10 Steps to Content that Attracts the Right clients

When the referrals dry out, and you need new ways to attract new consulting or coaching clients, you’re going to start thinking about content marketing.

It might start with wanting to post more on social media.

It could also include building your own platform, like a blog, podcast, or YouTube channel.

But you hold back for one big question: “What do I write about?”

And the next question that follows, “And how do I set up that content in a way that resonates with the leaders and high-achieving professionals I want to attract…without sounding like I’m begging for an audience.”

First off, let me congratulate you on the questions you’re asking. Because if you want to use your authentic service as a way to draw potential clients to you, there is no better way than through content marketing.

Content is not only a great way to attract clients (which it absolutely has the power to do if you set it up correctly), but it’s a way of developing a relationship with clients long before you meet them.

Your content establishes you as an expert while giving future clients a glimpse into how you think and the value you create by delivering quick wins.

Content done right makes future clients say, “If they are giving this insight away for free and it’s this valuable, I can ONLY imagine how valuable working with this consultant or coach will be!

As you get into the writing flow, you'll unlock the power of attraction marketing and have clients from all over the world clamoring to work with you!

That's what my content has done for me, and I'll show step by step how to make that happen for you!

• Step-by-step how to write a remarkable piece of content that attracts and converts clients
• Tips on how to ensure you’re speaking to your specific clients and where they are at today

NOTE: This post doesn’t address how to use AI for content creation. While AI can be a powerful tool for your content creation, my goal with this post is to give you the structure and steps to create content so you have the basics down first.

So, let's get started!

Step 1: Dial into Your Ideal Client to Identify Content Topics

To create content that resonates with the clients you want to attract, you need to be clear on who those people are and what questions drive them to go online to search for answers.

If you want to understand how search engine optimization works, that’s basically it.

Picture your ideal client, up at night, struggling with a question. They open their computer, pull out their phone, or even head to ChatGPT and ask a question.

Your content needs to answer THAT question.

Or the question underneath the question they are really asking.

For example, you may have googled, “How do I write content that gets the attention of my clients?”

But the truth is – you don’t want generic content marketing tips. You want to know how to write content, as a consultant or coach, that resonates with the specific clients you want to attract – leaders in organizations or high-achieving professionals as private clients. So this post hopefully will answer that question for you.

So, before you do anything content-wise

• Make sure you're super-clear on who your ideal client is. If it’s a leader in an organization, what size of organization is it? What industry? What role? If it’s a high-achieving individual, who are they?
• Understand how their world looks and feels to them right now

Are you writing to business owners of family-owned service businesses? Are you writing to executives in large retail enterprises?

If you don’t have that clear, we need to start here. Stop what you’re doing to learn more about my brand positioning and messaging programs. If you try writing content for everybody, you’ll wind up writing content that speaks to no one, and that isn’t a good use of your time.

If you do have clarity on that, it’s time to brainstorm!

First, brainstorm your own ideas starting with:

• Questions that are keeping them up at night
• What is frustrating them
• What is in their way of achieving what they want
• What pain points are they dealing with

• Questions you get asked all the time
• What you see as industry trends and what’s on the horizon
• Mistakes that you can help them avoid

Step 2: Isolate a Single Topic and Reframe as a Question

Review your list of topic ideas. Take one and then put yourself in your ideal client's shoes. Think about how you can reframe that blog post topic in the form of a question THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE.

For example, let’s say that you want to write a blog post about fear and its impact on success. Think about the topic from your client’s perspective and the questions they might have about it. If your ideal client is a new business owner, they might have a question around “Why do I feel afraid when I am trying to pursue my dreams?” or “How do I handle fear, so it doesn’t interfere with my dreams?”

Take that same topic about fear and business success and put yourself in the shoes of an executive of a growing company. They might have questions around, “How do I help my team of new leaders deal with the fear that comes with change?” or “How do I deal with the fear that I don’t have what it takes to lead a larger enterprise (vs. a smaller company)?”

You can refine it even more to directly speak to your clients – How do I help my team of new leaders to develop the skills to overcome the fear of change in today's volatile and uncertain market?

Step 3: Determine your post-call to action

There is one major difference between hobby blogging and business blogging – calls to action. You want your content to guide your client to their next step in your relationship with you.

Therefore, before you start writing, begin with the end in mind and determine what the ideal NEXT step you want your clients to take after reading your post. Review the list below and choose THIS post’s call to action:

• Schedule a Free Consult
• Sign up for your newsletter/lead magnet
• Comment on your blog
• Share your blog
• Buy your low-cost product
• Follow you on social media
• Other:__________________________________________

Step 4: Formulate YOUR Answer to THEIR Question

We’re still not writing yet. We’re starting to work on your outline. Remember when you were in school and had to write an outline for papers for one major reason: organized and clear ideas are more compelling.

• Review the question you are answering in your blog. Identify what type of question you’re answering - steps to, reasons why, how to, perception shift.
• Create 3-5 bullets of your answer to their question that include what you know will be helpful to address what they are asking and invite them into what you know they need.

Step 5: Complete the Rest of Your Blog Outline

Use the structure below to create your blog outline.

• Introduction: Use a story (your own or a former client) or a metaphor to grab attention and set up the question you think your ideal client is asking
• Transition phrase: Use a sentence or two to transition into your main content (that you identified in step 2)
• Main content: Bulleted or numbered list with supporting paragraphs
• Transition phrase: Use a sentence of two to transition into your call to action (e.g., where you might get stuck, quick wins, bottom line, etc.)
• Call to action: Include a clear call to action (e.g., sign up for your lead magnet, add a comment, share on social media, contact you for a free consult, etc.)

