I’ll shortly explain why it matters and what it is. And I’ve stolen a great example from Ironclad Pan to make it tangible.

Why it matters

One of the most important things in content is consistency. If you’re consistent, your audience recognizes you in their timeline jungle.

Not even to mention that consistency build trust and lets the customer connect to the brand.

You become consistent by doing the same thing over and over again: in words and visuals.

What is a brand persona?

If you imagine your brand were a person, it’s easier to put yourself in your brand's shoes and produce content accordingly. That personification of your brand is your brand persona.

The brand persona is the counterpart of the buyer persona. And we marketers all know what a buyer persona is. Turn that around and develop the equivalent for your brand.

Benefits of having a brand persona

For now, I’ll keep this overview rather short – as I can go on and on about all the advantages for the brand, the audience, and the webcare team.

For you, the most important to know is that by taking the brand identity to the operational personal level, you enhance

• Consistency
• Recognizability
• Production efficiency
• Shorter time to market

1 & 2. Consistency and recognizability

These speak for themselves. Being consistent results in becoming recognizable. And that’s the marketeer's wet dream, what they all strive for.

3. Production efficiency

If you have a brand persona, you have a very operational set of guidelines to produce your content. Not a corporate blah blah tone of voice PFD document, but a tangible imaginary person with a human way of saying things, what words to use, and how to look.

Having all that in place speeds up the production process. All you need to do is to think, ‘what if I were that person…’

4. Shorter time to market

Those operational guidelines also speed up the time to market, not only in the production processes, as mentioned above but also in the approval processes. Knowing who you are and how you speak leaves no margin for personal taste or preferences when you need to approve copy or visuals.

Best in class example, Ironclad Pan

The brand persona of Ironclad Pan is a funky, young grandma. This gives them a clear, simple, human, applicable guideline to produce outstanding, engaging, and recognizable content. 

Read more on the Ironclad Pan brand, its story, purpose, and values.

Their purpose

‘To help people make better cookware choices. We are inspired by generations past, the beauty of traditional craft, and by making products that will last.

And values

‘We try to make every decision based on three pillars - Sustainability, Quality, and Family.’

Brand persona ‘funky, young grandma’

As said, the brand persona is the personification of your brand; it makes the brand and its tone of voice very tangible and operational for content and social. 

What if Ironclad Pan were a person…?

‘If our brand were a person, they would be a funky young grandmother who loves to cook and is environmentally aware.' 

‘She loves organic, seasonal food that is either experimental or entrenched in memory and family rituals.’

‘She cooks healthy and delicious food that feeds the soul and the wider family.’ 

‘She recycles and composts. She buys quality goods.’ 

‘She’s ahead of the latest trends, always up with what is happening in the world.’ 

'She is warm, chatty, nurturing, outgoing and strong.’

How she comes to life in content and social

Just check out their Instagram and .com, including all recipes. I don’t know how to describe it; it breathes love, passion, and craftsmanship.

Eye candy, mouthwatering visuals, and superb copy. As if it’s all homemade with so much care by a funky, young grandma.

Final words

Well, needless to say, I’m a big fan of having a brand persona. It makes the corporate blah blah very operational for the content producers. And the biggest benefit, next to efficiency and shorter time to market, is consistency and recognizability.

And for Ironclad Pan, keep your eye on them! It is the people behind the brand that make me love them. Not because I’m a foodie, because I love something authentic, passionate, breathing, and people who are eager to share what makes them tick.

Sources

Ironclad Pan
And give them a follow on social; it's worth it. Over 22k people agree with me. 

Shop well. Buy once. 

It's the brand voice that creates the vibe in the communications; the smaller brands and startups nail it by being free of the corporate buzz and more down to earth. Above all, they created their brand voice with content and social in mind.

The brand voice is the unique personality, tone, and style a brand uses to express itself and connect to its customers, written and visually. We're aware that a strong brand voice is essential for brand building and communicating the brand's values and identity, and it helps to differentiate the brand from its competitors and become recognizable to its audience. 

What you will learn…

• How to find your brand voice
• Example: Ironclad Pan
• Brand tone
• Brand persona
• How to use ChatGPT for this

Why it matters

We all know the importance of a brand voice. As for so many things, the tone makes the music – and the content. Yet, getting it right is a whole different thing.

The corporate brand identity and voice are mostly bullsh*t full of jargon and meaningless buzzwords. Learn from the smaller brands and start-ups; they are way more tangible and applicable.

How to find your brand voice

Who you are, defines how you look and feel. Your brand story, heritage, the people who work for you (team) and with you (friends and influencers), your license to operate and your purpose, and your values… they all define your identity.

Then it’s the magic to translate your identity into a brand voice: your tone and your personality.

Best in class, Ironclad Pan

As I prefer to refrain from the boring theory, I’ll lead by example. Recently Joe Carter sent me the Ironclad Pan’s brand kit, and I was nothing short of amazed.

Why?

It’s clear, simple, human, applicable, and most of all, very recognizable in its outstanding, engaging content on .com and socials.

Honestly, I've seen over 45 brands, from huge corporates like eBay and JDE to the big like Volkswagen, Peugeot, Toyota, KLM, and G-Star RAW, to the small start-ups like OneFit... This is the first time I have seen a brand describing its identity in such a clear and applicable way. 

With his approval, I share how their brand story seamlessly fits into the purpose and values, and this translates into the brand tone and personality of a funky, young grandma.

