Having recently released the brilliant graphic design tool Snappa, co-founder Christopher Gimmer understands the importance of content marketing.
It helped him to build an audience, and to also create the brand.
This is all experience he’s developed from years of creating online businesses. And it’s while doing so he realized the importance of graphic design in content. He also recognized how difficult it sometimes can be to get it created.
Most of us are not graphic designers, nor is Christopher.
So with Snappa, he has produced a tool which enables any of us to create awesome visuals. We can then use them in our blog posts, or to attract attention during a Facebook marketing campaign.
Click here to grab the Christopher Gimmer interview transcript >>>
It’s got his every word
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It’s a vital part of content marketing. And when content marketing is done well, the results are spectacular.
Well, find out how you can put out top-notch content which will get people begging for more.
Despite only officially launching Snappa in November 2015, he’s already managed to get 900 paying customers on board, with these easy habits.
#1 A Product Which Makes Money As You Sleep
Like countless entrepreneurs, Christopher had a boring desk job working for someone else, where the only saving grace was the money.
He worked on many projects on the side of his usual job. Some were successes, and others were failures.
However, by carrying on working, it took the pressure off trying to make money straight away. And that enabled him to make sure he was doing it right.
He is a self-confessed risk-averse person.
But now that he has a product which makes him enough money, he’s finally felt comfortable enough to leave the world of finance behind him.
With Snappa, he now has a product which can make him money as he sleeps. And that was his goal. Numerous paydays for the effort.
#2 How To Content Market Well
When you content market, you are putting stuff online which you feel is of value to the users of your service. However, there are two different types.
Firstly, there are those who only make content for their target market. The intention is to give help and educate them on using the product so they can get the most out of the experience.
But also, by targeting at them, you’re trying to make yourself as discoverable to them; whether that’s on Google or social media.
The other type of content marketing is where you aim for the broader market audience. This may well involve you targeting the types of people who will likely be interested in the product.
But, you offer them more general advice about the world in which the product is used.
For Christopher, this involves helping marketers and small business owners to promote their business online. And this is the same technique which Alex Turnbull from Groove uses, like many others.
He doesn’t just blog about their helpdesk software, he helps business owners. Many of those people will want to use his product. But likewise, many will not.
However, he isn’t wasting his time by targeting them. He is helping to establish his brand and become a trustworthy source of information. And on top of that, he is helping to breed people who become his brand ambassadors. They’ll then go off and recommend him.
The key is to not be too ‘salesy’. Don’t plug your product or service constantly. Only do so when appropriate.
It’s far more important to establish the relationship and become valuable.
As an example, when Christopher talks about the importance of graphics in blog posts, he may then gently steer the reader to this cool tool he has which might help them. But he won’t crowbar it into every post.
And content is also a great way of harvesting contact information.
You can trade an eBook for their email address. And once they’re on the mailing list, you continue to provide valuable content.
It may then be a few emails before you say ‘Oh hey, here’s what we do…’
It’s far better to be subtle than to go straight for the sell. You’re likely to find that in the long run, those people will spend more money with you than those who buy without knowing anything about you.
#3 Write What You Know
Christopher has a love/hate relationship with writing.
He loves to write about what he’s doing and finds that far easier to translate that into writing. Much more so than, for example, writing a top 10 list of tools, which he avoids as much as possible.
But he’s found that the responsibility of running a business has meant he has less time to produce content anyway.
So he’s opted to only put out a new blog once every two weeks. Christopher would far rather produce one good article on a fortnightly basis, than churn out five ‘crappy’ posts a week.
Plus, which one is going to add the most value overall? Especially as it means he has time spare to promote the article, so it is out there, getting read and actually making an impact.
However, one issue which many people complain about is their inability to write, and a lack of ideas.
First off, he has found that when you really understand what you’re writing about, then you can write it well and with ease. So a good starting point is to write what you know.
You can deliver people a unique insight and explain a difficult idea in the simplest of terms which anyone can understand. Plus, you enjoy it a lot more. And when you use graphics, such as screenshots, you’re giving the reader more methods to help them comprehend what you’re saying.
It’s likely that you’re going to know a lot about the industry you’ve found yourself in and the things you do. When you are looking for inspiration, then you’re going to have to find it.
Research the topics which other people are talking about. What are the market leaders sharing, and what are customers asking?
Once you’ve found out what it is people want to hear, then you know the results are going to be worth the effort. And then that will hopefully help to motivate you as you move forward onto the next blog post.
But what are you aiming to do with your content? Are you teaching, inspiring or informing?
Christopher makes sure he produces content which is evergreen and actionable.
That ensures it adds value for years to come and that the reader actually gets something from the article. He wants people to finish reading his blog posts and have the ability to go away immediately and implement or improve something as a result.
When the reader is left better off, they’re more likely to come back.
#4 Creating A Buzz
Christopher finds that his blog posts are a great way of getting people to sign up for his mailing list.
And he does that by producing brilliant content and getting it shared on social media.
His method for getting things shared is to scout the major influencers. He uses BuzzSumo to find people who have shared other articles which are similar to what he has produced and then contacts them.
He sends a friendly email, where he directly tells them about the article he has produced which they may find useful. And the results of how many share it, as a result, are surprising.
So that’s how he gets his content in front of new people, who are then compelled to sign up for his mailing list. Then he can email them every time he has new content he wants to share with them.
But rather than emailing them the article, he teases them.
He tells a short story which intrigues and hooks the reader to visit his site and read the article. That then gets them into the habit of visiting the website.
But it also means he can ensure his articles stay looking good. We’ve all had emails where the pictures and writing are all over the place, with no obvious reason for why.
And because he uses a lot of graphics, it is important it’s formatted right.
#5 Graphic Design Anyone Can Do
You need to have some professional, good-looking graphics, and because you’re not a designer, you ask someone to do it for you.
You wait for them make it. They send it back to you a few days later, and then there are some revisions you want. This can go on for a while, and costs money.
Well, Snappa ensures the control stays with you, even when you haven’t got the designing skills.
Without much know-how, it enables you to produce simple, clean and modern-looking graphics. This is thanks to the 100s of templates which have been created by proper graphic designers.
And with all the assets you’ll need in one place, it makes it simple and easy to use as well. There are royalty-free pictures, fonts, and graphics at your disposal. All you have to do is put them together to make something you can be proud of.
You can then share them so everyone else can see them.
And Finally
So give Snappa a try. A free version allows you to get a feel for the tool and produce up to 5 graphics every month.
For unlimited access, you can pay $15 per month. Or get three months free by paying $135 for the whole year. Around 900 other marketers and small business owners are already using it. So join now to make the most of new features and improvements which Christopher promises are coming soon.
Click here to grab the Christopher Gimmer interview transcript >>>
It’s got his every word
You can read his blog at Snappa to get a feel for how he uses content marketing and graphics with brilliant results.
And you can also get his free eBook on generating traffic and boosting conversions from the website too. Plus, that gives you the opportunity to join his mailing to fully immerse yourself in his marketing system.
Connect with Christopher Gimmer
