Creating marketing content can seem like a daunting task, but you can simplify the process by using a few helpful tools and strategies.
Here’s a brief introduction to a useful approach to content marketing – the List, Offer, Creative framework – which provides you with a good place to get started. It also aligns well with my five steps!
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In today’s video, I talk about the List, Offer, Creative framework. I explain what it is and how it can help you with creating your marketing content.
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Breaking Down the Framework
The List, Offer, Creative (LOC) framework is a really useful tool you can use when you want to create some marketing content but you’re not sure where to start.
The LOC framework consists of three steps:
- List. First, you need to identify a list of people that you’re going to contact with your marketing. When you define your list, it’s important to make sure that the list is relevant – you don’t want to be using a gigantic list full of people unless you can target your marketing at them all.
- Offer. Once you’ve identified the people you want to target, you need to define what you are going to offer them. What is the offer that you’re making to them, and are you sure it is an offer that will be meaningful to them – one they will care about?
- Creative. The final step is to build the creative content based on your offer, which will go out to your list.
You need to approach the LOC framework in this order – identify who you are targeting first, figure out what you are going to give them, and then create the content that you’re going to send them.
Why I Think the List, Offer, Creative Framework Works So Well
One of the reasons I love this framework is because it resonates with my thinking about marketing – it aligns well with my five steps to building a content-led marketing strategy because it helps you centre your target person in your marketing by focusing on your USP:
- The List is your target person (step 1: Understand your target person)
- The Offer is your USP (step 2: Define your USP)
- The Creative is creating the content (step 4: Create your content ideas).
Your List and your Offer need to work together, just like your target person and your USP need to work together. And, as with my USP, you need to make sure that the content you’re offering satisfies the wants, needs, fears and frustrations of your target person. In LOC terms, your Offer needs to match your List.
Looking Beyond LOC: My Five-Step Strategy
You’ve probably noticed that in my five steps, I have two extra stages in the content marketing process (steps 3 and 5). I think step 3 (which focuses on choosing your marketing channels) is important because I feel that you need to check that the creative you build matches the channel that you’re going to use to distribute that content.
I also add a final step (step 5: Manage your resources) because you personally may not be creating that marketing content. When you factor in managing your resources, you take the time to consider who will be working on the content, how much the content creation will cost and when it will be delivered – and who is responsible for pressing the ‘go’ button.
If you’re feeling stuck when it comes to content marketing – or you’re not sure where to start – I recommend that you simplify the process. You could start with my five steps, or simplify things further by trying the List, Offer, Creative framework approach first. Wherever you begin, please do reach out if you’d like to talk through your plans or if you need some advice on next steps.