→ First, some background info on Ironclad Pan to fully understand why their brand voice is so on point.

The brand story breaths passion

‘Since our inception in 2019, we have been the only cast iron cookware with a Three Generation Guarantee^TM made in Aotearoa, New Zealand. And now we’re the only cast iron cookware with a Three Generation Guarantee^TM made in Australia.'

'We’re a small, local business creating a global community that care about the food they eat, how they cook it, and the planet they live on.’

The team is human 

Founded in 2019 by Kate Slavin, Levi Slavin, and Joe Carter. Later they added chef and film director Felicity Morgan-Rhind and Nic Bastian for the Aussie growth to the team. 

With a personal note from Joe 
'One thing I would say is that it isn't always easy to stick to those principles and values. And sometimes, the mission feels unattainable. But we know that it's the right thing to do, and that's important to us.'

In the picture below, you see Joe and Kate. 

Their purpose is honest and extensive

You can only love this and them…

‘To help people make better cookware choices. We are inspired by generations past, the beauty of traditional craft, and by making products that will last.'

‘The Ironclad family is all about things that are good for you, and good for the planet. We hope to encourage our community to take stock and consider the food they eat, how they cook it, and the impact on the planet we inhabit.’

'As a small team ourselves, we are also driven to support small, local businesses. The kitchenware industry is dominated by a number of large corporations and retailers, sourcing from offshore and reaping the commercial - if not so sustainable - benefits. We’re here to support the little guys and back those with a similar ethos to our Ironclad family.’

Their values are sweet and short

‘We try to make every decision based on three pillars - Sustainability, Quality, and Family.’

How this translates into the brand voice

With all that in mind, they made it very tangible. What you can learn from them is the seamless similarity between who they are and how they look & feel.

What Ironclad Pan is doing very smartly is describing its brand persona based on brand tone. 

Notice that the brand tone is more overarching and descriptive than the operational level of the tone of voice.  

1. Brand tone

‘We are a premium, aspirational, high-quality brand. We come from a wealth of knowledge and research, from not just our own experience but also from working with fellow enthusiasts and craftspeople.'

'We strive constantly to learn more in order to look after our planet. We are optimistic - glass half-full types, genuinely excited about sharing our discovery of how much better locally sourced cast iron is to cook with than modern non-stick cookware.’

2. Brand persona

Here comes the funky, young grandma, finally! The persona is the personification of your brand. Very smart to have this in place; it makes the brand and its tone of voice very tangible and operational for content and social. What if your brand were a person…?

‘If our brand were a person, they would be a funky young grandmother who loves to cook and is environmentally aware.' 

‘She loves organic, seasonal food that is either experimental or entrenched in memory and family rituals.’

‘She cooks healthy and delicious food that feeds the soul and the wider family.’ 

‘She recycles and composts. She buys quality goods.’ 

‘She’s ahead of the latest trends, always up with what is happening in the world.’ 

'She is warm, chatty, nurturing, outgoing and strong.’

How this all comes together in content and social

Just check out their Instagram and .com, including all recipes. I just don’t know how to describe it. It breathes passion and craftsmanship. 

Next to that, they rock in producing content. Eye candy, mouthwatering visuals, and superb copy. As if it’s all homemade with so much care by a funky, young grandma. Everything they post is amazing and makes me drool for food and start cooking myself (again).

How to use ChatGPT to define your brand voice

We all know ChatGPT is the way forward. Yet how to go from average to good to great? It's the combination between you and ChatGPT that creates the magic. 

You can use AI to define your brand voice. This one is easier than you think and is a lifesaver.

1. Let ChatGPT describe your brand voice

First: collect
Find two or three written content pieces that reflect your brand voice. Leading by example, I copied two of my latest articles on my newsroom thinklikeapublisher.com.

Second: prompt 
Go to ChatGPT and use the prompt ‘Can you define a tone of voice based on the text below? + copy-paste the text of the first content piece, and hit enter. Read the result.

Then: refine
Use the prompt ‘Can you refine with the copy below? + copy-paste the text of the second content piece, and hit enter. Read the result.

Get the final description
Use the prompt ‘Can you combine both descriptions of the tone of voice?’ If it doesn't reflect who you are, add a third or even a fourth example. If the result reflects who you are, copy-paste the text to Word or text editor. 

Clean up, edit where needed, and save it. 

2. Use your brand voice to rewrite copy

Next, you can use that description to rewrite existing copy or AI output. The prompt to use to rewrite in your tone of voice. Once you have the desired result, use the prompt ‘Can you rewrite the answer above in this tone of voice: ….'

3. Last steps: refine, visual, and mobile by design

This is indispensable and where the real magic happens. Copy-paste the result to Word and refine.

First: sanity check
As ChatGPT doesn't reveal its sources, it's up to you to do the final check. Check the validity, sanity, and if it's really true. ChatGPT is a bot, has input till 2021, and can make mistakes. Many mistakes.

Think for yourself. Does this make sense? 

Second: fine-tune
Make the ChatGPT output your own. Get nerdy in the details of the copy, play around, have some fun, use Grammarly Pro (or don’t), and lastly, get some flow in your copy. 

Rule of thumb: read your copy out loud. If it flows, it flows. If it doesn't, you stumble on words and sentences; you've got some more work to do. ChatGPT is a language model. Not a content creator. That’s you. And that’s where your job comes in. Don't be lazy or cut corners.

