8 Content Marketing Tips to Elevate Your Strategy and Drive Results

15 min read

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced marketer, everyone needs some advice on how to improve their skills and create successful content. These 8 content marketing tips will help you to captivate your audience, increase engagement build your brand, and drive conversions of your content.

Achieving your content marketing goals takes a fair amount of time and effort. When your posts finally start to see the kind of traction and interest you’ve been hoping for, it’s easy to want to take a break and rest on your laurels for a while, so to speak.

However, these decent results can also lead to a content creation rut. You may be looking to play it safe and become fearful of experimenting with new formats and new topics. You may simply have formed a habit of going through the same motions every time a new piece of content needs to be created.

If you’re satisfied with your content marketing results but also ready to start working on something new again, this post is for you. If you already have your basic content production and promotion routines down and you’re ready to take on a new challenge: you guessed it, read on!

Follow these content marketing tips to improve your skills and become a marketer pro!

1. Cover Your Selected Topic Comprehensively

When choosing your topics, make sure that you can produce several posts in the same topic cluster. The point of this is to establish better topical authority.

Your goal is to position yourself as the go-to source on a certain topic. In order to do that, you need to write more than one post about it. A single post, even if it’s called “the ultimate guide,” won’t be enough. Instead, you want to cover all topically related keywords, answer all the common and less common questions that search engines get asked about the topic, and do so with confidence and expertise.

A topical authority is important because it helps search engines understand what your website is about. It also helps you acquire more relevant backlinks — which, in turn, also boosts your authority and relevance.

Let’s look at an example. MarketBeat’s penny stocks list is just one in a series of posts discussing the same topic, penny stocks. This is their pillar page, while the others enhance it and provide answers to various other questions traders may have.

While they also offer some basic information in the main post, readers can learn even more by clicking through to some of the other recommended articles. It’s a great way to keep readers exploring a certain cluster. Moreover, it’s a clear signal to Google that the website is an authority on the topic and thus deserves to see more traffic.

2. Embrace Long-Form Content

One of the best content marketing tips is to create long-form content. Long-form content tends to rank better, which is just one of the many reasons you should consider investing more of your resources in creating it.

The mere fact that it’s long means it’s more informative and more valuable. Readers can learn more from it, spend more time engaging with it, and consequently start seeing you as an expert on the matter.

It also reduces bounce rate, as users are more likely to find what they’re looking for. This UX enhancement will yet again be good for your overall rankings.

Given the fact that it also provides more conversion opportunities (i.e., it gives you a chance to insert more CTAs and optimize them better), creating long-form content becomes a logical part of your content marketing strategy.

Let’s look at an example to discuss what you need to be doing to ensure this content type lives up to its potential. This article on how to use Google Flights by Going ticks all the important boxes:

• It provides a detailed answer to a very specific question.
• It is formatted for ease of comprehension. The paragraphs are short, the important words are bolded, there are numerous bullet points, and there’s plenty of white space on the page.
• It’s enhanced with relevant and helpful screenshots.
• It follows a logical pattern and answers questions as they are likely to arise for readers.
• It features numerous advanced tips and a FAQ section that tackles the issues real searchers have asked search engines.

3. Create Evergreen Pillar Posts

Create several evergreen pillar posts that your readers can keep coming back to and that target the top of your funnel. This point combines the importance of long-form content and content clusters.

These are the kinds of successful content that may take longer to rank but will see a steady influx of visitors over time. The kinds of posts you can promote continuously on social media and via your newsletter. The kinds of posts that are likely to earn quality backlinks and that tie in with your product or service in some obvious way.

The main benefit of creating long-form evergreen content is that it never gets old. As long as you keep refreshing it, you can see it pay dividends for years to come. It again sets you up as a topical authority and helps you establish trust.

What makes a post evergreen? A topic that will never go out of season, and that is more than just a passing trend. This post on how to set work-life boundaries by Pumble is a good example.

• It’s very close to the “work-life balance” topic cluster that most working people will google at least once in their life, but it provides a slightly different angle on the topic.
• It provides actionable advice that will be relevant in years to come.
• It is connected to the brand’s product and helps them reach a very wide, diverse audience.

4. Focus on Readability

This content marketing tips post will be lacking without mentioning readability. People don’t read digital texts like they read books. You can’t expect a wall of text to be engaging or interesting to your audience. If they aren’t able to skim it quickly and figure out if they want to take the time to read the whole thing, they aren’t likely to stick around.

You need to be clever with your use of white space: ensure that the text is centered, that there is enough space between each line, and that there is a lot of emptiness to either side. This will draw readers’ eyes to where they need to go.

Also, make sure your headlines are descriptive. It will allow readers to skip the parts they don’t find interesting.

Carefully consider how you want to format your articles on mobile screens as well. While a paragraph may appear quite short on a desktop, it may take up all the screen real estate on a mobile phone.

Let’s look at a good example of successful content. This best mattresses Eachnight guide is very well thought-out.

• Its best element is the summary at the very top, detailing which mattress fits which type of need and sleep style. It saves readers time and boosts the accessibility of the article.
• The recap each section opens with is just as useful. It distills all the key information for the reader, who can hone in on only the products they would consider buying and need not worry about the rest of the post.
• The pros and cons for each product, plus the “see also section,” provide even more easy-to-digest value, again featuring bite-sized, relevant information that enhances the UX of the page.

