Content & Story

Overview - Crafting a resonating story and publishing great content Why we need a great story and content How to make the most of this Playbook Overview with an example Step 1 - Why we do this - The story that deeply resonates with our core audience 1.1 Audience - Who are we helping?1.2 Challenges - What are their key problems and goals?1.3 Differentiation - Why are WE the ones to go to?1.4 Solutions - How are we helping them solve their challenges?1.5 Transformation - What's the positive change we create for our audience?Action Steps - Why we do this Further Resources Step 2 - What we talk about - The topics that position us as the go-to problem solvers 2.1 Themes - What we want to be known for 2.2 Topics - Topics our audience cares about 2.3 Content - Our best content pieces yet Action Steps - What we talk about Further Resources Step 3 - How we talk about it - Packaging and delivering our message in style 3.1 ToFu - Formats and channels for awareness 3.2 MoFu- Formats and channels for consideration 3.3 BoFu- Formats and channels for conversion Action Steps - How we talk about it Further Resources Step 4 - When we talk about it - Let's make our audience go AARRR every single month 4.1 Monthly Formats - Our content formats we publish every month 4.2 Content Calendar - Our regular content schedule for the next 4 weeks Action Steps - When we talk about it Further Resources Summary - Creating resonating content Transforming Your Brand into the Ultimate Problem Solver

Overview - Crafting a resonating story and publishing great content

Why we need a great story and content

As we dive into the world of content marketing and storytelling, it’s essential to remember why we’re here. We're on a quest to sharpen our growth marketing prowess, and mastering the narrative is a crucial step. Our early days may have been steeped in SEO and Google Ads, with an unwavering focus on analytics, but experience taught us that stories are the heart of connection. It's not just about numbers; it's about the people and the stories we tell.

The Importance of Storytelling

Storytelling isn't just another tool in our arsenal; it's the foundation upon which all our growth marketing strategies stand. If we aim to reduce customer acquisition costs, our messaging must be pristine. Our landing pages, emails, and sales presentations can't just be good—they must resonate deeply with our target audience. Storytelling is the second pillar of Growth Marketing Mastery because it's the soil from which all other strategies grow.

Where Content & Story Fit in Our Strategy

Every choice leads back to storytelling. Before we build funnels or dash into traffic generation, we need a compelling story. It’s what will make our ads click-worthy and our content shareable. In essence, content marketing and storytelling are what make people trust us enough to embark on the customer journey we've crafted for them. It’s the backbone of our creative efforts and our analytic pursuits.

The Ongoing Journey

As we venture forward, let's embrace the power of content marketing and storytelling. We're not just learning to communicate better; we're learning to serve our customers better, to impact our business profoundly, and to profit from the genuine connections we forge.

The Content and Storytelling Playbook

We’ve distilled our process into a four-step playbook:

Finding the Why: We’re not looking for our why, but the why that compels our customers to choose us over anyone else. Clarity here is paramount.

Determining What to Talk About: It’s about perception. We must position ourselves as the premier problem-solvers in our niche.

Deciding How to Package Our Content: This is where the magic of channel selection and customer journey stages comes into play.

Making It Concrete with a Content Calendar: Bringing our plans into the tangible world where our customers live and breathe.

We’re not just talking about theories; we’re applying them to Pirate Skills itself. You’ll see our approach, our successes, and even our stumbles, providing a rich, relatable example to guide your journey.

Storytelling in content marketing isn’t a checkbox to tick; it’s a vibrant, evolving narrative that intertwines with every aspect of our marketing efforts. Now, as we set sail to the next lesson, we’re ready to craft stories that not only resonate but also convert. This is more than a playbook; it’s the beginning of a transformation in how we connect with our customers and how they perceive us.

Let’s turn the page and begin our story.

How to make the most of this Playbook

Don’t just read, follow along.

Make a copy of the Miro Playbook and start using it.

Scan the summary at the beginning of each chapter.

Do the action steps provided at the end of each chapter.

Follow along the course videos, if you have access to them.

Discuss the topics with your team and the other members in the Pirate Skills Community.

Make the Playbook YOURS. Change it as you please. You AARRR a pirate!

Overview with an example

In order to make the advice in here more practical, each Miro template comes with an example. This example is filled out as it is intended. The example is based on the combined experiences I have gathered working in my own startups and with many teams. The example for this Playbook is Pirate Skills itself. I choose this example because B2C and B2B alike will find it inspiring. The example solutions I’ve suggested are also chosen in a way that they most likely apply to your case, so feel free to copy them. In the chapter below, you always find the template and the Pirate Skills example at the beginning.

Here is the complete overview of the Content & Story Miro template. Don’t forget to copy your own version of the Playbook. We will dive into every step in each of the following chapters.

Playbook template

Pirate Skills Example

Step 1 - Why we do this - The story that deeply resonates with our core audience

Refining Our 'Why'

It's time to reassess why we are in this business beyond profits. What's the bigger picture? What change do we want to see in the world? Our 'why' must be the bedrock of our brand's existence. When communicating our purpose, we must ensure it aligns with our Growth Roadmap, influencing every marketing experiment we run. It's not just about setting goals; it's about embodying the mission in every test, every piece of content, and every strategic pivot we make.

Deep-Diving into Our Customer's 'Why'

To really understand our customers' 'why,' we need to be data-driven and human-centric. It's about leveraging Data Analytics to not only gather demographic and psychographic data, but also to interpret it in a way that gives us insights into our customers' behaviors and motivations. We're looking for pain points, aspirations, and lifestyle triggers that inform not just the problem we're solving but also the aspirational identity we're enabling for them.

Crafting a Story that Bridges the Gap

With a firm grasp on the dual 'why's' our story must now do more than just connect; it needs to convert. This is where Conversion Optimization principles come into play. Our narrative should not only be compelling but also crafted in a way that guides potential customers through a journey, from initial awareness to loyal advocacy. We'll employ A/B testing on our story's elements—testing different emotional triggers, value propositions, and calls to action to see what truly resonates and drives conversions.

Uniformity in Communication

Consistency in our story across all platforms isn't just about repetition; it's about creating a cohesive Funnel Building strategy that guides prospects through a seamless journey. Whether they encounter us on social media, via a paid ad, or in a search engine query, the story needs to be coherent and lead them to the next step. We'll synchronize our storytelling across different channels, while tailoring the delivery to the unique strengths and audience expectations of each platform.

Fueling Passion and Persistence

Our passion for our 'why' has to be the catalyst for sustained engagement. This means injecting this enthusiasm into our Content & Story pillar, ensuring that every piece of content we create or curate is infused with this energy. It also involves team alignment, where everyone from customer service to product development is on board and can articulate this passion. This alignment turns our story into a shared mission, fueling innovation and commitment across the board.

Metrics for Story Success

Our story is only as strong as the reactions it garners. This is where our Data Analytics pillar supports our narrative. We'll define our north star metric that best reflects engagement with our story—be it time on page, social shares, or content virality. We'll then use this data to refine our approach, looking at the customer journey analytics to pinpoint where our story is losing traction and where it's most effective, making data-informed decisions to enhance its impact.

The Heart of Our Brand Identity

Finally, acknowledging our story as the core of our brand identity means it's not static; it's evolutionary. As we scale our business, enter new markets, or pivot our offerings, our story must adapt while staying true to our core values. This requires a continuous feedback loop, incorporating customer feedback, market trends, and internal changes to refine our brand story. Our commitment to the heart of our brand is what will differentiate us in a crowded market and drive our growth marketing strategies.

In expanding our approach, we're essentially wrapping our growth marketing framework around our brand story, ensuring that our narrative is not only compelling and consistent but also optimized for conversion, data-driven, and dynamically evolving with our business and our audience.

GOAL

Our overarching goal is to become adept navigators of our own growth marketing journey, forging a path that's uniquely ours. We strive to master the craft of delivering messages that resonate, building marketing funnels that convert, and analyzing data that informs strategic decisions. By honing our unique value proposition and focusing on transformational outcomes, we aim to ensure that every interaction with our audience is meaningful and drives mutual profitability. This is about leveraging growth marketing to amplify our impact and elevate our business to new heights of success.

CONCEPTS & DEFINITIONS

Audience

The specific group of consumers who are most inclined to engage with a particular brand or purchase its products or services. The audience is defined by a set of characteristics such as demographics (age, gender, income, occupation, etc.), psychographics (lifestyle, values, attitudes, etc.), and behavioral patterns (purchase history, product usage, brand interactions, etc.). Understanding your audience helps in creating targeted marketing strategies that address the specific needs, preferences, and pain points of the group.

Customer Persona

A semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer, a customer persona is crafted based on market research and real data about existing customers. Personas help marketers to understand and empathize with their customers at a deeper level. This detailed character sketch includes demographic details, behavior patterns, motivations, goals, and pain points, and is used to tailor marketing strategies and product development to meet the specific needs of different segments of a target market.

ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)

An Ideal Customer Profile is an exhaustive description of a hypothetical business or entity that would receive the maximum benefit from a product or service offered. The ICP helps businesses in B2B marketing to focus their sales and marketing efforts on leads that closely match their most successful customers. This profile includes specifics such as industry, company size, location, revenue, pain points, and business needs that align with the value proposition of the product or service.

Value Ladder

A value ladder is a lineup of products or services organized by increasing levels of value and price, offering customers options to upgrade their purchase as their relationship with the company grows. This concept encourages incremental purchases, building trust as customers start with a low-risk offer and gradually move towards higher-priced, higher-value products or services. The value ladder is essential for maximizing customer lifetime value and creating a scalable business model.

Differentiation

Differentiation refers to the process by which a company distinguishes its product or service from that of its competitors. It involves identifying and promoting the unique features, benefits, or advantages of a company's offerings. Differentiation can be achieved through product attributes, branding, customer service, price structure, and promotional strategies. It’s crucial for businesses to establish a competitive edge in the market and attract a loyal customer base.

USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

A Unique Selling Proposition is a clear statement that describes the unique benefit of a company's offerings, how it solves customers' needs, and what distinguishes it from the competition. It's the definitive factor that makes a product or service "better" than others. A strong USP clearly articulates why a customer should choose one brand over another and is integral to effective marketing communication

Transformational Story

A transformational story is a compelling narrative that describes the transformative journey a customer undergoes as a result of using a product or service. It highlights the before-and-after state, emphasizing the positive change and added value that the brand provides. This type of storytelling is a powerful marketing tool as it connects emotionally with the audience, illustrates the benefits in a relatable way, and reinforces the brand's role in helping customers achieve their goals.

ROI (Return on Investment)

Return on Investment is a financial metric used to measure the likelihood of gaining a profit from an investment. It compares the magnitude and timing of gains from an investment directly to the magnitude and timing of investment costs. It’s a crucial measure for business decision-making, indicating the profitability of various investments and helping to identify the best strategies for allocating resources.

Core Message

The core message is the essential, overarching idea or statement that conveys the essence of a brand’s identity, mission, and value to the market. It encapsulates the brand’s promise to its customers and the unique benefits it provides. A well-crafted core message serves as the foundation for all marketing and communication efforts, ensuring consistency and clarity in how a brand presents itself across different channels and touchpoints.

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

Audience - Who are we helping?
Defining our audience with precision is key. We craft detailed customer personas and ICPs, deeply understanding their identities and needs. This clarity informs every marketing facet, ensuring messages are tailored for maximum resonance and impact. Continuous dialogue and feedback allow us to refine our approach, aligning our narratives closely with customer motivations, and making our marketing strategies more targeted and effective.

Challenges - What are their key problems and goals?

Understanding and aligning our audience's problems and goals with our content strategy is key. It's about guiding them from initial touchpoints to the product effectively, avoiding a narrow focus on solutions, and balancing the narrative between problems and aspirational goals. We need to find out the challenges our audience has with as much detail as necessary. Our content should reflect these goals and provide the tools for reaching them.

Differentiation - Why are WE the ones to go to?

We have to acknowledge the importance of differentiation in the marketplace. We need to become relatable experts, aware of our unique selling points, and explore how to articulate these as part of our compelling brand narrative. Differentiation is not a one-time effort; it's a continuous process that keeps us in tune with our audience and ahead of the competition. Our task is clear: Define, refine, and shine.

Solutions - How are we helping them solve their challenges?

In growth marketing, understanding and communicating the solution your product provides is essential to align marketing efforts and convert interest into sales. A tiered value ladder that offers progressively more valuable solutions at each stage can build trust and customer commitment. Each tier—from free content to high-ticket offers—should be crafted to address specific customer problems and guide them through a journey of increasing investment and value.

Transformation - What's the positive change we create for our audience?

Crafting a transformational story for our brand involves articulating a journey that offers genuine impact and value to customers, ensuring profitability, and resonating deeply with their aspirations. Our core message must encapsulate who we help, the problems we solve, and how we do it, serving as the north star for all brand communications.

1.1 Audience - Who are we helping?

Defining our audience with precision is key. We craft detailed customer personas and ICPs, deeply understanding their identities and needs. This clarity informs every marketing facet, ensuring messages are tailored for maximum resonance and impact. Continuous dialogue and feedback allow us to refine our approach, aligning our narratives closely with customer motivations, and making our marketing strategies more targeted and effective.

Playbook Template

Pirate Bills Example

Defining Our Audience with Granularity

When we're creating our story, it's crucial to pinpoint our audience. This means going beyond basic demographics to truly understand the core of our ideal customer's identity and needs. Crafting detailed customer personas or ICPs is an integral part of our Growth Roadmap; it helps us align our product features and benefits with the customer's pain points and desires. This isn't just a one-off task—it's a foundational element of our Content & Story pillar, which must inform all aspects of our marketing, from Funnel Building to Conversion Optimization. By narrowing our focus, we ensure that our Traffic Generation efforts aren't just casting a wide net, but rather, are precision-targeted to engage those most likely to convert, thereby increasing our impact and profitability.

Tailoring the Message for Diverse Audience Segments

When our market includes multiple audience segments, our story must have multiple facets. Each segment—be it by demographic, psychographic, or behavioral characteristic—requires a nuanced approach. In a multi-sided market, our strategy becomes even more complex as we must weave narratives that resonate on all sides while maintaining a cohesive brand voice. It’s like creating a series of interconnected stories within a single universe. For instance, the narrative for vendors on a marketplace platform might emphasize ease of use and audience reach, while the narrative for buyers highlights the variety and quality of options available. This not only reinforces the core values of our brand but also enhances the relevance of the story for each distinct segment, ultimately contributing to a higher conversion rate by speaking directly to the specific needs and motivations of each group.

Research and Refinement Through Continuous Dialogue

Understanding our customer is an ongoing conversation, one that requires both listening and evolving. Engaging with our customers to gather feedback is a process that informs every other aspect of our marketing strategy. We actively use platforms like LinkedIn, Apollo, or Crunchbase for B2B, delving into company profiles, industry news, and user interactions to ensure our narrative is aligned with the market’s current state. For B2C, leveraging social listening on platforms like Instagram and Twitter can give us a wealth of real-time insights. This ongoing research enables us to continuously refine our personas, making sure that our stories aren't just heard but felt, creating an emotional connection that is essential for brand loyalty and advocacy. This cycle of feedback and refinement is what keeps our marketing efforts agile and effective, allowing us to stay ahead in a rapidly changing landscape and making our Funnel Building more efficient as we target and retarget our communications to meet the evolving needs of our market.

Action Steps

Define customer personas / ideal customer profiles

Focus on the primary persona before expanding to others

Continuously gather customer feedback to refine your audience

1.2 Challenges - What are their key problems and goals?

Understanding and aligning our audience's problems and goals with our content strategy is key. It's about guiding them from initial touchpoints to the product effectively, avoiding a narrow focus on solutions, and balancing the narrative between problems and aspirational goals. We need to find out the challenges our audience has with as much detail as necessary. Our content should reflect these goals and provide the tools for reaching them.

Playbook Template

Pirate Skills Example

As we navigate through the ever-changing waters of growth marketing, we understand that our voyage is not just about reaching destinations, but also about overcoming challenges and achieving goals. Recognizing our key problems is crucial, not only those directly linked to our product, but also those leading up to the bigger challenges our audience faces. This chapter is about dissecting those challenges and aligning them with our content strategy, ensuring we map our journey effectively.

Identifying Our Challenges

We acknowledge that the challenges our audience encounters may not always be at the forefront. It's the underlying issues, the precursors to the pressing problems our product solves, that we need to focus on. This perspective shift is vital for our content marketing and funnel building efforts. It's about understanding the broader customer journey and using our content to qualify prospects, guiding them from initial touchpoints to the main event—our product.

For example, think back to the times when companies provided free online services as a gateway to their paid offers. This tactic is timeless, where the free service captures interest and guides users toward the main product. In our case, we want our content to do the same—lure our audience in with value, then seamlessly transition them to our offerings.

Avoiding Solution-Myopia

One of our key realizations is that dwelling too much on our solutions can be a pitfall. The truth is, our audience is less concerned with our solutions and more with solving their problems and achieving their goals. If our solution fits into that narrative, it's a match made in marketing heaven. Our content serves as a bridge between their current state and their desired outcome. That’s the sweet spot we aim for, where our solutions meet their challenges head-on.

