We live in the age of the niche. Targeted marketing campaigns require an intimate understanding of our target audience coupled with a well-planned and consistent content theme. Our chosen theme needs to match our business and entice our audience. The truth is a content theme isn’t an element of only the copywriting world; it’s relevant to all lines of business from service and product offerings to independent authors.

Understanding a Content Theme

When the term “content theme” comes up, most people instinctively think about a visual design. In fact, if you Google “picking a content theme,” you’ll see article after article about free WordPress themes, picking the right theme, and enhancing themes through customized style coding.

Envisioning how a theme will hold the content you intend to share with the world is a crucial step in content creation, but it shouldn’t be the limit of picking a content theme. There are two critical elements you must plan and discuss with your content creation team:

1. Layout: Content is rapidly becoming the poster child of search engine optimization. Whether you’re a marketing guru or not, you need to understand the basics of SEO because it equates to visibility and exposure—two things every indie authors, brand, and business need.

Your content layout can be used to contribute to your SEO, and it’s not complicated. The use of simple headings, bold text, lists, and links are among the easiest ways to turn any content into an SEO star. Everyone on your content creation team, particularly your writer(s), needs to know your default layout and incorporate it in the creation process. It’s part of maintaining a consistent theme.

2. Topics: If you are leveraging the power of blogging, you’ll need to spend time mapping out a crucial part of your content theme, topics. You will primarily focus on two types of topics: niche and inclusive.

Occupying a Content Niche

According to Wikipedia, “niche blogging is the art of creating a blog with the intent of…market[ing] to a particular niche market.” The principle applies to all content. You’ll need niche content to promote your interests. For example:

• Independent Authors: Your niche will revolve around your books. You can delve into topics specific to you as the author of X-book(s), and you can use your blog to promote (even preview) your current and upcoming books.

• Brands and Businesses: Your niche will focus on your services or products. You should share topics that educate your audience and increase your authority.

Expanding to Keep Content Fresh

Although niche topics are crucial to successful content, they can limit your ability to produce fresh content. And let’s face it, people don’t want to read about your specific products or services 24/7. They want variety.

Expand your content into more inclusive and encompassing topics to infuse freshness, but ensure they are relevant. Audience appeal will disappear if readers find themselves receiving irrelevant, useless information. Stay within your industry and focus on topics your audience will find value in.

Content Creation Requires Team Work

The secret ingredient to an impressive content theme is teamwork. Work closely with your content creators to ensure you pick, create, and maintain a content theme. You don’t want to skimp on this element of business and marketing.

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Feature Image Credit: Weerapat Wattanapichayakul via 123RF Stock Photo