When everyone’s zigging, the only way to stand out is to zag.
And when everyone and their cat are publishing every day, you’ll do well to create less content.
Don’t get me wrong. I still believe in the power of content marketing. It will always exist in one form or another because there’s no better way to communicate with your community and nurture relationships.
It just won’t always look like it did from 2010 to 2016.
Besides, the way you do content marketing should be unique to your business. Don’t copy the gurus, or you’ll be zigging with everyone else. Instead, think about what you’re trying to achieve and what your best options are for making that happen.
But here’s what I want you to remember…
You Can Create Less Content
Sure, you can write 3,000-word articles every week — or every day, for that matter. But you’ll quickly run out of steam.
Content marketing won’t be fun. It will be exhausting. For you and your audience.
There are some brands successfully creating content every day. In most cases, they have a team of people dedicated to producing and publishing that content.
That said, a few solopreneurs and small businesses do blog or email every day.
- Bob Bly has been sending out daily emails about copywriting and marketing for at least 10 years.
- Ben Settle’s daily emails are short, entertaining tips that have A-level marketers raving.
- Media buyer Justin Brooke recently made his newsletter daily with good results. His following and reputation have gone through the roof.
But for most business, it’s just not possible. Work still needs to get done.
And just because a few people are publishing daily (and doing it well) doesn’t mean it’s the right strategy for you.
Neil Patel has been creating long-form, evergreen articles at an impressive rate for the last several years. And even he is slowing down. Because the “content machine” approach to content marketing simply isn’t sustainable.
That’s not a problem, though.
Brian Dean is a good example of someone who successfully produces less. Far less. He publishes just one article a month. And a lot of those articles aren’t new. They’re an update. So after nearly a decade of doing content marketing for SEO, he only has around 50 articles in his blog.
Talk about zagging!
But Brian didn’t check with the gurus before creating his content strategy. He started with his own business and his own goals.
Start with Your Goals, Not a Specific Strategy
There are so many ways to use content. Your strategy really depends on what you need to achieve.
Want to rank in search? You’ll need to focus on 2 things: authoritative content on your blog and link building. You may decide to publish just one article a month on your own blog and 2–3 guest posts on other sites.
Want to drive subscriptions? A higher publishing frequency may be your best bet, but you should focus more on expressing your personality than on meeting a particular word count.
Want people to drive sales or get people to sign up for a demo? You’ll need to create a variety of content types: case studies, videos, and interviews, for example. You may also need to create training videos that give people a clear picture of how your product or solution works.
You see, there’s no one content strategy that will work for every business. It’s your goals that determine the type of content you create, the frequency, and the length.
Put Your Focus on Results, Not Word-Counts
The bottom line in marketing is results. For some businesses, content is the driving force. It’s what keeps everything running smoothly. For other businesses, it’s just something they do because they’re supposed to.
Seriously.
That’s not the way to approach your content.
If it’s a burden, stop it. If it’s draining your resources, it’s not worth it. But if it’s helping you build a community, gain subscribers or leads, build trust, or make more sales, it’s definitely worth it.
You may put content at the front of your marketing plan. Or you may use content to support other strategies that get better results for you.
Bottom line, it’s the results that matter… and what works for you.
Content should be part of your marketing plan. You simply need to decide how it fits into the big picture for you.
And never forget: you can create less content and get great results.
Got questions? Let me know. I’m happy to help you figure out a smart content strategy for your business.
Feature image by PDPics.
