Generic content attracts generic leads. This chapter gives you research methods that go beyond basic personas to uncover what your ideal customers actually search for, worry about, and need help with. You'll build an audience profile so detailed that every piece of content you write feels like it was made for one specific person.
The 'Jobs To Be Done' interview framework for content research
How to mine Reddit, Quora, and G2 reviews for content gold
Building a content-first ICP that goes beyond demographics
The keyword intent matrix — matching topics to buyer stages
3 free tools to validate content ideas before you write
Here's a secret most content marketers won't tell you: personas are nearly useless for content strategy. Knowing that your buyer is 'Marketing Mary, 35, VP of Marketing at a mid-size SaaS company' tells you nothing about what to write. What you need to know is what keeps Mary up at night, what she Googles at 11pm, and what would make her forward an article to her CEO.
“Stop writing for personas. Start writing for problems. The content that converts is the content that makes someone feel understood.”
— Page 23
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