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Content Marketing 101

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What’s known as “content marketing” is actually the art and science of building true relationships with your prospects, clients, and audiences by sharing informative — actionable, free information — usually via digital means — to show them what you, your company, or your book offers and what your brand (personal or corporate) stands for.

In short, it is “show, don’t sell.” In fact, I like to compare content marketing to party conversation…

Content marketing starts with strategically understanding your own brand and the unique value proposition of the information or services you deliver. Then, it involves targeting the audiences for your services — figuring out precisely who they are, where they are, and by what means (digital, video, print, etc.) they are best reached.

Content marketing tools

An overarching tool for content marketing is the:

  • content marketing calendar (see screenshot, above)

This calendar is used to keep track of when and how each piece of content (or “asset”) is sent out. The calendar is developed with an eye towards critical promotional dates, such as holidays or tentpole events that are important to your specific business, book, or the message you want to convey.

The content marketing calendar may look daunting, but it really just a guide to help keep track of good, strategic and timely “conversational” topics you want to have, where you want to have them (social media, newsletter) — and to keep track of what materials you have or might need to develop (videos, blog posts, etc.) to help spur those timely conversations and maybe even repurpose in a different format.

Other tools are used to “deliver” the content and each has their own specific uses and best practices.

  • website – to provide a firm foundation for your information
  • blog – to demonstrate your expertise on an ongoing basis and (with SEO), help ensure search engines find your website. 
  • newsletters – to stay in touch with current and potential clients
  • social media – to create awareness and engagement among various audiences
  • video – a key information delivery mechanism, either on a standalone platform (such as YouTube) or to be embedded / shared on all of the various other tools
  • list building & lead nurturing mechanisms – digital forms and automated responses to help draw people into your newsletter
  • ebooks or other “lead magnets” – robust content delivered to help capture leads
  • virtual press kits – used to target media for PR

Other NON-digital tools for content marketing is a:

  • book – which can be an effective brand extension that lends authority and creates a reason for media opportunities.
  • speaking engagements – which help you connect personally with an audience.

What books and speaking have in common that they both ARE a product and serve to drive more audience engagement.

SEO and content marketing

As you send your content out into the digital world, you need to optimize it so search engines can more easily find it. This search engine optimization (aka SEO) is a critical element of digital marketing success.

Part of an overall marketing strategy 

Content marketing should be deployed to work in tandem with all promotional and brand efforts, such as:

  • collateral – brochures, flyers, etc.
  • advertisements – paid social media, print, radio, television
  • public relations & media outreach
  • events – trade shows, fairs, conferences
  • environmental – signage, posters, trade show booths

Working cohesively, all parts of the marketing mix can amplify each other, to most effectively attract prospects and clients.

Need content marketing campaign strategy or development? ContentMeant can help. 

Whether content marketing strategy or implementation, if you need guidance, get in touch.

Content Strategy in Action: Advice for All

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As we marketing & strategy pros know, content strategy and marketing is not advertising, it is not an advertorial, it is not selling. It’s creating a relationship with your client, your customer, or your reader. And nobody likes a relationship where the other party is constantly hitting them over the head with how great they are and exhorting them to BUY, BUY, BUY. My motto for good content marketing is “show, don’t sell“.

And to show how content marketing works in the real world, here’s an example of content strategy in action from a large, global project I did for Samsung.

Yes, Samsung is a huge corporation. But substitute “blog post” or “LinkedIn activity” for “article” and the principles are the same for any-sized effort. 

Strategy first, then content

Though Samsung sells its products through retailers — not directly to consumers — they wanted a way to engage consumers with their products across 70+ “regional” websites around the globe.

The solution was to develop content that would create a need for the product in the consumer’s view.

I was brought into the project as the first person on the content team, to create the strategy and bring the project into the real world, to develop a couple of dozen initial examples of exactly what the project would look like, to refine them, and to help create templates of  how the project would look when globally scaled and executed by a larger team. I also was a member of the content strategy and social media team for more than three years.

