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Brian asked:

“have you found a good balance of email content such that you’re not always sending the same type of information? I want to promote engagement and provide value, but I’d also like to ensure we’re not coming across as a drip-email machine run amok”

This is a good question that shows you’ve got your head in the right place, Brian. You’ve got your audience on your mind. You want to provide value on a consistent basis. The challenge is to think like your audience. What’s going to be of greatest use to them?

Let’s say you provide a software solution for HR managers to manage incoming talent. You want to sell to HR managers. What content is going to be of value to an HR manager?

The role of an HR manager is a multi-faceted career coach. HR managers handle the hiring and dismissal of people. They mediate interpersonal problems. They help coordinate training and professional development for staff. They advise and counsel workers through tough situations.

Let’s take this list and map it out for clarity:

HR_Managers_mindnode.jpg

These are the areas of key concern for an HR manager. These areas of concern are things they’d like to do better. These are things in which they’d like to help train their staff and the company’s employees.

In each of these branches, you could explore a variety of topics that would be useful to HR managers. You might look at current research, best practices, tools and resources, and case studies. After all, when it comes to growing your own skills, those are the top resources you’d use to become a better HR manager.

HR_Managers_mindnode 3.jpg

Then you’d begin to research all of the relevant materials in each of the subcategories you can find. Here are a couple of examples in the mediation category:

HR_Managers_mindnode 2.jpg

At the end of this process, you’ll have a giant map of all the content that your target audience would be interested in. To go back to Brian’s question, you now have the raw materials for a powerful drip email campaign that’s filled with resources and information that your audience will genuinely want. You’ve become an expert curator in their space and you know exactly what they need to know.

Naturally, as you’ve built out this extensive research library for your content marketing program, you’ve doubtlessly seen all the different ways that your product or service could be integrated into a comprehensive solution.

Your email marketing drip program can now be built out with 80-95% content that’s extremely high value to your audience. You can seamlessly weave in the appropriate products or services into your content without it feeling forced or unnatural.

When you’re assembling your email marketing content calendar, all you need do is decide whether you’re going to tackle an entire topic as a series, or sprinkle bits of topics together over a long period of time. Either way you choose to approach it, you’ll be providing maximum value to your audience and earning their trust.


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