How well do you know your audience? It’s a question that many people balk at. However, when we know our audience, what makes them tick, and what makes them ick, then we can write to them in a way that’s compelling and attractive aka the holy grail of content marketing. And of course, the whole point of writing for a brand is to showcase your smarts, to highlight the value you bring and to do so in a way that inspires people to take action, preferably by way of throwing money at you. And the easiest way to do this is to have a steady stream of robust data flowing your way that you can mine for content gold. Ah yes, feedback…
When we write to an audience like I described in this post, our content speaks to them in a tone of voice that’s accessible. Beyond tone of voice is their motivations and their pain points in the context of the benefits that we bring. Sometimes, it’s hard to write benefits and outcomes without feeling salesy. This is when you can lean into the feedback you’ve received and turn that into content that does the selling by getting your clients to do the heavy lifting for you. Basically, you can take the words out of their mouth and stick it into your content.
Let’s face it: not all feedback is created equal. A mumbled ‘yeah, nah, good thanks’ won’t fill a content calendar. When you help people help you *yelled in a very Jerry-esque voice* the quality of feedback improves. Think about it – all those times you’re asked to provide a Google review with no guidance it suddenly becomes a job, but when you’re asked to provide answers to a series of quick questions it feels much more do-able. Enter the feedback form.
I get phenomenal responses to my feedback forms – not just because I’m bloody good at what I do, but because I make it easy for people to give me the feedback I need to both improve my services and their client experience but also to create content.
I’m happy to share my feedback form with you – just reach out – but basically as I was creating it I was thinking about my audience and my clients, what do they want and need, personally and professionally? Sometimes these two intertwine. For example, if you’re providing a professional service such as lodging BAS statements, there’s that sense of relief that crosses across to the personal that comes with the ease of mental load from meeting obligations. This basic need and want question drives both my solutions as well as the way I construct my feedback request.
One of the questions I ask is along the lines of ‘how are you working with me to overcome a specific problem?’ The reason I include this is because it means they’re putting the problem in their own language. They’re using their own words to describe what it is that made them reach out to me and seek help.
The next question focuses on which aspects of working together is the most valuable or impactful. This helps me analyse what I do in terms of my services but it’s also where I uncover the gold that I may have missed. Sometimes you’re too close to what you do to see the value you bring. A client once told me I bring a sense of relief, knowing that she doesn’t have to come up with content ideas.
Here’s a couple of other prompts for you to think about asking your clients:
- I wanted to work with you because:
- My biggest challenge ahead of working with you was:
- You helped me by:
- At the end of working with you I felt:
- I found the experience of working with you to be:
Here’s my challenge to you – put together a quick survey and send it out to a couple of clients. As you receive your answers, take note of the language that’s being used. Circle or highlight the key words that keep coming up. How can you weave them into your content? And if you really want to make the most of this feedback, why not turn it into a beautifully written case study?
Tell me, do you collect feedback? Equally importantly, do you repurpose it into communications and content fabulousnessness? If not, I can help. Let’s chat, shall we?!
I love writing about communications, writing, life in business and life in general! If there’s something specific you’d like me to cover in my writing, please shoot me an email or give me a buzz, and I’ll do my best to help, or address it in an upcoming blog post or on my social media platforms.