Six questions to ask before writing anything
Although it’s been said many times many ways (apologies to Mel Torme), most marketing content-related projects call for answers to at least a half-dozen questions. And all members of the team should weigh-in. As simplistic as they may appear, questions not unlike the ones below can reveal information that makes the difference between a worthwhile end product and an endless cycle of revisions and finger-pointing:
1. Objective: What is the purpose of the proposed document and/or web content?
2. Target: Who is the reader?
3. Message(s): What are the key take-aways or leave-behind messages you want to create in the reader’s mind about your company and/or its offerings?
4. Differentiation: What are the core, competitive differentiators of your offering(s) that you want this particular content to convey? How do they differ from competitive offerings and what is significant about this difference?
5. Features/Benefits: Relative to the differentiation you describe above, specify the features that make it superior and explain the corresponding benefit(s) of each. How to they “benefit” a buyer?
6. Substantion/proof points: What evidence or field results illustrate the validity of your claims (e.g., customer testimony, metrics, competitive superiority, etc.) ?
Is this exercise part of your own preparation today? What other questions would you ask? What did we miss?