Factors That Contribute to Content Success

After managing hundreds (maybe thousands) of SEO campaigns… I've distilled content creation down to a science. Here are 6 core pillars that actually move the needle: 1. Smart Keyword Selection Search volume is a vanity metric. Focus on these factors instead: • Relevance to your business goals • Commercial intent signals • Click-through rate potential Pro tip: 60% of Google searches end without a click. Pick keywords where people actually click through to websites. 2. The Uniqueness Factor Google's drowning in AI-generated content. Your advantage? Being genuinely different. Here's how: • Conduct original research (even small studies work) • Share first-hand experience and opinions • Create fresh data sets • Build user-generated content around polarizing topics AI can't replicate human experience. Use that. 3. Perfect Intent Matching Want to rank? Match the format that's already working (while adding your unique spin). Simple process: • Search your target keyword • Study the top 3 results • Note the content format (list, guide, comparison) • Create something similar but better If Google shows informational content, don't try to rank commercial pages. Work with the algorithm, not against it. 4. Content Quality Standards Great content isn't about word count. It's about clarity and engagement: • Write like you're talking to one person • Use simple language (no jargon) • Break up text with headings and bullets • Add visuals that actually add value • Edit ruthlessly 5. Topic Authority Building One great page isn't enough. Build supporting content around your main topic: • Start with branded keywords (easiest wins) • Target competitor comparisons • Create problem-aware content • Build educational resources Each piece should link to others, creating a content hub that Google loves. 6. Technical Foundation All the great content in the world won't rank if your technical SEO is broken: • Page speed under 3 seconds • Mobile-first design • Proper URL structure • Internal linking strategy • Schema markup where relevant Stop pumping out random blog posts. Start building strategic content assets that serve your business goals. Every piece should either educate your audience or move them closer to becoming customers.

Most creators have this backwards. They're chasing views and subscribers, hoping they'll magically become clients. But after analyzing over 10,000 videos across 150+ channels, I realized something profound: YouTube success is about viewer intent. Last month, I worked with a founder who had 87K subscribers but was only making $12K monthly. She was creating "viral content" instead of strategic content. When I shared my systems with her, everything shifted. Here's what I learned about building in public through strategic YouTube content: 1. Foundation First Build genuine authority by teaching what you know deeply. This creates the trust foundation that turns viewers into clients. When you share knowledge transparently, you become the obvious choice for implementation. Your expertise becomes undeniable when demonstrated consistently. People trust those who teach before they sell. 2. Solution Showcasing Demonstrate your expertise through real problem-solving. People hire those who prove their value transparently. Your public work becomes your most powerful sales tool without feeling salesy. Live problem-solving builds immediate credibility and rapport. Prospects see exactly what working with you would look like. 3. System Transparency Share your actual methodology and frameworks openly. Building in public creates magnetic attraction to your process. 4. Transformation Stories Show real before/after results from your work. Transparency about outcomes builds unshakeable credibility. Success stories create emotional connection and logical proof. Other founders see themselves in your client transformations. 5. Strategic Bridge Building Use clear CTAs that guide viewers toward next steps. Every piece of content should have a purpose beyond views. 6. Value Ladder Creation Design a clear path from free content to paid services. Building in public means showing the entire journey. 7. Intent-Based Content Target purchase-intent keywords that your ideal clients search for. Strategic transparency attracts ready-to-buy audiences. 8. The PVT Formula Address specific problems, validate your understanding, then reveal your transformation approach. This converts 273% better than standard tutorial content. This is about creating beautiful, systemized, and impactful brands together. When you build your expertise in public through strategic YouTube content, you create multiple conversion opportunities while establishing deep trust. We 10X'd her revenue within 90 days using fewer videos but with clear strategic intent behind each one. The future belongs to those brave enough to build their systems in public. It starts with sharing your methodology transparently. __ Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Matt Gray for more. Want help applying this in your business? DM me ‘Blueprint’ and let’s chat. Only for founders ready to scale.

