The Road Trip Guide to Customer Journey

Bassline Editorial | www.basslineeditorial.com
© 2017 Jessie Kwak. All Rights Reserved.
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The Road
Trip Guide To
Customer Journey
A handy content marketing model for sales coaches

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Are you spinning your wheels
with content marketing?
You’re blogging, podcasting, guest posting — and
your audience simply isn’t converting to paying clients.
What’s going on?
Content marketing can be incredibly effective — IF your target audience reads your content in the
moment that they need it. So, without digging your Magic 8-Ball out of the closet, how can you know
when your target audience is going to need what you’ve got?
By understanding how your content maps with the customer journey.
Read on.

WHEN I WAS 12 YEARS OLD, my parents took my sister
and I on an epic road trip around the United States.
While driving through South Dakota on our way back
to Washington State, we passed through miles and
miles of gloriously empty landscape.
Towns were few and far between, my sister and I
were bored, and my parents were tired of listening to
us argue with each other in the backseat.
We were desperate for something to break up the
monotony of the road.
Wall Drug was very aware of our plight.
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Consider the simple
roadside attraction.

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The hand-painted Wall Drug signs
along the highway start catching your
attention while you’re still hundreds of
miles out.
They promise burgers, 5c coffee,
Black Hills gold, and (of course)
free ice water.
Naturally, we pulled in.
“Sign for Wall Drug” by Jkeiser
is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

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Too often, content marketing is treated as a type of free
advertising. Just blog every day, and people will come find
you. Post on social media, and people will buy your book.
Start a podcast, and people will hire you as a coach.
But a better way to think of content marketing is as
another service you offer. Your email newsletter and your
blog (or even e-books and guides like this one) aren’t
advertising — they’re part of the educational services that
you offer to your target audience.
When you think about content marketing that way, the
focus shifts from quantity (putting out as many blog posts
as possible to raise your website’s SEO score) to quality
(helping your target audience solve a problem).
Just like my family did — just like your
client does — the target audience for
a roadside attraction goes through
a distinct customer journey,
bolstered by content that leads them
further down the rabbit hole.
It all starts with the billboards.
THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY

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BILLBOARDS
Wherein your audience sits up
and takes notice.
PHASE 1:

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In the beginning, there are Billboards.
YOU’LL SEE THEM FOR MILES AROUND promising to meet
you, the driver, in your moment of need.
Are you bored?
Hungry?
Tired?
Ready to leave your children
on the side of the road?
Let us help.
PHASE 1

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Billboards Parking Lot Gift Shop The Experience
• Blog posts
• Podcasts
• SlideShares
• Guest Posts
• LinkedIn Blog
• Medium
• Expert Quotes
BILLBOARDS
PHASE 1
Billboard content is what helps potential clients find you. It’s the breadcrumb trail that introduces
people to yourself and your ideas, then leads them back to your website to learn more.
The type of content you’ll find here will generally be free and easily accessible.

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PARKING LOT
Wherein your audience decide whether
or not they’re into you.
PHASE 2:
“Paul Bunyon & Babe”
by Unlettered and Ordinary
is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

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Next, there’s the Parking Lot.
AN ENORMOUS STATUE OF PAUL BUNYAN and Babe the Blue Ox greet you in the
parking lot for the Trees of Mystery on Highway 101 in northern California, offering
an excellent photo opportunity.
There’s also a free nature trail where you can stretch your legs and learn about
the local flora.
It’s a taste of the kitsch and nature-oriented education you’ll get if you walk inside
the Trees of Mystery gift shop. If you decide the vibe from the nature trail is not for
you, you can enjoy the free sample and move along.
Or, you could open the door to the gift shop.
PHASE 2

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• Case Studies
• Testimonials
• Webinars
• Free Guides
• Lead Magnets
• Cheat Sheets
• Ebooks
THE PARKING LOT
PHASE 2
Parking lot content provides a taste of what it’s like to work with you, and some social proof that
your ideas are effective.
The type of content you’ll find here is often hosted on your website and will not generally require
opt-in on the part of your audience.

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GIFT SHOP
Wherein your audience decide
if they want to take the ride.
PHASE 3:

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Enter through the Gift Shop.
ANY ROADSIDE ATTRACTION OWNER with a lick of business sense puts the ticket
booth inside the gift shop. Inside the shop, tourists who are still on the fence can
get a cup of coffee or an ice cream cone, then read more about the attraction.
The gift shop offers an opportunity to make a small ask, while giving the driver a
more intriguing glimpse of what’s on offer.
Maybe that’s a mini museum, maybe that’s a wall of photos from other tourists
enjoying the House of Mystery or SkyTrain or Sea Lion Caves or whatever “The
Experience” is. If you decide it’s not for you, you can spend a couple dollars on
trinkets and walk back out the door and get on with your road trip.
Or, you can wander up to the ticket booth and step behind the curtain.
PHASE 3

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THE GIFT SHOP
PHASE 3
• Email Newsletters
• Resource Libraries
• Course Handouts
• Books & Ebooks
• Assessments
• Initial Consultations
• Introductory Services
Gift shop content generally requires your prospects to have opted in somehow: signed up for
your newsletter, attended a course, sent you an email, given you their card.
This content should include introductory packages at lower price points, books, and other easier
sells for people who are just browsing your services.