Building the content strategy

After analysis and strategic thinking, it was determined that the content that accompanied  that would actually be product agnostic. It would be useful, in a friendly brand voice. 

For example:

  • An article on better sleep habits made a strong point about room temperature. Among the many sleep hints and tips, the piece mentioned that room temperature was important and some air conditioners could automatically adjust room temperature when someone is sleeping. The Samsung A/C units with this capability appeared next to the article. Those products got a huge boost in clicks/conversion rates.
  • The Samsung robotic vacuum cleaners (iRobot competitors) with the no-tangle pet hair brush when they were placed next to some tips for a cleaner home targeted to pet owners. 

For because we worked with lots of divisions and products, for each piece of content, we created a strategic brief — a sort of strategy outline before we proceeded, in order to nail down the main take-away of the article and how the helpful would link to the product without being salesy.  The brief included keywords, and other strategic SEO information. 

The articles were translated into eight languages and used worldwide. Of course, to appropriately bring eyeballs to the excellent content… 

Create content and social media strategically

In addition to creating a vast library, for each of the articles, the team members created strategic  marketing campaigns for the content by creating marketing “modules” — text and graphics with links that teased and invited visitors to the content from other areas of the site.

In addition to being on-brand and adhered to great SEO practices, we made sure the posts were informative, useful, interesting, substantial and high-quality.

We also created teaser Facebook and Twitter posts some strategically designed to engage users, others to inform users, etc. In that way, we had the strategic social media program “at the ready” to deploy when an article was finally approved and posted.

For businesses and authors who want to engage their audiences with newsletter sign-ups or who (unlike Samsung) can sell directly to their audiences, these strategic social media pieces lead your readers back to the larger content and to the website (which you hopefully have crafted to draw them further into your work).

For Samsung, the social media assets were professionally proofread*, added to the masterlist of available content and to the content calendar for reuse / repurposing at appropriate promotional periods.

Proofread, post, and amplify your content

For smaller sites, I suggest that you proofread at strategically appointed posting time (there are great digital tools available), and add relevant inline links to keep people engaged with your site and offsite links to build authority.

Deploy the social media modules when the content is in place (you can reuse these when the content is repurposed, as well).

Measure the success metrics — 

[by @tonybabel via giphy]

This strategically-developed, informational and product agnostic content created more consumer engagement than even Samsung’s video content — my NDA doesn’t allow me to share the actual figures — but if you and I ever talk in person, I’ll spill the tea 😉

But because the success metrics were so compelling, the initial content strategy turned into a 3+ year engagement (providing three years of a significant bottom line boost for my client, and for an international team of high-level content strategists, as I mentioned above, that included me).

While you don’t have to go into the deep-level success metrics that Samsung did, there are easy ways to track the performance of your content – so you can figure out what works for you and create more of it 😉

Yes, this content marketing will work for you

Again, no matter whether you’re a small business, a solopreneur, or an author — or a large corporation — follow these steps to create your content. Keep doing it — and that’s how you win at content strategy.

[@kimmyschmidt via giphy] 

Do you need a content marketing strategy?

ContentMeant can help. Read more and feel free to get in touch.

4 signs your writer’s group needs a boost

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Writers groups can be a huge source of ongoing support for what is a tough goal — finishing that book and getting it out into the world. Here are signs your group might need a bit of stirring up — and some ideas to do just that.

Lagging attendance

There are many reasons why writers might not be showing up — it could be anything from flagging motivation or lack of dedication to the craft to merely Zoom fatigue. And any group is subject to change and attrition.

But if most of your creative dynamic is worth preserving, be brave and take a poll to see where there are expectations that might not be being met. Is the time or place not equally convenient for everyone? Is everyone’s work getting the same amount of attention from the group?