Our Own Pirate Skills Example

Let's bring this home with my own community, Pirate Skills. My audience, the early-stage founders and high-potential marketers, grapple with a plethora of growth challenges. From having an unclear growth roadmap to struggling with engagement and conversions—the pain points are real. Our mission is to address these with content that doesn't just resonate, but also activates.

The challenge, however, is to balance the narrative. While we ground our content in the realities of these challenges, we must also inspire action towards the goals. This dual approach of acknowledging the problems while steering towards the goals is what sets us apart.

Setting Goals for the Pirate Skills audience

Goals are the lighthouses guiding ships through stormy seas. For the Pirate Skills Customers, the goals revolve around three core desires:

Impact: Our members want to leave a mark, to see their products and services genuinely solving problems.

Profitability: At the end of the day, the numbers need to make sense. Members aim for a model where the customer acquisition cost is dwarfed by the lifetime value.

Self-Reliance: There's a strong drive to internalize skills, to be less dependent on external agencies and more in command of their own marketing destiny.

In shaping our content, we reflect these goals—offering a vision of what can be achieved while providing the tools to get there.

The Synthesis

Our task is to merge the challenges with the goals. It’s a process that involves deep diving into our customer personas and empathizing with their struggles and aspirations. It's also about refining our focus—addressing as many challenges as necessary, but as few as possible to maintain clarity and impact.

As we conclude this chapter, remember that understanding the challenges and goals is only part of the equation. The other part is crafting content that not only addresses these points but also stands out in a sea of mediocrity. We need to ensure that our message is clear, our solutions are accessible, and our narrative is engaging.

In the next chapter, we’ll talk about differentiation—how to ensure our message cuts through the noise and why our audience should embark on this journey with us.

Action Steps

Conduct audience research to reveal their problems and goals

Ensure that problem and goals are aligned for the story

Validate assumptions about audience challenges

1.3 Differentiation - Why are WE the ones to go to?

We have to acknowledged the importance of differentiation in the marketplace. We need to become relatable experts, aware on our unique selling points, and explore how to articulate these as part of our compelling brand narrative. Differentiation is not a one-time effort; it's a continuous process that keeps us in tune with our audience and ahead of the competition. Our task is clear: Define, refine, and shine.

Playbook Template

Pirate Skills Example

Carving Out Our Unique Space in the Market

As we explore the 'Content & Story' pillar of Growth Marketing Mastery, let's dive into the crucial aspect of differentiation. We know our audience, their challenges, and we've got solutions lined up. But first, we must confront a fundamental question: Why us? Amid a sea of options, what anchors customers to our shore? This isn't about boasting; it's about understanding our unique value proposition (UVP) and integrating it seamlessly into our narrative.

Why Choose Us? Identifying Our UVP

Imagine this scenario: You're scanning a vast mural, brainstorming why our brand stands out. It's not a time to be humble, nor is it a time for empty boasts. We need concrete, defensible reasons that we can confidently weave into our marketing and sales materials.

So, what's our secret sauce? We're not just another player; we offer something unique for our specific region and audience. Here's where it gets tricky. It's easy to fall into the 'imposter syndrome' trap, thinking others always do it better. But from the perspective of our audience, we're ahead. Even if we're just a few chapters ahead in the book of industry knowledge, to our customers, we're sage guides on their journey to competency.

Relatable Expertise: Being Steps Ahead, Not Miles

Our core strength is deeply rooted in staying relatable and approachable. In the realm of growth marketing, where complexity can be daunting, we've seen the 'expert trap' ensnare many. This trap is the disconnect that forms when specialists forget the steep learning curve they once climbed, making their advice inadvertently inaccessible to those just starting out. We, however, are keenly aware of this pitfall. Our commitment is to bridge the gap, positioning ourselves alongside our audience, grasping their challenges firsthand. By doing this, we ensure that we never lose sight of our beginnings, maintaining the ability to recall and articulate solutions in a way that resonates with our learners. We aim to provide a scaffold that elevates our members from their current understanding to advanced mastery without losing them in jargon or overly complex concepts. This commitment to clear, empathetic communication fosters an environment where every member of our community feels seen, heard, and, most importantly, empowered to grow.

Crafting Our Marketing Narrative

Let's brainstorm a few reasons why we're the best choice. These shouldn't just be features; they need to be competitive differentiators that resonate with our audience.

Consider Pirate Skills as an exemplar. We cater to early-stage founders and high-potential marketers with bespoke solutions like workshops, coaching, and rich, free content. But why us over an agency or the countless experts online?

Reflecting on Pirate Skills' Distinctive Traits

Founder's Commitment: Our life's work is building and nurturing this community. This isn't just a job; it's our calling.

Zero Tolerance for Fluff: Our marketing has to cut through the noise because our survival depends on it. We pass on that efficiency to you.

Teaching Prowess: Expertise alone doesn't translate into effective teaching. Our patience and clarity in instruction set us apart.

Proven Impact: We don't just talk; we have a track record of real, impactful case studies that demonstrate our prowess.

Empirical Methods: Our geeky fascination with numbers and data means we're all about what's measurable and actionable.

Independence: Without an agency's bias, our advice and strategies are untainted by the need to upsell unnecessary services.

Innate Problem-Solving: Our instinct is to confront challenges head-on, offering solutions that genuinely address customer pain points.

Building Our Differentiation Muscle

Start with a robust but concise list of reasons that make us undeniably the best choice for our customers. These reasons will evolve, and as they do, our narrative will grow richer. Begin with what you know is true and impactful, and refine from there. Remember, differentiation isn't a static statement; it's a living part of our brand story that we must nurture and evolve.

Let's make our mark with a narrative that's unmistakably ours.

Action Steps

Clearly define and communicate our unique selling points

Craft a marketing narrative that reflects our relatable expertise

Showcase our commitment to practical, measurable results

1.4 Solutions - How are we helping them solve their challenges?

In growth marketing, understanding and communicating the solution your product provides is essential to align marketing efforts and convert interest into sales. A tiered value ladder that offers progressively more valuable solutions at each stage can build trust and customer commitment. Each tier—from free content to high-ticket offers—should be crafted to address specific customer problems and guide them through a journey of increasing investment and value.

Playbook Template

Pirate Skills Example

Unlocking the Value Ladder: Key to Effective Growth Marketing

Understanding your solution inside out is paramount for every stage of your product's life cycle. This detailed knowledge allows for an alignment of all marketing channels towards a unified goal - effectively conveying the problem your product solves. Often, businesses spend considerable resources on fine-tuning the product features but fall short in communicating the solution it offers. This gap can lead to disengaged audiences and scattered marketing efforts. Hence, a clearly defined solution is not just an internal compass but also serves as the foundation for all your external marketing narratives.

The Pitfall of Ignoring the Solution

The digital marketing landscape is rife with stories of campaigns that created buzz but failed to convert. High traffic and engagement rates, while important, can create a mirage of success. Yet, without a solution-focused approach, these metrics might not translate into tangible business results. The key is to avoid the trap where your marketing attracts an audience that may never convert because they aren't genuinely interested in your solution. This misalignment is akin to a ship sailing without a compass, possibly lost at sea despite having the wind in its sails.

The Multilayered Approach to Solutions

A tiered approach to offering your solutions facilitates a gradual introduction of your prospects to increasingly higher levels of commitment and value. Imagine the value ladder as a staircase. At each step, you offer more value and ask for more commitment. By structuring your offerings in such a way, you help your customers grow with your business, building trust and investment as they ascend the ladder. This model increases customer lifetime value and creates a seamless journey for the customer as they progress from one tier to the next, each with a clear value proposition.

The Free Tier: Your Marketing Foundation

Consider the bottom rung of your value ladder as the entry point for prospects. Here, the commitment is minimal, and the focus is on providing value upfront. This could be a variety of resources such as insightful blog posts, engaging podcasts, comprehensive guides, or free webinars—all aimed at showcasing your expertise and establishing credibility. By delivering genuine value, you create a relationship with your audience, making them more receptive to future offers. The aim here is no immediate monetization, but to build a strong foundation of trust and rapport with potential customers.

Paid Entry-Level Offerings: The First Step to Customer Commitment

Once your audience is engaged with your free content, the next tier involves an affordable paid offering. This might include more detailed guides, templates, or introductory courses. The price point should be low enough to be a no-brainer for your audience, but still signify a higher value than the free content. The strategy here is to convert a free user into a paying customer, thereby increasing their investment in your brand. This level is critical as it filters out those who are willing to invest in solving their problems from those who are not.

The Core Offer: Your Bread and Butter

The mid-tier, or your core offering, is where you aim to convert your engaged leads into committed customers. For example, it is the Growth Marketing Mastery course for Pirate Skills, which requires a more significant investment from customers and, in turn, offers comprehensive solutions and value. It's the focal point of your business and should encapsulate the full power of your solution. This product is typically the main driver of your revenue and should be priced to reflect its transformative value while remaining accessible to the segment of your audience that has been nurtured through the previous tiers.

