We all want clients – great clients.
But we don’t always have time to be out looking for them ourselves. In fact, if we’re doing this freelancing thing properly, we should be spending our time helping others.
As freelancers, nothing lasts forever though, which means we need a system of attracting new clients to us even while we’re busy helping our current clients.
A system that demonstrates we can help, even when we’re too busy to actively engage with each prospect ourselves.
Here at The No Pants Project, we believe a great system for this is content marketing.
It’s important to note that our philosophy for client getting is to keep it simple, because the more moving parts you have, the more likely one of them is to break down and gum up the whole operation.
If it’s complicated, tracing back and finding the source of the breakdown becomes even harder.
That’s why Founder and Head Troublemaker of The No Pants Project Mike Shreeve recently shared simple, easy-to-create content types to help you build a client attraction system that works for you, instead of the other way around, on The No Pants Show podcast.
The key to success with this is finding the one form of content delivery that you can commit to doing every day, and mastering it.
Maybe that’s blog posts, maybe it’s YouTube videos, or maybe it’s podcasts.
Mike’s content types and ideas can be used on any platform, so feel free to experiment with what suits you best.
The main problem many people struggle with when it comes to daily content is the idea that they’ll run out of ideas too quickly and end up flat.
So once you’ve decided on your platform, here’s a list of content types and examples of each, to ensure you never run out of ideas that you can share daily to keep your client-getting machine running smoothly.
1. Listicles
Just like this article, listicles are ways for you to compile useful information on your audience’s behalf, saving them the time and effort while also curating their results for quality.
These are great because not only do people love them, they help you expand your own expertise by forcing you to go out and do the research.
Now you’ve created value for your audience and increased your own expertise and authority, all in one go.
A very successful example of listicles working their magic is Buzzfeed, where you’ll find listicles reigning supreme.
(Just be sure to always pay off the value you’re promising in your article, rather than going the “clickbait” route that is becoming more common on sites like this.)
Here’s a great example from our own blog: 12 Reasons Why Freelancing Is the Future Of The Work Industry
2. Objection Handling Content
If you want to “sell without selling,” this is a must-have type of content in your rotation.
Just think of all the reasons why someone may not want to buy from you or do business with you.
Draw from past experiences as well.
Then create a content piece that addresses a big objection you often find people need to contend with, by helping them understand what they need to know or why a certain belief they may have is mistaken, in order to move past it.
As a freelancer, a common objection we may get is price.
So to address this without needing to have the same conversation with each and every prospect, you could create a piece of content that outlines the ROI of your particular service in your niche as well as others, and its value to the bottom line or goals of your audience.
Mike says:
“I make a list and then I say, ‘What piece of content could I create that would help someone who doesn’t invest in coaching or mentoring, realize that they should invest in my coaching or mentoring?’
“The other day, one of the podcasts that I created was things that freelancers should know about money. The reason I created that is because I know one of the objections that people have when they find out about The No Pants Project is that they’re kind of grossed out about making money.
“They don’t want to make a lot of money. They feel like if you try to start a business and you try to charge people money that that somehow makes you a bad person, and that becomes an objection and a hurdle for them to purchase something from me.
“So I made a podcast episode. Some people have already listened to it and been like, ‘Oh my gosh, that completely changed my mind!’ That’s called overcoming an objection.
“So sit down, list out all the reasons why people aren’t going to buy from you, and then create content to help them overcome that objection.”
Statistics and case studies are great elements of objection handling content to keep in mind when you’re creating a piece like this.
Here’s The No Pants Show Mike created to contend with the money objection in his own business: 3 Things Every Freelancer Needs To Know About Money.
3. Read a Book in Your Niche
This could be any relevant book, but this works especially well if it’s a popular book in your niche that you can then use to put forward a unique or contrarian opinion.
Write a review, including your personal thoughts, opinions, and experiences with the content.
This is a great way for your audience to get to know you, connect with you, and see you as an authority and source of quality curation in your niche.
If it’s contrarian, it can also be used to help build up your “uniqueness profile,” so you stand out from the crowd.
Here’s an example Mike shared in a Facebook live video: 4 Books Every New Freelancer Should Read.