Embarking on the content creation journey can feel like navigating a maze. Over the years, I’ve discovered that the secret to making meaningful connections through content isn’t just about what you say, but how you say it and ensuring it genuinely resonates with your audience. 1. Embrace Simplicity: When I first started posting, I thought using big words and complex sentences would impress my readers. It didn’t. Feedback showed they preferred straightforward, easy-to-understand content. It was a lightbulb moment—simplicity wins. Now, I always ask, “Would my grandma get this?” before I publish anything. 2. Deep Dive into Your Audience’s World: After sending out a simple poll to my followers asking what topics they were interested in, the engagement on my subsequent posts soared. Knowing your audience is like having a roadmap for your content journey. 3. Storytelling is Your Best Friend: Sharing a personal experience while sharing my journey, complete with all the missteps and eventual triumphs, garnered more responses and shares than any how-to guide I’d ever written. Stories not only make it relatable but also create emotional connections, making your message more impactful and memorable. 4. Consistency is More Than Just Timing: I once experimented by posting daily for a month and then sporadically the next. The drop in engagement during the sporadic month was stark. Regular, predictable content keeps people coming back. But consistency isn’t just about schedule—it’s about maintaining a consistent voice and quality that your audience can rely on. 5. Break the Monotony with Visuals: Visuals can turn complex information into an engaging, digestible format, making your content more accessible and enjoyable. 6. Feedback: Early on, I viewed feedback as a personal critique, but I’ve learned to see it as a gift. Positive comments highlight what’s working, while constructive criticism offers a blueprint for improvement. Engaging with feedback has turned my audience into co-creators of my content.

❌ Why 90 percent of content fails and how to fix it Most content doesn’t fail because it’s bad. It fails because it’s not aligned with the right audience. If people don’t feel “this is for me,” they scroll. Simple. Here’s how to fix that: 📌 1. Know who you’re talking to Not “entrepreneurs.” Not “creators.” Go specific. Your real audience is: - “early stage founders trying to get their first clients” - “marketers tired of outdated strategies” - “coaches who want consistent inbound leads” The clearer the target, the sharper your content becomes. 📌 2. Solve one problem at a time Most posts try to teach too much. Pick one frustration your audience had this week and talk about that. People pay attention when they feel, “That’s exactly what I’m struggling with.” 📌 3. Speak their language, not yours Your audience doesn’t want jargon, frameworks, or fancy terms. They want clarity. Swap: “conversion optimization” → “getting more people to take action” “audience segmentation” → “understanding who you’re talking to” Simple always wins. 📌 4. Repeat yourself more than you think New followers need to hear your core message. Existing followers need reminders. Repetition builds authority. 📌 5. Focus on being useful, not impressive Your content should make someone say: “I can use this today.” That’s the content people save, share, and come back for. 🎯 When your message matches your audience, your content stops getting ignored and starts working for you.

Analytics aren’t just numbers; they’re your roadmap to publishing growth. Data isn’t power, it’s potential. For publishers, the real value lies in transforming raw metrics into repeatable growth strategies that drive audience retention, revenue, and #SEO performance. Too often, publishers collect vast amounts of data but fail to extract meaningful takeaways. The key is understanding what content resonates, how audiences engage, and where opportunities for growth exist. Collecting data is easy; extracting insights is not. Without clarity, metrics like pageviews and bounce rates become distractions. For example, a 40% drop in returning visitors isn’t just a traffic issue—it’s a retention red flag. By using the right tools and refining strategies based on real data, you can turn numbers into growth. Here are actionable strategies to turn data into action: 1. Know Your Audience Beyond Pageviews Pageviews alone don’t tell the full story. Instead, track return visitors, time on page, and scroll depth to measure true engagement. Tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Parse.ly provide deeper insights. Cohort analysis can reveal trends, millennials may prefer video, while Gen X engages more with newsletters. For example, if mobile traffic spikes by 20% after 8 PM, push breaking news via mobile notifications to capture that audience in real-time. 2. Optimise Content Performance with Behavioural Data Understanding why some content performs well helps you replicate success. Use @Google Search Console and Semrush to analyse search visibility and Hotjar Digital Marketing Company to track user interactions. For example, if "AI in media" gets 3x more shares than "content trends," double down on AI-related content. Additionally, A/B test headlines (e.g., “5 Growth Hacks” vs. “Proven Tactics”) to see what improves click-through rates. 3. Track Conversions, Not Just Traffic Traffic alone doesn’t guarantee success—conversions do. Set up goals in GA4 to measure newsletter sign-ups, paid subscriptions, or product purchases. Identify which referral sources drive the highest conversion rates, and adjust your strategy accordingly. For example, premium subscribers from "how-to guides" tend to have a 15% higher lifetime value than general news readers, meaning content type matters when driving long-term revenue. To scale what works, automate reporting with Power BI Visualization or Looker Studio to save 10+ hours per month. Analytics only matter when they drive actions. The biggest mistake any publishers can make is to treat data as a report card instead of a playbook. Start by auditing one content category this week, setting up a conversion goal in GA4, and A/B testing a headline. Data doesn’t lie, but it won’t work unless you do something. What analytics tools are you using to grow your publishing efforts? Share your go-to platforms in the comment below. #DigitalPublishing #SEO #ContentStrategy #AudienceGrowth #DataAnalytics