Final words

Well, needless to say, I’m a big fan of their product. With Ironclad Pan, it are the people behind the brand make me love them. Not because I’m a foodie, because I love something authentic, passionate, breathing, and people who are eager to share what makes them tick.

For me, that’s what makes the difference between buying from Le Creuset or Ironclad Pan. Go big and commercial, or go small and local. Not a difficult choice.  

Currently, I’m just waiting for their EU expansion, as the shipping costs from NZ to the Netherlands are still crazy.

Sources

Ironclad Pan
And give them a follow on social; it's worth it. Over 22k people agree with me. 

Shop well. Buy once. 

• Mostly used by content creators to indicate that the viewer (that’s you) must watch the video from the creator’s (their) perspective. 
• Or they use the POV to indicate that he or she is entitled to his or her opinion.

However, there’s more to the POV than meets the eye.

It’s like putting your mission, vision, and value glasses on, especially when you produce content. 

The result is you being more consistent, explicit, upfront, and candid in sharing what matters to you. And that, in return, helps you to build your brand.

Your POV is your mission, vision, and values translated into human simple language. It serves as a final check to see if your content is in line with your brand.

Why it matters

Being outspoken and clear in what you stand for and how you envision the world matters. Not only because of who you are, it also helps you to be distinctive and recognizable. There’s already more than enough stuck-in-the-middle beige content.

Stating your vision from your POV ensures you always tell the same underlying story with corresponding values.

First, I’ll explain the origin and deeper meaning of the POV. Then I’ll give three examples to bring it to life: Dove, Ironclad Pan, and my own.

Traditional meaning of POV

As said, POV is short for Point Of View. It determines who’s telling the story and how the events and information are presented to the audience. 

In order of usage

• First-person POV: ‘from me’, the ‘I’.
• Third-person limited POV: ‘from he or she’, limited to the thoughts and feelings of a single character. The reader has no access to thoughts of the other characters.
• Third-person omniscient POV: also ‘from he or she’ with access to the thoughts and feelings of multiple characters. It gives the reader a broader perspective of the story.
• Second-person POV: less common, and refers to ‘you,’ to address the reader directly and make the reader a character in the story. It creates a sense of deep involvement, as if the events are happening to the reader themselves.

Modern meaning of POV

The POV is much used on social by creators, and the trend looks to stay. It means that the video has to be watched as if the viewer (you) were present or the viewer is in that specific situation.  

Most commonly used as a first-person POV; through the eyes of the creator, as if you, the viewer, were there.

Sometimes used as the ‘my’ (the creator’s) POV, ‘how I see things’; I am entitled to this opinion to express thoughts and feelings. 

How to apply POV to your content

As a brand, it is useful to define your POV. How do you, the brand, see the world?

Sure, you have your mission and vision statement. And some very corporate-formulated values. All of that is worth nothing if not made tangible.

Having a clear, no-nonsense, in human language written POV helps you to understand who you are and be consistent with your content and tone. 

Let me explain with three examples, from big to small. 

Example ‘Dove’

Mission
‘We want to redefine beauty standards and help everyone experience beauty and body image positively. We care about the future generation: helping girls build positive self-esteem through the Dove Self-Esteem Project, ensuring the world they enter is removed of toxic beauty standards.’

Vision
‘We believe beauty should be a source of confidence, and not anxiety. That’s why we are here to help women everywhere develop a positive relationship with the way they look, helping them raise their self-esteem and realise their full potential.’

Values
Believe, confidence, beauty

My suggestion for their POV
‘You’re already amazing as you are. Don’t compare yourself to others.’

With that POV in mind, Dove’s content can kick against the toxic social pressure, especially for young girls. So if you keep the ‘beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety’ in mind with every post you make, you’ll become even more consistent in your content.

Example ‘Ironclad Pan’

Mission
‘Create a global community who care about the food that they eat, how they cook it and the planet that they live on.’

Vision
‘To create a sustainable product that would mean a return to beautiful craft and traditional techniques. In an era of disposable stuff and low-quality imports, they wanted to create a product that would last for generations. Not to mention also reducing the millions of Teflon pans being sent to landfill every year, leaching potentially harmful chemicals into our soil.’

Values
‘We try to make every decision based on three pillars - sustainability, quality, and family.’

My suggestion for their POV
‘Value good food and share the love in preparing it.’

With that in mind, you can see all of Ironclad’s content breaths joy and passion for food while being sustainable and embracing health. No matter if it’s their .com content, socials, or a LinkedIn post by Joe, one of their founders.

Example ‘All things content’ (that's me!)

Honestly, I don’t have a polished mission or vision. I’m just a freelancer who’s really passionate about storytelling and content—and annoyed by the marketing sh*t and beige content produced by them. 

I firmly believe that you have to take content out of the marketing department and give it its place in the hierarchy with a mandate to really be customer-centric. Produce content that adds value to them, and if they like it, they will add value to you by buying your products.

My values
Upfront, honest, clear, and simple. No BS. Do good.

My POV
‘Produce and publish content that adds value to others, not you.’

With my POV in mind, I evaluate everything I create and publish. Hardly ever you’ll find me posting some humble bragging sh*t about a promotion of a shiny selfie with a look-at-me post.

Why did I choose Dove and Ironclad Pan as examples? That’s also due to my POV; I value sustainable brands that do good and want to change the world, big or small.

Final words

POV. There’s more than meets the eye. If you want to have a one-line to sanity check if your content is on-brand, define your POV.

Refrain from the marketing and buzz jargon; stick to normal human language. As if you would make a social post with #POV followed by your wording.