4. Offer a Contrarian Opinion on a Popular Idea in Your Niche
You could do this with a book that is influential in your niche, or simply an idea, methodology, or attitude that is widely held.
The key here is that this has to be a genuinely contrarian belief.
When it is, endorsing it in public, recordable, and permanent content will set you apart from the field and say more about you than a slogan or catchphrase ever could.
By doing this, you can attract and create a tribe from fellow, scattered nay-sayers, or help offer perspective to others in your niche who had just never thought of the opposite viewpoint.
In doing so, you’ll create a fair bit of buzz and attention.
As they say in Hollywood, all publicity is good publicity.
Here’s an example from the No Pants Project blog: It Takes More Than Passion: 6 Simple Steps To Getting What You Actually Need To Make Your Freelance Business Work.
5. An In-Depth How-To
Mike Shreeve says, “As my mentor says, if you want someone to believe they can help you, help them.”
That’s the spirit of the in-depth how-to.
If you know your ideal clients have a particular problem, help them solve it.
Give it all away.
Be generous.
People believe you can help them when you demonstrate that you can.
Maybe your full service is too complicated for a single piece of content, but why not break it down into pieces and walk your audience through getting started, or solving a smaller problem related to their overall goal?
If you’re worried about putting yourself out of a job, don’t be.
“Think about it as ‘commercial karma’ – give your ideas, tips and advice freely and without expectation, it will come back to you in terms of referrals and reputation that will more than pay for itself,” Bryony Thomas, founder and author of Watertight Marketing, writes.
The people who are intent on doing it themselves were never going to buy from you anyway – at least not at this stage.
But you can bet that when they come up on a larger or related problem, they’ll remember how you helped them and think of you again.
Take a look here for an example from The No Pants Show podcast: How To Get Clients Fast.
6. “Reasons Why You Shouldn’t”
With this content type we’re going to do what a lot of freelancers, especially new ones, fear most:
We’re going to reject potential clients.
Or rather, we’re going to disqualify certain people from our services by being honest about who we can and can’t help and who will benefit the least from our help.
Mike says:
“Specifically call out the types of behaviors, attitudes, even the level of knowledge or level of experience of the types of people who aren’t a good fit for your business.
“Just be truthful. Like for example, if you already make $1 million a year, there is not a product or program in The No Pants Project that you should buy. We help people who are either just getting started or they’re making maybe $3 – 5,000/month and they want to get to $10,000/month.
“That’s who we help. If you’re already making $1 million a year, please don’t buy my stuff. That’s not what I built this company for, right? So I would disqualify: ‘Don’t start a freelancing business if you’re already making $1 million a year.’
“That’s the kind of stuff that you can do with that piece of content.”
This is really in everyone’s best interest, because it will save you the trouble of dealing with prospects who aren’t a good fit and would drag down your work quality, leaving only people who would make ideal clients.
We call out the people who aren’t good fits for The No Pants Project here: 9 Reasons You Shouldn’t Become a Full-Time Freelancer.
7. Video Breakdown
Similar to the book review content style, find a viral video in your niche, like a Ted Talk, and break it down for your ideal client with your own opinions and insights.
This helps demonstrate your ability to help, because you’re showing them alternate voices and perspectives they can and should listen to when they’re forming their own opinions and looking for help.
Also, because there are so many different channels of communication, and so many different preferences, recycling content in different delivery styles ensures more people can access it.
This very post is a great example, as I’m breaking down a podcast episode Mike shared recently for people who prefer to read their content, and adding in some extra insights that Mike didn’t have time to share in the podcast itself (every content form has its strengths and its limitations!).
Don’t be afraid to adapt your own content, when you get to a stage where you’re trying out new avenues or have a lengthy archive of content that is harder to navigate, to ensure your audience can find meaningful information whenever they need it.
You can even update older pieces to provide lasting value or show your own growth as a person and business owner.
8. Inspirational and Motivational Content
This is about getting personal and vulnerable with your audience and ideal clients.
Why?
Because people buy from people.
And even more so, people buy from people they know, like, and trust.
So this type of content, when done right, not only gives your ideal client a little push toward action, but helps them connect with you on a deeper level to build that trust.
Just be sure you’re balancing this type of content with tangible actions and results they can take to achieve their goals, so that you don’t get your audience all hyped up with nowhere to go.
