Repeating a familiar tone, style, and story arc won't guarantee immediate success. Hallmark started airing only a few movies a year before it caught on.

After you publish a few pieces of content containing familiar elements, pay attention to your audience's reaction. Look at your analytics to see how many views the content gets during the first week or month. How often do readers click on the call to action?

All Hallmark movies have happy endings. Audiences like the comfort of knowing how things will turn out.

A brand wouldn't publish a customer story that turns out bad or remains unsolved. Audiences want to know the story that leads to a successful outcome.

Hallmark movies often include familiar faces. They use the same lead actors in multiple movies in a single season.

Consider featuring familiar sources or storytellers throughout your brand communications.

Some Hallmark movies are so popular that the channel creates yearly sequels.

If you profile people or businesses, consider doing a follow-up content piece to see what is different since you last told their story.

Hallmark holiday movies attract about 80 million viewers for one holiday season. Hallmark productions reuse shooting locations, plot points and anything else they can.

When you consider how to do the most with your content marketing budget, look for ways to save, such as writing all the scripts for a monthly video and shooting them in one batch. Or, instead of hiring several freelancers over the next six months, you may save time by using one qualified writer to write all the pieces.

Be flattered when other brands recreate your efforts. But continue to tweak to keep your content current, relevant, and reasonably familiar to your audience.