‘Add Value’: What Does That Even Mean For Your Online Business?
In the online business space, we're fairly constantly told that we need to “add value” when it comes to our content. But what does that even mean? And, more importantly, how do we actually do it?
In this blog post, I will break down exactly what “adding value” means and how you can start doing it authentically for your business.
What Does “Added Value” Even Mean For Your Content?
The first step to creating value-based content is understanding what "value" actually means.
In a nutshell, adding value means providing something helpful or beneficial to your audience. This could be anything from entertainment and education to news and insights.
Sharing a personal post, for example, can have tons of value-added because it is motivational, inspirational, and helps your audience relate to you. That is still valuable to them because it builds rapport & connection and for you because it builds your authority.
When sharing more educational content, added value often means sharing smaller “quick win” training, lessons and learnings that your audience can take away and implement on their own. This taste of your valuable content often leads people to want to go deeper with you, signing up for your paid content but the value-added content on it’s own is an asset on it’s own.
How to Create Value-Based Content
Now that you know what adding value actually means, it's time to learn how to do it for yourself!
Here are a few tips for creating content that your audience will love:
1) Know Your Audience
Since you’re creating this content for real humans, it will serve you well to start by identifying the needs and wants of those people you want to connect with.
Get to know what are they struggling with. What they want to learn more about.
Once you know what they want, creating helpful content will be so much easier for you because you know exactly which questions to answer!
This is why market research is so essential for creating content that gets results 😉 And that is also why I include a lesson on market research inside Work Your Website - since you won’t know what content to create for your website or the strategy behind your decisions in how you create your site without getting to know the real people you want to connect with!
2) Always ask, 'Who does this help?'
When you're creating content, always ask yourself, "Who does this help?". If you can answer that question, you know you’re on the right path to creating content that adds value.
For example, if you're writing a blog post about how to start a business, chances are it will help entrepreneurs get started on their journey and learn some helpful tips on getting started. That's valuable!
3) How Relevant Is Your Content?
Content that is relevant to the person consuming it is value-based content.
When you create relevant content, it shows your audience that you understand where they're at and what they need. And you’re a valuable resource to help them answer the pressing questions on their mind - which is hugely valuable!
This helps build trust between you and them, which can translate into more sales down the road!
Final Thoughts
Now, while we covered some ways to created extra valuable content, don't forget that every piece of content you create has some value. Value doesn't just mean tips and tricks or tutorials; it could also mean personal content that allows your audience to relate to you or a funny meme post that gets them laughing and thinking.
As long as you're creating content that helps your audience in some way, then you're on the right track!