The High-End Offer: Exclusive, Premium Solutions

At the pinnacle of your value ladder sits the premium offer - a high-ticket product or service that offers deep, personalized, and exclusive value. While not every customer will reach this level, it serves multiple strategic purposes. It caters to those who seek the utmost level of service, offering intensive, personalized attention. Furthermore, it sets a pricing anchor, making your core offering appear more accessible. It's a symbol of the highest transformation you can offer, and can often be used to elevate the perceived value of all your other offerings.

Reflecting on Your Value Ladder

Reflecting on your value ladder is an exercise in strategic thinking. Evaluate each tier and ask how it addresses a unique problem for your audience. Even if a high-tier product isn't your focus, its presence has storytelling and strategic positioning value. It's a process that requires careful consideration of your audience's needs and your business goals, ensuring that each rung on your ladder is not just another offer but a well-thought-out step towards greater value and customer loyalty.

Action Steps

Develop a tiered value offering from free to premium

Tailor each tier to address distinct customer needs

Continually evaluate and adjust your value ladder strategy

1.5 Transformation - What's the positive change we create for our audience?

Crafting a transformational story for our brand involves articulating a journey that offers genuine impact and value to customers, ensuring profitability, and resonating deeply with their aspirations. Our core message must encapsulate who we help, the problems we solve, and how we do it, serving as the north star for all brand communications.

Playbook Template

Pirate Skills Example

Introduction to Transformational Storytelling

As we’ve ventured through the course, we've uncovered the pillars of our brand story and identified the core of who we are serving and why. It’s evident that we have a compelling narrative brewing, and now it's crucial to encapsulate this into a transformational story. This isn't just a marketing spiel; it's the journey we offer to our customers, illustrating the shift from their current state to the desired one, mirroring the leap we wish to make as learners in this playbook.

The Essence of Transformation

Every brand’s journey is a metamorphosis at its heart. We recognize where our customers are and where they aspire to be. This recognition isn't just a theoretical concept, but a living narrative that breathes life into our brand. Like us, seeking to enhance our growth marketing skills, our customers seek a transition – one that we must articulate and promise through our services or products.

Three Pillars of a Transformational Story

A potent transformational story hinges on three key elements: impact, profit, and a succinct core message. Impact is about the positive changes we introduce, reaching beyond mere transactions to genuinely improve our customers' lives. The profit element isn't solely about financial gain; it’s about the value we provide that far exceeds the investment our customers make. This is where ethics shine – offering genuine value, not empty promises.

Impact: More Than Numbers

Diving deeper, impact can be segmented into tangible benefits. For us, it’s twofold: acquiring quality customers and empowering them to master growth marketing. This is the narrative we want to echo through our sales and marketing – one that sets us apart and infuses our brand with meaning and distinction.

Profit: The Promise of ROI

Profitability isn't just about being in the black. It’s about the assurance of value throughout the customer lifecycle, from acquisition to long-term value. We commit to not just attracting customers, but to nurturing profitable relationships, giving our customers a clear roadmap for future scaling. Our story here aligns with delivering tangible business results.

Core Message: Your Brand’s Rallying Cry

The core message is the essence distilled. It’s our rallying cry. For example, Pirate Skills’ goes: "We help founders and marketers grow the impact and profit of their products by mastering the art and science of growth marketing." We can use the following formula as a litmus test for all communication to ensure consistency and clarity in our mission:

We help audience X
solve problem Y
by doing Z

After we have the basic formula right, make a more unique to you.

Bringing It to Life: The Story in Action

Remember, this story is more than a template. It’s about crafting a narrative that resonates, ignites passion, and drives action. If even a company selling shoes can inspire the world, we certainly can craft a narrative that's compelling, because we address real problems for real people. If your story doesn’t yet spark that fire, keep refining. Revisit your audience, solutions, and differentiation until it clicks.

Conclusion: The Magnetism of Your Story

Before proceeding, take a pause. Reflect on this foundational element because every piece of content that follows will build upon the 'why' of your journey. Your impact and profit story should be magnetic, pulling in customers with its promise. As we prepare to continue, let's ensure our brand's story is not just good, but transformative. See you in the next part.

Action Steps

Define the transformative journey our brand offers to customers

Distill our brand's impact and value into a clear, compelling core message

Ensure all communications align with our core message

Action Steps - Why we do this

Step 1 - Why we do this - The story that deeply resonates with our core audience

Audience - Who are we helping?

Define customer personas / ideal customer profiles

Focus on the primary persona before expanding to others

Continuously gather customer feedback to refine your audience

Challenges - What are their key problems and goals?

Conduct audience research to reveal their problems and goals

Ensure that problem and goals are aligned for the story

Validate assumptions about audience challenges

Differentiation - Why are WE the ones to go to?

Clearly define and communicate our unique selling points

Craft a marketing narrative that reflects our relatable expertise

Showcase our commitment to practical, measurable results

Solutions - How are we helping them solve their challenges?

Develop a tiered value offering from free to premium

Tailor each tier to address distinct customer needs

Continually evaluate and adjust your value ladder strategy

Transformation - What's the positive change we create for our audience?

Define the transformative journey our brand offers to customers

Distill our brand's impact and value into a clear, compelling core message

Ensure all communications align with our core message

Further Resources

Dig deeper into storytelling

Books

Online

Tools

Pirate Skills

Content Journey Map

Step 2 - What we talk about - The topics that position us as the go-to problem solvers

GOAL

Our goal is to meticulously select and define the thematic areas of expertise that will establish us as thought leaders and the preferred problem-solvers within our industry. We will analyze which specific topics resonate deeply with our audience, ensuring our content directly addresses their needs and concerns. By reflecting on our best-performing content, we will set a high bar for quality and relevance, which all future content must meet or surpass. This process will amplify our voice and enhance our credibility, solidifying our position as a beacon of insight and solutions in the vast digital landscape.

CONCEPTS & DEFINITIONS

Content Strategy
A content strategy embodies the comprehensive approach to handling online content. Within growth marketing, it's the blueprint that aligns content with growth objectives and audience needs. It involves the ideation, creation, and distribution of content to fuel growth initiatives, foster brand awareness, and drive user engagement through a consistent and impactful message.

Themes
Themes act as the cornerstone topics that represent a brand's domain expertise and market positioning. In growth marketing, these themes are the hooks that capture audience interest, guiding the creation of content clusters that support a brand's growth objectives by reinforcing its authority and relevance in the industry.

Subtopics
Subtopics in growth marketing are the focused areas under each broad theme that directly address the specific needs or pain points of the target audience. They allow marketers to create content that is not only rich in information but also directly relatable and applicable, facilitating a deeper connection with the audience.

Engagement
Engagement in the context of growth marketing content refers to the active interaction between the audience and the content. It's a critical metric that gauges the content's effectiveness in capturing attention, encouraging audience participation, and driving them further along the customer journey—from awareness to consideration, and ultimately, conversion.

Benchmarking
Benchmarking within the realm of content and growth marketing means setting a performance standard for content based on the best-performing pieces, either from one's own repertoire or from admired industry leaders. It is a continuous process of measuring and improving content quality, ensuring that every piece serves the growth marketing goals effectively and efficiently.

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

What we want to be known for

Themes in content strategy act as fundamental pillars, defining broad subject areas that collectively position your brand as the authority in solving specific problems for your audience. They are like the extensive sections of a book, setting the stage for more detailed chapters and articles. By focusing on these themes, we create a resonant narrative framework that attracts and engages the right people, ensuring that our content consistently aligns with our core values and the needs of our audience.

Topics our audience cares about

In the digital content sea, we identify subtopics that hit the mark, diving into specifics that match our broad themes. Content crafted from these nuggets isn't just informative—it's a guide, giving our audience methodologies for success. These subtopics aren't broad strokes; they're the precise tools that bridge their problems to solutions, while positioning our solutions as a key step for them to get there.

Our best content pieces yet

To create impactful content, analyze your most successful pieces and those of other creators you admire. This informs your future creations, ensuring they resonate with and engage your audience. Reflect on your content's performance, keeping only the highest quality that drives engagement and conversions. Use this benchmark to inspire and set standards for new content, ensuring it's insightful and valuable to your audience.

2.1 Themes - What we want to be known for

Themes in content strategy act as fundamental pillars, defining broad subject areas that collectively position your brand as the authority in solving specific problems for your audience. They are like the extensive sections of a book, setting the stage for more detailed chapters and articles. By focusing on these themes, we create a resonant narrative framework that attracts and engages the right people, ensuring that our content consistently aligns with our core values and the needs of our audience.