If you want to know more about this, don’t be shy and drop me a DM.

Sources

https://www.cyberdefinitions.com/definitions/POV.html

https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/tiktok-terms-explained-fyp-pov-pfp-what-do-they-mean-1527920/

https://en.amazingtalker.com/questions/1167

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/04/22/pov-meaning-what-acronym-means-and-how-use-conversation/11640072002/

https://www.popbuzz.com/internet/viral/slang-tiktok/what-does-pov-mean/

https://www.dove.com/us/en/stories/about-dove/our-vision.html

https://www.comparably.com/companies/dove/mission

https://www.wpp.com/featured/work/2022/06/ogilvy-doves-reverse-selfie

https://www.ironcladpan.com/pages/our-story

https://www.cookandnelson.com/products/lil-legacy-ironclad-pan

Mobile is not a derivation of the laptop. It should be mobile by design.

~80% of your audience is on mobile.

Why it matters

Honestly, I don’t know where to start my rant. 

• First, your audience is on mobile, so should you.
• Second, reading on a mobile is significantly different from reading on a laptop.

It’s up to you to adjust to your audience to a) create a user-friendly experience and b) get your content seen and read.

I sum this up in the self-made statement, ‘easy on the eye.’

Easy on the eye

This means the content, copy plus visual, are sexy to look at, light and airy, and invite you to read. 

If something (or someone) looks attractive, handsome, and sexy, they’ll get our attention. If something looks ugly, heavy, and looks like it’s going to take an effort, you'll click or swipe away.

Formatting tips

What looks lame on the laptop looks great on mobile. And vice versa. You can’t have both; my advice, pick mobile.

• Short paragraphs, sometimes just one sentence.
• Short sentences, however, do vary between short and a bit longer to keep it interesting and flowing.
• No buzz and jargon. Use plain English, as if you’re talking to someone.
• Use whitespace. Lots. The longer my copy, the more whitespace I use. I even insert white lines in bullet lists to keep things airy.
• Love the subheaders. Usually, I use one every three to five paragraphs. This gives structure and easiness to scan the entire content piece.
• Visuals. Header visual, of course, and in between paragraphs if it adds value and visually explains the examples. A little as possible, as much as needed.

Below is an example of a page's lameness on the laptop and easiness on the mobile. What a difference the size of the screen makes. 

Review on mobile

This should be mandatory before even considering publishing.  

Once my draft is more or less final, I'm happy with it, and I'm ready to publish; I hit ‘command + option + I’ to switch Chrome to the preview modus of an iPhone 12 Pro.

Now the real rewriting and editing work starts. 

More rigorous formatting, adding subheaders, shortening paragraphs, adding white space, and switching words are done in mobile preview.

Final thoughts

Mobile by design is the way forward. Once you did all of the above, step back and take another look at your content on the mobile.

• Are you proud of it?
• Is it easy on the eye and invites you to read it?
• Would you like to read it yourself?

If the answer isn’t f**k yes, reconsider publishing.

 If you want to know some more details, don’t hesitate to drop me a DM or jump on a quick call.

Easy does it with my seven tips that originate from learning by doing.

By the way, any content piece takes me about two to three hours, from idea to copy, visual, and publishing here and on socials. 

Why it matters

Content production can be annoying; you’re stuck for inspiration and lack creativity -- it’s just not happening. Next to this failure of ideation, the process of creating and publishing can be a burden as well.

People often ask me for tips and tricks.

1. Ideation: content is for grabs
2. Stock: you’re an idiot if you don’t plan ahead
3. Process: from paper to LinkedIn
4. Structure: forcing myself to add value to my reader
5. Visual: the carrier of the message
6. Mobile: different formatting needed
7. Have fun: non-negotiable

• Timings: how fast is fast?

Well, here you go.

1.    Ideation on paper

I always have a list of content ideas; those are handwritten in my little green book. Every time I have inspiration, I stumble upon something, or it just pops up in my mind, I write it down. Often, it’s just one-line; other times, it’s a few bullets.

Not all of those brain farts and mind dumps are equally qualitative. By writing all down and going over them from time to time, the good ones will rise to the surface.

The secret is in the handwriting. For sure, you can have a digital app for keeping your notes, yet using the laptop takes away the charm.

More important, by using old-school pen and paper, you’re forced to slow down. Think before you write and give your thoughts a little bit more love and attention. I’m a nerd; I even use different colors, metallic sage green for the one-line title and bright orange for the details.  

2.    Stock for peace of mind

One of the best tips I learned back in 2010 working for Volkswagen (Pon) is to keep a stock of content. 

Keeping stock equals keeping peace of mind, headspace, and creativity. If you know you have your next few content items ready, you can take your time to produce new material. There’s no rush, no urgency, or a specific deadline.

We always had the content ready for the next fortnight and some additional evergreen content on the shelves.  Evergreen content is content you can always publish; it’s not timely, not seasonal, and plug-and-play ready. Great for if any very last-minute changes are needed due to circumstances.

E.g., at Volkswagen, we had a great social post with a T1 Volkswagen as a train; however, in the early morning of publishing day, there was a train accident. By having stock content, it was very easy to adjust and switch the content items. 

No sweat.

3.    Process to create content

I have a self-developed process in place; I use this for my own publications and (unnoticeable) for my clients.

• To start, I write down the idea. Old school pen and paper.

