Letter 133: Traffic ≠ conversions

Why traffic isn’t translating to signups — and how to fix it.

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Ever come across a brand on social media whose content you love but don’t exactly know what they sell?

Yeah, me too. Plenty of times, actually.

(Since we’re all marketers and founders here, I know we’re out there — in the market — paying close attention to how people are marketing, their strategies… In short, we’re all active content consumers).

And that’s just one of the many problems I’m seeing:

• Bloated content volume. I don’t need to spell this out, so I’ll just say: with generative AI in the picture…

• Overflooded distribution channels. It’s getting harder and harder to stand out in the crowd. There’s a lot of noise (you hear it, don’t you?)

• Content overly optimized for search. The approach isn’t wrong. Not at all. But in trekking the search results pages (even trying to show up in ChatGPT), it’s easy to lose sight of the reader.

As a result, here’s what happens:

Most content programs succeed at driving traffic. But when it comes to getting those readers to take action – to sign up for a free trial, for a demo – that’s where the struggle begins.

You’re publishing more than ever, getting people to read your content… yet somehow, when it’s time to take the next step, they bounce.

You’re unintentionally building an army of passive readers 😬

The solution then, you ask? Building your strategy around:

• Product education (not just what it does and its benefits but also how features fit in workflows)

• Your buyer’s journey (based on the type of tool you’re selling, map out how your target audience makes their purchase decisions)

Sure you still need keywords. But what you need now more than ever is charting your product features and buyer’s journey to inform content production.

Want to weigh exactly how PLC content stacks up against traditional SEO content? I broke it down here.

In short, optimize for users first, search engines second ✅

All the content you put out (I like to call it the product-led content library you create) should:

• Speak to your reader’s pain points, challenges, and goals.

• Answer their questions, help them see what’s at stake, and address objections. (Remember: you need to address 2 types of objections, and taking an ostrich approach doesn’t help here).

• Move them step by step through their buying journey. (These journeys are getting longer, so every step matters).

Such a product-led content library doesn’t just drive traffic — it helps convert it by nurturing product-educated readers who are more likely to take action than those simply seeking ‘free’ tips.

See what I mean? Next week, I’ll give you more reasons to build a product-led content library.

And very soon, I’ll also show you how — with an exciting update.

Until then, tell me: are you seeing this in your content? How big of a challenge is it for you?