What is Content Marketing?

Last night, I listened to a small business owner excitedly describe the fantastic results his company has achieved with an internet business strategy called Content Marketing.

Some see Content Marketing as an SEO technique only, but it is much more than that.

Features of Content Marketing

• Basic Content Marketing is simply talking about what matters to your customers. Typical business hype is all about how great the company is. Content Marketing is all about what your company can do for those it serves.
• Content Marketing is simple to begin. Make a list of all the questions your customers and potential customers are asking, then begin answering them on your company Blog or website. Don’t have a Blog? Start one.
• Write from the heart and drop most of the technical jargon. Write so the reader can understand and be sure to use basic, correct grammar.
• Don’t be afraid to answer the hard questions, and avoid coming across as evasive. Your customers want to know why they should do business with you. Content Marketing can show them you know what you are talking about and can complete the job, provide the product or deliver the service they need. In the internet age, folks aren’t buying the typical marketing butterflys and rainbows mumbo jumbo. They want real facts from real, honest people. If you give them what they want, they will award you with the business you want.

What Content Marketing is Not

Content Marketing can’t solve every business problem and it can’t trick prospects into becoming loyal customers. Every great business begins with a great product or service. Once you have that vital piece in place, you need to let the world know who you are and what you do. If you are still at the “How can I become an entrepreneur” stage, check out the Dream Into It program–an Entrepreneur’s Roadmap to Freedom.

And that is where Content Marketing enters the picture. Well-written, to-the-point articles position you and your company as having the answers and providing the goods. After all, who would you buy from–the slick talking huckster with nothing to offer but the lowest price or the mature professional who knows your problem and shows you a  solution backed up with the commitment to be there when you need help?

How to find a Content Marketing Writer

Two words: Be careful. There are plenty of outsourced writers available who will deliver cheap content. And I do mean cheap. Here again, choose your writer based upon ability, knowledge and commitment–not on the lowest price. You want someone who will take  time to understand your business and your customer base … someone  who will deliver content that makes sense and is to the point. Spam articles are not Content Marketing articles. They are  spam. Don’t  use them.

(If you need help with Content Marketing, Article Writing or Copywriting in general, let Roadturn know.)