So, why have I launched a new site dedicated to content marketing and more importantly, how can it help you and your business?
Content marketing works. In 2011, I generated almost £140,000 in fees from a site, using content marketing and in this post I’m going to briefly explain what it is and why you should be using it too.
Content marketing: What is it?
The actual term “content marketing” is something you may not be familiar with, yet I’m willing to bet you visit content marketing sites regularly. If you visit entertainment sites or sites that offer business advice, you are visiting a site that uses content to market itself. The same is true of sites that offer; healthy living tips, computer maintenance advice, SEO guides, personal development tips, web design ideas, cooking recipes, beauty tips, marketing advice, legal guides – The list is almost endless.
In short: Content marketing can be used by any kind of business owner or entrepreneur, as a way to attract inquiries, clients, customers and sales!
The content marketing model explained
The content marketing model is extremely simple:
You build and market a site and fill it with useful information, whilst offering your readers the opportunity to purchase goods, services (or both), which are closely aligned with the subject matter of your site.
For example, on my marketing blog, I provide thousands of marketing ideas and tons of free marketing advice, which people read, use and share with their friends. Some of the people who read that blog, see the quality of my information and decide to hire me to look after their marketing. Others buy an audio program that’s on that site. Last year alone, those incomes from that 1 site were close to £130,000 – All thanks to inquiries and product sales I achieved through content marketing.
Content marketing & the secret sauce paradox
Over the past 15 years, I have spoken with thousands of service providers about content marketing. Accountants, trainers, coaches, designers, lawyers, advisors, consultants etc – All ask me the same question when I suggest they use content marketing:
“Surely, if I give all that great information away, people will just use it to do the job themselves and they won’t need to hire me?”
Here’s my answer. Very broadly speaking, there are 3 groups of people in the marketplace, who will consume all that great content you publish:
- There is a small percentage of people, who will never ever pay for professional help. These guys were never going to hire you anyway.
- There’s a much bigger group of people, who will try and do something themselves, but will hire professional help if they are not getting the results they want. They value professional expertise, but only when it’s needed. This is the biggest of the 3 groups by far.
- There’s a very small group of people, who value their time and understand that by hiring someone to do something correctly for them, it usually works out a lot less expensive and the results are massively better.
So, no one in that first group was going to hire you anyway. You lost nothing. Some of the people in that second group will use your ideas and do the job themselves, whilst others will realise they need expert help, and some of those people will hire you. With that third group, if you can demonstrate to them that you are an expert in your field, with all that great free content you publish, you become massively more likely to get a call from them when they need help, because they already “know” you and your work.
Looking at that above example, your content marketing will have generated new business inquiries, from people who would never have known you existed or how knowledgeable you are. That example is also 100% reflected in the results I have personally witnessed over the years. It’s a simple, yet incredible form of marketing.
Content marketing via a blog
Newsletters are great, email marketing can be enormously effective too, and I will be covering both here on the site. However, in my experience, there is no better format for content marketing than a blog. Nothing even comes close. There are lots of reasons for this (and I will cover them all in future posts so remember to subscribe.)
Something very special happens when you use a blog for content marketing. The blog becomes a lot more powerful than simply a typical web log. It becomes a media asset! Moreover, it becomes a media asset, which grows in value to you and your business all the time.
Media asset?
Your content marketing blog, if developed correctly, can be like a magazine or trade publication, which YOU own. It puts YOU in the publishing business! This makes your blog a media platform. As you develop a growing, targeted readership of prospective clients or customers to your media platform (blog), you can put your business and your services in front of them whenever you want, without the need buy advertising from someone else. You can also make sales directly from your blog and, if you wish, allow others to pay YOU to advertise to your growing readership. This makes your blog a media asset.
