Content, Inc.

Content, Inc. describes a six-step model you can use to do your marketing long before you need it, without even having a product, or spending a lot of money, so your entrepreneurial venture will be a guaranteed success.

Sometimes I get emails from people, who pitch me their business idea and ask me to share it. 9 out of 10 times this happens, it’s someone approaching me cold. I’ve never heard their name and now I’m suddenly supposed to help them promote their stuff. All of my responses to these requests start with “I wish…”

I wish they would’ve contacted me sooner, commented on a blog post of mine, engaged with me on Twitter, or just sent an email saying hi. Because even just a 30-second message would’ve kickstarted our relationship and turned you from stranger into friend.

The people who send these emails are the same ones that look at the progress bar of their funding goal two days before the deadline, and are disappointed because it sits at 50%, not 98%.

If you want to raise money, start a business, or sell a product, the best time to start connecting with people about it was two years ago. The next best time is today.

Content marketing is the simplest way to do this. Where most people get hung up when starting is focusing on one platform. Because big brands are present everywhere, you think you have too. But you get by deciding to stay small. Think about it.

If you ONLY build a Youtube channel, you’ll reach a big milestone, like one million subscribers, a lot faster. Setting up a Facebook page and getting 10,000 of those one million to like it is a lot easier than growing both simultaneously.

So pick one platform and commit to a consistent publishing schedule. Just show up regularly (I like once a week for starters) and don’t worry about the rest – for now.

It’s almost 2017, yet most big brands don’t even consider getting more email subscribers as a goal. This either shows a lack of awareness, or worse, a decision to use content marketing as a means of distribution, instead as a way of sincerely connecting with their customers and audiences. An email subscriber is entirely different from a Facebook fan, a Twitter follower, or a LinkedIn connection. By following you on social media, people only signal you that they tolerate you in their feeds, nothing more. You’re part of their content machine. But when someone gives you their email address and invites you into their inbox, they volunteer to become a part of your content machine, your project, your life. You get to control 100% of the content…