Content marketing can attract a lot of inbound opportunities.
It’s been the main driver of business since I went full-time as a marketer and web designer back in 2014.
I literally wouldn’t be in business without publishing content.
But it doesn’t need to be as complicated as a lot of the experts will have you believe.
For me, it all starts with writing. I write blog posts intended for an email recipient on their mobile device.
That’s my mindset. Hence the short paragraphs making it easy to read from your phone.
Once it’s published, it auto-sends to my list via RSS and ConvertKit, then I put it on social media to let it breathe.
Nothing fancy. I just think of an idea, write it out, publish, share, and move on.
My general approach
There are two lenses through which I think about content marketing: frequency and potency.
Frequency relates to how often you publish, and most importantly, how often people see and consume your ideas.
It doesn’t necessarily speak to the depth, or in this case, the potency of the message.
I think of it as aiming to get on base.
I don’t try to hit home runs with every at bat. I just keep showing up as often as I can with something that might be useful to someone.
The other method—the potency method—is for the occasion when I’ll go deep on an idea.
It might be a long article, webinar, or podcast interview.
These usually require hours of time and preparation. They go in-depth. They become assets I refer to or sell later on.
Ideally, your content marketing plan includes a little of both.
You focus on getting base hits as your foundation and go deep every once in a while to show people what you’re capable of.
The problem with a potency-only approach—at least for me—is I overthink it. I end up not publishing enough to get results, and the potency isn’t so high that people are blown away for months at a time.
Some people are great at potency-only posts. If that’s you, go for it.
But for me, it adds too much pressure. I’d rather build a consistent program involving high-frequency publishing supported by occasionally high-potency pieces.
That’s just what works for me.
If you’re going to go exclusively with potency, your content better be potent to make up for a lack of frequency. I really do think frequency is part of the secret sauce.
One thing is for sure, if you don’t publish at all, it will be hard to build the business you want.
So, are you into frequency, potency, neither, or both?
Or are you still on the fence?
—kw