If you use original, relevant targeted content on your blog, you will attract a regular stream of new readers too, via search engines; increasing the number of people who know about you and your business. If your content is good enough, other people will link to it from their blogs and websites, which Google and Co use as a major way to determine how highly to rank your site in their search engines. This helps you attract even more new readers, looking for the kind of products and services, which you write about. People love to share great content with their social networks, friends and colleagues; increasing your readership even more!
The net result is a media asset that’s also appreciating in value all the time. (In future posts I will cover exactly what you need to do!)
Content marketing is a big, exciting topic, which is why I have developed this blog for you. In future posts, you will find ideas and “how to” guides, using the same plain English, bullshit free approach I use on my marketing blog. Please remember to check back here regularly, or subscribe now, if you don’t want to miss anything.
Image credit: Lauren Michell
Jim
Wow!!!!
I wasn’t sure how you would top http://jimsmarketingblog.com but you have. This post is a keeper. I think this site will be awesome and this first post will be hard to top.
Great advice – You should really monetize this post, it’s better than most of the books I have read on content marketing.
Brent
Thanks! I may hire you as my agent, Brent!
Jim,
I don’t know how many professionals read that post but I have to say that this blog is priceless !!
[...] regular basis, I believe you will see a better return from a new blog. Why? Because as well as all the obvious advantages of blogging, you get the key benefits of writing a newsletter [...]
I really like the perspective “media asset..”
It provides even more credence to what it is your actually building. It’s a platform to demonstrate your value, expertise, excellence, insights, and so much more.
The two key words here: excellence — don’t put up anything on your platform isn’t excellently done, and value — long term asset that can create value for you and your family.
Love it Jim!
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Jim, how much time do you spend each day/week on writing your posts – they are so useful, polished and regular – what’s your secret?
That’s very kind Nick.
I write around a dozen posts a week, across my blogs. My main site is updated 5 or 6 times a week and this site, being just 1 week old, needs lots of content, so I have been posting here each day.
It takes me around 25 minutes to write a post and I usually write a few at a time.
However, I have 25 years worth of marketing experience to draw from, so there’s always a lot to share.
I also REALLY enjoy blogging, which means it’s a lot easier to get posts written.
Hope that helps, Nick.
A great guideline – I need to split my time allocations up – some of my posts are technical and take time. I need to treat them separately from the comment/guidance posts.
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Hi Jim,
Thanks for this post. I’ve been trying to describe what I’m trying to do to others but have been having a hard time at it.
Now I know what words to use “content marketing”.
Thanks!
Happy to help Greg!!
[...] How original is your blog content? [...]
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Great post Jim as usual. I actually printed it and it will remain in eyesight on my desk as a reminder!
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Thank you for the content I have just read.
Recently I have been reading similar comments about the need to explain more clearly the services we offer without actually pitching. Everything you’ve said makes sense to me and has actually convinced me to be more open and less protective about my skills and expertise. I may be rambling but that is because I am excited to put your observations and guidance into practice.
Thank you so much for opening the door I was convinced had to be kept shut tight to protect all my hard work.
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Equally as excited as all these fine folks at the prospects of a shiny new blog from brother Jim!
Your words and advice remind me of what my old manager used to say, “content is king” so “make me an expert” – by leveraging what we know we can serve a number of goals. We can empower our audience with a skill set and understanding of not only what we do, but even broadly speaking, how we do it. Levelling the playing field like that helps us a) qualify any resulting user base, as they’ll know exactly what it is you can offer them but also b) puts you in the coach’s cap. And let us remember, no matter how big of an All-Star your fledging viewers become, they more often then not remember the sound of their coach’s whistle and won’t hesitate to come back for further training or referring your services.
An awesome post as always Jim, filled with some great insight. Thanks!
The readers didn’t know we were brothers – Our secret is out now;)
As always you make some very good points, Oojal; particularly regarding the levelling of the playing field. In my experience, content marketing is the most powerful form of marketing I have ever seen, largely because it’s open to all and gives smart individuals a chance to reach so many great people.
Thanks for the comment, sir!
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