How Startups ACTUALLY Use Content to Generate Sales Online? [Practical]
Have you ever thought about exactly how startups and huge companies make millions and billions of dollars through content? 91% of marketers surveyed attained success with their content marketing in a research by SEMRush.
As a business, you can build your business off strategic content. I mean, exceptional content that is targeted to your ideal customers.
People who are willing to buy from you.
Great content can drive sales and boost your visibility.
Now, what exactly is content marketing?
What is content marketing in 2023?
Content marketing is simply the process or the act of promoting a piece of content to a specific audience to achieve a goal or an objective.
For example, if you are a startup and you sell a software product (SAAS), you can create content around your space then promote it to your target audience, with the hopes that would convert into sales.
Or let's say in the B2C space; let's say you sell books, you can create content around those books and then promote that content to your target audience to generate sales.
Now, this could be through emails, search engine optimization, social media channels, et cetera.
It is simply the process of promoting any form of content that you have already published online.
It doesn't matter whether it's on a blog or a social media platform, or a community forum. As long as you create content for a specific audience and then you promote it to that very audience with a call to action (CTA) to get results, probably sales, then that is content marketing.
How then does content marketing increase the number of new leads for startups?
How Does Content Marketing Generate Leads?
How does content marketing attract potential customers or clients for startups?
Content is created to attract a specific target audience and get them to take action.
This could be signing up, subscribing to your newsletter, joining your free trial for your product, trying your services, or purchasing your products.
Let's use my blog as an example; this very blog.
You come to this blog and read an article about startup content and B2B content marketing.
Now, if you feel my content is great and believe I have a certain level of expertise that your startup might need, then you can reachout to me letting me know how I can help your content marketing efforts.
Also, even though most traffic that comes to my site will not convert into sales, they may turn to email subscribers. This way, I can reach them with marketing emails with specific CTAs to grow my business.
And don't forget; content revolves around the value you provide to your audience.
That is basically how startups use content marketing to attract new leads daily.
That is how brands, companies, and businesses, generate sales from content marketing.
How does content marketing generate sales?
Now, for me, I treat every single content as a business on its own.
So let's say I create content on "the best hairdressing cream for women". I would treat it as a standalone business.
I could create another content on "the best kitchen utensils", and I would treat that as a separate business itself.
I would promote every single content, very well so that each content could be able to generate sales.
And that is how even billion-dollar companies do it too.
You show your target audience through content (it could be video, it could be eBooks, it could be lead magnets, it could be blogs, and so many more) your expertise in your field.
As long as you create and promote content with a call to action, then that is content marketing.
You are attracting people to take action after consuming your content.
Now, content that is published on this very blog is to attract a specific audience, and hopefully get them to hire me to write content for them or to promote or handle their marketing, and content marketing tasks for their startups or digital agency.
Each content on this blog is linked to my sales funnel with 'content' being at the top of the funnel.
Now, this is what I mean.
Here's a diagram of a funnel starting with traffic then content, newsletter, customers, clients, newsletter, or email subscribers.
Another example is HubSpot.
HubSpot has one of the best B2B content on the internet, which amounts to millions and millions of traffic from such engines alone.
That has attracted tens of thousands of leads to their email subscribers, which has converted to a lot of sales. The same applies to another startup, UniClixApp.
UniClixApp is a social media application that I worked with to create and manage content.
During our campaign, we used content to attract traffic to the website, then we promoted the application within the content. These blog posts converted to email subscribers, fans, and app users for the very software.
Do you get it?
Now, here's the question;
Why Most Content Marketing Strategies Fail?
I get asked a lot of times;
"Simon, I still cannot figure out why my traffic isn't growing, even though I create exceptional content".
Here's it:
Personally, from my 10-year research in content and marketing, content alone is not king.
Creating exceptional content alone and hoping results come in won't work.
Yes, I know you've heard a lot of times that content is king, content is king, but I do not believe content alone (without marketing) is king. And luckily I created a short guide explaining why.
Here's the link to the article:
"Content is NOT King": The ULTIMATE Reason Content Isn't King!"
Want to hire a SEO content writer for your Startup or agency?
Need a content marketing specialist for your business?
Use the contact me page and I'll get back to you within 24 hours.
Or you can use simonzakucom at gmail dot com.
Have any questions? Let's chat in the comments section ;)
Best,
Simon Taki Zaku