The Importance of Self-Improvement Content

People have a yearning for self-improvement and self-actualization. According to a Forbes, back in 2008, Americans paid around 8 billion dollars for self-improvement and personal development products. These products included: books, courses, recordings, group seminars and individual coaching sessions. That number has only gotten larger since that time. Today, people are accessing technology to find online businesses to provide these services. Companies that provide self-help products are building many online products, such as e-books and online courses. Nowadays, live seminars are being streamed to paying online customers. It’s clear, people are looking for ways to evolve.

At the same time, no longer is the self-help field confined to just individuals seeking self-awareness. The self-improvement field has transformed over the years to include companies that provide personal development products to engage employees and improve productivity at the corporate level. Everything from conflict resolution to time management falls into the category of self-improvement. Many organizations now recognize the need for their managers to not only direct employees but to mentor and inspire them. Corporations are actively searching for self-improvement industry professionals  and Subject Matter Experts  (SMEs) to guide them in this endeavor. How do corporations and other organizations find such experts? Through content.

Creating Motivating Self-Improvement Content

A business that sells any kind of self-improvement product needs to create and promote online content. No matter what, content is still king. Without invaluable and inspiring content, potential customers can’t find the self-help information they want. Good content will always allow a company  to set themselves apart from their competition. Since self-improvement is such a multi-billion dollar industry, potential customers have an array of products to choose from in the personal development field. Any self-improvement business needs to constantly create motivating and helpful content. Here are 5 ways to create content that will appeal to potential self-improvement readers and customers.

1. Tell a compelling narrative. People love stories. They love telling them and they love reading them. We tend to organize information based on them. Stories help us make sense of our lives. Creating a compelling story draws your reader in and allows them to identify with your company. Consider telling a personal story about the origin of the company or how the product personally helped you, if you’re the business owner. In order to increase its appeal; make the narrative uplifting.
2. How the product will improve someone’s life. Remember, you are not selling a product but a solution to a problem in someone’s life. Readers and potential customers are searching for a positive change in their lives. They need to know specifically how you can help them facilitate that change through your content, so tell them! The explanation of how life altering your product can be doesn’t need to be overly wordy or complex but it does need to be in there explicitly in the content.
3. Stay focused on a single issue. When creating self-improvement content, stick with one topic per article. Stay on topic throughout the piece. It’s a good idea to create an outline of the topic so that you will stay focused throughout your article and not stray into unrelated areas. By keeping your self-improvement content laser focused, you increase its power and impact on the reader. Too many topics in a single article will dilute its impact. Identify and write about that one big issue that you believe impacts your potential customers lives.Andrew Rich/Getty Images
4. Provide quality, evidence based solutions. Any kind of personal development article must contain information that not only compels the reader to change but provides information that can be backed up by science and quality research. Not only is this important in providing information that is worthwhile and ethical but it will create trust in your content readers. The more readers trust the authority of the content; the more likely they are willing to buy your product. Well researched and informed content will create trust in your potential customers.
5. Actionable Advice.  Finally, any good self-development content should contain simple actionable advice. Preferably advice that does not require readers to purchase your product (remember the importance of building trust) in order to put the advice into action. Teaching people how to build habits often makes for good content. Often times, personal development is about cultivating positive habits. People want to change but sometimes they don’t know how to do that. Your content can teach people how to build and implement those positive habits in their lives.

The self-improvement industry will continue to prosper and grow. In order for companies that provide these personal development products to stay relevant and competitive; they have to continually provide great content. These content readers may possibly become clients but only if the content inspires and informs them at the same time. Does your content inspire the reader?

5-Star writer Aaron D is a professional psychotherapist with experience in copy writing for the mental health and self-help field. Besides his professional blog, he has written various mental health related articles for Medium and a popular digital nomad site, as well as answering psychology related questions on Quora. He currently runs an online psychotherapy and consultancy site and is writing his first self-help book.

Want more content marketing wisdom? Check out our webinar series where world-class marketing experts share their insights.