Same ol’, same ol’ pages

Yes, we’re all guilty of it — noodling on the same pages until they shine … or maybe until you’ve worn them out. Or maybe some of you are in the hard, messy middle of a novel and are full of self-doubt. If members of your group have been bringing in versions of the same work over and over, or are feeling in a slog, maybe take a shake-up break.

Next time you meet, do a 15-minute timed writing exercise by using an off-the-wall prompt (examples – “Shoe monster in the closet” “What I found at the garbage dump” “A most unexpected, unusual romance”). It will stir your creative juices in a fun way.

Alternately, you can assign everyone to join a group that regularly prompts (like the free Sundance Co//ab Writer’s Cafe, which offers group prompts on Mondays and Fridays), and bring the finished work in for the next group.

https://giphy.com/gifs/working-typing-cartoon-11BbGyhVmk4iLS
A writing prompt can get the creative writing juices flowing.

Homogeneity

Does your group have a little too much in common — age, ethnicity, sex, background? TV writers rooms are usually composed of a varied mix of different writers with different life experiences to ensure scripts include a range of outlooks. Take a page from their processes and broaden the types of voices that could inform your group’s stories.

If you’re not ready to open up to new members, maybe try out some guest writers to pump some new blood and fresh perspectives through the group.

Stalled forward movement

Even if your writing is proceeding, writing the book is only half the battle. If your group truly wants to be published, you should all understand how the book industry works. This way, you can begin to set yourselves up for publishing success and support each other in taking steps towards seeing your work in print and in the hands of readers.

Don’t know how to start? There are lots of helpful articles on this website — and your group can also engage me to speak on the book publishing topics that are most useful at the stage of your members.

The support of a writer’s group can be invaluable — don’t let the bumps in your shared road stop you from the important feedback and cheerleading that can move you all towards finished books.

Content marketing: a good fit for effective book & author promotion

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Let’s start with the basics.

What is “content marketing” and why is it useful for authors?

According to the Content Marketing Institute, “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

If that’s sounds too technical for your writerly taste, on this website, I liken content marketing to a party conversation. In either case, the goal is to authentically connect with audiences who might respond to your voice, what you have to say — and, ultimately, buy your books.

How does content marketing work specifically for authors?

Whether entertaining (like romance novels) or useful (like cookbooks or finance books), authors spend their lives producing… content. The idea of content marketing is to share some the content you’ve created — or content related to what you’ve created — free of charge in order to build an audience and give prospective readers an idea of what / who they’re getting when they buy your book/s.

Authors have an advantage in that they’re already used to creating content — but, being a largely introverted and book-centric bunch, bite-sizing some of the content and then sharing doesn’t always come automatically to some of us.

You’ve done the heavy lifting of a large amount of content by writing a book – there are plenty of places to share enticing bits of it.

Where exactly do I share this “content”?

Authors can create and share content through a variety of media that you’re likely familiar with:

  • blog
  • newsletter
  • podcast
  • video
  • social media
  • social writing platforms (like Medium or Wattpad)
  • online courses

Content marketing can actually extend to giving free lectures at libraries in your specialty subject matter.

I do lots of that anyway – does that mean I’m an author who “content markets”?

Yes, sort of. But to be most efficient and effective with your content marketing as an author, you really need to have a least some strategy and tactics in place, so that your efforts all serve your audience building goals.

Strategy means defining what types of content you’ll use to engage your readers. Your tactics can include search engine optimization (SEO), consistently posting, capturing reader emails for your newsletter, etc.

What are some examples of successful author content marketing?

An example of a content marketing star is John Green, who built an audience of readers for his young adult books (like The Fault in Our Stars) with a video blog done with his brother, Hank Green. Using online video, the Vlog Brothers very intelligently, very thoughtfully discuss subjects of interest to young adults and new adults as well as jokes, etc. John also — periodically — talks about the books he is working on. The vlog gave rise to their Nerdfighter subculture and numerous bestsellers and movie deals.

