The Single Most Important Question EVERY Content Creator Needs To Ask

Written by Steve Dornonville De La Cour

On August 12, 2020
The Single Most Important Question EVERY Content Creator Needs To Ask

I’m willing to bet you’ve noticed it too?

I sometimes have to blink a few times before I realize how things are right now.

I mean just a few years ago, things weren’t like this!?

Blog posts, emails, Google ads, Facebook updates, Instagram stories, Pinterest boards, Snaps, Tweets, TikTok dances, YouTube videos…

It’s getting a little crazy out there, isn’t it?

In fact, it’s becoming harder and harder to stand out.

The rules have changed.

But don’t just take my word for it, according to recent statistics:

  • 500 million Facebook stories are shared daily
  • The Instagram like button is hit by an average of 2 billion times per day
  • There are over 75 billion ideas on Pinterest
  • 500 million tweets are sent per day
  • 2 million posts, articles, and videos are published on LinkedIn every day
  • There are over 100 billion average monthly video views across the web
  • Snapchat videos hit 14 billion views each and every day

Attention is clearly the name of the game.

But with everything going on – with all the videos, posts, updates, trends, pins and tweets vying for your dream customers attention – how exactly do you get them to consume YOUR content?

Surely there must be a way that no matter what type of content you’re creating, whether it’s a podcast, blog post, Facebook ad, or Instagram story, that you can get people to ignore the millions of daily posts they’re exposed to and to simply scroll past them all to get to yours?

Of course there is, in fact it all comes down to one simple little question.

And if you have the right answer to this question, no matter what content you’re creating, they’ll choose you.

What is this question, and how do you answer it the right way?

Let me show you…

 

REVEALED: The Secret Engagement Formula

 

People are inherently ‘inward thinkers’.

What I mean by that is they predominantly think or care about how things impact them. Everything else comes after.

When it comes to the content they consume, it’s no different.

Whether it’s a movie, blog post, Facebook ad, web banner, YouTube video, podcast episode, you name it – they want to consume it because they want to get something out of it.

They either find it interesting, entertaining, or educational. But ultimately it comes down to there being something in it for them.

That’s why if you know who you are speaking to intimately (hint: customer avatars), you can tailor the content you create so that it gives them a reason to consume it.

Your content should always have a reason, never an excuse.

It’s deceptively simple, but once you start to look at the stuff you create or even what’s just out there, you’ll start to see what I mean.

A lot of people create content because they just want to say something, rather than give their prospect value (this is what I mean by an excuse). Value creates relationships, relationships create revenue. Anything else is just noise in the void.

That’s why every time you create any form of content, be it an email, a headline, a podcast, an advert, or even just a video, you need to ask yourself the following question:

What’s In It For Me?

This question is being asked from your dream customers perspective. You need to put yourself in their shoes and pose that question to the content you’re putting out into the world.

But, there’s also a little trick most people don’t use…

Just because you have an answer, it does not mean it’s a good one. That’s why I mentioned knowing your dream customers intimately, because out of their pain points and false beliefs lies the content you should be creating.

But you need to know who they are, what they believe, and what stops them from achieving the success they crave. And you need to know this like the back of your hand, because that’s how you serve them.

So, if you can’t answer the “What’s In It For Me?” question comprehensively, then you need to go back to the drawing board.

That’s what I love so much about this. The WIIFM test will always show you whether or not you're providing value (especially if you’re honest about it).

Giving people value is literally the secret engagement formula. It gives them a reason to consume whatever it is you’re creating, and that’s the key.

You don’t have to be a Shakespearean writer, a Spielberg-esque video-maker, or a paid-ads maven,  heck you don’t even have to be the best in your niche…

But if you can give people what they want, they’ll forgive you for all of the things you use to convince yourself not to create content in the first place.

You have a voice and a message, but you need to give people a reason to become your tribe.

The WIIFM Test will do that for you…

 

How To Use The WIIFM Test To Create Irresistible Content

 

It doesn’t matter what you work on, the WIIFM Test will make your content stronger, and align it to what your customers actually want from you.

I often talk about how “small hinges can swing big doors”, and the WIIFM test is a brilliant example of this. It can sometimes be the difference between 150 views and 15,000 views.

Every time you put together an idea for a piece of content you want to create, you need to ask “What’s In It For Me” from your dream customers perspective.

If you can answer it, with a strong answer, you’re good to go.

Anything else should send you back to the drawing board.

Better engagement, higher video views, stronger ad click-through-rates, and even higher email opens are waiting for you…

But you need to ask (and answer) the right question first.

Until then, here’s to creating irresistible content.

Steve DLC
Steve De La Cour
Founder & CEO
Kong

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