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Why Content Marketing is NOT King

February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Is content marketing really KING, or is it just a silly catch phrase that online marketers and social media mavens throw around to sound smart, strategic and cutting edge?

The truth is, in my view at least…..content is NOT king at all.

Conversation is. 

And in 2012, it’s conversational marketers who cultivate a community of fans, friends and followers who share a passion for a given niche, topic or area of interest who are going to succeed in the long haul…..PERIOD.

I’m betting my entire business on 2 very simple ideas going forward:

  1. Creating robust social communities  in hyper emotive, meaningful markets using easy to implement (and often free) tools like WordPress, Buddypress and other simple plugins that facilitate interactivity between members and encourage user generated content.
  2. Initiating that relationship where possible through a traditional list building tool (like an opt in form…..so that I can control the ebb and flow of the conversation with my community in a way that is most conducive to conversion.  (and for CONVINIENCE to them, as I can share the strategies and point them to the places that I believe are most informative, engaging and entertaining,  and that others have found most helpful straight away)

I truly believe that for those of you on my list who are trying to implement the Enlightened Entrepreneur idea in your OWN business, that this is the smartest strategy on the planet for building your brand, while sharing your gifts and contributing a unique voice to a community you care about.

Content is obviously REALLY, really important!

But anyone can create a list of “7 Ways to do THIS”……or “3 ways to do that”. 

It’s easy…..and it doesn’t take a lot of talent, or passion or purpose to be prolific.

That’s content……but it AIN’T conversation. 

And most importantly, it’s not going to compel, cajole or convert your community into clients and customers.

I read an article the other day that cited that something like 50% of the BIG businesses that advertised during the Super Bowl used their FACEBOOK page for the “call to action” in the campaign.

The reason isn’t because they are “content marketing”.

It’s because they want to have a continuing conversation they can CONTROL with a community of friends, fans and followers who are always in the loop whenever they have something new to say.

The implications for that are really HUGE.

A subtle but signficant shift is underway in how almost ALL businesses will “talk” to their customers, clients and ideal audience in the future.

You and I can do the very same thing and that’s very exciting.

I really believe that the Enlightened Entrepreneur Blueprint PDF and sequence of steps I’ve covered here WILL work for you.

It’s not magic.  It does require work.  It is a lot of fun…..and if you feel a higher calling about your content and your conversation and your community and any other word that begins with a “C” that I’ve missed above…….THIS SYSTEM WILL WORK FOR YOU TOO..:-)

Please apply it – it’s FREE, it’s fun and it works.

For more opinions on content marketing from around the web….check out the short article from Entrepreneur Magazine below :-)

So what exactly is content marketing? It’s the creation and publication of original content — including blog posts, case studies, white papers, videos and photos — for the purpose of generating leads, enhancing a brand’s visibility, and putting the company’s subject matter expertise on display. HiveFire’s researchers found that an impressive 82 percent of B2B marketers now employ content marketing as a strategy in their marketing programs. Coming in at a distant second place is search engine marketing at 70 percent, followed by events at 68 percent, public relations at 64 percent and print/TV/radio advertising at 32 percent.Seventy-eight percent of respondents said driving sales and leads was the top marketing goal of their organization, followed by boosting brand awareness and establishing or maintaining thought leadership (both at 35 percent). Another 28 percent said their primary goal was to increase web traffic and 24 percent said it was to improve search results.

Why Content Marketing Is King | Entrepreneur.com

Filed Under: KARMA Tagged With:

12 Content Marketing Templates That You Can IMMEDIATELY Use to Kill it With Your Copy

February 19, 2012 By 6 Comments

I shared these a while back with my list and it got a really great response….and again, like the power words post a few days ago, this is the sort of PRACTICAL, easy to implement stuff you can immediately use, and doesn’t rely on conjecture or theory to see if it works or not.

Use them wherever you are creating content….and watch your “conversations” and conversions instantly improve.

Unauthorized Information

  • EXPOSED:  The Shocking Report About Organic Food the Natural Health Companies Don’t Want You To See
  • Rated X:  The Unauthorized Inside Story On How The Giants STOLE Super Bowl XLVI

Ways to Do Things

  • 7 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score Almost Instantly
  • The Top 2 Ways To Burn Belly Fat Like Magic

How to Do Things

  • How to Raise Your Credit Score 100 Points in 90 Days WITHOUT Breaking the Law
  • How to Melt Belly Fat on a Diet So DELICIOUS it Almost Feels Like You’re Always Eating Dessert

Secrets

  • 3 Secrets to Super Fast Fat Loss They WON’T Tell You on TV
  • 5 Article Marketing Secrets it Took Me 9672 Hours to Learn (You Can Have Them All right NOW)