• Then, I drill down the details, also on paper. Below you’ll find the structure I always use. I fill in all the elements with raw, unedited sentences and keywords. In this step, I already start thinking about the visuals I want to use; for the header and in the body.

• When I’m happy, in step three, I take my laptop, open Word and start typing, editing, and AI correcting. This is my first ugly draft.

• Next, I create a draft in PressPage using a bespoke template. PressPage is the platform I use. I copy-paste the first ugly draft into the template. And I continue to edit and refine. And I argue with AI to balance between boring correctness and creative writing.  

• Now it's time for visuals. Even before the copy is final, I create my visuals and add them to the case. In the name giving of the visual, I always put some keywords, the same as in the H1 (title) – SEO likes this. 

• Followed by writing, deleting, editing, deleting some more, and refining the copy together with the visuals. Seeing and feeling how the final content will be. I do this in the www preview modus. I always proofread aloud to check the flow; if you can read the copy aloud without stumbling or hesitating, it’s good copy. And in this step, I double-check the H1 and H2 (subheaders) for SEO keywords.

• Once I’m more or less happy with the result, I hit ‘command + option + I’ to switch Chrome to the preview modus of an iPhone 12 Pro. Now the real rewriting and editing work starts. I optimize for mobile reading, not for laptop. Therefore, killing some more darlings, rigorous formatting, adding subheaders, shortening paragraphs, adding white space, and switching words are done in mobile preview. 

• Only then I hit publish. Refine the very last details until I’m proud of the result and eagerly want to share it with y’all.  

• I log off and go offline. Always sleep a night on it.

💤

• Lastly, the next day, I do a sanity check and edit the very, very last details. And secretly already check the statistics.

• Copy-paste the whole bunch to the LinkedIn newsletter article. As that’s where I get the most reach. I make some final bespoke LinkedIn modifications, and I hit publish. Just after writing my caption for the timeline. To be able to publish, LinkedIn obliges me to make a timeline post, even though that has a shamefully low reach.  

• Finally, sit back, relax, freak out, and check the DM and stats for immediate feedback.

Above is my thinklikeapublisher.com process. 

I apply the same steps to my clients’ content. Not out in the open, more as a sanity check.

4.    Structure per content item

This is my lifesaver. Every piece of content has a few recurring elements. Depending on the channel, these differ in number and in length. A social post has a different structure than a blog post.

Below you see my bespoke structure at this moment. It’s not set in stone, and I iterate and adjust continuously. These elements are the basis of all my blog posts.

• Ideation: the raw version of the title, the idea.

• What to know: zoom out. In one to three lines, what my reader knows after reading this blog. This sounds pretty obvious, yet writing this down by hand forces you to start with the ending in mind. What is the one main thing that you want your reader to know after reading your copy? 
  
  Stick to one topic; if you have two main topics and two things to know, zoom out even further, or create two blogs. Stolen from ‘Writing that Works’ by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson.

• Why it matters: this one, I stole this from WARC. Writing down the ‘why it matters’ forces you to think deeper. Why is this important for my reader? How does this influence my reader’s industry or business? 
  
  In this step, you think about how your content adds value to your reader and write that down in a few simple lines with simple words.

• In the ‘what to know’ or the ‘why it matters,’ I usually add a bullet list with the subheaders and a very short explanation. This functions as an overview of what the reader can expect. This doubles as a summary.

• The three things: or ‘to do’ or any other list. This is the body of your content. The proof of your claim. And the information you promised in the title. I always try to stick to an uneven number. Preference for three or five. Seven or an even number if needed.

• Closure. I don’t write this one down on paper, as this is a recap of the ‘three things’ and circling back to the intro ‘what to know.’ There is no new information in this element. I’ll get to this once I start typing in Word. If you’re stuck for a subheader instead of ‘recap’ or ‘summary,’ the ‘final words’ will do the job excellently.

• When applicable, credits and links. There’s no discussion on giving credits where credits are due. I always collect them in one paragraph, easy for my reader, and no distraction in the copy with blue links or references.

Notice that all information, the catch, is in the ‘what to know’ and ‘why it matters.’ I start with the end and the summary. The reason is that I immediately want to tell my readers what they need to know, as their attention span is very short. Then they’ll decide whether to continue reading or not.

5.    Visuals matter

This I already mentioned in ‘process.’ However, this is so important that I’ll just repeat it to make sure this gets the designated attention.

Content is more than the copy. We, humans, are visual creatures and like something that looks appealing (read: sexy).

We look at the picture first, and then we decide whether to read it or not. Use your dirty mind and imagination to create the visual that gets noticed. Keep in mind; the visual is the carrier of the message, not the copy.

Read more in ‘Think visual.’

I use Canva for the creation of social assets based on the header visual. Get the visual, copy past the title and subheader in the visual, adjust animations, and go.

The visual below honestly took me 1,5 days before I found it. On the left is the original, and on the right is my edit for social. 

I only hit publish when I'm happy with the energy between the title and the visual. Sometimes finding the right image to express the story takes longer than writing and publishing it. 

6.    Mobile by design

This one is also a repetition of the ‘process.’ As ~80% of your users are on mobile, this is the default for your content. 

You are the one to perfect the formatting for mobile reading and make it easy on the eye with short paragraphs, headers, sub-headers, and the usage of whitespace.

• What looks lame on the laptop (left visual)
• Is easy on the eye on the mobile (right visual)

7.    Have fun

So obvious that we tend to forget. If you love what you do, your audience will notice. Your passion and pride for your brand and products show in the content you create. This is something you can’t capture in a process or structure or even in words; it’s something you feel.  