Another example is the book marketing campaign for Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic. Though a bestselling author (Eat, Pray, Love) there was no guarantee that the journalist / memoirist / novelist would make the transition to self-help writer. But her publishing team launched a series of pre-publication podcasts — which included well-known special guests — and a robust series of content-heavy guest spots on other popular self-help gurus’ online “shows” to make their audiences aware of her content and of the Gilbert’s new book.

A couple of articulate yet hammy brothers and the rest is literary history …

The best content marketing is true to you as an author

For content marketing to be effective, it should grow naturally out of your book, and your philosophies and your message. Whether the content you share is a natural outgrowth of your personality (like the Vlog Brothers), or crafted strategically for effect (like the campaign for Big Magic) — you want to stay true to yourself and your … well, I was going to write “your brand” but that’s a larger conversation.

Content marketing is not about the hard sell of your book

Content marketing is about enticing audiences (including prospective buyers) with a bit of your content, a bit of yourself. It is not about bombardment with sales messages, which only serve to turn people off. Content marketing is about engaging prospective readers by sharing with them who you are and what you create.

Of course, you can let the audience know you have books available at the bottom of your newsletter — and certainly give them the “insider” first look at new books and book jackets, as members of your loyal audience — but promoting your own work should only be a small portion of your content output, reserved for special announcements, book launches, public appearances, etc.

Content marketing as an author requires focus and consistency.

Content marketers are rewarded over time as their audiences build. Hey, John Green and his brother started their vlog in 2007. But as the readers / viewers become engaged and loyal over time, a portion of them might naturally drop off — but a portion will decide to plunk down money when they determine the content is likely to appeal to them.

Learn more about the elements of content marketing, and see it in action with case studies — how the same strategic principles that large companies use can work for authors.

6 common misconceptions about being a published author

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There are real, tangible thrills in being a published book author:

  • Your name on a book jacket.
  • The privilege of having your words available to an audience of readers.
  • The knowledge that you are stick-with-it-enough to have finished and published a book.

But those publishing a book for the first time with a traditional publisher — or those aspiring to — might have unrealistic expectations of the experience.

Newbie Hello GIF by Disney Channel - Find & Share on GIPHY
Have no fear, newbie. We’ve got some wisdom for you. (via Giphy)

Here are six common misconceptions about being a published author — better to learn about them now than to be disappointed later and know that you’re not alone!

New author misconception #1: Your book will make a lot of money

True, some authors do make a living at it. But the vast majority of authors have other sources of income, as well.

Most authors start out because they have an obsessive passion for their subject or an obsessive need to tell their story — and they manage to do so in spite of the fact they have a day job, at least at when starting out and sometimes a good deal longer. Tom Clancy sold insurance while writing his first military/espionage novels. John Grisham was an attorney (did you guess that?) who carved out a time to write his first legal thriller, A Time To Kill, in the early hours of the morning before he needed to appear in court. When it sold only modestly, he did the same while writing The Firm. Mystery writer P. D. James wrote quite a number of books while supporting her two children and caring for her mentally ill husband as a civil servant. After several years and several novels, award-winning science fiction writer David Louis Edelman blogged about performing a “juggling act” between his writing and his contract web development work.

And even eventually bestselling authors couldn’t quit their day jobs right away. 

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Be prepared to have your blood, sweat & tears (aka manuscript) edited. (via Giphy)

New author misconception #2: Your finished book will contain exactly what you’d originally envisioned 

Not unless you self publish your book (and, even then, some ebook publishing services have restrictions on content).

Once you sign a contract with a book publisher, you’re essentially in partnership to create “the book” (as your contract calls it), and you both have a say in the end product. From trimming the fat of your language (akin to “killing your babies”) to altering the logical flow of the chapters, your book editor will have much to say about in what manner your text will get into print. While your editor is there to make the book (and you!) sound better, and a thoughtful, skilled editor absolutely will do that, you two may not always agreement on what’s best for the finished book.

If you’re going to publish, it’s good to be prepared for some “creative differences.”

