DIY Content Marketing Tips from the Experts

DIY Content marketing tips and advice from the experts to help your service business grow.

How do you know you’re good at something?

When people ask you, BEG YOU to do something for them.

Not once.
Not twice.
But numerous times.

Meet Callum Armstrong From Paste And Publish

Callum Armstrong was the Manuka Essential Oil Man when the pandemic hit and stopped his business to a grinding halt. That was the moment he decided to finally answer the call for a content marketing agency.

So, …
Callum wrote blogs, sent out emails, dabbled in SEO, built websites, offered templates, added a course (because why not), also became a group coach and did one-on-one work.

Then, he clicked that …
either he can move his flywheel really fast and work really hard
OR
he can just focus on one thing and do much better with less work and better results for his clients.

And so, his focus shifted from the full spectrum of what content marketing for a service business can do to… just coaching. (Exhale!)

Because, according to Callum, you can hand a man a fish, or you can teach him how to fish.
And his passion (and his superpower) definitely lies in the latter.

What Is Content Marketing Anyway?

The term content marketing is well used, but I’ve often wondered what it even means.

Callum acknowledges I’m not the only one who’s confused.

To one person it's posting on TikTok. The next business sees it as running a regular email or a blog and to someone else it’s paid ads. And the truth is… it’s these things and more.

Callum explains.

To understand content marketing for a service business (or just business in general), we need to look at what business is about.

As a consumer, no matter what we buy, we go through a series of stages in our buying process.

• First, we're blissfully unaware there’s an issue.
• Then we become aware that we've got a problem.
• Then we realise there's a solution to that problem.
• Then we're ready to buy.
• Then we buy
• And then, we come back for more.

At each point of that buying journey, whether it's in person or whether it's online, information needs to be transferred to move a potential buyer to the next stage.

Content marketing for your service business simply is that information transfer that moves people from one stage to the next.

Unless it happens face to face, it involves media.

This can be in any of three forms.

Either it’s…

• media that you own, that's your intellectual property (your own website, emails, blogs, etc.) 
• media that you “earn” (showing up on someone's podcast, or other collaborations and testimonials).
• media you pay for (paying to be in front of someone's audience, buying ads, sponsorship, etc.)

How To Create Content For Your Service Business?

But where do you start with content marketing for your service business?

What’s the first step?

Callum replies with a simple question:

• Who's your customer? 
• Who are they?
• How do they communicate?
• What keeps them awake at night?
• Why do they have this problem?
• Why do they want to solve it?
• What outcome are they looking for?
• How can your service be an answer to that problem? 

Here’s the most important bit of advice: before you do anything, TALK TO YOUR CUSTOMERS AND UNDERSTAND THEIR PAIN POINTS.

The biggest pitfall in creating content for a service business is a tendency to act before you understand.

It’s a balancing act, really.

On the one hand, Callum warns not to get stuck in the overwhelm of options and to be patient with results. Don’t try to do it all. Avoid jumping between 10 different things that are poorly executed and lack strategy.

But we also shouldn’t get so scared we end up doing nothing. As much as there is a need for consideration, often, you can achieve as good a result from a YouTube video as you get from a blog.

The bottom-line is : make a considered decision and commit to it. Then, measure the results and double down on what works.

Other DIY Content Marketing Tips From The Experts

Once you’re clear on who you serve and on the solution you offer, what’s the next step in content marketing for your service business?

Callum has a few tips:

1. Get organised. Time for some planning and scheduling. Call it a content calendar. That’s where the systems come in. This could be a Google Doc or a spreadsheet. Callum, like me, is a project management systems fan. 
2. Solve the problem. As far as topics to put on the content calendar goes, start with addressing the pain points. It’s the most important thing you can do: solve the problem. 
3. Create primary content. This can be a lead magnet, or it can be a really high-quality blog or YouTube video. Do this really well and then repurpose this into other forms of content with a minimal amount of effort.
4. Play the long game. Rather than looking for quick and dirty anything-goes-content, play the long-term game. Because quality content that lands in front of the right people is what pays off and will generate leads for years to come. 

Can You Use AI For Content Marketing?

As we talk about the tendency to act before you understand and the need for quality content, AI is mentioned.

Callum explains AI exaggerates the problem of acting before you understand because of how easy it is for the computer to spit “something” out in 60 seconds.

So I HAVE to ask. Can you use AI for content marketing?

I mean, in the world of topics that has people divided, AI scores rather high. But I’m seriously wondering about the role AI plays in content marketing, if any.

Callum’s opinion surprises me.

He believes AI has a role, BUT NOT IN THE WAY PEOPLE OFTEN THINK.

In his world, AI acts as a mentor and an apprentice, but NOT as the creator of content.

• Callum uses ChatGPT to do research on a particular topic in preparation for a blog. He’ll ask for credible answers, referenced sources, relevant questions that need answering.
• He also uses it to find different angles for additional content once he has created his primary content.
• AI helps to find gaps in his content or to get inspiration for a title. 

Long story short, for Callum, AI cuts down the time for research down from hours to minutes. (Note: Obviously, you need to check for accuracy and whether it aligns with your values)

But there is NOT A CHANCE IN THE WORLD, Callum recommends copy-paste AI created content.

3 Nuggets Of Wisdom For Starting Business Owners

As is custom, I finish by asking Callum which three pieces of advice he has for other business owners who want to start creating content for service business?

Here are his golden nuggets of wisdom:

• Focus on the outcome, rather than the features, or the process, or the deliverables. For instance, people come to me and ask for SEO services, but what they really want is free traffic. 
• As your business matures, so will your content. That’s ok. Just keep working on it, fine-tuning your content.
• Take it one bite at a time and don't go too hard on yourself. 

Get in Touch with Callum Armstrong

For more DIY content marketing tips and advice, there is, of course, Callum’s coaching service. Because what better way to learn about turning your business into a 24/7 customer getting machine than from the experts?

Email: callum@pasteandpublish.com
Website: www.pasteandpublish.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/callum-armstrong/
                 www.linkedin.com/company/71003381/