I always ask my team if they are proud of the content they just made. If the answer isn’t f**k yes, then I reconsider publishing, and we’ll work on it a bit longer until we are.

If we are not super proud of what we publish, why the h*ll should our audience read it?

Timings

How fast is fast? As a seasoned content producer, I dare to say I’m pretty fast at producing. And maybe more important, it’s continuous, and I’m consistent. 

From start to end, idea to publication, it usually takes me about two to three hours.

A ballpark in timings

• Paper ideation: from title to structure with the raw outline: 15 minutes
• Word document: one to two hours
• Thinklikeapublisher.com first draft: 30 minutes
• Mobile formatting: 30 to 60 minutes + a night’s sleep
• LinkedIn publication: 30 minutes
• Social assets in Canva: 5 minutes
• Finding and editing visuals: 30 minutes to 1,5 days.

Sometimes I have the visual before I write down the ideation. Other times I keep on searching till I find the one and I don’t comprise. 

As said, if it’s not a f**k yes, I don’t publish.

Final words

Here we are, my long list with hands-on tips for speeding up your content production process and how to never be out of stock.

If you want to know some more details, don’t hesitate to drop me a DM or jump on a quick call.

‘The benefit of the benefit’

This means you think beyond the first obvious benefits of your product. You dive a bit deeper, and you think about what the benefit of that benefit is – for your customer, not for you. 

See the two plus one examples below.

Why it matters

For your customers, after the visual catches the first attention, second, they read the headline. If that tickles, only then they check out the rest of the content.

If you, a copywriter or content producer, or for f*cks sake even as a marketer, you force yourself to think one step further, you’ll get a catchier headline. The benefit of a better headline is that more people will read it and maybe even check out the rest of your content. 

What works for headlines also works for titles and social captions.

Nowadays, most headlines are pretty boring and lame.

The reason is that writing a great headline is damn difficult. It takes time and effort, and some serious thinking. Copywriting, as well as content creation, is a craft for a reason.

With this tip from Dan Nelken, you can bring your headline to the next level and reach your audience. 

The benefit of the benefit

Easiest to explain by example.

Kids playhouse example

• You buy a playhouse for your kids
• The benefit of that playhouse is that the kids will have fun
• The benefit of that benefit is that you’ll have a break from your kids

Dog's bed example

• You buy a nice bed for your beloved dog
• The benefit of that bed is that your dog will love it and sleep in it
• The benefit of that benefit is that you’ll have more space in your own bed

How to get it

All you need to do is think beyond the obvious – from your customers' perspective.

1. Get old-school pen and paper. That sparks more creativity than using a laptop
2. Make a list of all the benefits of your product
3. Per benefit, write down the benefit of that benefit. It's key to shift yourself into your customers' perspective; what does the benefit do for them? 
4. Work out the complete list before diving into a specific one. The more you have, the more you can choose from. The good ones will emerge and rise to the surface once you've finished the entire list
5. If you’re stuck, ask yourself, ‘what’s the unexpected, obvious, helpful, interesting, funny, convenient, comforting, amazing, wild, beautiful, weird, …, … benefit of the benefit?

Another example

You are looking for a Content Strategist; there is no need for permanent and full-time – once you have your content strategy in place, you are good to go for about 6 to 12 months. So, you are looking for a freelancer.

Here I am, Fleur Willemijn, the freelance Senior Content Strategist.

The benefit of hiring me is that you get a senior to get the job done. Hence, my initial headline would be ‘Senior Content Strategist to get your content strategy in place.’

The benefit of my seniority is that I work faster (fewer hours needed), I deliver within days (fewer days needed), and I have seen all pitfalls (on-point first concept). Therefore, in the end, it’s cheaper to hire me, even at a higher rate, as I need fewer hours to get the job done.

My new headline: ‘Content Strategist, you get your first concept within a week, faster and cheaper than you might imagine.’

It’s catchier and more on-point about what problem I’m solving for my customer.

Same as buying ‘time away from your kids’ or ‘a bigger bed for yourself.’

Final words

The benefit of the benefit. A great tool to get your headlines for your content and social and stand out from the crowd. 

If you need more copy inspiration, I highly recommend getting Dan’s book ‘A Self-Help Guide for Copywriters.’ Not only for more details on the benefit of the benefit, also tons or more great tips and tricks. 

As he says himself, ‘Note: This is also an excellent resource for people who dislike copywriters. Maybe you’re a client, a designer, or even worse, in a relationship with a copywriter. Learn these tips, and soon you’ll be able to easily point out errors in their work and make the fragile copywriter in your life feel even more insecure.’

And if you’re looking for a freelance Content Strategist, you know whom to call.

Why it matters

Alan Sharpe shares what we can learn from the VW ads. These are lessons that you can’t read anywhere else. At least, I didn’t. Even though the VW ads are from the sixties and seventies, some secrets can be directly applied to today's content.

Why are these different? Alan unravels the VW secrets provided with clear examples. Easy to understand, practical, and therefore easy to implement. 

Headlines are today's social caption or title for a content item

Alan focuses on the headlines and the body copy. For now, I steal with pride the lessons learned in the headlines. 

Please note I copy-paste parts of his work. It’s written way better than I could ever do. Don’t fix what isn’t broken, and give credits where credits are due.  

Second note; in all secrets, Alan gives three to six examples to explain the magic. Be curious, buy the book, and unravel all copywriting secrets yourself.