Step 6: Write Your First Draft

I’m going to give you two of my biggest writing tips that have transformed both my content speed and quality. The first tip is accepting what writer Anne Lamott says about writing is completely true.

“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.”

― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

The solution is to pursue the magic of a sh!tty first draft – meaning that it's totally awesome and amazing to jot your thoughts down on paper...without editing! The surest way to write a crappy blog post is to edit yourself while you write. Instead, have fun with your first sh!tty draft. Just because you wrote it doesn’t mean you have to publish it.

The second tip is to do whatever you can to unlearn “corporate ease” – that boring, 3rd person way of communicating that uses a ton of big words that say nothing, which kills any chance your content will be remarkable.

Nobody really gets what it means to “operationalize your innovation by synergizing your teams and aligning capabilities to the customer requirements.”

It’s way better to simply say – “get everyone on the same page, coming up with cool product ideas that thrill your customers.”

So, please, for all that is powerful about blogging:

Write in 2nd person, at the 8th grade level, and in the active voice.

Be as clear and direct as possible. Avoid big corporate words that mean nothing because...

CLARITY = CREDIBILITY

Step 7:  Embellish Your First Draft

Before you start editing your first draft, embellish it. Go back to what you know about your ideal clients and their personalities, and be sure to include trigger words that resonate with them.

If you say something like “Let me give you five steps for helping your team deal with the fear of change...”, write that sentence to match how they roll.

If your ideal client is an action-oriented leader, you might say, “Let me show you five actionable ideas that you can immediately implement to squash fear and turn it into bold courage...”

If your ideal client is more of a relationship builder, you might say, “Let me guide you through five ways to compassionately support your team through the difficult times of change...”

See the difference?

As you embellish your first draft, add stories and examples that connect not just with what your ideal clients want to know, but also with who they are as people.

Step 8: Edit/Tighten Your Copy

Once you've gotten all your ideas out, it’s time to make sure your post is clear and easy to read.

Go through this checklist to make sure your blog is ready to go:

• Eliminate extra words and redundant sentences
• Replace complex and jargony words with short ones
• Use contractions
• Replace long sentences with fragments

Read it out loud to make sure it sounds like a person speaking

If needed, get it professionally edited by someone who knows marketing (who’ll catch spelling and grammar but won’t take away your personality)

Step 9: Create a Benefits-Driven Headline

Professional writers know that headlines are what make the difference between content that is read and ignored. Your headlines matter, and you need to pay as much attention to them as you do to the content.

Create a benefits-driven blog headline that matches the type of blog you’re writing:

• • How to [Verb + Outcome]
  • • How to Land Higher Paying Contracts
    • How to Get out and Stay out of Burnout
  • Steps to [Solution Client Wants]
  • • 5 Steps to Higher Paying Contracts
    • 5 Steps to Overcoming Burnout
  • Get [Desired Benefit] without [What Client Objects to]
  • • Land High-Paying Contracts Without Being Slimy and Salesey
    • Transcend Burnout Without Investing a Fortune in Supplements
  • Get [Desired Benefit] in/by [Time frame] without [What Client Objects to]
  • • Land your First Six-Figure Contract with Your Next Client without Slick Sales or Pricing Techniques
    • 30 Days From Now, You’ll Have the Energy of a 20-year Old – Without Having to Step Foot in the Gym
  • [Number] Reasons Why [Problem/Challenge]
  • • 4 Reasons Why You’re Not Landing the Larger Contracts
    • 4 Reasons Why High-Achieving Women Burn Out
  • What if [Awesome Benefit] Happened?
  • • What If You Could Make $100,000 With Your Next Consulting Contract?
    • What If You Could Overcome Burnout With ONLY One Thing?

Step 10: Make Your Content Pop with Relevant Images

There are so many ways you can use images to support and reinforce your message.

For sure, you’ll need an overall blog post image that will show up on your blog and social media.

You can use a stock image that relates to what you’re talking about in the blog post. Here’s one version I used for my blog post on…

You can also use images to reinforce your key points like a process visual or infographic for example, here’s how I incorporated a visual in a post I did about

• Content is a great way to not just get out of the relying on referrals trap but a way to use the power of your ideas to attract the right clients who are already warmed up and excited to work with you.
• What keeps brilliant, talented consultants and coaches from creating content is lack of clarity of what to write about or how to format it in a way that attracts AND converts
• The best practices and tips for how to write a compelling and remarkable piece of content begin with getting into the head of your ideal client – what they are struggling with and wondering about, continue with providing an answer to that question in content, and then telling them exactly what to do next.

• Try out the format I provided and see how it works.
• If you get stuck because you’re not clear on who is your ideal client is and the problem you’re trying to solve for them, I would love to help you. Learn more about my strategic brand-building programs, that includes building your content marketing foundation at www.betsyjordyn.com/services

About me: Betsy Jordyn is a brand messaging strategist and business mentor for purpose-driven consultants and coaches. With a background in organizational development—including a consulting career with Disney—she helps experts clarify their unique value, position themselves strategically, and build businesses that deliver impact, income, and personal fulfillment. Connect with Betsy Jordyn to clarify your message, elevate your brand, and attract the clients you're meant to serve. Start here → https://www.betsyjordyn.com/services