Secret of S.U.C.C.E.S.s Exposed — How to Profit from Content Marketing

Dennis Francis
3 min readDec 21, 2021

Small business owners often find it difficult to produce content on a regular basis for their audiences. Sometimes it’s difficult to sit down and figure out what to write when there are so many other things to do during business hours. People are trying to figure out this whole content marketing thing every day, it seems.

As a result, they often give up just because they are frustrated rather than trying again. The content creation process is confusing, and they’re overwhelmed by it or spend a lot of money and time without seeing any results. The topic comes up quite a lot in my circles.

I knew I had to do something about this after seeing it happen again and again. That’s why I returned to a strategy that worked for me when I was a copywriter. Using this strategy, you’ll quickly discover your content is getting noticed. Plus, your sales conversions will improve as well.

This is actually a six-step strategy, but it’s so simple that any novice who pays attention can follow it. It’s basically a paint-by-numbers strategy. Even if you previously had trouble putting content out there for your prospects, you will succeed this time.

You don’t need to be a copywriter or blogger to use this system. Once you discover how it works, you’ll find your life much easier…

One of the most interesting techniques for delivering unique content is what has been labeled the S.U.C.C.E.S. formula. Chip and Dan Heath developed this content creation model. The strategy gets an audience to empathize with your ideas.

The acronym S.U.C.C.E.S.s. comprises:

Simple — Keep your content simple in design and easy to understand.

Unexpected — Add something creative in the way you present the material.

Concrete — Avoid abstraction. Give the audience something solid; involve their senses.

Credible — Ensure that the information you are relating is factual and well grounded.

Emotional — Inject empathy into your content. Make it relatable to your audience.

Stories — Don’t forget the basics of storytelling. Draw your audience in with a memorable hook.

An additional S for “shareable” came later in the marketing course I attended. Adding this to the acronym “S.U.C.C.E.S.s.” would be appropriate.

The success of your content will rely on how well it’s received by the people who consume it and if they share it.

The S.U.C.C.E.S.s. principle of producing content is a perfect fit for search engine related content marketing. The human element is added to the otherwise robot-like and formulaic method of distributing content on the internet.

It’s not enough to satisfy the algorithms to produce relevant SEO-driven content. In order for something to turn viral, it must appeal to human beings as well. I’ve included a link to the PDF that the Heath Brothers made to give you more information on the process.

As long as there is a strategy for keeping the content relevant to the audience, blog posts and articles can handle all three duties. Creating outlines, conducting research, and choosing the right strategy can help you to create SEO-friendly articles that also engage your readers.

In summary…
The S.U.C.C.E.S.s. principle of producing content is one of the absolute most effective ways to create attractive content that connects with your target audience. However, don’t take my word for it. Take a look for yourself and see how it can help you. You’ll love the results! Follow me to get more tips on content marketing. You can also get more information at https://contentmarketingmagic.co/blog.

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Dennis Francis

Retired content marketing consultant. Author, artist, husband, father and owner of ContentMarketingMagic.co. Still helping small business owners daily.