You also want to remind them that you have the technical skills needed to help them.
Mike says:
“It’s okay to share the inspirational and the motivational, your thoughts and your feelings. Showing that side of you not only has the power to connect you on an actual personal level, but also there were some people who have listened to a podcast and then emailed or messaged us and said, ‘You know what, that inspired me. I’m ready to get started.’
“And that is an incredible first step in a sales conversation, right? So that inspirational motivational stuff, it isn’t just floofy.”
Here’s an example from our own content library: The Best Advice I Could Give To Anyone Who Wants To Start A Biz.
9. Tell a Story to Demonstrate Your Experience
The purpose with this content type is three-fold:
One: you’re helping your audience relate and connect with you on a personal, emotional level to build a relationship and trust.
Two: to show that you’re genuinely interested in helping your ideal client achieve their goals without needing to learn hard lessons by themselves.
And three: you’re demonstrating your expertise and past results to cement your authority and skill in the eyes of your audience.
Share a story that will help them avoid a common obstacle and roadblock on the path to their goals.
Share the results that you got after you went through all that.
And share the step-by-step path you now know and take to get there again, reliably.
It’s all about connecting, building trust, and nurturing a genuine relationship with your prospects.
Here’s a peek at a similar piece of content from Mike: Why You Need To Save Yourself First.
10. A Live, Over-The-Shoulder Demonstration
Again, the best way to show someone you can help them, is to help them.
The best possible way to prove your ability to help, beyond a measure of a doubt, is to share your help live, where all your mistakes and successes are unedited.
This is not only the ultimate demonstration of your expertise and skill, but the ultimate trust-builder.
Few people are confident enough to walk others through what they do, step by step, to help others get promised results.
Depending on your experience and expertise level, this sort of demonstration will look different.
Here at The No Pants Project Mike is currently in the midst of a live ongoing demonstration with his new podcast, which he’s sharing the results of in dedicated episodes for freelancers who are thinking about starting their own podcasts.
But you don’t need to share something so large and lengthy for this type of content. This could be as simple as a quick trick you have for writing an email, finding new leads, choosing a color palette, etc.
It could also be a critique of another’s example in your niche that you walk through with your audience to help them spot their own troubles and get ahead of them.
Mike also regularly records and shares short Facebook Live videos to keep his audience aware and up-to-date with what’s working for him in The No Pants Project, so they can apply the same ideas and successes to their own business.
Here’s a great example: How I get $1.35 Leads For My $3,200 Service.
11. Tell Your Success Stories
Many of you will probably shy away from this one, but it is important and actually a moral responsibility on your part to share your successes in your marketing.
As a business owner providing services, you are responsible for helping the people who could benefit from them to not only find you, but to understand exactly how you help.
As humans, we learn our best lessons through stories. Either as they happen to us, or as we hear them from others.
So by sharing your success stories, you help your ideal client understand and clarify how you help, what it looks and feels like, and the results they can expect from you.
Mike says:
“I could do an entire No Pants Show episode about how one of our mentoring students went from zero to $10,000 a month. I’d just talk about the strategies used, tell a little bit about that person – I don’t have to give details about what it is they do, even though people always complain that we never give them all the details.
“But they love hearing the success stories and it just solidifies in their mind both The No Pants Project and also their own story that they’re telling themselves.
“If they see themselves in your success story, they can say, ‘If Mike helped this person who was a lot like me, he can probably help me too.’
“And that’s the story that they’ll tell themselves in their head. That makes for a much better sales process. The person’s already sold by the time they go through your stuff.”
If you’re not one for broadcasting your own accomplishments, simply gather up success stories on an easy to find and simple to navigate page within your website, like we do with The No Pants Project case studies.
12. Q&A or Frequently Asked Questions
This is another great way to handle objections while actively helping your audience.
Pull these questions from common questions or objections you come across in your own business, from forums in your niche, and even from competitors in your market, and then provide your own individual answers and opinions.
You can even recycle questions and offer new answers for different contexts or changing times to ensure your audience feels covered and up to date.
This will help you put some common objections to bed as well as demonstrate your expertise.
Here’s an example: 10 Common Freelance Questions Answered.