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EXPERIENCE
Wherein your audience become
your clients.
PHASE 4:
“Entering the Oregon Vortex”
by James Wellington
is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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Buying into The Experience
ONCE YOU’VE BOUGHT THE TICKET, the roadside attraction owner has successfully
converted you from a traveler who knew nothing about the attraction into a paying
customer. You’ve bought into the final product:
The Experience.
You’re ready to be wowed by the Giant Sequoias,
the Genuine Mermaids,
the Wax Museum.
You’re all in.
PHASE 4

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• 1:1 Coaching Sessions
• Consulting Packages
• Premium Courses
• In-Person Trainings
• Books & Ebooks
• Speaking Gigs
THE EXPERIENCE
PHASE 4
This is the ultimate service you’re selling:
Your consulting package, your in-person trainings, your services as a speaker.
This is your most exclusive content — the final destination for prospects who’ve consumed
your billboards, parking lot signage, and gift shop trinkets. This is the real deal.

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BECAUSE IN THE END, the reason that my parents first pulled into the parking lot at
Wall Drug wasn’t just because of the billboards. It was because for days and days
as we drove we’d seen cars (advocates) with pine green bumper stickers that said
“Wall Drug of South Dakota” in old-timey white letters.
By the time we saw the first billboards, we were already curious.
When the roadside attraction seriously delights you, you become a brand
advocate. You buy a kitschy T-shirt and a bumper sticker. You help grow their
business by telling your friends that if they ever find themselves driving through
Northern California, it’s worth checking out the Trees of Mystery.
There’s just one final step.
PHASE 5

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JUST LIKE A ROADSIDE ATTRACTION has a specific sequence of events that turns a
road-weary driver into a paying customer and brand advocate, so does your
business. And just like a roadside attraction uses specific types of content at each
stage of the journey, so should you.
Just like the billboard directs you to parking lot signage, which directs you to the
gift shop, which directs you to The Experience, so should your content lead your
target audience from one phase to the next.
Your content must be a service

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Ready to take a look at how this works in the
practices of real life consultants, coaches,
speakers, and solopreneurs?
Grab a copy of my free ebook:
The 5-Step Guide to Revamping Your
Content Marketing Strategy
But enough with
the metaphor.
2020

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Remember:
Your Content is a Service
When you think about content marketing as a service, the
focus shifts from quantity (putting out as many blog posts as
possible to raise your website’s SEO score) to quality
(helping your target audience solve a problem).

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• Email Newsletters
• Resource Libraries
• Course Handouts
• Books & Ebooks
• Assessments
• Initial Consultations
• Introductory Services
• Blog posts
• Podcasts
• SlideShares
• Guest Posts
• LinkedIn Blog
• Medium
• Expert Quotes
• 1:1 Coaching Sessions
• Consulting Packages
• Premium Courses
• In-Person Trainings
• Books & Ebooks
• Speaking Gigs
ROAD TRIP
CUSTOMER JOURNEY
THE 4 PHASES
• Case Studies
• Testimonials
• Webinars
• Free Guides
• Lead Magnets
• Cheat Sheets
• Ebooks
Not sure where your
current content fits? Get my
easy-to-use rubric at:
BasslineEditorial.com/
resources

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Schedule your Content Marketing Audit today. You’ll get:
• A comprehensive audit of your existing content.
• A detailed report that points out gaps in your content
marketing funnel and highlights places where you could
optimize your existing content.
• A custom content strategy roadmap to point you in
the right direction.
• An hour phone call with me to go over the report and
guide and come up with a plan that focuses on next
steps, starting with the most impactful low-hanging fruit.
LEARN MORE
No time to DIY?
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BASSLINE EDITORIAL
As a freelancer and ghostwriter, I split my time: I write 
B2B marketing copy (blog posts, white papers, case studies, reported
articles, sales leave-behinds, and all that jazz), and I also work with
solopreneurs with something important to say — but who want a little  
help articulating their message.
About Bassline Editorial
We offer editorial and consulting services for authors, speakers, and
coaches — from content audits and strategy to ghostwriting blog posts,
ebooks, lead magnets, and business books.
You’re the star. We provide the bassline to help your ideas shine.
@BasslineEd
JESSIE KWAK
About Jessie Kwak

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THANKS FOR READING
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