New author misconception #3: All you have to do is write the book and hand in the manuscript — the publisher does the rest of the work

If you find a traditional publisher for your book, chances he or she likes you at least as much for your marketing “platform” as for your brilliant prose.

In general, editorial, production and marketing staffs are hardworking and passionate about books — but the reality of the book marketplace demands dictates that, in order to be successful, most writers need to work hard at promoting their own books. Unless you’re an established author with a money-making track record, prepare to do as much if not more than the in-house book marketing and publicity staff (who, by the way, will be each be working on probably a dozen books at the same time as they are working on yours).

Therefore, it’s really important that you understand how to assist in your own book marketing.

New author misconception #4: You get to select your book jacket

Unless it’s in your contract (and good luck with that), afraid not.

The jacket that appears on your book is usually the work of an art department informed by the opinions of everyone from the editor, the publisher, the marketing and PR departments to the sales representatives and sometimes even the Barnes & Noble buyer.

As a courtesy, your editor may show you, a newbie author, the creative directions they are considering. But while editors truly want you to be happy with your book jacket, they want you to be happy with the one they pick for you. 

New author misconception #5: You will get a book tour

First time authors might get some exposure to booksellers, audiences, etc. But in the post-pandemic world, touring authors around the country is even more expensive and logistically fraught than it was before before Covid-19. With so much opportunity for internet promotion, there are fewer and fewer of the non-virtual, several-city variety, so don’t count on getting on that plane at your publisher’s expense.

Of course, you can get local media and signings — and, if you can afford the travel, you can organize your far-flung friends to host you in other cities. Chances are, the publicity person assigned to your book will be willing to help you set up signings and interviews in the cities you plan to visit.

Colorado Springs Travel GIF by The Broadmoor - Find & Share on GIPHY
If you have friends who can host, you can help organize your own tour and pay for your own travel. (via Giphy)

New author misconception #6: The publisher will throw you a book party

Book parties are expensive and since they rarely generate sales, it is now almost always left up to the author or the author’s generous friends and, in some cases, corporate sponsors, to foot the bill — even for fairly high-profile authors.

That said …

Publishing a book is a HUGE accomplishment and being an author does come with bragging rights — and, hopefully, a giant sense of satisfaction.

Hopefully even before you launch your “baby” out into the world, you’ve started to learn how to effectively promote yourself and your book — and you have plenty of family and friends who are proud of you and are happy to help spread the word.

If you need more motivation, know that even Julia Child relied on her contacts to help her with marketing when she first started out.

Chef Eric Ripert says, “Taste, taste, taste…”

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I stumbled upon a notice that food writer Florence Fabricant is hosting a series of “Stirring the Pot” events out in Eastern Long Island this month. What caught my eye in the notice was that one of the events features Eric Ripert. He’s showcased at a fundraiser for the Haymarket School that includes a demo, other goodies, and his newest (2021) cookbook, Vegetable Simple (the event is also available online). This put me in mind of …

… an interview I conducted with Eric Ripert for a cookbook newsletter I created for his publisher (and my then-employer). During the interview, Ripert shared insights into his food thinking and the “crazy” secret ingredient he feels is necessary.

For this Throwback Thursday post, I present a lightly edited version of that interview:

VP: Many of the top chefs In America have become household names. You yourself have been featured in mainstream media, even People magazine. How has this culture of celebrity affected you as a chef?

Eric Ripert: Periodically I teach classes at cooking schools, and I typically ask my students what their professional goals are. When some­ one says, “I want to be the number one chef in America,” I say that’s wrong — they shouldn’t be thinking of being number one, they should be thinking of the food.

My ultimate goal is not to be famous, but to communicate my passion for food, to bring the concepts of good ingredi­ents and preparation to an audience: Everything I’ve done has been in service of that goal. When I first walked into Le Bernardin, I had a strong extra sense that it wasn’t just another restaurant where I was going to work. lt’s difficult to describe, but it’s been a special place-on every level, not just a job, but an instrument for me to share my passion.