Playbook Template

Pirate Skills Example

Crafting Our Core Themes: The Pillars of Resonance

In our pursuit of becoming the preeminent solution providers for our clients, we’ve recognized the necessity of crystallizing our core themes. These themes are the backbone of our narrative, the broad strokes that paint the full picture of who we are and what we stand for. Let’s embark on this journey of defining and refining these pillars of resonance.

Identifying Our Grand Narratives

Themes are the grand narratives we weave through our communications. Think of them as the tent poles of a grand marquee under which all our detailed stories and examples reside. They represent the broad categories that encapsulate our expertise and value proposition. As we look within, we ask ourselves: What overarching topics can we own that will firmly position us as the ultimate problem solvers in our field?

A System of Stories

Just like chapters in a book, these themes contain within them a series of interconnected stories and insights. Our system is circular, a hexagon where each side supports and enhances the other, allowing for a cyclical journey of continual improvement and learning. For us, each theme is not just a static idea but a living, evolving narrative that aligns with our audience's journey.

Headlines and Heartstrings

For each theme, we strive for a headline that’s both memorable and meaningful—something that encapsulates the essence in a few choice words. Our current focus on content marketing and storytelling is encapsulated in the phrase "Let Them Be Legends," encouraging us to position our clients as heroes in their own narratives, with us serving as their sage guides.

From Abstract to Action

With our broad themes set, it’s time to transition from the abstract to the actionable. In our next chapter, we'll break these down into tangible, relatable topics. Themes guide us, but it's the specific, relatable topics that engage and convert. They bring immediacy and relevance, transforming lofty ideas into practical solutions for the here and now. Our next step is to dissect these themes, to delve into the specifics that will make our audience sit up and take notice.

Action Steps

Identify and articulate broad themes that reflect your brand's core messages

Develop engaging headlines that capture the essence of each theme

Create a manifesto that communicates these themes in a coherent way

2.2 Topics - Topics our audience cares about

In the digital content sea, we identify subtopics that hit the mark, diving into specifics that match our broad themes. Content crafted from these nuggets isn't just informative—it's a guide, giving our audience methodologies for success. These subtopics aren't broad strokes; they're the precise tools that bridge their problems to solutions, while positioning our solutions as a key step for them to get there.

Playbook Template

Pirate Skills Example

Identifying Our Subtopics

When charting our course, we realize that each broad theme houses a wealth of specific subtopics that our audience yearns to understand. These subtopics are the lifeblood of our content strategy—they're what our community digs for in their daily grind. We're not just scratching the surface; we're mining deep into the bedrock of their interests. Every chapter we write, every piece of advice we share, stems from these subtopics. They are meticulously selected not only for relevance but for their potential to engage and resonate. We're talking granular detail—whether it's the intricacies of A/B testing in ad campaigns or the psychology behind user engagement on social media. By ensuring these subtopics speak directly to our community’s needs, we reinforce our position as their compass in the vast ocean of growth marketing.

Concrete Content Creation

Our subtopics become the foundation upon which we build our content pillars. They are not just markers on a map, but the very paths we pave in the journey of content creation. Each piece of content is a step forward, an exploration into the heart of our chosen topics. We craft our content to reflect not only our understanding but our innovative approach to these subjects, providing not just information, but a methodology. As we expand on these subtopics, they evolve into comprehensive guides, detailed case studies, and in-depth analyses that equip our community with the knowledge to excel. It's about showing them not just what's on the horizon but providing the wind to get there—through insightful articles, engaging videos, and interactive workshops that transform raw data into golden strategies.

Example from Pirate Skills

Our theme "Let Them Be Legends" isn't just about telling stories; it's about creating them. Within this banner, we delve into topics such as identifying and researching target groups—going beyond demographics to tap into psychographics, uncovering what truly motivates and drives our audience. We explore storytelling frameworks, not just theoretically, but by applying them to real-world scenarios, showing how a well-crafted narrative can captivate and convert. And when it comes to content packaging, we dissect the strategies that make content not just consumable but memorable. By sharing these focused insights, we transform Pirate Skills into a beacon of knowledge, guiding marketers and founders through the treacherous waters of content marketing and storytelling, toward the legendary status they seek.

Scope and Focus

Deciding on our scope is a strategic maneuver akin to plotting our position with a sextant and stars. The digital landscape tempts us with its expanse, but we find strength in the precision of our focus. A sniper’s aim in content is about depth, not breadth. We begin with the challenges and needs of our niche audience and speak directly to those, building a bridge with our targeted solutions. Such a focused start doesn't limit us; it defines us. It's the anchor that holds us steady as we expand our reach. Over time, we can adjust our scope, but always with an eye on our core community—the founders and marketers looking to us for guidance. By beginning with a narrowed focus, we ensure every piece of content is a cannon shot that hits its mark, not a scattered volley lost in the vastness of the internet.

Content Development Techniques

In our arsenal, we have tools like the exploration of book tables of contents and SEO-optimized website structures to unearth topics that resonate with our audience. We summarize, refine, and develop these findings into our own treasure map of themes and topics. With our list of topics hoisted, we're prepared to sail into the next chapter—defining and creating content that not only speaks to these themes but serves as a compass pointing our audience towards solutions, establishing Pirate Skills as the navigator of choice in the ocean of growth marketing.

Action Steps

Pinpoint subtopics that align with specific challenges of our audience

Make sure you have topics that our audience wants but also needs

Mix evergreen topics with currently trendy topics

2.3 Content - Our best content pieces yet

To create impactful content, analyze your most successful pieces and those of other creators you admire. This informs your future creations, ensuring they resonate with and engage your audience. Reflect on your content's performance, keeping only the highest quality that drives engagement and conversions. Use this benchmark to inspire and set standards for new content, ensuring it's insightful and valuable to your audience.

Playbook Template

Pirate Skills Example

Inspiration and Benchmarking

When we first dive into creating standout content, we sometimes hit a snag. What should we talk about? That’s when we look back at our most successful pieces and those we admire from others. We take our own work that resonates with our identity and lay it out like a treasure map of what has worked. But here’s the kicker – in the early stages, if we don’t have enough 'Aha!' content of our own, we should actively seek inspiration from other creators who set the bar high. We aim to produce content that is as good as – if not better than – these benchmarks. This approach doesn't just provide a model to emulate; it ensures we're aligning with proven interest and engagement. If it’s gold for them, it’s potentially gold for us too.

Learning from Our Own Success

We've been there – publishing content with high hopes, only to watch it disappear into the digital abyss without a trace. It's why we need to turn our ship towards proven waters. Our own past content successes are invaluable. These pieces are not just random hits; they’re the culmination of understanding our audience and delivering what they crave. We use them as guiding stars for future creations. Each liked comment or share is a nod from our audience, a signal that we’re on the right course. So we gather these gems and use them to set a new standard for what we produce moving forward.

A Pirate's Tale of Content Craft

Let’s talk about the practicality of this strategy – how I, as a founder, implemented this approach. Whether it was a website on Orchid Care or an app to improve your Counter-Strike skills, the principle was the same: gather the best information available and repurpose it into something more engaging, more accessible, more us. This process isn’t just about rehashing old tales; it’s about adding our own voice to the narrative. We transform the raw information into content that’s not just useful, but truly resonates with our audience. By doing this, we set a precedent: Our content is not just seen but remembered and acted upon.

Showcasing Our Finest Content

Now, let’s get real – it’s time to display our finest work. We use our content library as a gallery of excellence. From lead magnets to comprehensive dashboards, we showcase content that exemplifies our expertise and commitment to quality. It's not about showing off; it's about setting a clear, high benchmark for anyone who joins our team. New hires or freelancers should be able to dip into this pool of content and understand the standard they need to meet – and aim to exceed. It's a matter of pride and practicality; we curate our best to inspire the best in others.

The Proof is in the Performance

In the end, only the best content pieces deserve a spot on our main deck. We measure their worth by the reach, engagement, leads, sales, and revenue they generate. The underperformers? They serve as learning experiences – important, but not front-row material. This curated selection becomes our content arsenal, ready to be deployed in ad campaigns, influencer collaborations, and partnerships. Each piece is a proven soldier in the battle for attention and conversion, having demonstrated its valor in the digital realm.

A Preview of the Next Voyage

What we've covered so far is just the beginning. We've discussed what to talk about and showcased examples of content that hit the mark. But remember, this is about the 'what'. The 'how', the formats and packaging, is a story for another day – our next lesson, to be precise. For now, we urge you to fill your sails with the wind of inspiration, chart your course with your selected themes, and prepare to embark on the journey of modern content creation that doesn't just speak to your audience but captivates them across platforms and mediums. Until then, stay curious and creative.