30 Copywriting Secrets from the Best Ad Campaign of All Time by Alan Sharpe, or go to www.sharpecopy.com

• Secret 1: Write a weak headline if your visual is strong
• Secret 2: Your headline and your visual need to get married
• Secret 3: Your headline must compel the buyer to read your body copy. Period.
• Secret 4: Your headline better be a zinger if your visual is lame
• Secret 5: If in doubt, ask a question
• Secret 10: Headlines are for features, images are for benefits

Secret 1: Write a weak headline if your visual is strong

‘If you read just about any book about copywriting, you’ll hear that your headline is the most important part of your copy. You’ll hear something like this: “Eight out of 10 people who look at an advertisement read the headline first, so make sure your headline names what you are promoting and describes a benefit of using the product.” In other words, use your headline to sell. That is the common wisdom.’

‘Well, Volkswagen turned that wisdom on its head.’

‘Some of the headlines had only two words for crying out loud. The most famous headline in the campaign had only one word in it. Some headlines stated the obvious. Others were simply boring. And yet the headlines did an amazing job.’

‘This headline qualifies for the Oscar nomination for “Most boring headline of all time.” “Volkswagen’s unique construction keeps dampness out.” That’s the kind of thing an engineer would say.

That headline on its own would put most potential customers to sleep. And put car dealers out of business. 

But paired with a strong visual, it works.’

Secret 2: Your headline and your visual need to get married

‘Contrary to popular opinion, a picture is rarely worth a thousand words. And a thousand words usually need a picture or two. A picture usually needs a headline. And a headline usually needs a picture.’

‘Your goal as a copywriter is to write headlines that only work when they are placed next to the picture. Your best headlines only work when they work with the visual. If your ad has a visual, your headline should not be able to work when the visual is removed.’

‘As you write your headlines, always aim to achieve synergy. Synergy is the interaction of two things to produce a combined effect that is greater than the sum of the two parts.’

‘The rule for creating synergy is that neither your headline nor your visual should be able to work on their own.’

‘If you pay attention to what you’re doing when you read this ad, you’ll notice that your eye looks at the image first, then drops down to read the headline beneath, and then goes back to the visual again. Your eyes look at the visual, then the headline, then back to the visual again.’

‘What your eyes just did shows you how synergy works. You look at the visual. It needs explaining. You look at the headline. It refers to the visual. You look back at the visual. Aha, you get it!’

‘The secret to creating synergy between a headline and a visual is to make sure your headline is cryptic and your visual is just as cryptic. Contrary to popular opinion, you rarely want your headline to say everything that needs to be said in order for your prospective buyer to act.’

Secret 3: Your headline must compel the buyer to read your body copy. Period.

‘David Ogilvy once said that, “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”’

‘I disagree. Your headline is only effective if it compels your prospect to read your body copy. If your prospect reads your headline and then turns the page or clicks away from that website, you haven’t just spent eighty cents out of your dollar. You’ve spent the whole dollar, with nothing to show for it.’

‘Headlines serve one essential goal: Compel potential customers to read your copy. That’s it. No more. Interrupting people isn’t enough. Grabbing their attention isn’t enough. Your headline must motivate them, tease them, intrigue them and compel them to read what you have to say in your body copy.’

‘The ad agency for Volkswagen back in the 1960s was Doyle Dane Bernbach. Their creative team discovered that one of the easiest ways to get potential buyers to read an ad was to make the prospects ask themselves a question.’

‘One of those questions was, “Why?”’

‘Make the reader ask, “Why?”’

‘Take this famous ad, for example. The headline says the car in the picture is a lemon. Why? You have to read the ad to find out.’

‘Consider this ad. The headline tells you to think small. The image is of a small car. Why should you think small? Read the body copy and find out.’

‘Why is one of the nice things about owning a Volkswagen, going to sell it?’

‘You’ll notice that the secret to this tactic of writing headlines is that it arouses curiosity. Curiosity is one of the strongest drives that anyone can have. People will go to great lengths to satisfy their curiosity.’

Secret 4: Your headline better be a zinger if your visual is lame

‘Your first job as a copywriter is to interrupt people. No one is going to read your copy until you can first grab their attention and get them to pay attention to you. In print advertising and online, you only have two ways to grab people’s attention: a great headline, or a great visual.’

‘Of the two, visuals are better at grabbing attention than headlines are. So, if you have a funny or clever or quirky or intriguing image at your disposal, use that to grab your prospect’s attention. But what can you do if you don’t have a strong visual? What if your product is boring to look at?’

‘Here’s an example of what I mean. I think you’ll agree with me that the visual in this ad isn’t going to win any awards for creativity. But the headline, now that’s creative. You see, the one thing that was different about the Volkswagen was that the body didn’t change from year to year. If you bought a Volkswagen in 1967 the body looked just like the body of the 1957. All that Volkswagen changed during those ten years was the insides of the vehicle.’

‘This clever headline plays upon that theme in a creative way. A boring visual paired with a clever headline gets your attention.’

Secret 5: If in doubt, ask a question

‘Hey, want to know one of the easiest ways to grab the attention of a potential customer? Want to learn one of the easiest ways to write a headline? Ask a question. Putting a simple question mark at the end of your headline helps you take a straightforward feature or claim and make it a little more interesting and a lot more compelling.’

‘But a clever copywriter, especially one who had a deadline to meet, could take that basic fact and give it a tweak by putting a question mark at the end.’

