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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Content Marketing 101


Content Marketing 101:
How to Build an Audience that
Builds Your Business

Content Marketing 101
Content Marketing means creating and sharing valuable free content to attract and convert prospects into customers, and customers into repeat buyers. The type of content you share is closely related to what you sell; in other words, you’re educating people so that they know, like, and trust you enough to do business with you.
The primary goal is to obtain opt-in permission to deliver content over time, preferably by email. Repeated and regular exposure builds a relevant relationship that provides multiple opportunities for conversion, rather than a “one-shot” all-or-nothing sales approach.
While copywriting techniques are often applied to content created for marketing purposes, we’re not talking about advertising in the traditional sense. In contrast to “interruption” marketing such as television commercials or direct mail, content marketing involves delivering requested information with independent value that creates trust, credibility, and authority for the business that provides that value.
There are many ways to profit with content: blogging, video tutorials, email newsletters, white papers, free reports . . . and yet many people are confused about the entire concept. So, we’ve put together this quick 6-part tutorial that lays out the basics in plain language.
  1. What’s the Difference Between Content Marketing and Copywriting?
  2. The Three Essentials of Breakthrough Content Marketing
  3. 49 Creative Ways You Can Profit From Content Marketing
  4. How to Use Content to Find Customers
  5. Why Content and Social Media are a Powerful Match
  6. The 10-Step Content Marketing Checklist
Remember, content drives the Internet, and consumers are looking for information that solves a problem, not immediate sales pitches. The trust, credibility, and authority that content marketing creates knocks down sales resistance, all while providing a baseline introduction to the benefits of a particular product or service.
The individuals and businesses that are having the most success online tend to take an approach that involves a high ratio of valuable content that seemingly has no sales agenda, mixed with periodic promotional messages. There’s a lot more to discover about effective content marketing, so sign up for free updates from Copyblogger to learn more.
About the Author is founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Copyblogger Media.

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