So what is content marketing, and why does it work so well?
Because the web is nothing more than a virtual library, and Google is your virtual librarian.
It’s true.
Even the terms used for online marketing and “page rank” have their origins in the language of your local library: web PAGES, having your site INDEXED, etc.
Hopefully you get the idea.
Say what you want about the web, but it is a content driven system. That’s why Google rewards sites that post new and updated content on a daily basis.
Creating a content marketing strategy what works 24/7/365…
So how does content marketing differ from article marketing?
It doesn’t.
Content comes in a variety of forms, such as:
- article
- blog post
- podcast/audio (obsolete, but you get the idea)
- video (on or off your site)
- photo (posted on flickr)
The key is ORIGINALITY!
No posting duplicate content, ever, because that is a big no-no.
Now, I’m not saying you can’t RE-PURPOSE existing content, because you can. But to do this well means basically redoing the piece (new article or video) you are re-purposing all over again.
Is that clear?
You can’t simply use “push button” content creation, or think that lazily reposting the SAME article in the SAME way is going to pay any dividends for you, because it wont.
To succeed online, you have to do the work yourself in the right way, or hire a company that actually knows what it’s doing and have them handle the content creation for you.
That said, here are some tips to follow for creating (or posting) killer content…
11 tips for your content marketing strategy
- Target an actual keyword
- Use a compelling headline (post/article)
- Grab their attention in the first 10 seconds (audio/video)
- What’s in it for them? (audience focused)
- Why should they care?
- Focus on their needs and the problems you solve
- Break up large blocks of copy with bullets, lists, etc.
- Include a call to action (what do you want them to DO?)
- Distribute online using social media
- Update your facebook PAGE with your new content
- Use backlinks to your action pages (content posted OFF your site)
And lastly, keep a consistent schedule.
I can’t tell you how many times people tell me this doesn’t work after creating a handful of articles. Are you kidding me?
Listen up… the web is a MATURE marketplace, which means there are hundreds of thousands of websites for your niche/industry. And Google still only shows 10 results on page 1. So it takes more than an afternoon’s worth of work to get there, for goodness sake.
So stop whining already.
Here are two examples for you to learn from…
My good friend Mark spoke to me about 7 months ago that one of his sites wasn’t generating any sales. After reviewing his site and making some observations, he agreed to implement each and every one of them.
The result?
I changed his theme, he redid his sales page (with some tips from me), he posted a bunch of new videos on YouTube, and is now making 1 or 2 sales each week. After adding a higher priced item (i.e. 3 options for the product) his average dollar amount per sale has doubled.
We’re talking about a consistent 4 to 8 sales each month, each and EVERY month, for the past 5 months in a row.
The result is a consistent system that works for him 24/7/365.
Now let’s talk about Mike.
He came to me over a year ago because he wanted me to help him create a lead gen system for his niche. Up front I mentioned that he would have to contribute 1 article a week (at the least) in order to get the traction he’d need to get on page 1.
He agreed.
After the site was up and I fed him some keywords to target for his articles he was doing OK. There was some steady, though slow, progress (his niche is insurance).
He would then point out sites to me that he liked that were 6, 7, 10 years old with hundreds of pages and thousands of backlinks. And each time I reassured him that we could eventually beat these sites, but not in a weekend. And it wouldn’t take 5 years, either…
After a few months the flow of articles slowed down to 1 a month. Then nothing. I called him about it and I heard the same old excuses…
- no time
- the person who was supposed to handle it got busy
- couldn’t think of anything to say
- no results so why bother, etc.
Maybe you’ve had those same thoughts?
Anyway, since he wasn’t hiring me to write articles for him (my part was to keyword each one, edit them, and post them online) and he didn’t want to hire me to handle this for him, his traffic slowed to a crawl. You are simply not going to make much progress with 11 articles posted on a brand new site and hope to beat out sites that are much older than you.
He wanted to try pay-per-click.
I showed him how much that would cost. He tried it anyway for a month, with no results (no kidding).
So what finally happened?
He gave up — shut down the project and walked away.
What is the lesson here for you?
Simply this — there are no quick hits when it comes to using the web for your business advantage. Dominating your niche online comes down to working in the trenches day in and day out for more than a couple of months. It takes a plan and dedication to implement the plan on a consistent basis, day in and day out, rain or shine, tons of leads or nothing happening.
Do this and you’ll be rewarded.
It’s the tortoise and the hare all over again. To win the race you have to keep at it, day in and day out, or hire someone to handle this for you and then follow their recommendations to the letter.
Because I guaran-damn-tee you that your competitor(s) are working real hard to OWN page 1 for themselves, to grab the pot of gold at the end of the Google rainbow.
Basically, the choice is yours.
You can give up now and walk away.
Or decide to do something about your site today. You can choose to be Mark, or choose to be Mike.
Schedule your website review today
Since early 2008 I have worked with dozens of clients and helped them get more than they thought possible from their websites. And I know I can do the same for you…
There are three ways to schedule your FREE website audit:
- call 888-542-2936 and leave a voice message, including your name and URL, or…
- send an email to: support@bestwebpresence.com,
- or click the link and complete a short webform.
Online success starts by taking the first step…
In working with clients I have been able to diagnose problems, road-blocks, issues and oversights that have prevented business owners like you from achieving their goals. To discover how I can improve your current web-marketing efforts to generate MEASURABLE results for you let me review your website, and then we can set up a time to discuss my analysis by phone.
