For All the Entrepreneurs Confused about How Content Marketing Actually Works

Jon Morrow 89 Comments Last Updated Sep 30, 2016

Let’s start with a simple question…

How, exactly, does content marketing make money?

Because that’s the end goal, right?

You’re not hunched over your keyboard, racking your brain for attention-grabbing ideas because you enjoy it. You expect to get clients, sales, or some other tangible result for your business. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but sometime in the future, all that work you’re putting into creating and publishing content had better pay off.

Except… what if it won’t?

What if your entire understanding of the way content marketing works is wrong?

What if all the time you’ve invested into creating content was, in fact, a senseless waste of time, never possessing even the slightest chance of turning a profit?

It would be a tragedy, and yet I believe that’s precisely what’s happening. Not just to you, but to millions of entrepreneurs around the globe.

Is it because content marketing is just a fad? Or worse, an elaborate hoax?

No. On the contrary, I believe the hype is totally justified. If you execute the right content marketing strategy in the right market, the results are breathtaking.

But that rarely happens. There are lots of reasons why, and I might eventually write a short book explaining them all, but by far the biggest reason why most entrepreneurs get crappy results is they completely misunderstand what content marketing is about.

Here’s what I mean…
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Content marketing

How to Accelerate Your Blog’s Growth with a Simple Content Strategy

Sonia Thompson 75 Comments Last Updated Aug 19, 2016

Be honest for a moment…

When publication day rolls around, do you have a post ready? Or do you frantically scramble at the last minute to figure out what you’re going to write?

When you’re writing guest posts for other blogs, are your topics carefully coordinated and strategic, or scattered and inconsistent?

And what about your efforts to fuel the growth of your blog?

Have you tried several different tactics, such as webinars, Periscoping, and Facebook ads only to see lackluster results?

If so, your blog is suffering from randomness.

Fortunately, there is a cure.
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Beginners/ Content marketing/ Writing

Why Your Blog Needs a Tagline (and How to Create the Perfect One)

Carol Tice 97 Comments Last Updated Apr 7, 2016

Does your blog attract embarrassingly few readers?

And do you struggle to convert any of them into loyal subscribers?

The fact is, even if your content rocks, you could still be driving people away by neglecting one simple thing.

If a key element on your blog is either inadequate — or missing entirely — visitors could feel confused and leave.

It may stop people who find your site with a search from clicking through and checking you out, too.

I’ve been reviewing scads of blogs lately, helping writers set them up to earn better, and I’ve found that one blog element is a consistent problem.

The tagline.
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Content marketing/ Popular/ Promotion

How to Get More Traffic from Every Post by Republishing on Medium

Chelsea Baldwin 138 Comments Last Updated Aug 26, 2016

Let’s face it.

Getting traffic to your blog is a lot of work.

In fact, more work than you ever imagined.

But when it’s time to write a new post, you can’t just type until you hit your word count and then click “publish.”

Your words have to be brilliant. Well-researched. Engaging.

And getting people to actually read those words is another battle.

Sure, you can send your post out to your followers and subscribers. They’ll love it and share it, bringing in a little more traffic.

The problem is, they represent just a tiny fraction of your potential audience. All those other people who’d also love your post, if only they knew about it.

As bloggers, we assume getting more traffic means creating more content, doing more promotion, and spending more time working.

Those things work, but there’s another way, too.

And you don’t need to write a word of extra content to make it work.
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Content marketing/ Viral Marketing/ Writing

The Secret Sauce That Made These 7 Blog Posts Go Viral

Brittany Bullen 65 Comments Last Updated Apr 12, 2016

Admit it…

You dream of going viral.

In fact, the thought of writing a post that blows up on social media is what motivates you to keep blogging.

After all, one viral blog post can turn an obscure blogger into an internet celebrity in a matter of days.

But how do you make it happen?

One way is to keep writing and hope that one day the viral gods decide it’s finally your turn.

Good luck with that.

An altogether smarter way is to look at posts that have already hit the big time, and see what they have that yours don’t.

If you want to discover the secret sauce that’ll send your writing through the roof, you need look no further than the following posts.
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