text: In the same way the human body requires a continual intake of food for nourishment and growth, the marketing side of any business needs consistent focus for sustainability and success. Neglecting this equals more challenging times as soon as your current clients go their own way – whether it’s for a certain period of time or for good.
  If you know this and you already know what marketing channels/ efforts you need to achieve your next key outcome, then you can stop reading here. But – if you’re not quite there yet – then read on:
  Because today you’re about to discover the answers that apply specifically to your business. At the very least, once you finish reading, you can walk away knowing whether copywriting is something you should focus on ASAP, or if it can wait –
  How can you know that, I hear you asking?
  It starts by asking a few questions – be as honest as possible, and you don’t need to answer them off the top of your head. If you need more judgement from your team or a trusted colleague, go and seek it out. Like I said, this is about gaining clarity – and the first answer isn’t always the best one, is it?
  So let’s get started:
  #1. How do you rate your content strategy, overall?
  This may sound like a stupid, and obvious question, but let’s face it – if (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1= lowest and 10= highest) how do you rate the results your current strategy is delivering? If you’re quite happy, then any pivots or ad-ons might be a “nice, but not essential right now” kind of thing. Something to file info on and save for when you’re ready.
  But if you’re only moderately happy with your content strategy, or it’s full of ‘leaks’ then you already know at the very least: this is definitely the time to discuss it and consider your options.
  #2. Who is responsible for your current content strategy?
  Assuming you’re in the mindset for change, this leads to your next course of action: who to speak to about making any possible changes. If you’re the one in charge, then no more needs to be said. But if you have staff or outsource to an agency, this is time to speak to them about other people at their agency/ other connections they might have who can help you find that missing link in your strategy.
  #3. How effective are you in certain areas, currently?
  At this point, it’s time to take a more refined look at your answer to Question #1. Maybe in some areas you’re doing great, while other areas have been neglected somewhat? When it comes to your marketing messaging, it generally applies to the following areas:
  - Social media
  - Search engine visibility (SEO)
  - Email marketing
  - Direct engagement with leads and connections
  As you look over these particular aspects of your current marketing, where are the weak spots? When you’ve identified these, your job becomes a lot easier because now you’re more specific about what needs focus/ who you need to speak to…
  #4. What Is Your Lead/ Conversion Rate Like?
  Taking an overview of your current marketing channels, what does your lead/ conversion rate look like? Whether you have the exact figures (and hopefully you do) or you’re relying on an estimate, what do the numbers say when it comes to the following areas according to the metrics you measure them by – daily, weekly or monthly:
  - Social media
  - Search engines
  - Email marketing
  - Personal engagement
  - Website leads
  - Blog articles
  #5. What Is Your Target?
  Specifically: what are your top desired outcomes from your marketing strategy. You might have several, but not all of them are your priority as of this moment. The main objectives are the ones to focus on right now, the ones that need action taken first. So which of these:
  - More leads
  - Stronger branding
  - Higher search engine rankings
  - More targeted leads/ customers
  - Increasing customer lifetime value
  - Growing business credibility
  - Growing your business in size and operation
  …Are your most urgent priorities?
  Answering this question saves time moving ahead, whether you take on the work needed by yourself, in-house or whether you get somebody else to take it on for you.
  There is just one more question worth asking, a bonus question, if you will:
  How ready are you to start?
  Are you just in the research stage, or is this something you want to get cracking ahead with right now? Again, it’s worth being accurate with your answers to these questions, rather than just taking a guess and using the first answer you think of- so if you have to take a closer look at the data or speak to other people to get the best idea of where you stand, so be it.
  But when you have the answers – what comes next? Who do you need to speak to then? What needs to be done?
  In the meantime, here is a quick questionnaire that helps you to get clear (at the very least) on whether copywriting it something you need to consider:
  Or, if you already know copy’s what you need and you want to get started, you can contact me right here: