Pain Point-Powered Content Strategy for Blog Success

A Content Strategy That Actually Drives Growth

Are you tired of blog posts that get lost in the noise? Want to attract readers who are genuinely interested in what you have to say? The secret is simpler than you’d think: I tap into the power of customer pain points.

In this post, I’ll show you how to transform your blog into a lead-generating machine by addressing your audience’s biggest challenges and providing solutions. Let me introduce my secret weapon: The Pain Point Matrix.

But before I dive into the strategies, I want to address a critical first step: capturing customer feedback. You can’t solve problems you don’t know exist.

Conduct “Empathy Interviews”

I set aside time to have one-on-one conversations with my ideal customers. The goal isn’t to sell them anything but to understand their challenges and frustrations. I ask open-ended questions like:

• “What’s the biggest obstacle you’re facing in your business right now?”
• “What keeps you up at night?”
• “What are you tired of dealing with?”

I listen to their answers and I try to understand their perspective. I look for recurring themes or patterns. These “empathy interviews” provide invaluable insights into the pain points I can address in my blog content.

Other Ways I Identify My Customer’s Biggest Pain Points

It’s time to turn Kojak and uncover your customers’ challenges. You’ll probably have a treasure trove of data at your fingertips:

• Customer Surveys: I ask my customers directly about their struggles and frustrations.
• Support Tickets: I analyse common issues that get reported to customer support.
• Online Reviews: I see what customers say about my services (and my competitors’!).
• Social Media: I monitor conversations for mentions of my brand and industry, looking for complaints or questions.
• Sales Conversations: I pay attention on sales calls. You hear customer pain points every single day if you’re listening.

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning” - Bill Gates

I made a version of the spreadsheet that you can copy. Choose: File: Save As to create your editable copy.

Step 1: Create Your Pain Point Matrix in Google Sheets (or Your Favourite Spreadsheet Program)

The Pain Point Matrix is a simple spreadsheet, so you don’t need fancy software. Just fire up Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, or your preferred spreadsheet program and create a new document. I recommend Google Sheets because it’s free and easy to share with your team.

Step 2: Define Your Column Headers

I set up clear column headers to keep my Pain Point Matrix organised. Here are the essential columns I use:

Customer Pain Point: This is where I list my customers’ specific problems and frustrations.

Potential Blog Post Title: I brainstorm compelling blog post titles that address each pain point.

Content-Type: I choose the best format for each blog post (e.g., how-to guide, case study, checklist, video).

Keywords: I identify relevant keywords to optimise my blog posts for search engines.

Notes/Resources: I include any relevant links, research, or examples that can help me create the content.

Status: I track the progress of each blog post idea (e.g., “To Do,” “In Progress,” “Completed”).

Step 3: Brainstorm Blog Post Ideas That Solve Pain Points

Now comes the fun part: turning those pain points into blog post ideas! For each pain point in your matrix, ask yourself:

• What specific solutions can I offer?
• What advice can I give to help customers overcome this challenge?
• What resources can I provide to make their lives easier?

Then, I use those answers to brainstorm compelling blog post titles that promise to solve the pain point.

In addition to providing the solution, I wrote a complete blog post explaining and documenting the Shopify UK delivery problem. When other users with the same Shopify problem search Google, they find the ready-made answer.

This is one of those techniques I come back to all the time - it’s a fantastic way to demonstrate your expertise, attract targeted traffic, and provide real value to your audience.

“If you’re competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering.” - Jeff Bezos

Tip 1: Ditch the Generic Content - Focus on Authenticity

To stand out and attract readers, I have to offer something unique and valuable. Uncovering my customers’ specific pain points lets me generate authentic, helpful blog posts that uniquely address their needs.

Tip 2: Tap into Your Team’s Knowledge

Your employees have a wealth of knowledge about your customers and their pain points. They interact with customers daily through sales, support, or customer service.

• I hold regular brainstorming sessions with my team to discuss common customer challenges and frustrations.
• I encourage employees to share customer feedback they receive through emails, phone calls, or social media.
• I created a system for tracking and sharing customer insights across different departments.

By tapping into your team’s knowledge, you can build a much better understanding of your customers’ pain points and I find it generates even more practical blog post ideas.

Tip 3: Don’t Be Afraid to Ask “Silly” Questions

Sometimes, the most valuable insights come from asking seemingly simple or obvious questions. I’m not afraid to ask my customers (or my team) questions that might seem basic:

• “What’s the most frustrating part of using my service?”
• “What are you actually trying to achieve?”
• “What’s your biggest challenge in your industry right now?”

You might be surprised by the answers you receive. I’ve found that customers often struggle with fundamental issues I hadn’t even considered. By asking these “silly” questions, I uncover hidden pain points and I generate fresh blog post ideas.

Ready to Transform Your Blog Into a Pain Point-Powered Lead Machine?

If you missed it, here’s my Pain Point Matrix template for you to copy.

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