My cookbooks further that goal in a different way, as does my teaching.

And there are ways in which the celebrity and the media can help those goals, too.

[An early] People magazine article definitely had an impact on the clientele of Le Bernardin. We had traditionally attracted businesspeople — people who work in New York, or who are in New York frequently and know the restau­rant. But through that type of mainstream media, so many more people became aware of us — it brought us a broader range of customers, and that, in turn, expanded our role as educators.

VP: What do you mean by “educators”?

Eric Ripert: Well, some people who are new to [the restaurant] have relatively unedu­cated palates — they typically eat fairly unsophisticated food. We want to make these customers comfortable with unfamil­iar ingredients, open them up to new culinary experiences.

The great thing is that it’s never too late to learn more about food and wine. I don’t know anyone who liked wine the first time they tried it — and in France, where I was born, we first have it when we’re very young. But as you drink it more, your palate begins to learn, and you taste the subtle flavors-raspberry, chocolate, whatever. The best way to learn about food or wine is to taste, taste, taste. And it’s never too late to learn.

VP: Speaking of teaching and learning, you’ve studied Bud­dhism. How does that impact your professional life?

Eric Ripert: I’ve always had a passion for cooking, it always came natu­rally to me. Later, I realized how spiritual an experience cooking is for me. Buddhism helped me explore that experience.

We often take for granted the things we eat, because we are so separate from the process. A lobster, a carrot-we take them from nature, from the sea and the earth. These are not to be taken for granted — these are sacred, and the product of our labor is sacred.

Detail from the Le Bernardin website

What chefs do is alchemy — they take these precious ingredients and transform them into some­ thing more sublime. And to do justice to the ingredients, we must immerse ourselves in the ingredients, fully immerse ourselves in the process. To me the most important thing­ — and they’re going to put me away for being crazy after this — but the most important thing is to put love into what you do, into your cooking.

It’s an intangible thing, but if you have two tarts, one made by the best baker in the city, and one baked at home, just for you, by someone who cares about you, the second one is going to taste better.

VP: So the people who use your cookbooks will be able to cook better than you do, if they add lots of love?

Eric Ripert: Well [laughing]… I’ve had a lot of practice. But even from the first cookbook, we did take pains to make the recipes friendly to the home chef. We bought a Magic Chef stove, like someone would have in their home kitchen, and plugged it in here at Le Bernardin, and we bought household-quality pots and pans to make the recipes, not the heavy-duty ones that we use in the restaurant.

For that first cookbook, [recipe tester and writer] Lee Ann Cox* followed me around the kitchen and wrote the recipes down as I cooked. When I said ¼ teaspoon, she verified that it was ¼ teaspoon and made sure I didn’t cheat on measurements — sometimes I do.

Two months later, she tested the recipes at home with her friends who were inexperienced cooks, to make sure the recipes were clear and workable for the layperson.

VP: You have status as a world renowned chef, published cookbooks, numerous awards and recognitions — that sounds about as good as it gets. What continues to challenge you?

Eric Ripert: For the restaurant, on a daily basis, our biggest challenge is to continue to improve the quality of the ingredient , to continue to innovate, to not rest on our reputation, but to continue co strive for the best.

On a personal level, I’ve found that lately I’m filled with the energy and desire to communicate, to share my knowl­edge and passion about food, and I’m looking for new ways to do that. As I mentioned before, I’ve been doing some teaching and, of course, cookbooks are a great way to share what I know.

Eric Ripert – detail from Le Bernardin website

*In my “What’s she doing now?” search, I learned that Lee Ann Cox is now writing much more than recipes, and is (among other things) the author of a beautiful, sad, memorable essay about the early death of her husband, as well as the more recent pandemic essay linked to earlier, in the body of this piece.

Photo credits: detail from Eric Ripert cover / author photo by Wyatt Counts; later Ripert photo and food details from the Le Bernardin restaurant website, where the acknowledgements can be found.