Content marketing tools and training.
This case study kicks off a new series at Copyblogger: Real-world stories of people like you who have used the “Copyblogger method” of content marketing to strengthen their businesses, launch strong new projects, and do epic work.
We’re starting with the story of versatile content marketer Aurélien Amacker. Sonia Simone met him at a marketing conference late last year, and they immediately hit it off.
“If you write it, they will come,” right?
You’ll pour your heart into writing the very best content that you can. And in the middle of the night, the traffic fairies will bestow upon you a massive audience that knows, loves, and trusts you, and you will live happily ever after.
As the man says, How’s that working out for you?
In the real world, those blasted traffic fairies are inept and lazy, and magical content dust is hard to come by.
Fortunately, you have an option. You can effectively promote your content.
Have you ever wondered who writes copy for Google … who puts together the words on the landing pages or in the video scripts for products like Gmail, Google+, Analytics, or Nexus?
Of course you don’t (unless you’re a copywriter). Because it doesn’t matter. You just want the product.
Now.
But why is that? Why does it seem that Google’s copy is so good, that their products are so hard to resist?
Well, it’s less about the writer — and all about the audience. Or, to be clear, what their writers know about the audience.
Dave — one of the finest hipsters that the city of Portland, Ore. had ever produced — had the crowd at the house party eating out of his hand.
His frames were flawlessly authentic.
His philosophizing on the unknown bands of the day, and the importance of taking long, literary afternoons in Prague was effortless.
His posture … perfectly post-postmodern.
But as the can of Pabst Blue Ribbon slowly began to warm in his hand, Dave could not shake the sense of emptiness residing somewhere deep in his gut.
If you have a blog, you’ll know what I mean — some of the most interesting, thought-provoking material on your site often comes from reader questions in the comments.
Sometimes it’s the questions themselves. And sometimes it’s the response it generates — from your community and within your own thinking. (That’s why blogs are one of the earliest and most powerful forms of social media.)
I get tremendous value from our reader questions, so I thought I’d respond in detail to a few comments from recent Copyblogger posts for an “Ask the Content Marketer” column here on Copyblogger.
As publishers of online content, you and I inevitably run into the challenge of making the leap from the blank page, into the hearts and minds of our audience.
Content marketing — at its core — is finding the successful integration of great content and time-tested marketing strategies. International bestselling author and marketing strategist, David Meerman Scott, has made it his mission to help you find that sweet spot.
Mr. Scott is the author of eight books published in over 30 languages, the former marketing VP of two publicly traded companies, as well as Asia marketing director of Knight-Ridder.
You devour online marketing lessons. You feast on articles, reports, books, and ebooks.
Maybe you spend some of your precious time attending webinars and conferences, and you can’t help but join the conversation on blogs and social networks.
Good for you.
A tuning fork vibrates at a particular pitch when you strike it against a hard surface. It emits a pure tone that musicians can use to tune their instruments (like violins and guitars).
One job you have as a content marketer is to think of your reader as a tuning fork. You need to publish great content in order to create resonance with that reader — to get that person to emit a particular tone that gets them to know, like, and trust you.
But creating posts that resonate with your readers is an often-overlooked part of what we do. It’s one of those touchy-feely things no one talks about. But it’s incredibly important — and it can be difficult to do.
It’s obvious that creativity is an essential part of being a remarkable writer.
But when a results-oriented writer says “creative” and an image-oriented writer says “creative” you have to understand that they are talking about two completely different things.
The results-oriented writer emphasizes problem solving with clear, concise, and compelling copy (for example: How do I demonstrate that our product will solve our target customer’s problem?).
The image-oriented writer puts an emphasis on artistic, clever, or humorous copy (for example: How can I demonstrate how entertaining and crafty I am?).
What would you do if you discovered that the secret to your success online lay in firing yourself? Would you do it?
That’s the question Alex, a freelance copywriter, had to face.
Alex started his copywriting business three years ago, after the local newspaper he worked for as a staff writer was shut down.
From the get-go he scrambled to pick up writing jobs, tapping his network, searching freelance websites, and sending query after query.
Opportunities soon began to open up for him, and he took every single one.
