A few weeks ago I shot out an email about a good friend’s recent article that got published on a VERY well known blog. The article started a great conversation and did well. So well, in fact, that last week she got another one published, which got a lot of people talking on Twitter.
After the first article was published, a well known celebrity/gossip/lifestyle blog picked up the post and it since has gotten almost 40,000 views, over 700 facebook likes, plus hundreds of Tweets. That’s one hell of a pop to get people talking about her and her new book.
And yes, book sales are up quite a bit, but that’s not why I’m talking about this. What I AM here to talk about is how content rules in the online marketing world. Once you embrace this concept you can use it to drive eyeballs to your content and ultimately your product. I’ve been preaching this for years to musicians and most of you didn’t want to listen to me. While it’s taken my client lots of time and energy to network with the right people, you can see how this is finally paying off.
Oh, I forgot to mention that with every e-book purchase, you get a free download of the album. So not only is she using content as a way to gain exposure for herself and her book, but she’s using the book as a way to get exposure for the band. Content used to expose more content.
THIS IS HOW YOU MARKET YOURSELF KIDS!
Yeah that’s right, I used the big ole’caps. I cannot drive this technique home to you guys more than I’ve tried to for the past oh 5 or so years now. In order to really build a fan base who is interested in your product, you have to create content on a constant basis. Articles, audio, blogs, video, the works. You have to constantly share this content. And you have to find opportunities to leverage other people’s audiences to help get you more exposure.
Think about it this way. How many bands dream of playing The Late Show With David Letterman? What an awesome opportunity to reach a huge audience, huh? The same concept applies online, except your opportunities are more realistic. Instead of trying to get featured on a late night TV show that you have a one and a million chance of actually getting on, find 10 big name blogs to get featured on and bust your balls networking until you get your feet in the door. Once you do, you create killer content that gets people talking about you. THAT’S HOW THINGS GO VIRAL!
But hold on – if you think one little pop on a blog is going to take your career to some new heights and sell a ton of product, you need to get your head out of your ass. Nope, it needs to continue to happen on a regular basis. In time, if you keep engaging the audience with kick ass content, they’ll eventually want more. But you have to create that demand through constant exposure.
It’s just like advertising. How many times to you see an advertisement ONCE and then run to the store to buy a product. NEVER! Marketing music is all about EXPOSURE – the more you get, the more of an opportunity you have to get in front of people more often. I’d say it usually takes about 5-10 instances of exposure before someone officially checks you out.
Here’s another way to think about it. Let’s say you see a cute girl or boy walking down the street. 9 times out of 10 you’re not going to stop and ask him or her out on a date (there are those of you who will when you’re extremely intoxicated so we’ll forget about you for the time being). But then you see her at the coffee shop a few days later. Or catch him at the supermarket. Then again at the bar – that’s where you finally make an approach. It’s even more powerful when you have a friend who introduces you.
The same applies to making new fans. They’re not going to get into bed with you right off the bat, and they sure as hell aren’t going to do it because you have a fancy website or Facebook page. They need to get to know you first, and the only way you’re going to make that happen is by….wait for it….creating engaging content.
So what are the next steps, you ask? Well that’s what I’ve been trying to teach people for years now, and it’s not something I can just layout for you here in a blog post. It takes time, and there are lot of factors you need to consider in order to make it work for you.
Most of you won’t do it. You’ll cling to the dream that one day your CD will fall into the hands of the right person, you’ll be handed a big fat check and your career will just take off.
A select few of you get it, and after reading this you’re waking up to the fact that you need to do something about it. It’s you that I want to talk to, one on one, over the phone. It’s you who, after our initial phone call, will be pumped up about getting started in the content marketing game.
But it’s gonna cost ya.
I’m not trying to sound like this all-important dude who’s too good to have a conversation or something. If you can catch me at the bar or coffee shop, I’ll be more than willing to chat with you and talk your ear off. So if you live in Philly, hit me up and we’ll grab a cold one.
For the rest of you, I have to ask for a payment. I’m working 12 hour days running a start-up marketing agency and have a lot to do, and work is my life. But money does indeed talk, and in order to get me to talk, it’s gonna cost you a cool $100. I offered this a few weeks ago at half the price and no one took me up on the offer – time is up and let’s just say the $100 offer won’t stand for too long either.
The first call will be to assess your currently web strategy, and figure out what you need to do to fix what’s wrong and what direction you should take. After a few weeks, we’ll schedule and additional call to answer any questions you’re bound to have and give you a roadmap to follow.
Whattya waiting for? Time slots are limited so get me on the phone today! The longer you wait the harder it gets to play in the marketing game.
*In case you were wondering, those numbers I gave you are real – I did not want to include any links or name drop anyone to not ruin the efforts we have put forth. But if you do some simple snooping, you’ll find out what I’m talking about.