5. Don’t Be Scared to Introduce Your Product

When it comes to content marketing tips, remember that creating valuable content can help generate traffic, leads, and brand awareness. But don’t forget about the opportunity to convert visitors into customers. It’s okay to occasionally publish sales-driven posts and link them to other relevant content. Just make sure to avoid being too pushy and respect your audience’s interests.

And that doesn’t mean you need to turn your blog into a sales tool. What you should be doing is publishing the odd post that is sales-driven and ensuring that readers can get to it from other relevant posts. Those who are ready to convert will appreciate it, and it won’t drive any of your cool audience away, as long as you don’t shove the sale down their throats.

You are still focusing on value and the quality of the information you provide while also adding bold CTAs and product page links.

Look at the post of Aura on the best repricers for Amazon. This successful content gives plenty of relevant information and advice on choosing said reprices, but it also features a very prominent CTA promoting their own solution. It makes perfect sense to nudge readers in the direction of their free trial at precisely this moment.

The post itself is objective and informative, and Aura is never hailed as the only available solution. But missing out on that CTA opportunity would have been a shame.

UnscrambleX has a different type of product mention across their website. For instance, the Words With Friends cheat post doesn’t mention the product at all, but the header contains the brand’s conversion mechanism. Since it’s the first thing visitors will see, they are likely to scroll back and try it after they’ve read through the post.

This won’t work in the eCommerce space, but it’s a great tip for SaaS and other digital tools that can be tested on the spot. If you work in eCommerce, here are the content marketing tips on How To Leverage Content To Increase Your Reach in Dropshipping.

6. Use Various Content Formats

One of the best content marketing tips to follow if you’re really looking to up your marketing game is to consider branching out into content formats that are not written text.

Sure, blog posts will help you rank better, and they’re great for bringing in qualified organic traffic and teaching search engines what your brand is about. However, leads want to see diverse content types.

The more content formats you can serve, the more people you’ll be able to reach. Not everyone uses Google as their preferred search engine. A lot of people prefer YouTube when looking for answers.

Podcasts are another format you can consider to expand your reach and authority. You don’t necessarily even have to launch your own — you can appear as a guest on niche podcasts.

Seller Plex is a great example of a business that used all kinds of content types to grow its brand. Their podcast is well known in the industry, and it serves as a great tool for marketing their services as well as growing their influence and authority. Their blog completes the triad. It helps them rank, improves their website’s authority, and shares information they feature in the podcast in a different format — one that is better for learning and taking notes.

When considering a topic for successful content, think of all the different formats you can use to explore it. If you write a post about the future of AI, for example, come up with all the smaller topics and questions you can turn into shorts. Consider who you could interview on the topic. Perhaps do a case study and see who can write a better post, you or ChatGPT?

7. Don’t Fall Blindly into the AI Trend

Speaking of content marketing tips and AI, let’s discuss how you can use it to take your marketing game to the next level and create successful content.

In short, aim to find a neutral ground between letting the AI do all the work and refusing to use it altogether.

The thing with AI is that while it may be exceptionally controversial, it’s also incredibly useful. It can cut down on your research time, and as long as you use it to write about a topic that you are actually an expert in, none of its mistakes will be allowed to creep in. You can use Content at Scale’s AI detector tool, to ensure that your content is original and free from any instances of plagiarism.

If you refuse to embrace the opportunity it provides, you may end up left behind, like all those people who never wanted to use SEO to better their articles. It’s a great helper but not a good master. So don’t let it take the reins out of your hands, but learn to integrate its automation opportunities into your workflows.

Let it:

• summarize articles for you
• tell you what people are asking about a topic
• show you what your competitors are doing
• suggest headlines and relevant keywords

Don’t let it:

• Write the whole article itself

8. Define a Clear Purpose for Each Piece of Content

Finally, one of the important content marketing tips is to set a specific goal for each piece of content you create, whether it’s on social media or on the blog.

The goal does not need to be as specific as “generate 50 leads.” But it should be “generate more leads.” This goal is meant to help you better choose the angle, point of view, level of expertise, and general approach you require for a topic to create successful content.

It’s taking search intent to the next level and adding personalization to it.

Let’s look at two posts from Ahrefs to demonstrate. This post on the lesser-known Ahrefs features is aimed at:

• current subscribers
• those who are using another tool but aren’t entirely satisfied with it
• marketing experts
• people looking for advanced hacks

This is a conversion-oriented post. It won’t appeal to the top of their funnel, and it won’t attract new leads.

On the other hand, this post on the ten websites that tried to fool Google is a fun read that is easy to share on socials and has no conversion ambitions. And it will probably earn them lots of mentions and shares in the SEO community.

The two examples demonstrate completely different goals and purposes and completely different styles of posting, but both execute them exceptionally well.

Creating Successful Content

In conclusion, successful content marketing is a crucial aspect of any modern business strategy. By creating content that is both valuable and engaging, marketers can captivate their audiences, establish their brand, and convert leads into sales. Focus on quality over quantity. Stay up-to-date with industry trends and continually measure your results to refine and optimize your strategy.

There is no universal approach to content marketing. What can be effective for one business might not have the same results for others. Before you start applying any of these content marketing tips, consider how they would fit into the strategy you already have in place. Don’t force them if you feel they simply aren’t a good fit for your audience. Instead, try to adapt each of them to best fit what you already know your audience wants.

Implement these content marketing tips to take your content marketing skills to the next level. Start brainstorming ideas, create successful content, and analyze your results. Good luck!