The iceberg effect of content marketing Most people only notice what sits on the surface. The polished blog. The catchy LinkedIn post. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. The real work, and the real leverage, happens underneath. Here is what usually goes unseen: 1. Customer insight The best content starts with listening. When you know what your audience needs, fears, and believes, you can create something that feels personal and relevant. 2. Strategic positioning Every piece of content should connect back to your bigger story. It is not only about teaching. It is about showing people how to think about the problem and why your solution matters. 3. Intentional distribution Content that never gets seen cannot make an impact. Smart teams plan channels, timing, and promotion before they publish. 4. Scalable repurposing A strong idea should work more than once. One blog can become a video, a podcast clip, a thread, or a slide deck. 5. Relentless iteration Content is not a one-time project. It is a cycle of testing, tracking, and improving based on what actually resonates. The posts you publish are the output. The real engine is everything that happens behind the scenes. If you want content that drives growth, start by building the part no one sees.

13 content lessons from 40M impressions: (After 2 years of publishing on 4 channels) 1. Content won't save a bad offer. 2. Without strong interconnected content pillars, your content narrative will be weak. 3. People love unique content. You can provide that with proprietary insights, unique point of view, or a unique content style. I've combined the 3. 4. The average interest span has indeed reduced. Find ways to unveil your messages step by step, from short form to long form. 5. If done well (with a great offer), content takes 3 months to generate significant results (constant flow of inbound). 6. After 24 months, your content ecosystem is a big financial asset. 7. One view is not equal on each channel. 1 view on your newsletter has higher value than 1 view on social media. 8. You can calculate ROI or inbound ratio on each channel. But the real ROI comes from the compounding effect of multiple channels. 9. Authority-first content increases visibility, trust, and authority. It also leads to inbound demand, facilitates outbound, increases closing rates, and accelerate the sales process. Yet most executives, founders, and CEOs overlook content. I'm still investigating why. 10. I got more inbound demand when I started talking about myself. 11. Content facilitates business - every time I arrive in a new city, I DM 10 people, get a 100% reply rate and meet some of them. 12. Bad content has a negative ROI because it creates messaging debt. 13. Start from a social media with a fast feedback loop, then expand your content ecosystem to other channels. I've more lessons to share, tell me if you want the part 2. Follow me Pierre Herubel for daily content marketing tips.

