Content That Converts
I’ve been a copywriter for 12 years (Content Strategist/Director for the last 3 plus).
I've done:
Linky Ghostwriting
Twitter Ghostwriting
Landing page copy
VSLs
Website copy
Email cold outreach copy
Newsletters and more.
And ….
Here’s the problem:
What you’ve learned about content and how it works, most likely came from your feed.
And I hate to be the one that breaks the news to you…
👉 Most people are NOT marketers.
Your feed (any feed) is clogged with just “value” driven content.
It’s the proverbial vomitorium of value.
So, if everyone is sharing value and everyone is giving really great advice and everyone seems to have all the answers. How do you:
→ Stand out?
→ Be remembered?
→ Win trust?
→ Convert?
If you want to win high-ticket deals, just simply sharing value isn’t enough.
And it’s also shortsighted.
How social media works
Social media isn’t a job board. It’s a hangout spot. It’s the networking party across the street from the convention hall. It’s where conversations and relationships happen.
Social media is about engagement.
Not the engagement you’re thinking about: likes, clicks, claps, bangs, dings, and pings (or views).
One does not simply pay their bills with claps.
👉 They pay it with engagement and the ability to capture the engagement to a sales conversation.
(Or the inverse: create enough authority, that when you do outreach, they are more ready to chat with your cold DM)
It’s about engagement WITH the buyer and audience.
What creates engagement?
✅Credibility
✅Insights
✅Trust
✅Relevance
✅Dopamine
How can we create content that taps into this?
By creating a content mix taps into the reward system (dopamine), social bonding (connection and trust), reciprocity (value exchange), and curiosity, all of which are powerful drivers of engagement and action.
Why dopamine isn’t a dirty word?
In the book, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal, he wrote:
"Companies that successfully create habits enjoy several benefits to their bottom line. These companies attach their product to internal triggers, prompting users to act even without external triggers like advertising."
👉 When your content becomes a habit for users, tied to their internal triggers (the desire for entertainment, knowledge, or connection), they will continue engaging with your content without needing constant prompts.
In other words, you need a reason for people to keep coming back to your posts.
Does your content do that?
Getting to know you content isn’t for the touchy-feely crowd
People seem to forget, it’s hard to buy from perfect strangers.
It’s one thing to buy $50 products or even $150 courses.
It’s an ENTIRELY different battle to go from a perfect stranger in the feed (or DMs) to investing in high-ticket offers. I define high-ticket as anything from $2,000 to $60,000 - and more - deals.
You need to build TRUST. Without this, you’re just another pixel on a screen shouting into the void.
From The Social Animal by Elliot Aronson:
"Trust is the cornerstone of all successful relationships. We are more likely to trust people we know, especially when they are open and honest with us."
👉 Your content must get your buyer to know you way before they make the decision to agree to a sales call.
(No one LIKES to hop on sales calls, so overcoming this requires more than just mere value dumping)
Sharing personal stories, behind-the-scenes moments, or vulnerabilities (I don’t mean the TMI kind, I mean the simple human stuff) allows people to form parasocial bonds with you, increasing trust and loyalty.
Does your content build trust and familiarity with you and your brand?
Giving VALUE isn’t what you think it is
Fire up LinkedIn, X, TT or IG…
And just scroll through all the value content.
But is it exactly valuable?
When people say “give value”, they are half right.
Giving value isn’t wrong.
Value taps into the scarcity principle.
In other words: content that is perceived as uniquely valuable or rare increases its attractiveness, which in turn, increases the value of YOU.
(Please that again)
So, it’s not just giving value, it’s giving the RIGHT value that triggers the psychology behind it.
I tend to be hyperbolic about “Stop sharing value”.
What I’m really trying to say is … what you’re sharing isn’t valuable enough.
You know what is rare and unique?
Your insights.
Your experience.
Your wisdom earned.
Your interpretation of a problem.
Any fool can ChatGPT stuff (or if you’re a Boomer like me, you can Google stuff) and find basic solutions to just about anything.
But what we can’t prompt, is an INSIGHT to our problem.
Here’s what I mean 👇
❌ Value: To grow your business, you need to focus on customer retention and improve your marketing strategy
(This is helpful, but it's fluff and easily found through a quick search. Most people have heard it before, so it doesn’t stand out)
👍 Insight: In my experience, the businesses that thrive are those that deeply understand why their customers leave. Most business owners think it’s price, but more often, it’s the lack of emotional connection. What if you invested in training your team to make your customers feel valued at every touchpoint?
