By We’re publishing prior issues of the Audience Research Newsletter here! But we’re not just copying and pasting from the archives — we’re only surfacing what we believe is still salient today. For the newest, freshest advice on audience research and doing better marketing, subscribe here so you don’t miss new editions! We send this newsletter twice per month.
1. Why you need audience research for your content marketing strategy
We know keyword research tells us what people are searching for. But it’s only audience research that tells you who is searching for these keywords and why they’re doing so. So for a full-funnel content strategy, you need both. When you do audience research, you’ll start to understand things like shared jargon in your audience, and the other channels they’re influenced by — and how this should inform your distribution strategy. You’ll start to get the answers to questions like: “How does my audience describe their pain points?” “What social accounts do they follow?” “What publications do they read that I might be able to pitch myself as a guest contributor for?”
2. Help your podcast guests promote your podcast
Nobody likes to tweet, “Hey everyone, listen to me on this podcast!” So if you host a show and give your guests suggested social media copy like, “I had a blast talking about demand generation on This Show! Give it a listen!” they’re unlikely to use it. Instead, send them the transcript you generated in Descript. Highlight the stand-out advice they gave, and suggest they use those highlights for social media posts. You’re helping them create content, and they’re likelier to amplify their episode on your show.
3. How do you know when to charge for that speaking opportunity?
Unless you’re a professional speaker (as in, your talks are a product that you sell), our point of view is that if there’s audience alignment — your product or offering is reaching your target audience — then that alone provides inherent value. But if that event isn’t giving much value to you (in the form of relevant audience, networking opportunity or reputation bolstering), it’s certainly worth asking for that speaker fee. Lots more advice and context in the full blog post, “Should You Raise Your Rates and Only Take Paid Speaking Gigs? Not So Fast…“
For the newest, freshest advice on audience research and doing better marketing, subscribe here so you don’t miss new editions! We send this newsletter twice per month.