Spent a chunk of this morning figuring out an effective content marketing strategy that quite literally is “elementary” by a professional marketer’s standards. I can tell because I felt I could’ve added a lot more meat to the bones but then I didn’t.
I remember creating the first draft for the same organization — a rather comprehensive strategy that covered all the bases but failed to hit the mark when it came to execution. And believe me, that’s totally normal. Here’s why — trying to achieve all and everything for any given strategy is a recipe for disaster. In fact, I would argue that marketers should work hard to create a blueprint but only flush out elements of it over time. When they absolutely need it.
And this definitely applies to content marketing. There’s a real danger of doing too much too soon. Because it seems so much simpler than anything else you would be doing to promote and market your business. But we all know from experience that “simple” isn’t easy but deceptive.
So, here I was staring at the blank deck hoping that I could create something magical. And so I did — a three-step plan to create 12 blog posts that focus on adding value. That’s it! A dozen. Not more. Not less. What about other forms of content? Vlogs? Podcasts? Social Media promotions? We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
The agenda doesn’t have to be on building a content machine but a system that puts out valuable content on a regular basis. Taking away the dependencies, your expectations and most importantly dangling components that are part of the big picture is a great way to get started. You’ll be surprised what you just may end up with.
Consider this blog for an example. It started quite a few years back but I wasn’t able to get into the rhythm of things until the first day of this year. Have been posting every day since. Could I possibly do this for the rest of my life? I’m not sure. (Just being honest.) But I sure would continue to put out something value or just what’s on my mind whenever I can. And since I happen to think for a living that just maybe every day!
So, here’s what I did — brought my standards down to the bare minimum so that I could just get started. Instead of my idea (1000-2000 word long) posts I just focused on putting something out. If you’re arguing about quality, let me explain — it’s subjective and totally based on your personal taste and experiences. For me, I think I enjoy writing a short, punchy, powerful, informative and thought-provoking piece than a long-winded one. Much to my surprise! Because I used to take pride (read: ego) in writing long-ass pieces.
Was it worth it? I’m not sure. Most definitely, no.
What about this blog? Was it worth the effort that I’ve put in so far? I’d say, yes! The idea was to document my journey from where I was to where I want to be and onwards. I think I’m doing a good job at that. And all it took was a focus on just the “bare basics.” The rest as they would say (in a few years down the lane) is “history.”