I was recently asked if my law school background helped me as an entrepreneur.  My thoughts were, Yes, totally, but I firmly believe every experience helps me as an entrepreneur. 

For example:  being a waitress taught me how to hustle and smile when dealing with rude customers…working in retail taught me how to dress for the job you want, not the job you have (and properly fold a t-shirt)…volunteering for a janitorial union in LA taught me to treat everyone with utmost respect, even if they're cleaning toilets…law school taught me to think in logical, non-emotional terms to find an answer.

Every experience shaped my view of the world and I'm incredibly thankful.

Because of this, I leverage my experiences to create helpful content for others.  Is this hard?  Do I feel like I run out of things to write?  Do I feel lost for words?  Yes.  Yes.  Yes.

But here’s a list of questions you can use to create helpful content help attract more customers…

• Can I create a step-by-step How-To blog post to simplify a complex question?
  • Tutorial posts are often the most popular posts because of the value they provide.  They also build trust with prospective customers, so the more you do, the more sales you can build over time.
• What are my ideal client’s commonly asked questions related to my business?
  • Use your blog content to answer commonly asked questions.  I find this helpful because instead of individually responding to questions I’m asked, I can point people to a detailed blog post that is much more helpful than a short email…and the blog post is also searchable online, whereas an email is not.
• What is my ideal client searching for on Google?
  • If you want your business to be discovered in an organic web search, you need to write searchable content.  Is your client searching for how to hook a 30-pound fish?  How to create the perfect wedding day timeline?  How to bake gluten free oatmeal cookies?  Write about it!

• What am I asked about the most in my business?
  • For over a decade, I was asked most frequently about how I light my subjects when it came to photography.  I received hundreds of emails a month.  I started creating content for blog, and soon enough grew an audience of people hungry to learn more about my techniques and invest in my educational opportunities.
• What is a situation that empowered me to become the person I am today?
  • These types of personal blog posts help personalize your business and allows readers get to know you as a person, as well as an entrepreneur.
• What is my specialty and how do I do it differently than others?
  • These types of posts are powerful because they’re educational, as well as a point of differentiation for your business.  Take time to explain what makes your business different because uniqueness provides value and builds trust over time.
• What is something I wanted to know early in my business, but couldn’t find the answer?
  • This is goldmine content just waiting to surface.  If you can write about something your couldn’t find the answer to, you can immediately become an authority in the niche you work in.  It’s much easier to find commonly searched for answers (like how to do the Dougie dance), but if you can answer rare or difficult questions with your writing, you’re winning the search lottery.
• What am I complimented on the most and why is it important to me?
  • Do you respond to all your email in less than 24 hours?  Do you send small thank you gifts?  Do you create helpful video tutorials?  Are you the center of a conversation?  It’s important to highlight what others compliment you on because it helps potential customers determine if you’d be a good fit for what they’re looking for.  If email communication is highly valuable, they want to know you’re good at it.  If you’re vivacious and fun, it might attract customers who want to work with someone with a big personality.  Basically, highlight what people have complimented you on in the past…if they’re talking about it, it means it’s rare, so show it off!

I hope these questions help get the wheels turning in your head.  Creating content has changed the way my business has grown and I attribute it to simply showing up every week and writing about things that’ll help my business get discovered.  And I believe you can do the same.

Shine on.