Are you struggling to create engaging content on LinkedIn? Read this: Last month, I sat down with a SaaS founder doing $1.5M ARR for a 2025 content planning session. Here's how we unlocked a goldmine of ideas and increased his engagement by over 200% in just 14 days (with one simple exercise): Enter the Milestone Moments exercise: It's a powerful tool to effortlessly create content ideas by reflecting on past experiences. Here's how it works: Choose a timeline (past 5 years) and riff on these 5 pillars: 1. Mistakes • Share pivotal errors that became learning moments • Offer insights to help others avoid similar pitfalls Example posts: → Why Cutting Corners on Customer Support Cost Us $1M (And How We Fixed It) → The Day I Lost a Major Client: 3 Painful Lessons in Communication → From Burnout to Balance: How Overworking Nearly Killed My Startup 2. Challenges • Discuss obstacles you've overcome • Provide strategies for conquering seemingly insurmountable hurdles Example posts: → Navigating a Cash Flow Crisis: Our 30-Day Survival Strategy → When Our Main Competitor Became Our Biggest Customer: A Pivot Story → Building a Remote Team from Scratch: 5 Unexpected Hurdles We Overcame 3. Insecurities • Open up about fears and uncertainties • Show how you navigated them to build confidence Example posts: → Confessions of a First-Time CEO: How I Tackled Imposter Syndrome → The Day I Froze During a Pitch: Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety → Why I Was Terrified of Delegating (And How It Made Me a Better Leader) 4. Achievements • Celebrate wins, big and small • Use your progress to motivate others Example posts: → From Garage to Google: Our Journey to Becoming a Preferred Partner → How We Doubled Our ROI by Listening to Customer Feedback → Milestone Alert: 1 Million Users and the Team That Made It Happen 5 . Underrated Skills • Highlight less-discussed abilities that impacted your success • Teach others how to develop these skills Example posts: → Why Emotional Intelligence Outweighs IQ in Leadership: My Personal Journey → The Art of Interviewing: How Curiosity Became Our Competitive Edge → Mastering the Follow-Up: The Simple Skill That Boosted Our Sales by 40% This exercise unearths countless ideas that resonate with your audience. It lets people know YOU better, deepening connections with your audience and ideal customers. Remember, we connect and buy from people, not companies. Your experiences are unique and valuable. Share them. Ready to start? Grab a pen and paper. Generate multiple ideas for each pillar. PS - Follow me, Rohan Karunakaran, for daily tips on how to grow a profitable audience on LinkedIn with organic content. PPS - I've included two additional pillars in the comments below 👇

If you think content engagement is the key to success... ...you're already losing Let's get real about metrics. Most people are obsessed with the wrong numbers. They're chasing: Impressions Likes Comments Shares And while those feel good. They don't pay the bills. (Claps ain't cash!) Here are the metrics that actually matter for high ticket folks. → Sales conversations started. How many convos did this content directly generate? → Deal quality Are you attracting better fit clients with higher budgets? → Sales cycle velocity Sales speak for.... is your content helping close deals faster? → Proposal-to-Close Ratio Are prospects more pre-sold when they talk to you? → LTV Are you attracting clients who stay longer and spend more? There is no way CLAPS equate to any of the above. I've had clients with content that got minimal engagement but generated multiple six figure deals because it reached exactly the right people at exactly the right time in their buyer journey. The key is tracking the right things. For every piece of content you publish, ask: Did this generate any sales conversations? Did prospects mention this specific content during sales calls? Are better qualified prospects reaching out after consuming this content? These metrics tell you what's actually working, not what's popular.

“My content generated $500K in revenue!” Okay, wait! Just YOUR content? Really? Such claims are often misleading. Let’s be honest about what other factors drove those numbers: • Domain authority (built over years) • Efforts of the entire SEO team optimization • Email list of 50K+ subscribers • Social media team with 100K followers • Paid promotion budget of $10K • And so many other things It’s the TEAM EFFORT - CONTENT MARKETING not just writing. The writing part? Maybe 30-40% of that success. Stop hiring writers based on traffic numbers. Start hiring them based on: • Strategic thinking • Research quality • Audience understanding • Conversion ability Great writing on a weak domain gets 500 views. Mediocre writing on a strong domain gets 50K views. Judge the craft, not the platform. Also, writers, don’t create unrealistic client expectations, which can go like ‘why isn’t my new blog getting the same traffic?’ Because traffic isn’t just about writing. It’s about the entire content ecosystem. #pragaticreates #writer #contentwriter #copywriter #freelancewriter #freelancing #linkedin