Question 1:
Who Is My Intended Audience?

Most coaches (and/or their marketing teams) develop content based on who they think their audience is and what they care about.

The problem though is that they try to create content that appeals to an idea of some “avatar” that in reality represents a host of people who could fit into their definition of their target market. 

Which means the end impact is watered down because they tried to create something that tried to appeal to multiple kinds of people.

Each piece of content should have a very clear target for who it is for. 

It should address one specific pain or problem or desired outcome that people in your market have.

Even if the content is ignored by 90%+ of people, it will have a meaningful impact on the 10% of people who needed that piece of content as well as the action they are called to take as their next step.

If you create the content with one specific person in mind who you know you have helped (or could help) — have them in mind when writing or recording.

Address the thoughts & feelings the situation creates and the costs of not doing anything to change it.

Give the people you are talking to ways to see themselves in the content and it will land (and even get virally shared) with those people.

Now that you know who you are creating for, we’ll dive into the next steps after the break.

Question 2:
How “Aware” Is This Audience?

You may be familiar with Eugene Schwartz and his infamous book Breakthrough Advertising.

If you are not familiar with his framework for the 5 Stages of Awareness, you can get a quick intro to it here. 

The awareness level of your intended audience will impact the tone, length, and depth of the content you create. 

If you’re talking to people who are unaware they even have the problem, you will approach the content much differently than if they are painfully aware of the problem & are actively searching for a solution.

If you try to speak to multiple different levels of awareness at the same time, you’re going to lose everyone. 

The path to profitable virality for a business is through more resonance with a smaller segment of people. 

Even though the market size may become smaller with more niche messaging & focus, it’s still likely larger than your business has the capacity to handle as clients and customers. 

Not every message has to resonate with every person in your audience. Pick and choose exactly who you are talking to for each piece of content and watch the right kind of actions and engagements flood in.

Question 3:
What Story Type, Post Type, and CTA Should I Choose?

There are a core handful of “post types” that you can make, like:

1. Philosophy  [Purpose, Vision, Values, Trends, Rationale for Events & Outcomes]
2. Personal Story
3. Lifestyle
4. Results Share / Testimonial
5. Question
6. Invitation
7. How To  [Educational Content]

There are different ways to create content within each of those but as far as overarching categories are concerned, those 7 are about it.

Most of them are fairly self explanatory. If not, a Google search or a query to ChatGPT can help you think of ideas or see examples. 

“Story” is the one most in need of elaboration. We all, on a deep level, understand the power of story.  

….and yet most of us struggle to properly utilize story properly when we share messages out to the world.

If you’ve read enough books or watched enough movies, you probably are aware that there are a core handful of “story types”….

The most famous total structure is The Hero’s Journey from Joseph Campbell. 

Within that structure are “story types” that you’ll recognize in forms like “The Quest”, “Slaying the Monster”, “Rags to Riches”, “Voyage and Return”, “The Rebirth”, and more.

There also can be the “inverse” of these story types as well. An example being “Riches to Rags” where tragedy instead of good fortune strikes the main character(s).

Before you pick the type of story you want to tell, you need to get clear on the ideal end outcome or takeaway you want people to have from the content.

Most importantly, you need to be clear on:

(A) What feeling(s) do you want them to experience while consuming the content & at the end of it?

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(B) What action do you want them to take at the end of it?

Being clear here will help you ensure that you only publish elements that drive towards your end goals here. 

If you don’t have a clear destination, how can you expect anyone to arrive there?

Once you are clear on the destination, you can pick the type of story that has the best chance of bringing someone there.

Answer these above questions and you will be ready to publish content that brings more of the right people where you want them to go.