. And how do you do that? You ask them! You can send out a survey where you ask them if your content is relevant. If they say no, then it's time for action! It's time to modify your content and make it more relevant!
I also love asking different types of questions in the email I send out after someone signs up for my email list. Let me give you another example: "What did you like most about what I wrote? And what would make my emails better?" And if someone responds with something like "I liked most that the tips were real life scenarios." Then I can go ahead and add more real life scenarios in my next email. That way I am providing value even more!
Now that you know what people want, you know what they are interested in, you know what they don't like and you know what you can do to make your content more relevant...it's time to take action! And the first thing you need to do is to create a new content piece centered around what your audience wants.
Think about it - would you be interested in reading an article on how to lose weight if you want to gain muscle? No! So don't make this mistake. Create something that is relevant for your audience!
This is probably the most important step in the entire process because it will allow you to see if the steps that you have taken are actually working or not. If they are, then all the other steps will become easier and easier because you will already know what works best for your audience and what doesn't! If they aren't working, then it's time for action!
It's time to figure out how to fix them. Don't be afraid to experiment with different things because that's how you will find out what works best for your audience. Figure out what they want and what they respond to best and then use that knowledge to create even more relevant content!
If you follow this step by step process, I guarantee you will see results! Your content will become more relevant and it will start attracting the right type of people. People who are interested in your niche, who want to learn more from you and who are also more likely to buy from you in the future!
