So you have a website and you want to promote your business…but how? Below, I’ve listed five content marketing tips that can help lead you to the right path to gain and maintain a readership.

Know your audience

You need to know what you want out of your readers. Most likely, you’re hoping their visit on your site results in a sale or a lead. But when it comes to creating a content marketing strategy, it’s important to put yourself into the reader’s shoes and think about what they are wanting from you. Are they coming to you for advice? For an answer to a question? To learn a new skill? Or to buy a product? Whatever it may be, you need to think from a client or buyer’s perspective. This will help you brainstorm a list of potential keywords to target based on what the clients are looking for.

Use keywords wisely and in moderation

Overuse of keywords, or “keyword stuffing,” is one of the quickest ways to not only lose readers but lose weight and authority in the search engines. What defines keyword stuffing? Any content that sounds over-promotional or spammy that has an excessive number of keywords in it. A good rule of thumb for the number of keywords you should include is between two to three keywords per post. As a recommendation, you should have your main keyword appear in the title of your post, in the first paragraph, and at the end summary. Of course, this is just a rough number – your focus should always be more on readability of the post than the number of keywords. Stay away from off-topic posts, or from writing content that sounds too sales pitchy. People come to your blog to read, and read often. They don’t want to be sold on every post.

Post regularly

To create reader loyalty you should create a blogging schedule and stick to it – whether that be once a week, every Saturday, a few times a week or even every day. It really doesn’t matter how often you post, as long as you do so on a regular, measurable basis. This way, readers know when to expect new content from you and they trust that you will stick with it. No matter how often you post, your content needs to be unique, relevant, informative and to the point.

Model yourself after your competitors

What!? Isn’t the goal to be different than your competitors? Well yes, and I’m sure you’re already doing so in a number of ways. However, there is nothing wrong with modeling yourself after someone else’s success. Take a look at the content your competitors write and really evaluate it. Do they use header tags? Have they incorporated rich media such as videos, images and if applicable, image alt tags? How did they distribute their keywords? Do you feel the post really covered the topic in the best way possible? Using what you know about their content as well as your knowledge about your industry and business, find a way to make your post unique and therefore better than theirs. Maybe you can offer a different take on the subject, add more knowledge, or organize the data better.

Engage your readers

If there is one slogan I hate, it is “if you write it, they will come.” You see, here’s the problem with content: there is a LOT of it. Search engines literally spider and index hundreds of thousands of pages on the same topic. You need to do something to help your copy stand out in an ocean of words. How? You need to bring in readers through social media – Twitter and Facebook to name a few, as well as places where your readership congregates such as forums and other relevant blogs. Also, be aware that you need to engage the readers you already have. Simply thanking them for comments or answering a quick question can go a long way.

Additional ways to engage readers is doing promotions or giveaways depending on your niche. This builds reader loyalty and is a good way to grow your numbers.

Again, these are just a few quick tips on how to build a successful content marketing strategy and we discussed even more here. Whatever you may choose to do, make it your own. By thinking like a client, researching and modeling your competitors, posting often and using the right keywords, your business will see astounding growth in readership loyalty and volume. Good luck!

About the author

Aubrey Phelps

Aubrey grew up in a small town and always knew she wanted to achieve...something, and she has. She packed her bags for college but instead of a degree she earned a husband. Bringing four years of SEO experience and expertise, she is an superb account executive who blends her cocktail of knowledge and unparalleled people skills to take on the world. Although Aubrey may love her job, her secret ambition is to become a cat hoarder. She boasts an extraordinarily vast yet entirely useless array of pet facts and also believes she could fight a bear if she had to (she once was bitten by a raccoon...same thing, right?).