The Only 10 Ways to Make Money From Content Marketing

The Only 10 Ways to Make Money From Content Marketing

Author: Joe Pulizzi / Source: Content Marketing Institute In September at Content Marketing World, Robert Rose and I will launch our (com

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In September at Content Marketing World, Robert Rose and I will launch our (combined) sixth book called Killing Marketing. The core principle is that we’ve been misusing the marketing function for years. Marketing, in its truest form, was actually meant to be a profit center.

While Robert and I were doing our research for the book, we looked into successful new media companies as well as enterprises that have seen benefits from a content marketing approach. What we found, to our pleasant surprise, is that the revenue model for both media companies and product brands is EXACTLY the same. Now, we may perceive The New York Times and Cisco Systems as completely different companies, but the content-first business models behind them are more alike than different.

The fruits of this research produced (among other things) what you see below, tentatively called the Media Marketing Revenue Model. Basically, any organization that builds an audience from its content can generate revenue (and profits) in 10 different ways. Although we go into quite a bit of detail on this in the book, here’s an overview for you to consider.

media-marketing-revenue-model

Direct revenue

There are five methods by which companies can directly generate revenue from an audience group: advertising/sponsorship, conferences and events, premium content offerings, donations, and subscriptions.

1. Advertising/sponsorship

The most popular method of driving direct revenues is through advertising and sponsorship programs: companies willing to pay you for direct access to your audience.

Traditional advertising

Ann Reardon – The YouTube baking queen, who now has over 3 million subscribers to her YouTube channel How to Cook That, makes the majority of her revenue from YouTube advertising royalties. With few resources, Ann was able to differentiate her message by focusing on what she calls “impossible food creations.”

Redbox – The popular DVD delivery service (that sits in a box outside physical retail stores) offers an e-newsletter to customers focused on new movie and game releases. Each newsletter includes one or multiple sponsors (generally promoting their own games and movies) that pay Red Box to reach its audience.

Native advertising/sponsored content

The largest media brands in the world, like The Wall Street Journal, are generating substantial revenue from sponsored content. According to The New York Times, young media companies such as Vice generate the majority of their revenues from sponsored content, while The Atlantic and Slate both say sponsored content is over 50% of their digital revenue stream.

Forbes – Large companies, such as SAP, pay Forbes a monthly fee for the opportunity to publish content that looks like editorial content as part of the Forbes BrandVoice program. These programs run upwards of $75,000 per month for sponsors.

Conan O’Brien – Conan and his Team Coco have been producing sponsored content placements on his late-night show for years now. In one situation, Conan and sidekick Andy Richter talk about their “Cyber Monday” issues, which result in a pitch for PayPal.

Sponsorships

While an advertisement generally involves interrupting a user’s experience with a product or content promotion, a sponsorship is an underwriting of a piece of content, generally by one company. The benefits of sponsorships include leads (a sponsored download) and/or brand awareness (sponsoring a podcast or television program).

Content Marketing Institute – CMI favors a sponsorship model over an advertising model for the majority of its products. Each podcast episode, research report, and webinar has a single sponsor.

pnr-sponsor-example

ESPN’s Mike and Mike – The popular morning show (syndicated on radio and televised live on ESPN2) has been sponsored by Progressive Insurance for years. ESPN does this with a number of its live shows, including Pardon the Interruption (PTI), which is generally sponsored by a spirits company.

2. Conference and events

According to CMI/MarketingProfs research, approximately seven in 10 enterprises create and manage their own events. Some of these are small client gatherings, while others are full-scale events with exhibition halls and concurrent sessions. Revenues are driven, for the most part, through paid registration to the event or sponsorships, such as parties or exhibition space.

Minecon – Minecon is the official event of Minecraft, the online multi-player building game owned by Microsoft. In 2016, the annual event attracted a sold-out 12,000 attendees (the $160 tickets sold out in minutes) as well as an exhibition hall featuring the latest Minecraft technology and merchandising (where Microsoft accepts booth fees from sponsors and partners).

Lennox Live – Lennox is one of the largest manufacturers of heating and air conditioning equipment in the world. Every year, it attracts the leading contractors and distributors from around the United States, offering education around technology, marketing, and business practices. Exhibiting partners include companies such as Honeywell, Cintas, and Fluke. Lennox generates revenue directly from attendee fees, as well as more than a dozen manufacturing and service partners.

3. Premium content

Premium content packages come in a number of forms, including direct-for-sale content products, funded content purchased on demand, and syndicated content opportunities.

Content products

Digital Photography School – Darren Rowse launched DPS as the leading source for beginning photographers about how they can get the most out of their picture-taking skills. DPS generates millions per year by developing premium e-books and specialty reports for direct sale. DPS’ premium content sales have become core to the company’s monetization strategy.

BuzzFeed (Tasty) – BuzzFeed’s time-lapsed cooking videos have been viewed over 40 billion times (yes, billion with a b) in the past two years. One of the ways BuzzFeed monetizes that success is through customized cookbooks. In 2016, BuzzFeed launched Tasty: The Cookbook, a hard-copy book that can be customized by the buyer depending on their recipe tastes. In just a few weeks, the print-on-demand cookbook sold over 100,000 copies.

tasty-shop-cookbook-block

Syndicated content

Content syndication happens when originally created content is published to third-party websites for a fee.

Red Bull – Red Bull’s “Content Pool” contains thousands of…

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