Let’s face it, content marketing is hard. So many people know what they want to say, but they don’t know how to say it. That is where content strategy formulas come in and we will walk through the PPPO formula. This formula is a bulletproof approach to writing web content that converts.
PPPO is essentially a formula that we use with our clients that we help develop marketing systems so that they can get their message out in a formula that does the full spectrum of the content arc. Let’s break it down piece by piece, so that you can look at your own content and figure out if you should use this approach.
Unpacking PPPO
PPPO means pain, promise, proof, and opportunity. There is also a popular saying, PPPP, which is pain, promise, proof and proposal. The reason why I use PPPO is because opportunity deals with the sales nature in which you approach the final stage of your content argument.
This content strategy is the bulletproof way to creating the best usable content to guarantee your product or service to be sold.
Pain
Let’s start with the first P, pain. It’s really important that when you communicate, to use that time to be as empathetic as possible. You want to show subject matter expertise or understanding that this pain is very common and not unique just to you.
The emotional response you should feel from the pain portion of your content is that they get it and know what the actual pain is. For example, if you are a service provider, you are trying to solve this pain. You will come from a standpoint where you understand the problems they are facing on a regular basis and you are here to help and guide you.
Often we see content where they’re so anxious to say who they are, and this is what they do, that they never take the time to really analyze the pain of their audience.
There is a certain subject matter expert named Russell Brunson who does webinars. 75% of his webinar is going over the pain repeatedly. He is looking for that emotional response that says they understand and they really get it.
Promise
The next portion of PPPO is the promise. When we talk about the promise, we are looking to show a promise that we can make to help you solve the problem with the challenge that you’re having.
The critical part of the promise is focusing on being unique. If you’re just like everybody else, it’s really great that you understood my pain, but why should I choose you over someone else?
The promise section is a chance where you can actually show your subject matter expertise and give the solution to your audience’s problem in a unique way. This will ensure that your competition’s message is different from yours, as yours is catered to your audience’s problem.
When I hear the promise section of content, I should be able to say, “I’m in good hands here.”
Proof
The next piece of PPPO is proof. We want to be able to say a number of different things that make the audience know you are experienced and the best option. In other words, saying “this is not my first rodeo.”
You have already established that we’ve seen these challenges before, we know their pain, developed a promise, understand, you know, a promise approach that makes us unique, and that we understand your pain. We’re going to really start to think about content that’s going to solve that problem for you.
In the proof section, we’re going to try to use as much data as possible to say why our products or services really matter with proof behind it. You want to brag about the number of happy clients that we have and the data in relation to your industry of where we fit in to solve really big problems.
Another approach that you can use proof is by using client testimonials, or peers in your industry that can speak on your behalf. You want to know that you are speaking to an authority and here’s the proof.
Opportunity
The final part of PPPO is the opportunity. What I want to be able to do is I want to make sure that they’re not leaving with this impression that I’m just being sold a product or service.
The reason why it’s not PPPP is because the final P stands for proposal. What I want to be able to do is give you as much information as possible, tell you that information, and I’m going to invite engagement. In other words, there is an opportunity for a relationship and partnership to happen.
Something that David Newman’s very clear and known for saying is that this isn’t here to sell you, it’s to give you as much opportunity and information as possible to make an educated decision. And ideally, we can make it together and can be your guide along the way to help you get to the next level.
Review of PPPO
What you should have learned from this lesson is that following strategic content is hard. So trust in formulas that are going to help you write content that converts.
The next thing we covered in depth is the PPPO formula for writing content, why it brings value, and why you should apply it either to your new content, your rewrites, or creating SEO-friendly content.
And then finally, to write quality content, it should evoke an emotional response. This is your chance to grab their heartstrings and write content that is compelling. If you’re writing for SEO, eventually, they’re gonna have to read this content, so make it count.
If you have any questions about implementing this content strategy formula to your marketing plan, please contact us with your concerns. We look forward to working with you!