Action Steps

Review and list your top-performing content pieces

Identify and study admired content from other creators

Establish a quality benchmark for new content based on past successes

Action Steps - What we talk about

Step 2 - What we talk about - The topics that position us as the go-to problem solvers

Themes - What we want to be known for

Identify and articulate broad themes that reflect your brand's core messages

Develop engaging headlines that capture the essence of each theme

Create a manifesto that communicates these themes in a coherent way

Topics - Topics our audience cares about

Pinpoint subtopics that align with specific challenges of our audience

Make sure you have topics that our audience wants but also needs

Mix evergreen topics with currently trendy topics

Content - Our best content pieces yet

Review and list your top-performing content pieces

Identify and study admired content from other creators

Establish a quality benchmark for new content based on past successes

Further Resources

Dig deeper into finding the right topics

Books

Online

Tools

Pirate Skills

Interactive Lead Magnets

Step 3 - How we talk about it - Packaging and delivering our message in style

GOAL

Our goal is to navigate prospects from initial awareness to purchase. At ToFu, we engage with light content on key platforms for visibility. Moving to MoFu, we deepen engagement through educational materials and lead magnets. At BoFu, we convert leads into customers by aligning value-focused content with strategic sales pitches across all channels. This approach ensures a seamless transition through the funnel, culminating in sales and sustained customer relationships.

CONCEPTS & DEFINITIONS

ToFu (Top of Funnel)

This term refers to the initial phase in the customer acquisition journey, where the focus is on creating awareness among a broad audience. The content here is light, designed to grab attention and spark interest, often through social media posts, blog entries, and videos that highlight the brand's presence without heavy sales pressure.

MoFu (Middle of Funnel)

In growth marketing, this stage targets individuals who have shown some interest. The content becomes more informative, seeking to educate and provide solutions, typically through more detailed content like case studies, e-books, and lead magnets which serve to gather prospect information and qualify their interest.

BoFu (Bottom of Funnel)

At this crucial conversion stage, the content is tailored to nudge prospects into becoming customers. It’s direct, with a clear call to action, and often includes product demonstrations, customer testimonials, and personalized offers, aiming to close the deal.

Lead Magnets

These are incentives offered to potential customers in exchange for their contact details. In the realm of content marketing, lead magnets can range from free trials to in-depth guides, serving as a trade-off for valuable customer data.

Pitch Ratio

This concept involves striking the right balance between educational content and sales pitches. It's a strategic approach that ensures that while value is provided, there's also a clear pathway to purchasing.

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

ToFu - Formats and channels for awareness

Our content strategy focuses on impactful packaging, creating stage-specific content (light for TOFU, informative for MOFU, and conversion-focused for BOFU), selecting channels (YouTube for long-term impact and LinkedIn for immediate engagement) tailored to content type, and maintaining flexibility to adapt to the digital marketing evolution, ensuring our approach is always ahead of the game.

MoFu- Formats and channels for consideration

In the marketing funnel's middle, we focus on delivering valuable content that educates and engages potential customers actively seeking solutions. Our strategy includes creating lead magnets, events, and interactive content like webinars to exchange valuable insights for contact information, thus deepening customer engagement. We emphasize consistent messaging across platforms. Strategic teasers and regular content updates on social media drive traffic to our website, solidifying the middle of the funnel engagement.

BoFu- Formats and channels for conversion

At the bottom of the funnel (BoFu), the goal is to convert prospects into customers by balancing valuable content with effective sales pitches. This involves crafting content that sets the stage for the product, maintaining a strategic pitch ratio, and ensuring alignment across all channels to reinforce the narrative and drive sales. Subtle pitches on social media are also crucial, as they remind the audience of available offers. Consistency in messaging and a seamless experience are key to closing the loop and solidifying the customer relationship.

3.1 ToFu - Formats and channels for awareness

Our content strategy focuses on impactful packaging, creating stage-specific content (light for TOFU, informative for MOFU, and conversion-focused for BOFU), selecting channels (YouTube for long-term impact and LinkedIn for immediate engagement) tailored to content type, and maintaining flexibility to adapt to the digital marketing evolution, ensuring our approach is always ahead of the game.

Playbook Template

Pirate Skills Example

Introduction to Impactful Content Packaging

As we hone our growth marketing skills, we recognize that content is the lifeblood of our marketing strategy. But it's not just about the substance of our ideas—it's about the way we present them. In an era where user experience can make or break a brand, we take inspiration from masters of packaging like Apple. Their attention to detail transforms even the unboxing of a product into an event. For us, this means that the cinematic quality we infuse into our YouTube videos or the crispness of our Instagram stories is as crucial as the content itself. Our task is clear: match our high-quality content with equally impressive packaging to captivate our audience across all stages of the marketing funnel.

Tailoring Content Across the Funnel

Recognizing that each stage of the marketing funnel has unique content needs, we fine-tune our approach accordingly. For TOFU, we keep it light and engaging, focusing on spreading awareness through bite-sized, shareable content suited for social media virality. Moving to MOFU, we know our audience is more invested—so we deepen the conversation with webinars and informative newsletters that showcase our expertise and nurture their interest. By the time they reach BOFU, they’re considering a commitment, and we meet them with detailed comparisons and demos that make the case for why our services trump the rest. Our strategy is to use big channels like LinkedIn for B2B interactions and YouTube for a mix of quick-hitting shorts and longer, trend-based content to build a brand presence that lasts.

Channel Strategy for Maximized Reach

Channel choice is pivotal. YouTube stands as a cornerstone for long-term brand impact, a channel where our content, like a stone thrown into a lake, creates ripples that spread and persist over time. Meanwhile, LinkedIn is our battleground for immediate engagement, where we strike conversations and build relationships. Our philosophy is simple yet dynamic: craft content that's tailor-made for each platform. YouTube's 60-second shorts resonate with its algorithm, while LinkedIn thrives with succinct, impactful posts that drive conversations and conversions.

Adapting to the Evolution of Content

What's current now might be outdated tomorrow. As platforms evolve, so must our content strategy. The shorts that are a hit today on YouTube might lose their edge as new formats emerge. We stay agile, keeping our ear to the ground and our content adaptive. Experimentation is not just encouraged—it's a necessity. This ensures that as the tides of platform algorithms shift, our content continues to sail smoothly toward our goals of growth and engagement.

Summary: Crafting a Dynamic Content Strategy

In sum, our journey through "Content & Story" involves:

Embracing the importance of packaging, making sure that our content is not only valuable but also presented with a polished aesthetic that resonates with our audience.

Developing tailored content for each stage of the funnel—light and engaging for TOFU, detailed and informative for MOFU, and conversion-driven for BOFU.

Strategically choosing channels like YouTube for lasting brand value and LinkedIn for immediate engagement, with content crafted to suit each platform's unique strengths.

Remaining flexible and experimental as we navigate the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing, ensuring our content strategy evolves to stay ahead of the curve.

This is how we package our content for impact—by combining substance with style, tailoring our approach to both the funnel stages and the channels, and staying adaptable in the face of change. With this mindset, we are not just marketers; we are storytellers, educators, and pioneers in the art of growth marketing.

Action Steps

Develop content specific to each funnel stag

Align content types with channel strengths

Adapt strategies to stay current with digital trends

3.2 MoFu- Formats and channels for consideration

In the marketing funnel's middle, we focus on delivering valuable content that educates and engages potential customers actively seeking solutions. Our strategy includes creating lead magnets, events, and interactive content like webinars to exchange valuable insights for contact information, thus deepening customer engagement. We emphasize consistent messaging across platforms. Strategic teasers and regular content updates on social media drive traffic to our website, solidifying the middle of the funnel engagement.

Playbook Template

Pirate Skills Example

Delving into Middle of the Funnel Content Formats

As we dive into the depths of our marketing funnel, we recognize the pivotal role that middle-of-the-funnel content plays. This is where our potential customers are no longer bystanders; they are actively seeking solutions, and it's our job to guide them. We must craft content that educates them about the industry and clearly showcases how our product is the beacon leading from problem to resolution. Our arsenal includes various tools: from downloadable checklists and white papers to interactive experiences like events and webinars. Our objective is simple: exchange value for contact information and deepen the engagement.

Crafting Effective Middle of the Funnel Touchpoints

For us, lead magnets are more than just bait; they're a promise of value that entices users to entrust us with their contact details. We place a strong emphasis on events to display our expertise and build our community. Every live stream, webinar, e-book, guide, and survey we produce is designed to deliver value and encourage further interaction with our brand. We're especially fond of surveys and quizzes – they're not only popular but also an excellent way to engage our audience, even if the payoff isn't immediate.

Pirate Skills’ Approach to Middle-of-the-Funnel Engagement

In our own middle-of-the-funnel strategy, we've taken a detailed approach by hosting monthly online Roundtables, streamed live and then polished for YouTube to keep our content fresh and focused. We strive to cut through the noise, delivering content that calls for a deeper commitment than mere awareness. Our strategy extends to leveraging tools like LinkedIn events and understanding the power of repurposing content for consistent messaging across various platforms.

