Have you ever sat down to write but started wondering how you could create original content?
There’s a lot of content on the Internet on every topic you might think of.
Do you want to write about ChatGPT? It’s already done.
Do you want to write vegan recipes? Dozens of them are available.
Do you want to write about leadership skills? Who hasn’t written about them?
“Does that mean I should just give up?”
Not in the least. With this flood of information, your plan A should no longer be the topic itself.
Rather, it should be the angle you’ll use to approach that topic; also known as the “content angle.” or the point of view (POV) that your article takes.
And the best part is that it helps you generate countless content ideas that you entice and engage your target persona.
So let’s dig in!
What Is a Content Angle?
So, when we talk about “content angle,” “marketing angle,” or “content slant,” we’re really just talking about the unique perspective or approach that we take when creating content.
This means thinking about things like who our audience is, what our purpose is, and what kind of message we want to convey. By doing this, we can create content that really speaks to our readers and stands out from the crowd.
Why Does a Content Angle Matter?
Well, with so much content available online, it can be challenging to stand out. However, a unique content angle can differentiate your content from others on the same topic, making it more likely to capture the attention of your target audience.
Plus, when you create content with a specific angle that aligns with your audience’s interests and needs, it becomes more relevant and valuable to them.
How To Set Your Content Angle
Identify the Search Intent for Your Main Keywords
When it comes to creating content, it’s important to put yourself in your target audience’s shoes and think about what they’re looking for.
That means doing some research on the focus keyphrase, secondary keywords, and related keywords that are relevant to your topic.
Once you’ve done your keyword research and identified the keywords you want to target, you can start thinking about the angle you want to take.
One amazing thing is that different keywords that refer to the same topic can refer to different types of search intent as follows:
- Informational intent: Looking for information, tips, hacks, steps, or educational content.
- Navigational intent: Looking to go to a specific store, website, or platform.
- Commercial intent: Looking for available services/products within a specific industry or niche.
- Transactional intent: Getting ready to take a specific action to settle the end goal of their query or make a purchase to end their buyer’s journey.
Let me give you an example of how the same keyword, “yoga mats,” can have different content angles depending on the user’s intent.
So, if a user searches for “how to clean yoga mats,” they’re probably looking for helpful articles or videos that explain different ways to clean yoga mats. They might want to learn about the products available or how to clean them step by step.
On the other hand, if a user searches for “Buy Walmart yoga mats online”, they probably have transactional intent, they’re interested in purchasing a Walmart yoga mat. In this case, the content angle should be more focused on product pages that provide all the information that a user needs to make a purchase.
Pro tip: By delivering the message that the user is looking for and guiding them toward their end goal, you can provide a better user experience and increase engagement with your content.
One way to give a twist to your content is by writing in a unique voice.
That is because providing an experience for your readers isn’t just about the message you deliver. If anything, how you deliver your message is what makes all the difference.
Let’s say you want to write an article about debunking common myths in nutrition—specifically gaining weight because of eating after midnight.
One way to deliver that myth is to say something like:
“Unless you want to get fatter, you should avoid eating after midnight, right? Wrong.
“That’s actually an illogical myth that anyone with a sound sense of logic would understand.”
Another way to convey the same message is to say, “One of the common myths about diet is believing that eating after midnight will result in gaining weight.
“Luckily, eating after midnight every once in a while is totally okay, especially if you don’t sleep right away.”
See how your tone of voice, in and of itself, can shift the angle of your content…
….even when the message is exactly the same?
The former tone is aggressive and demeaning; it makes your angle shift from merely making your point across to offending your reader.
But controlling your angle takes more than just paying attention to your tone of voice.
Here are four ways that can help you pick your content marketing angle.
Identify the Search Intent for Your Main Keywords
You want to know what your users are expecting to see when they look up your focus keyphrase, secondary keywords, and related keywords.
Pro Tip: Identifying the angle of your keywords comes after doing detailed keyword research and identifying the keywords you’ll target for your topic.
Different keywords that refer to the same topic can refer to different types of search intent as follows:
- Informational intent: Looking for information, tips, hacks, steps, or educational content.
- Navigational intent: Looking to go to a specific store, website, or platform.
- Commercial intent: Looking for available services/products within a specific industry or niche.
- Transactional intent: Getting ready to take a specific action to settle the end goal of their query or make a purchase to end their buyer’s journey.