13. Cautionary Content
This is “traveller beware” content, where you warn your ideal clients of the dark twists and turns ahead on their path and how they can avoid them, like how if they want X thing they need to avoid Y pitfall.
It’s another way of showing your prospects that you’re looking out for them, while also helping them understand why it’s so useful to have an experienced guide along for the ride.
This type of content plays on fear, which is a powerful motivator that should not be taken lightly.
Take care not to overuse this type of content as it can become manipulative and people will grow tired of it and skeptical of someone who preys solely on the fears of others.
That being said, everyone needs a healthy dose of fear sometimes to get them moving when they become too comfortable or complacent.
Reminding people that they may not achieve their goals, or worse, helps them stay on track and consistent in their actions.
That’s exactly why Mike shared this piece a few weeks ago: Why It’s Almost Too Late To Start Your Freelancing Business.
14. Interview Someone
This allows you to “borrow authority” from another expert or more well-known influencer in your niche.
But more than that, it shows your prospects that you’re genuinely interested in helping them achieve their goals because you know they need more than one opinion and option to find their way.
Instead of trying to shut them off from competition or alternate opinions, you’re directing them to places they can find more information to use in making better decisions for themselves.
You’re also showing them that other experts share your opinions and approaches, which adds to your own credibility and can even make your services look like a steal (when said expert is extraordinarily expensive by comparison).
Back in the fall of 2018 we interviewed David Garfinkel on The No Pants Show, a personal mentor of Mike Shreeve’s and the world’s greatest copywriting coach, with a similar goal in mind.
And then we did a Video Breakdown blog post from the interview. Check that out here.
15. “Here’s What You’re Missing” Story
This idea is very similar to the cautionary content, but with a much more positive twist because it’s based on an idea of “gain” rather than “fear of loss.”
Instead of tapping into our natural, and powerful, “loss aversion” fears, you present the missing piece as something your prospect stands to gain.
Your ideal client could gain more money, time, freedom, if they stopped doing X, or started doing Y.
Mike says:
“For example, you may have a piece of content that is, ‘Why Every Single Freelancer Needs to Immediately Fire Half of Their Clients if They Ever Want to Have Free Time in Their Business’.
“So the piece of content is actually about free time in your business and how to get it. But how you approach it and position it is: ‘Here are the things you need to be aware of if this is the thing that you want.’
“And this is really, really powerful as a form of delivering clarity to your prospective clients. And for a lot of the sales process, just delivering clarity will close the sale for you.”
Essentially, it’s a roadmap for your ideal client to show them that you understand what they want, and exactly how they can get it.
Mike shared some advice in this category back in January: Ask This One Question To Get Higher Quality Clients.
Notice how this is phrased to demonstrate an understanding of what you want, as well as give you the one thing you’re missing to get it?
Rather than playing on fears, like we did in this similar post, 7 Disastrous Mistakes Stopping You From Landing High-Value Clients, we’re highlighting what you stand to gain instead.
16. Building Up Your Uniqueness Profile
Part of attracting your ideal clients is making sure that you’re setting yourself apart from the rest of the market, and to do this you need to build up a “uniqueness profile.”
List out all of the things you want your business to be known for, specifically the things that make you different and unique to competitors.
For example, The No Pants Project operates in a traditionally sleazy sort of space. So one of the things that makes it unique is that 100% of its profits go to charity.
You definitely don’t need to donate ALL your business income, but think of a similar way in which you can set yourself apart from the “run-of-the-mill” operators in your space.
Focus on no more than three things and build them over time to grow your uniqueness profile.
For more on this, check out Mike’s podcast episode: 14 Ways To Be Unique and Stand Out In A Crowded Marketplace.
17. Checklist Content
This is the ultimate form of listicle because it is, in itself, also a tool for taking action towards success for your audience.
Basically, you’re looking to write a listicle here where each item is a step toward completing a single idea, instead of listing multiple ideas.
The goal is to have your prospects come away with a clear set of small actions that will get them a desired result, in order to demonstrate your ability to help.
As an example, we recently shared: 8 Steps For Writing A Perfect Proposal.
18. The Rant
With this content type, we’re going back to the idea of humanizing ourselves and connecting more strongly with our ideal clients.