‘Here’s another example. As you probably know, the engine in the Volkswagen wasn’t in the front. It was in the rear, mounted over the rear tires. This was a unique feature of the car that made the car lighter but gave it greater traction in the snow.’

‘But you can’t just write a headline that says, “The engine is in the back.” That simply states a feature of the car. Plus, it prompts the reader to ask, “The engine’s in the back? So what?”’

‘But turning the feature into a question piques your curiosity. “That’s a good question… Why IS the engine in the back?” you have to read the body copy to find out.’

‘Which brings up a vital point. Turning your headline into a question is an easy and effective way to persuade your prospective customer to read your body copy. No one wants to leave a question unanswered once their curiosity has been raised. They will read the body copy to satisfy their curiosity.’

‘By the way, headlines that are questions are not just for making product features more interesting. When Volkswagen wanted to make a point about its competitors or about its potential buyers, it often did so in the form of a question. That’s because posing an unpleasant truth as a question instead of as a fact softens the truth.’

‘With a little creative thinking, you can turn just about any statistic, harsh truth, boring fact, product feature or marketplace trend into a question that makes your potential buyers stop and think for a minute. And that, after all, is the main purpose of a headline, isn’t it?’

Secret 10: Headlines are for features, images are for benefits

‘One of your main jobs as a copywriter is to translate product features into benefits. People buy benefits, not features. Just so we’re clear: a feature is what a product does, a benefit is what that feature does for me.’

‘Your challenge, of course, as a copywriter, is figuring out how to describe product benefits in such a way that potential customers understand what you are saying. Your challenge is especially tough in print advertising, especially with headlines.’

‘In print advertising, one of the most effective ways to communicate product benefits is by demonstrating them with a visual.’

‘Take a look at this ad from the 1960s. It was created for the Volkswagen Beetle. Volkswagen wanted their potential customers to know that Volkswagens held their value. That’s a feature. The benefit to their customer was that they would earn more for the Volkswagen when they went to sell it.’

‘But how do you communicate that benefit in an original way? With a headline that states the feature and a photo that communicates the benefit.’

‘Check out that headline: “After three years, the car that costs the least costs the most.” That is the feature clearly stated. Volkswagens hold their value.’

‘Now check out the visual. It communicates the benefit of buying a Volkswagen. You earn more money when you sell your car.’

‘The headline states the feature. The image demonstrates the benefit.’

Some final words

Content and social is no humdrum magical millennial sh*t that needs a totally different approach. Grabbing someone's attention didn’t change over the years.

Be inspired and learn from what is proven. In this case, the Volkswagen ads developed by DDB and unraveled by Alan Sharpe.

No need to explain an SEO strategy drives organic growth, is a ‘cheap’ way to drive traffic, and therefore is an indispensable part of your content strategy. Yet, once you know what content to produce, you have your themes, and you decided to go short-form or long-form, how to crack the code, and get a high ranking?

Simple, check out your competitors. This is so obvious and simple, yet actually never done by anybody. It’s a bonus and you take your advantage.

How to do the copy analysis 

It sounds complicated, actually, it is pretty easy once you know the trick. The keyword competitor SEO analysis for one keyword should take you about one hour. Start with your main themes, about 4 to 8. And you can always expand this SEO competitor analysis to all other keywords you want to be found on.

• Pick the keyword you want to rank on, in line with the core of your content piece and themes.
• Tip: open an incognito browser window to prevent your former search to influence the results.
• Go to Google and type in the keyword. Look at the organic top 5 or 10 first page results. Pick the credible sources. Reference: only select the links you would click on yourself and discharge the dodgy ones.
• Copy-paste the H1 and H2 headers from those pages and put them in excel. If there are a lot of H3, include these as well.
• Include the url in the excel. Learning by doing, I forgot this in the 'content' example.
• Make an analysis, break the H1 and H2 copy down in common topics and similarities.
• Tip: look at the style of writing. Depending on your industry, this writing can be very functional and not fancy marketing-driven at all. You should always write a ‘what’s in it for me’ copy, based on the needs of your audience. People google to find an answer to their question and to fulfill their needs, not to pro-actively read your beautifully written marketing sales pitch.

Go pro for copy

Now you know the difference between your competitors and your own copy. Three more tips.

First, get the copy pro on board for writing the content. It is an art, it is craftsmanship. The copy will make or break your content and your SEO ranking.

Second, involve your technical agency for the nerdy stuff in the backend to optimize for SEO. A part of the ranking is a threesome between the message, the copy and visuals, and the coding.

Last, not least. Obviously, there is much more to ranking on SEO than mentioned in this short blog. Think about URL structure, the naming of visuals, alt text, and meta tags.

Deep-dive in the nerdy details, do your homework, and optimize continuously. SEO is not a one-off, nor limited to copy. 

Google and Bing

Usually, in the EU, we focus on Google. Yet, don’t rule out Bing as a search engine. It is on the rise due to voice search, Bing is the go-to source for Alexa and Cortana if they cannot find the answer immediately. Great insights on voice search by The Drum.

Sources

A bit from myself and a bit stolen with pride from Content Marketing Institute https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2019/11/rank-blog-top-google/. And others https://blog.parse.ly/post/1511/the-ultimate-referral-guide-to-your-audience/, https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/advertising-channels/search/google-website-seo/.

And some more background on SEO and the options to improve your ranking https://expresstext.net/blog/search-engine-optimization/