How the Experts Think About Successful Online Content

When I began freelancing four years ago, all I knew was that I was good at proofreading and editing.

I knew nothing about:

• Taxes
• Accounting
• Hiring contractors
• Marketing and sales
• And so much more…….

And while I’ve learned a ton, I still have lots of room to grow.

Learning from the Experts

So I started a podcast to learn from the experts.

The upshot for you is this: instead of just figuring things out on my own, I’m recording and publishing my conversations so you can learn along with me.

One question I ask all of my guests is, “What makes a piece of content successful?”

One question I ask all of my guests is, “What makes a piece of content successful?”

Here’s what they’ve told me so far.

Success ≠ Sales

First and foremost, success in content marketing is very seldom, if ever, directly tied to sales numbers.

Now obviously in a business setting, the ultimate goal is generating revenue. But the link between your social media posts and your sales numbers is not so cut and dry.

Despite what LinkedIn influencers say, the link between content and revenue is nuanced.

You’ve no doubt seen this type of post (especially on sites like LinkedIn): “I created content on LinkedIn every day for nine months, and now I have a multimillion-dollar business empire!” But the reality is those people (assuming they are telling the truth) are outliers.

The regular entrepreneurs and business owners I talk to on my show say the link between content and revenue is much more nuanced. Most don’t even attempt to tie content marketing directly to sales data.

So if the success of your content isn’t about money, what is it about?

Success = Engagement

Many of my guests’ number one metric for success is engagement.

As they roll out content, they are looking at things like:

• Pageviews and impressions
• Profile views
• Comments
• Likes

You can use these metrics as data points to ask yourself why certain pieces of content had good engagement while others did not.

There is a caveat here: none of these things is technically the goal. If all you’re going for is likes, then it becomes a vanity metric. Sure, it makes you feel good, but it doesn’t go anywhere that helps your business.

But you can use these metrics as data points to ask yourself why certain pieces of content had good engagement while others did not and find ways to double down on what worked.

Success = Providing Value

Just focusing on engagement isn’t enough. Literally every podcast guest I’ve spoken with views a successful piece of content as one that provides value to the reader.

Some guests go so far as to prioritize creating valuable content that doesn’t explicitly promote their businesses.

Whatever approach you take with your content, focus on providing value to your readership.

Others establish themselves as subject matter experts by educating their readers about their niche.

Still others focus on a problem-solution-resolution approach to content by providing tangible solutions to their audience’s pain points.

The lesson? Whatever approach you take with your content, focus on providing value to your readership.

Success = Authenticity

There’s no getting around the fact that running a business involves crunching the numbers. But there should always be a personal element to your writing.

Many of the thought leaders I’ve interviewed have mentioned authenticity as a key indicator of successful content.

Some feel a sense of enjoyment and even fulfillment when they create.

Your story and your voice are what differentiate your business.

Others focus on sharing stories to allow their audience to get to know them better.

But even the ones who lean more on business topics when writing still do their due diligence to ensure what they post, publish, or email out is authentically theirs. No cut-and-paste AI. They write, they edit, and then they edit and write some more.

The takeaway here is simple: don’t be afraid to be yourself. Your story and your voice are what differentiate your business.

Wrapping Up

It’s only natural to think about the ROI of your content in terms of revenue. And it’s true that your blog, newsletter, and social posts can affect your bottom line.

But this is far from the only approach, and I would argue for most of us there are better metrics to track.

So if you want to measure the success of your content, do what the experts do:

• Focus on engagement (but not too much)
• Provide value
• Be authentic

The best part? If you do these things, the revenue might just take care of itself.