(This is insight because it reflects your personal experience and wisdom)
❌ Value: You should meditate every day to reduce stress and increase focus.
(No, no, no, no!)
👍 Insight: I’ve tried multiple meditation techniques over the years, and what I’ve learned is that the key isn’t in the method itself, but in choosing the right time to meditate. For some, meditation right after an argument or during moments of stress becomes a powerful tool, not just a daily routine.
(Now we’re cooking!)
But how do I combine all of this?
By systemizing it!
Here’s a simple framework for you to follow each week:
→ Show
→ Grow
→ Get to know
These will be your content buckets.
Doing ALL these in a single week, each week will make a content mix taps into the reward system (dopamine), social bonding (connection and trust), reciprocity (value exchange), and curiosity, all of which are powerful drivers of engagement and action.
But before I show you this. How do you know this will work?
Because I’ve been using this simple framework for 6 plus years on my self.
This year:
I’m still growing the business better and better and better.
But, I’ve also have clients who follow it too:
I could go on and on… needless to say, this works.
Let’s get to work.
SHOW
Show your ICP what you know.
The trick is… pick the right type of KNOW (as I mentioned above).
Share INSIGHTS, not value. Share WINS, not quotes. Share wisdom, not ChatGPT stuff.
Here’s some examples:
GROW
You need to grow your account. You need people coming back, and back, and back again. You need to trigger dopamine every once in a while. Your super-niche-y content won’t trigger this effect for you. You have got to learn to play the game once in a while.
This is the opposite of giving value.
It’s about having fun, stirring some emotions, getting the audience involved in the mix.
Let me give you some of my own examples:
If you only SHOW, you’re never going to grow.
Grow means increasing the size of your audience continuously.
The way organic works is if you’re engaging enough, it’ll unlock MORE traffic.
We’re all here to get “FREE” traffic.
Otherwise, we’re just talking to a stale crowd or an empty room.
You have to trigger dopamine once in a while to get the audience awake and/or get more butts in the seat.
If you’re scared to share hot takes, funny memes, a bit of your personality… you’re going to struggle to keep the audience's attention.
Period.
End of.
You’ve got to find your own flavor.
GET TO KNOW
My old friend (I’ve never met the guy lol) Elliot Aronson (The Social Animal) is at it again:
"Self-disclosure—the process of revealing personal information to others—is a crucial ingredient in creating and deepening close relationships."
I know you’re an uber-serious person with an uber-serious business with an uber-serious ICP.
👉I uber-serious don’t care.
No one on social media makes a high-ticket investment with someone they are not familiar with or do not trust or do not know.
You have to share parts of yourself.
How much you share, from TMI to basic human stuff, is up to you.
But you need to create relationships via content.
You need to share your values, your interests, your learnings, your passions, and things from your personal life that make you who you are.
It’s tough, I know. So, start small… and learn to be comfortable with talking about yourself.
And you also need to use this bucket to share social proof.
Testimonials, case studies, client quotes, client results, screenshots of messages received, pictures of you on stage or leading a session (in person or online), interviews, previous experience you have that gives you credibility in this space, and PR.
When you’re starting out and have no or few testimonials, a big part of your social proof is you and your own results.
Here are some of my own examples:
If you know anything about me… I love to laugh and have fun. Most of my get-to-know content is doing just that plus a HUGE heaping of social proof weekly:
Wrapping this burrito up
This feels like a Chipotle burrito with way too many goodies packed inside a warm tortilla!
The juice is getting everywhere!!
I would highly recommend that you go back to your last 10 posts and categorize them.
Which were Growth? Which were SHOW? Which were GET To KNOW?
I think you’re gonna find that you were 100 percent of one thing or none of these things.
If you’re looking for a ratio, I would highly recommend you do mostly SHOW with a little bit of GROWTH and GET TO KNOW.
So, if you’re posting 5 times a week, I would do 3 Show, 1 Growth, and 1 Get To Know.
But… I would experiment with the mixture.
And you’re multi platforming or have middle funnel content, that is an entirely separate conversation. What I’ve shared with you is best suited for TOP OF THE FUNNEL.
If you want to explore how you can hire me to help you stop floundering online, just book a call with me and we’ll see if and how I can help you.
Stay strong,
Doug Lawson
