How Content Marketing Gives You an Unfair Advantage

Joe PulizziWe’re constantly competing for our ideal customers’ attention, so the idea of marketing less to sell more might seem, well, crazy.

It may seem even more crazy, coming from content marketing evangelist, Joe Pulizzi. After all, his entire business is built on the idea of creating content.

He runs the Content Marketing Institute. He is the founder of Content Marketing World, the largest content marketing event on the planet. The first two books he co-authored were called “Get Content Get Customers” and “Managing Content Marketing.” He followed that up with his newest book, “Epic Content Marketing.” 

He even has a tattoo of content marketing somewhere on his body.*

So if you’ve got a question on content, it’s best to start with Joe. Which is why I asked him to join us on this week’s episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Big Ideas:

  • Create an emotional connection with your customers. Do this by creating compelling, relevant content that helps them solve a problem or live a better life.
  • Sell more by marketing less. Most marketing info is about “us” as a business. Instead, create a content strategy that starts with the customer and their problem that needs solving.
  • Think like a publisher and less like a business. Instead of constantly pitching yourself, position yourself as the go-to resource for your customer.
  • Find and focus on your niche. Talk to your customers to find out what their problems are. Narrow your focus on your audience. Who are they? Focus on one persona. Use Google Trends to go small with your niche. The more in-depth and niche-focused you are, the faster you will grow and reach your audience.
  • Create a marketing mission statement. 93% of businesses do content marketing, but few have a strategy. Who are you talking to? What are you going to deliver? Everything has to be useful. What is the outcome for your audience? Understanding this helps you focus on your customer and creating better content.
  • Own your content platform. Don’t put all your content on a platform you down own (Facebook, for example.) Own your own database. Blogs are great for a subscription strategy approach. Use social channels to distribute content.
  • Use SEO for market research. Use 50 top keywords and compare to customer pain points. Incorporate these words into your posts and topics. Search for expertise if you don’t have it.
  • Consider mobile. Your content must be digestible on mobile devices. Make sure it’s readable. 
  • Don’t have time? Make it. If you don’t put attention on content marketing, opportunities will pass you by. Consistent, compelling content is very important to your success. It warrants your time. Content marketing done right has a long shelf life.
  • Don’t produce too much content. Focus on a channel or niche that you can truly be great at. Start with a simple strategy and move forward from that. 
  • Outsource as necessary. Don’t have the inhouse talent to create compelling stories? Look at industry trade magazines and look for freelance journalists and writers. Turn content into a compelling story with editorial pros. 

 Juicy Links:

Rich Brooks
Content Marketer

* Totally not true.

By