Pick a topic that you’re passionate about and just rant about it, sharing your passion and strong beliefs with your audience.
This is about picking an opinion and standing for something, making it easy for people to connect with you, and making their purchase from you something that reinforces how they want to see themselves and what they want to be associated with.
Ranting on occasion, is a great way to build allegiances and a tribe, because having strong opinions ties you to others.
For some examples from The No Pants Project, you’ll want to be sure you’re on the email list, but here’s an example from a recent No Pants email:
Here’s another great example you can model your own content ideas on: A Rant On Why I Disagree With So Many Blogging and Content Marketing Experts
19. Use Your Analytics
Let your audience tell you what to create.
I’m serious.
Great content isn’t about writing the best words in the best order. Great content is about providing the answers your ideal clients are looking for.
If you don’t have a way to ask them yourself, go look at competitor sites, industry forums, etc, and see what is popular, what is generating interest and garnering attention.
Then, create something similar. Approach the problem with a new perspective. Suggest an alternate solution. Expand on a brief idea that could be helpful.
If you do this right, you’ll never run out of content, because content begets more content. When you answer a question, a new one will take its place.
All you need to do is respond.
Give your prospects what they’re asking for.
Last month we demonstrated some active listening, by noticing that this post from late 2017: 20 Most Marketable Freelancer Positions in 2018 (and Beyond) …
… was still getting a lot of views and clicks in our analytics.
So, we wrote another similar piece as a result: 40 Fun Freelancing Business Opportunities for Creatives in 2019.
20. People Like This, Do Things Like This
The purpose of this content type is to help your ideal clients identify themselves as such.
Essentially, you give your audience a framework to identify themselves, where in the piece you call out a quality your ideal client would identify with and suggest that a person with that quality would take X action or buy Y services.
This taps into our psychological decision making processes, where we operate emotionally and from a place of self-identification, buying things that make us feel more in tune with the story of ourselves we most want to believe.
By doing this you help people continue to grow and flourish within the positive stories about themselves they are trying to write, and ensure you’re only attracting your ideal clients.
Anyone who doesn’t identify with the qualities you call out simply won’t bother following through on your call to action.
Mike says:
“I could create a piece of content that says something like ‘Why Ethical Freelancers Will Succeed in 2019’ and the whole podcast or blog post or email could be about the advantages of being an ethical freelancer.
“Then I’d say something like, ‘If you are an ethical freelancer, I would love to help you because I help people who believe in X, Y, Z.’
“What you’re trying to say is people who want to run an ethical business do these things and buy from me.”
21. Mix and Match
And last but not least, you can mix and match any of these ideas together to get fresh ideas and perspectives to share with your audience and add value to their lives.
This article is itself a combination of a Listicle, a Video (Podcast) Breakdown, and an Objection Handling piece because it helps you understand that daily content marketing efforts are quite attainable and gives you the tools you need to overcome the common objection, “I can’t do that because I’ll run out of ideas and I’m not creative enough!”
Just remember to come back to this list whenever you feel stuck, and most importantly, to always be listening to your ideal client and providing them with the answers they need.
Recap: 21 Easy Content Ideas
- Listicles
- Objection-Handling Content
- Niche Book Reviews
- Contrarian Opinion Pieces on Popular Niche Subjects
- An In-Depth How To
- “Reasons Why You Shouldn’t” Disqualifying Content
- Niche Subject Video Breakdown
- Inspirational and Motivational Content
- Tell A Story To Demonstrate Your Expertise
- A Live, Over-The-Shoulder Demonstration
- Tell Your Success Stories
- Q&A Or Frequently Asked Questions
- Cautionary Content
- Interview Someone
- “Here’s What You’re Missing” Story
- Building Up Your Uniqueness Profile
- Checklist Content
- The Rant
- Use Your Analytics (Let The Audience Tell You What They Want)
- People Like This, Do Things Like That
- Mix and Match
Need More Help?
If you need some help identifying your ideal client, your service offerings, or just more guidance on how to truly listen, join us in The No Pants Project.
To listen to the full podcast episode, hop through here.
And be sure to jump over to iTunes and to rate and subscribe the show! If you’ve got a preferred podcast app, you can find The No Pants Show on your favorite one by jumping through here.