Your searchers’ intent influences the angle, and thus the format, you should opt for to deliver your message.
Determine Your Topic’s Buyer’s Journey Stage(s)
When you’re creating content, it’s important to think about where your readers are in their buyer’s journey. This will help you choose the right angle for your topic and deliver the message they’re looking for.
One way to figure out where your readers are is by checking out the search engine results page (SERP) overview. This will give you a sense of their search intent and the stage they’re at in their journey.
Let’s break it down by stage:
Awareness Stage
At this stage, your readers are just learning about the topic. Your angle should focus on providing detailed and educational content to fulfill their informational search intent.
For example, you offer a marketing automation service and your topic is mainly about marketing automation. At this stage, the potential customer is aware of their problem or need but has not yet started actively searching for solutions.
A content angle for “marketing automation” at this stage would be to provide the reader with educational blog posts.
For example, “The top 5 things you need to automate like a pro” or “Calculate the incredible savings you’ll reap by automating your work”.
Consideration Stage
When your readers are at the consideration stage, they’re more likely to be familiar with the topic itself. They’re just considering available options.
That means that our angle has to move away from educating in general to presenting our service’s benefits and features.
Because, at that stage, they just want to compare and contrast to find what can give them the most benefits.
Let’s get back to our example about marketing automation.
Our angle in this stage shifts from giving general information to simply covering the features of different marketing automation tools (of course, including our service).
So we’re giving them value by fulfilling their search intent (i.e., finding options to consider) while still taking on our desired angle (i.e., presenting our service in the competition and perhaps even portraying our unique value proposition).
Decision Stage
At this stage, you know that your readers are about to settle on a specific service/product.
The decision stage is where the transactional search intent becomes evident.
Note that before settling on any transaction, your readers might want to have a final round of comparison between a group of products/services to double-check their…
- Features and specifications.
- Benefits (short-term and long-term).
- Prices, offers, payment options, and plans/packages/bundles.
So in that case, our angle can focus on providing a pricing guide about our service as opposed to other competing services that provide similar or fewer features.
Remember, your overall goal here is to create customer-facing content that ticks in your reader’s mind.
Take the “Unpopular Opinion”
When we say “the unpopular opinion,” we mean those opinions that oppose the mainstream’s shared POV.
Now, a little side note here is that you want to be 100% sure that your opposing opinions are legitimate and relatable.
For example, have you ever found that one opinion that got you like: “Finally! Someone has said it!?” This is the opposing view that we mean.
Hence, if you can’t prove your case, then you should shift your angle to something that your readers will connect with.
Imagine that for some reason you don’t like TikTok.
We know that the popular opinion is that people who want to build an online presence should use TikTok at some point.
On the contrary, you know that there’s more to it than meets the eye.
In that case, you can take on the angle of “why you shouldn’t use TikTok,” while backing up your claim using credible sources.
Add More Value to the Existing Angle(s)
Adding on an existing angle is so far the easiest approach to writing engaging SEO content.
Because your content planning strategy here is just to add more information or depth to existing POVs.
Pro Tip: To form a rough outline of the points you can add to your topic to stand out from others, you want to start by doing a competitor analysis.
For example, you want to bring your own insights about marketing automation to the table.
First, you’ll see what everyone on the search results is talking about.
Next, you’ll start to look for gaps that you can fill in as you cover the same angle.
Some of these gaps can be not adding examples, not adding visuals, or not simplifying jargon words.
Once you’ve identified these gaps, you can start writing your piece of content.
“So what if I don’t have time to write content from scratch?”
Then content curation is your go-to—but that’s for another topic. If you’re interested, you can read it here.
Determining Your Content Angle
Choosing the right content angle for your article is crucial for connecting with your audience and ranking well on Google. If you’re a content writer, strategist, or marketer, it’s important to establish your angle early in the content creation process.
Because writing without a definitive angle in mind is like driving a car without a steering wheel.
“Wait, so what do I start with again?”
So, where do you start? Here’s a quick summary:
- Figure out what your audience is searching for and why they’re looking for it.
- Consider where your audience is in the buyer’s journey and tailor your angle accordingly.
- If appropriate, take an opposing viewpoint to stand out from the crowd.
- Finally, add your own unique insights to an existing angle to provide value to your readers.
Remember, you can always refer back to these steps as you start creating your content.
