Content Marketing has exploded in popularity and in quantity on the web. Quantity is not king, though. Creativity and quality is the key to success for any content marketing strategy. content marketing is any marketing format that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers.
According to a study by the content marketing Institute, over 90% of Business-to-Business (B2B) and 86% of Business-to-Consumer (B2C) marketers use one of more types of content marketing, including; social media, eNewsletters, and articles on company websites.
Great content isn’t great content until it’s discovered, consumed and shared – Lee Odden
10 Creative Ways to Profit from Content Marketing
The whole idea and purpose behind content marketing is that you can use your creativity and knowledge to make something stand out and market your product. There are so many ways you can profit from content marketing. Below are some out-of-the box ways you may not have yet thought about:
- 1. Write a special report or white paper that addresses a complicated problem in an in-depth and interesting way.
- 2. Write and series of blog posts designed to attract traffic for a competitive keyword phrase. Like most content pieces, after writing your blog posts, be sure to promote them on social sharing networks; Google +, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Pinterest.
- 3. Put together one or more Squidoo lenses to attract and direct Google traffic. For those not familiar with Squidoo lenses, they are user-generated websites which use the concept of a lens as a primary feature. They are much like visual blog posts with content, focusing on a single subject.
- 4. Take your most popular blog post, one that received a lot of buzz and traffic, and some really good images, and then create a PowerPoint. Record it and post for a YouTube video.
- 5. Make your content relevant and current. Compare your product or service to the weirdest celebrity story that people are currently talking about. For example: 7 Things Your Business Has In Common With Katie Holmes Shopping Addiction.
- 6. Take 10-15 of your best podcasts, transcribe and edit them, and post or sell them as an eBook.
- 7. Write an industry report on an hotly debated topic. High profile people love to get involved in industry reports. Get the right people in yours and then market to your targeted audience.
- 8. Record and post testimonials from a grateful client. You of course must get their permission to use, but real life testimonials promoted on your site can be very instrumental in the success of your business.
- 9. Create a monthly or by-monthly paid newsletter. In addition to your free content, included more detailed how-to content and links to reference your free site.
- 10. Make a monthly video or recording. Pick a current topic that may be on your target audiences’ minds. Keep it casual so people want to visit each month, almost like a standing date for coffee with a friend. Make sure you not only discuss the pressing topic at hand, but also give 2-3 techniques that will help your audience move forward.
Content Marketing is About Getting Results
Earning attention and engagement requires an original thought and idea; one of which that goes further than simply republishing content. Some marketers think that simply retweeting, reblogging and repinning is content marketing. While all those are a part of content marketing, it is only a start. Developing an original idea and running with it will be what gets you results.
Breaking the habits for some marketers will be difficult. Copy-and-paste is a brand habit; too many cram their information into a social media presence with content like it is paid media of the past. Utilize social media for what it is but don’t rely on it for all of your content marketing, get creative and step out of your comfort zone; get results. If you are going to use social – and you should – make sure that you follow best practices.
Final Thoughts
If you are already doing some of the suggested out-of-the box ideas above then you are headed in the right direction. Are they working though? If you are trying being creative with your content marketing and are not getting results, go back to the basics, the quality of your content. Or, take a look at some conversion rate optimization tips to understand how users interact with your content better. Quality and engaging content is key to the overall success for your marketing strategy. Once you have both, you will see results.