Desire “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.” You can talk about all the things good content marketers should do to attract and retain customers – content strategy, content documentation, content integration, etc., but desire is numero uno. Simply put, there are little to no politics to deal with, and a change agent can push through and make change happen. Most large companies aren’t willing to do this, which is why smaller businesses have the ultimate opportunity when it comes to content marketing. When we started Content Marketing Institute, we firmly believed that we would be the informational resource for our industry. It was only a matter of time, energy, and persistence. Rarely do you see this kind of faith with non-media companies. To be the expert in your industry, you must first define your customers’ pain points and the niche industry you will cover that will make a difference in your business and in your customers’ lives. The best way I’ve seen this work for brands is to do something creative and new at least once a quarter. Should you use customers for your content creation efforts? Brands doing it right have a chief content officer (leads the content strategy), a managing editor (oversees the process), content creators (internal and external), content producers, and content listeners.
Editor’s note: While Joe wrote this piece a couple years ago, we’re bringing it back in case you missed it (or in case you want a refresher) about what makes a great content marketer.
One of the most influential authors of my personal and career journey is Napoleon Hill.
Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich was first published in 1937. Now, in the book’s 82nd year, Mr. Hill’s lessons are still extremely relevant and valuable.
I had the opportunity to dust off my copy of Think and Grow Rich (from 1960, with dog-eared and coffee-stained pages) during a holiday break. In its relation to content marketing, I noticed some clear takeaways that most corporate marketers simply do not embrace. In the book, 15 powerful chapters are helpful to all individuals, but seven chapters were spot-on relevant to content marketing. Here are quotes from the seven chapters with my notes for each one.
Caution from Joe: The book is extremely chauvinistic. If you read it, just prepare yourself for that.
1. Desire
“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.”
You can talk about all the things good content marketers should do to attract and retain customers – content strategy, content documentation, content integration, etc., but desire is numero uno. Everywhere I travel I hear the objection – most marketers simply do not have the desire to be THE informational resource for their customers and prospects – they don’t want it enough. They talk of content marketing as a chore … as a checklist of things to be done during the day, not as a core service to customers necessary for the company’s survival.
Look, you are competing not only with your competitors, but also with the media, Google, Game of Thrones, and every other distraction in your customers’ lives. To be THE go-to resource for them, you have to want it more than anything or anyone else. This is never easy, but it is much easier for smaller businesses headed by passionate people. Simply put, there are little to no politics to deal with, and a change agent can push through and make change happen.
In larger enterprises, there must be a content marketing champion who has the real desire to be the best and be given enough latitude to experiment and possibly even fail multiple times. Most large companies aren’t willing to do this, which is why smaller businesses have the ultimate opportunity when it comes to content marketing.
2. Faith
“Faith is the ‘eternal elixir’ which gives life, power, and action to the impulse of thought!”
Wanting it is one thing, but actually believing you can be THE informational expert for your industry is another. When we started Content Marketing Institute, we firmly believed that we would be the informational resource for our industry. It was unquestioned. It was only a matter of time, energy, and persistence.
Rarely do you see this kind of faith with non-media companies. Corporate brands should take a page from media companies in this respect. When I worked at Penton Media (a large B2B media company) and would meet with the chief editors for our brands, they believed without question that their brand was the leading provider of…
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