Seven Habits of Highly Effective Content Marketers

by Luke Gedeon

Content marketing focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. Unlike traditional advertising, which uses broad-appeal content, content marketing targets specific customer interests and addresses issues related to the product or service offered. This approach can help you establish yourself as an expert, provide helpful information, and entertain potential customers, making your business the first they think of when ready to buy or hire. Here are seven habits to kickstart an effective content marketing campaign:

1. Choose Topics to Write About

Time to brainstorm! Start with listing every problem your product or service can solve. Next, list your competitors and highlight what makes your solution better. Include common issues customers can solve on their own but might not realize. Keep a list of related keywords to watch for in the news.

Stick to one theme closely related to your business to attract and retain a specific audience. Consistency in voice and purpose—whether helpful, funny, critical, practical, or poetic—encourages readers to subscribe and follow. Remember, your choice of topic and voice will determine the type of customers you reach.

2. Write Several Articles Before Starting to Publish

Before publishing, write three to five long articles (1,000-3,000 words each) or ten to twenty short articles (around 300 words each). This inventory should last about a month, giving you time to complete posts for the following month. Regularly replenish your articles, keeping at least a month’s worth of content ready. Whether you schedule writing sessions or write when creativity strikes, maintain a substantial inventory to ensure consistent content flow.

3. Add a Call to Action to Every Article

Include a call to action (CTA) in every article. Near the top of long articles, provide a link to skip to the solution—your product or service. At the end of the article, invite readers to sign up for your newsletter and consider buying, hiring, or donating. Include a call to action per major heading if you can work it into the content. For short articles, one CTA near the end suffices.

CTAs increase the likelihood that readers will take the next step. Ensure CTAs are included in the content, as people often ignore sidebars, headers, and footers. Great content gets republished, so make sure your CTAs travel with it. Review your CTAs with a business coach to maximize their effectiveness.

4. Write Multiple Headlines or Hooks for Each Article

Create engaging titles (hooks or leads) to invite readers to your site. Since social media posts scroll away quickly, reposting multiple times is essential. However, avoid repeating the same title close together to prevent annoying readers.

For each article, list the questions it asks or answers and any surprising facts. Create titles that relate each section to the whole for longer articles. Experiment with different synonyms and word orders. Here are sample hooks for this article:

5. Choose Places to Promote Your Content

Building a large following on social media requires a balance of great content and relevant responses. Post one title at a time and avoid repeating the same title more than once a week unless the feed is very active.

Promote your content in comments with care. Ensure your comment, the article, and the title are all relevant. Comment only on sites encouraging participation. Consider starting a newsletter if you can consistently write quality content on a specific topic.

Other options include YouTube and industry-specific sites. Exchange links with related sites and offer to write short articles to increase backlinks. Send requests with multiple titles for them to choose from.

6. Schedule Postings

Each site requires a different posting frequency. Consider how often you should post to be among the top ten listed posts. The range may be from every few hours to two weeks. Use a spreadsheet to plan and track your postings, alternating between recent and older articles. Also, review which articles should be linked to each other.

7. Be Consistent and Test Often

Post consistently at the same time on the same days, unless experimenting with different times. Test various titles and keywords and use traffic analysis services to determine what works best. Consult with a business coach about hiring a search engine optimizer (SEO) if it makes sense for your business.

Bonus Tip: Get Help When Needed

Starting a content marketing campaign can be overwhelming. If you need help with any steps, ask your business coach.

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By following these seven habits, you can build a successful content marketing campaign that attracts and retains a loyal audience, ultimately driving business growth.