When it comes to LinkedIn and Instagram, our approach revolves around repurposing our YouTube content to create engaging posts and videos. We use bio links strategically to funnel traffic back to our website. Teasers about upcoming round tables or event promotions are key tactics in shifting our social media audience further down the funnel. Our website and community are the anchors of this strategy, and we’re committed to regularly refreshing our content to keep our audience engaged and coming back for more.

Action Steps

Create educational content that positions our product as a solution

Use lead magnets and events to collect contact details

Repurpose content across platforms for consistent engagement

3.3 BoFu- Formats and channels for conversion

At the bottom of the funnel (BoFu), the goal is to convert prospects into customers by balancing valuable content with effective sales pitches. This involves crafting content that sets the stage for the product, maintaining a strategic pitch ratio, and ensuring alignment across all channels to reinforce the narrative and drive sales. Subtle pitches on social media are also crucial, as they remind the audience of available offers. Consistency in messaging and a seamless experience are key to closing the loop and solidifying the customer relationship.

Playbook Template

Pirate Skills Example

Understanding BoFu’s Role in Our Journey
At the bottom of the funnel (BoFu), we've done the heavy lifting: raised awareness, built trust, and nurtured commitment. Now, it's time to turn our prospects into paying customers. It’s essential to remember that while our content marketing and storytelling are powerful tools for engagement, they must ultimately drive sales. If our content doesn’t lead to conversion, it’s a missed opportunity. The end goal is to grow both the impact and profit of our business.

The Balance Between Value and Conversion
We’ve seen how easy it is to get lost in the content creation cycle, providing massive value without ever making the ask. Our content shouldn’t overshadow our product; it should set the stage for it. Our rule of thumb is that out of every 3 to 5 posts, at least one should be a pitch – varying from soft to direct, and from low-tier offers to premium products. This ratio helps maintain the balance between offering value and driving sales.

The BoFu Content Philosophy
We craft our content with the intention to convert. Whether we're dealing with automated B2C e-commerce flows or B2B SaaS models, our storytelling is tailored to lead prospects to that pivotal decision-making moment. It’s about aligning our sales and marketing efforts to ensure we speak the same language and deliver a unified message across all platforms.

Social Media: A Vehicle for Subtle Pitches
Platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram are primary engines for mid-funnel engagement. However, they also play a crucial role at the bottom of the funnel. Here, we strategically intersperse product pitches to ensure our audience is aware that while we provide immense value, we also have offers that can further help them. It's about setting expectations and avoiding any surprises down the line, which can adversely affect conversion rates.

Alignment Across All Channels
Every piece of content, every interaction, and every landing page is a chance to reinforce our story and push towards the sale. We strive for coherence across all channels, ensuring that our story, our value proposition, and our call to action are aligned and effectively communicated at every step of the customer journey.

Closing the Loop
In conclusion, our BoFu strategy is not just about making the sale; it's about reinforcing the relationships we've built and providing a clear, actionable path for our prospects to become customers. We focus on creating a seamless experience that leverages the trust and interest we've developed, guiding our prospects towards making a decision that’s beneficial for both them and us.

Next Steps: Actionable Templates
We’ve walked the talk, now it’s time for action. The next step is to create our core content formats tailored to each channel. As we’ve learned, it’s not about reinventing the wheel for every platform; it’s about smart repurposing and ensuring our message hits home. We’ll take our story and crystallize it into powerful BoFu content that compels, converts, and ultimately, closes the deal.

Action Steps

Align sales and content messages across all platforms

Maintain a content-to-pitch ratio of 3:1

Ensure a seamless transition from content to purchase

Action Steps - How we talk about it

Step 3 - How we talk about it - Packaging and delivering our message in style

ToFu - Formats and channels for awareness

Develop content specific to each funnel stag

Align content types with channel strengths

Adapt strategies to stay current with digital trends

MoFu- Formats and channels for consideration

Create educational content that positions our product as a solution

Use lead magnets and events to collect contact details

Repurpose content across platforms for consistent engagement

BoFu- Formats and channels for conversion

Align sales and content messages across all platforms

Maintain a content-to-pitch ratio of 3:1

Ensure a seamless transition from content to purchase

Further Resources

Dig deeper into formatting your message right

Books

Online

Tools

Canva - Image and video editing

Pirate Skills

Growth Tool Stack

Step 4 - When we talk about it - Let's make our audience go AARRR every single month

GOAL

Let’s refine our content strategy, prioritizing consistency and diversity. We'll publish a mix of major, medium, and small content pieces monthly, ensuring our message resonates across platforms and contributes to a larger narrative. The content calendar will guide us, balancing planned initiatives with the agility to respond to emerging trends, aiming for a presence that's both steady and exciting. This approach is about crafting a voice that’s not just regular but also awaited, positioning us to spark engagement and drive our growth marketing mission.

CONCEPTS & DEFINITIONS

Content Calendar

This is the publishing schedule that ensures the strategic deployment of content assets across different channels and times. It is a critical tool for growth marketers to ensure that content supports business peaks, product launches, and other key events, while also providing the flexibility to react to unexpected opportunities or trending topics.

Engagement

The level of interaction and participation the audience has with the content. In growth marketing, engagement is a key indicator of content effectiveness, as it can lead to improved customer insights, higher retention rates, and advocacy. Effective engagement strategies contribute directly to the growth of the business by fostering a loyal community and customer base.

Zeitgeist

Incorporating the general mood or trend into content strategy. Growth marketers must be attuned to the zeitgeist to ensure the content resonates on a cultural level, thus enhancing relevance and connection with the audience, which can accelerate the spread of messaging and aid in organic growth.

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

Monthly Formats - Our content formats we publish every month

Monthly formats focus on a consistent content structure: For example, two major pieces, four medium efforts, and six small but impactful items. It emphasizes diversity in content and synchronizing across platforms, with the big pieces being part of a broader narrative. Medium efforts act as narrative chapters and small formats maintain engagement. Flexibility is key, with at least three posts weekly of varying depth.

Content Calendar - Our regular content schedule for the next 4 weeks

Our content calendar is a blend of structure and flexibility, allowing us to consistently deliver valuable content while also staying agile enough to capitalize on the zeitgeist. We’re setting a rhythm that balances our major initiatives with the steady pulse of regular engagement, ensuring our voice is not only heard but eagerly anticipated. Next up, we'll wrap this all with a summary in our final lesson, so you’re ready to set the content seas alight.

4.1 Monthly Formats - Our content formats we publish every month

Monthly formats focus on a consistent content structure: For example two major pieces, four medium efforts, and six small but impactful items. It emphasizes diversity in content and synchronizing across platforms, with the big pieces being part of a broader narrative. Medium efforts act as narrative chapters and small formats maintain engagement. Flexibility is key, with at least three posts weekly of varying depth.

Playbook Template

Pirate Skills Example

Preface to Monthly Rhythms

As we navigate through the art of impactful content creation, we recognize the significance of a solid structure—our monthly rhythm. It's not about reinventing the wheel every thirty days; it's about having a steadfast framework to articulate our expertise and solve our audience's pain points consistently. This month, let's anchor our narrative around storytelling, dedicating 80 percent of our efforts to unravel this theme. It's not just about selecting a topic; it's about choosing a key challenge that resonates deeply with our audience and addressing it head-on with our content. By centering our focus, we give our storytelling precision and clarity.

Crafting Our Content Mix

Committing to a content mix is the cornerstone of our strategy. At Pirate Skills, we aim for twelve formats per month, representing a blend of extensive, medium, and smaller efforts. For us, diversity in content creation is non-negotiable. We allocate our resources to produce two big, four medium, and six small pieces of content, ensuring we strike the right balance between depth and engagement. The larger pieces are our opportunity to dive deep, while the smaller ones allow us to stay nimble, ensuring we maintain a steady cadence of interaction with our audience.

The Big Content Pieces

When it comes to our heavy-hitters, we're looking at integrating major initiatives—like a pivotal event or an indispensable lead magnet—into our monthly schedule. Our strategy is to build these substantial pieces not in isolation, but as part of a larger ecosystem where each content format supports the others. For instance, our lead magnet isn't just a standalone offering; it's a gateway to a broader narrative that ties back to our central theme of the month. It's about coherence and creating a narrative that carries our audience along a journey with us.

Medium Effort Formats

Our medium-sized content pieces—typically our video content and newsletters—are crafted to complement the larger initiatives. Each video or written piece is a chapter in the broader narrative, focusing on aspects like tool sets needed for webinar success or strategies to increase webinar attendees. These pieces serve multiple functions, acting as standalone value offerings while also serving as stepping stones towards the more substantial lead magnets and events.

