We’ve all heard a thousand times that websites need “content.”
But what is content, and why is it needed?
Content is information communicated through media.
Media is the communication channel — the internet, television, radio, etc.
Content is the message — the information itself.
On the internet, content can take many forms:
- blog posts
- videos
- social media posts
- infographics
- guides
- case studies
- podcasts
- white papers
- images
- webinars
- and more . . .
A good content strategy will:
- Build a foundation for long-term growth
- Increase website traffic across organic search, referral, and social channels
- Demonstrate specific expertise to attract best-fit clients
- Restate your brand to keep your name in circulation
The most powerful marketing content is evergreen — it attracts leads for years with little additional effort. Blog posts, videos, and sometimes infographics fall in this group.
Playing Along with Google
Google search aims to deliver the most relevant and useful content to users — including your potential clients. So why not play along? Give Google what it wants — high-quality content. Thanks to ingenious research tools available today, we know exactly what people are looking for and what content is needed to match their search intent.
By purposefully designing your content to match search queries, Google will rank your website and local business profile higher in search results, and more people will contact you about services.
I know of an attorney with decades of experience in the insurance field. Hundreds of clients. Offices across the country. Very successful. Yet he somehow finds time to create a website post at least once weekly and sends it to his email list. Why? Because those posts cement his firm as the go-to people in their specialty.
The posts demonstrate expertise, show the firm is on top of its game, and are a powerful, recurring brand imprint.
As a pro, you should create at least some of your content; it’s one of the best ways to promote your business at a high level and boost visibility in search.
The Problem
You have the ability to differentiate your practice and attract ideal clients with content. But producing and sharing content for marketing purposes is a tough slog. Production, especially writing, may feel like foreign territory that takes you away from your main work, and it presents a fundamental problem:
Creating content takes far too much time.
Here’s a solution . . .
Don’t Write, Speak
The key to my rapid content method is something you naturally do each day: speak. Instead of writing a post or shooting a video — make an audio recording of your voice.
Why audio?
I scored popular content creation methods by several dimensions: ease, persuasiveness, cost, communication mode, personalization opportunities, etc. (See the entire table).
- Audio: 20 [We have a winner!]
- Podcast: 16
- Streaming: 16
- Video: 15
- AI-assisted Written Text: 13
- Manual Written Text: 11
Audio scores highest for our purpose of rapidly creating useful, unique content that Google can rank in search.
Conversely, the method most people use, laboriously writing text, scores worst!
Audio is simple and lends itself to spontaneous production. In 10 minutes you can create a compelling audio track.
What About Video?
If you’re going to the trouble of recording something, why not just record a video?
As much as I love video, it’s far more complicated, time-consuming, and expensive to produce compared to audio. There’s lighting, equipment, space, editing, and people needed to put it all together.
Beyond that, uploading a few videos is unlikely to surface new local clients. 30,000+ hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every hour; how will your business surface in that global tsunami? 1
Here’s why social media platforms are usually a poor source of local leads. Just think about it; have you ever searched for a local lawyer, dentist, or financial planner on YouTube? It may happen occasionally on Facebook — “Hey, can somebody know a good divorce lawyer in Phoenix?” — but from the data I’ve seen, the numbers are small.
Overwhelmingly, people search Google to find exactly what they want — “best divorce consultant in St. Louis”. From every metric, local search results are the place to be, and you don’t need video to get there.
Rapid Content Creation: Step‑by‑Step
Step 1: Keyword and Question Research
First, choose a topic based on search data and competition. If you’re subscribed to one of our SEO Packages, we’ll supply you with a list of verified local-intent keywords already clustered into topics. That’s a great place to start.
If you are not a client, explore keywords and questions with free tools like Ubersuggest. Caution, it’s easy to miss the keyword target and go off track with your topic if you don’t have an SEO advisor.
Keyword research reveals topics. It tells us what people are searching for and how many are searching. For example: “divorce financial advisor.” (450 searches per month in the U.S., medium competitiveness).
Question research reveals what people are asking. For example: “What is the difference between mediation and collaborative divorce?” (4th most popular mediation question).
Craft your content to match what searchers seek.
Step 2: Tell Your Audience What You Know
This is where you share your thoughts. Talk about a client experience. Explain a trend. Tell a story.
But instead of ruining your day by writing a blog post, make an audio recording.
I’m sure you can speak about some aspect of your service for five minutes. How about a couple of 5-minute sessions? Believe me, I have done it dozens of times — ten minutes goes very quickly. So let’s say you end up with ten minutes; that’s about 1,500 words of written text.
Can you do 15 minutes? Go for it! That’s 2,200+ words — longer than most of your competitor’s blog posts and a perfect search engine snack.
Step 3: Transcription
Send your audio file to a transcription service. They will convert your audio file to a text file and send it to you via email in a couple of days. Paste the text into WordPress. Check it over. Add a Title. Done.
There have been tremendous advances in AI (artificial intelligence) transcription, but it’s still inferior to human transcription in this use case. If you or your editor need to fix errors, the economic advantage of machine transcription is lost.
For professionals, it’s better to save time, even if it costs more. So, hire a transcription service that uses native English speakers (assuming you’re somewhere in the American or Canadian markets). Cost: about $1 per minute of audio. A 1,500-word blog post would cost about $10. Dirt cheap! Top human-powered transcription services include Speechpad and Rev.
Congratulations, You Just Created a Search Magnet
That’s the process. Not too bad, right?
You just created a laser-focused search engine magnet in a fraction of the usual time. Your content will be unique, with a personal viewpoint — not some outsourced codswallop.
Unique content that adds value for users is precisely what Google wants! Your transcriptions will provide a real advantage in organic search, voice search, local search, and social media.
Outsource Everything but the Recording
You could do everything above yourself, but your time is too valuable. Get help from a remote editor.
You make the recording, the editor does everything else.
Ask your editor to clean up the text, add some headings, a title, and a couple of images, then publish the post on your website. If you like your audio recording, have them publish it with the post. The editor can also send your post to your email list and it publish it on social media as well (this part can be automated).
How to Make a Good Recording
How do you create a decent audio recording that’s on-point?
Firstly, what do you want to say? Jot down some bullet points as a guide. At least, that’s the way I do it to make sure I cover the main ideas. You don’t have to get fancy. A pencil and paper will do. Keep your topic notes loose but on target. If you’re interviewing, have a few questions in mind.
Get yourself in a quiet space where you can loosen up and speak as if speaking to a person in the room. Hit the record button and go for it. If you mess up, just restart the recording. Or pause and come back later. Over time, your delivery will improve.
If you publish the audio recording itself, your physical space affects sound quality: You don’t want too much reverberation (echo) or distracting noise. Drapes, carpets, furniture, and the right kind of equipment help. Carve out a section of your physical workspace at home or in your office for recording. It could be the same space you use for Zoom calls. Set up your equipment and keep it there. Make it easy to flip the switch and knock out content quickly.
On the road? Vehicles and hotel rooms are great places to record! Use your phone or a portable digital recorder to capture the audio file, then forward it to your remote editor.
Stay tuned, I’ll cover audio equipment in a future post.
References
1. https://www.statista.com/statistics/259477/hours-of-video-uploaded-to-youtube-every-minute/