Embracing the Small Yet Mighty

Even the smallest formats play a significant role in our content ecosystem. These are often our most agile and spontaneous creations—quick, insightful videos, social media posts, or short articles. They may require less time, but their impact is not to be underestimated. Their brevity and frequency keep our audience engaged, providing them with regular touchpoints to our brand and narrative.

Synchronizing Formats and Efforts

Our formats are interconnected, not siloed. The content we develop for one platform serves dual purposes, fortifying our overall content strategy. A detailed video doubles as a newsletter topic; a webinar checklist becomes the highlight of an email campaign. This interconnectivity maximizes the reach and utility of each piece, reducing redundancy and enhancing coherence.

Content Defaults

This is our cheat sheet, the holy grail for when we hit a creative block. What to publish? The list says it all—roundtable live streams, practical guides, tool stacks (because yes, people adore tools), and newsletters that run the gamut from event-related to evergreen. Our content defaults are a mix of predictability and novelty. It’s where we pitch the event of the month and also weave in zeitgeist-relevant content because, let’s face it, relevance rules.

Content Versatility

Let’s get real—while we aim for consistency, we also embrace flexibility. Not every month will see the same output. The key is to prioritize the big rocks, like our non-negotiable events. If we nail the major initiatives, everything else—be it four or six YouTube videos—falls into place. Adaptability is king. Got a tight schedule? Then commit to that one indispensable post per month. Not into videos? Pen an article. Our recommendation? Aim for at least three posts per week, encompassing something significant monthly, something medium weekly, and a quick bite weekly.

Preparing for Action

All these insights steer us toward one destination: the content calendar, where these frameworks transform into actionable plans. Stay tuned for our next video, where we’ll dive into setting up that default content calendar—a map for your monthly content voyage.

Action Steps

Plan for a set number of big, medium, and small content formats monthly

Integrate all content around a central monthly theme

Adjust content frequency and type based on resources and objectives

4.2 Content Calendar - Our regular content schedule for the next 4 weeks

Our content calendar is a blend of structure and flexibility, allowing us to consistently deliver valuable content while also staying agile enough to capitalize on the zeitgeist. We’re setting a rhythm that balances our major initiatives with the steady pulse of regular engagement, ensuring our voice is not only heard but eagerly anticipated. Next up, we'll wrap this all with a summary in our final lesson, so you’re ready to set the content seas alight.

Playbook Template

Pirate Skills Example

Setting Up Our Content Calendar

As we set sail for the next four weeks, our content calendar is our map to treasure. It’s about taking the monthly formats and charting them into a workable plan. This isn't just about checking tasks off our list; it's about crafting a journey that weaves through our big events or lead magnets, with smaller engagements along the way. We need to give our content space to breathe, spreading our posts throughout the week to keep our audience hooked and the engagement flowing. The algorithm gods, like those on LinkedIn, Instagram or Youtube, smile upon those who don’t bombard the feed, so we’ll aim for a steady, rhythmic pace with our content rollout.

Pirate Skills' Weekly Rundown

Here’s how we at Pirate Skills tackle the week: Monday kicks off with a concise, practical 60-second tip. Midweek, we dive into a newsletter that delivers value, like a practical how-to or a current zeitgeist topic. Our social media manager has the freedom to tap into the pulse of the moment, aligning with seasons or trends, ensuring at least one post a week is dedicated to our monthly theme. This mix allows 60% of our content to focus on our primary challenge, while the remaining 40% can be free-spirited, keeping our content lively and diverse.

Our big events and lead magnets take the spotlight in the third week. We start building anticipation a week earlier, pitching the upcoming roundtable and following it up with related content. The event itself is our flagship, supported by timely reminders and culminating in a "Best of the Past" post-event wrap-up. This approach isn't just about the events; it's about creating a coherent narrative that connects each piece of content to the next, enhancing the impact and retaining interest.

Content Flexibility and Focus

Yes, we can mix things up, but having a structured framework maximizes our efforts. Instead of scrambling for daily content, we focus on creating pieces that resonate with our brand's story and expertise. By planning ahead, we can ensure that our content is both high-quality and strategic, positioned perfectly for different stages of the funnel. This method greatly increases the odds that our content will not just hit the mark, but also make a lasting impression.

Action Steps

Set up a content calendar with sane defaults

Spice up the default content plan with what is in the current zeitgeist

Review what content has work on a weekly basis and adjust

Action Steps - When we talk about it

Step 4 - When we talk about it - Let's make our audience go AARRR every single month

Monthly Formats - Our content formats we publish every month

Plan for a set number of big, medium, and small content formats monthly

Integrate all content around a central monthly theme

Adjust content frequency and type based on resources and objectives

Content Calendar - Our regular content schedule for the next 4 weeks

Set up a content calendar with sane defaults

Spice up the default content plan with what is in the current zeitgeist

Review what content has work on a weekly basis and adjust

Further Resources

Dig deeper into storytelling

Books

Online

Content Marketing Institute Podcast

Tools

Pirate Skills

Evil Content Plan

Summary - Creating resonating content

Transforming Your Brand into the Ultimate Problem Solver

Guiding Our Narrative: Your Strategy and Insight

In the Content & Story Playbook, we've mastered the art of powerful storytelling and meaningful communication. We've honed our understanding of our core audience, from identifying our ideal customer to realizing the impact of a compelling story. Armed with a clear value proposition and our unique strengths on display, we set ourselves apart, propelling our content strategy forward.

Engaging Effectively: Your Tools of Influence

Our journey of growth is marked by defining our brand's voice and delving into topics that resonate with our audience. We've charged our arsenal with insights from our best content, poised to capture attention at just the right moment.

Crafting Our Delivery: Your Channels and Formats

The way we package and convey our message—choosing the right style, channels, and formats—is key to sailing smoothly through the digital landscape. It ensures we tap into trending conversations and effectively guide potential customers from initial awareness to final purchase, moving us ever closer to our goals of conversion and loyalty.

Timing Our Efforts: Your Team and Cadence

The strategic timing of our content—aligning our monthly and weekly publishing with our marketing rhythm—orchestrates our collaborative efforts. A well-planned content calendar acts as a drumbeat, synchronizing our team's activities and ensuring our content delivery resonates with our audience's behaviors and preferences.

Your Call to Action: Embark with Purpose

With our strategy mapped out and our objectives in clear view, it's time to embark with confidence. The realm of content and storytelling is expansive, but armed with the Pirate Skills Playbook, we're fully equipped to navigate towards our definition of success.

Our next steps are as transparent as crystal waters:

Refine our Strategy: Continuously refine our understanding of our audience to ensure our content remains in perfect alignment with our customer persona and ICP.

Prepare our Content: Evaluate our best content and use those insights to craft new pieces that are primed to resonate across our communication channels.

Optimize our Channels: Examine our content formats and tailor them to each phase of the customer journey—awareness, consideration, and decision.

Plan our Journey: Outline our content calendar for the coming months, maintaining the flexibility to adapt to emerging trends and seasonal changes.

Unite our Team: Ensure every member is aligned with our content strategy, understanding that each role is crucial for its success.

Now is the time to steer our efforts, catch the digital opportunities that arise, and ensure that every piece of content contributes to our journey. Let’s raise our standards, refine our craft, and get ready to make waves with content that resonates.

Cheers,

Ben

Captain of Pirate Skills

Content & Story - English

Overview - Crafting a resonating story and publishing great content

Why we need a great story and content

How to make the most of this Playbook

Overview with an example

Step 1 - Why we do this - The story that deeply resonates with our core audience

1.1 Audience - Who are we helping?

1.2 Challenges - What are their key problems and goals?

1.3 Differentiation - Why are WE the ones to go to?

1.4 Solutions - How are we helping them solve their challenges?

1.5 Transformation - What's the positive change we create for our audience?

Action Steps - Why we do this

Further Resources

Step 2 - What we talk about - The topics that position us as the go-to problem solvers

2.1 Themes - What we want to be known for

2.2 Topics - Topics our audience cares about

2.3 Content - Our best content pieces yet

Action Steps - What we talk about

Further Resources

Step 3 - How we talk about it - Packaging and delivering our message in style

3.1 ToFu - Formats and channels for awareness

3.2 MoFu- Formats and channels for consideration

3.3 BoFu- Formats and channels for conversion

Action Steps - How we talk about it

Further Resources

Step 4 - When we talk about it - Let's make our audience go AARRR every single month

4.1 Monthly Formats - Our content formats we publish every month

4.2 Content Calendar - Our regular content schedule for the next 4 weeks

Action Steps - When we talk about it

Further Resources

Summary - Creating resonating content

Transforming Your Brand into the Ultimate Problem Solver