Tell a Story

  • The Real untold Story Behind The Rise (and Fall) of Enron

Tell a Conspiratorial Story (or the An Unusual Alliance of Enemies approach)

  • The Secret story of how Barak Obama, Fidel Castro and Jessica Alba Destroyed Mitt Romney in 2012

Personal Opinion

  • 3 Credit Repair Techniques I highly Recommend if your FICO is UNDER 620
  • My 3 Favorite Work at Home Opportunities for Newbies

Mistakes

  • 3 Costly Mistakes People Make When Refinancing Their Mortgage
  • 7 Mistakes All Men Make in Bed

(Note: I actually didn’t realize I was making 4 of these until I actually wrote this article)

Myths

  • 3 Myths About Low Calorie Diets That Can Actually Cause You to Gain Weight

Lies, More Lies and Damn Lies

  • 5 Lies About Weight Loss Your Doctor Wants you to Believe
  • 3 Lies About Income Taxes The IRS Hopes You’ll Never Discover

(Note:  This works well for tearing down authority figures, and pitting “Us Vs Them” style scenarios which are very effective….as well as creating CONTFRONTATIONAL content which is a great way to solidfy your corner of a community)

Do This Without Doing That

  • Lose lots of Weight (Without Any Exercises)
  • Burns Belly Fat Almost Like Magic (Without Starving Yourself or Going Hungry)

(This works very well for big benefit – common objection or fear compare and contrasts)

Shock & Awe

  • The Startling Truth About Mike Filsame’s belly button you can no longer afford to ignore
  • Attn. Spring Breakers: The Shocking Truth About Bed Bugs Your Hotel Will Never Tell you
  • The One Alarming Trend in Weight Loss That Puts Many Heavy People at Risk For Dying Young

(note:  Shock and Awe is great for content marketing, but not so good for War)

Curiosity

  • Do THIS once a day for more energy (but don’t OVERDO it!)
  • THIS common household cleaner may cause massive internal bleeding (and 97% of housewives use it everyday)

Of course there are tons and tons more……but these are really all you need to start and get an instant “bump” in the amount of ideas you come up….and the creative ways you express yourself through your content, to your community.

The best part is, you can combine these with the 51 power words we covered in the last post…..and have so many potential powerful permutations for headlines, blog titles, article submissions, tweets and social media submissions……truly, you are only limited by your imagination!

I hope you’ve enjoyed these……and if you have, please help me spread my message of peace, love and Lenny Kravitz.  (and share with those YOU think would benefit in YOUR online community as well..:-)

Filed Under: KARMA

Selling Affiliate Products to Your List (Enlightened Entrepreneur FAQ)

February 16, 2012 By 1 Comment

Have tons of passion but NO way to make a profit?

Don’t have the time to create your first EBOOK, audio course or coaching program but stoked to get started anyway?

Simple!  Start by selling something that someone else created….and worry about creating your own “curriculum” when you have some cash to be comfortable.

Finding really good affiliate programs to promote in most niches is simply a matter of sitting down, getting organized and identifying the needs of your niche, and then finding something you feel comfortable recommending to fill them.

(or asking them what they want to buy….and then finding it!)

For example, many of you who have taken part in some of my “premium” challenges know that I have earned a fair amount of money as an affiliate for psychic and new age related products and programs.

While I’m not 100% sure what I believe in regard to psychic readings, out of body experiences and astral projection, lucid dreaming and programs that promise mystical and mysterious meditative experiences, I DO know that people who are interested in these areas often pasionately participate in the communities that cater to them,  and overall, are amongst the very best buyers there are.

I also know that people who are interested in one area of this niche are often very interested in another as well.  (e.g. – someone who is interested in learning how to have deep, mystical meditative experiences may very well also be interested in learning to become more psychic, or to understand his or her dreams, or to experiment with lucid dreaming, etc)

This opens up a myriad of monetization possibilities through the follow up conversation you have with your community…….as there are both DEEP and WIDE opportunities to sell stuff they may really like.

For me personally – being a bit of an eccentric, open minded oddball……I can’t think of a more fun way to build a business than to interact with a wild and wacky community of people who love sharing their “psychic” experiences, and being able to make great money talking about crazy stuff..:-)

Remember, most people in your community will NEVER BUY A THING!

So you have to make sure that those who do, are not only happy with what you are selling, but that YOUR business is equally rewarded as well :-)

If you aren’t ready to create your own products, make sure the products you pick are PROFITABLE for you, and productive for the people who trusted you before they purchased.

  • Avoid high hype digital downloads.

Stick with programs with big buck brand name recognition, and that advertise heavily outside of the “affiliate ” space.

In my view, the KEY to longevity as an affiliate in a community you care about is to align yourself with products and programs that have CONTINUITY, and consistency over time and have “Joe and Jane” household name recognition.

  1. Why would anyone want to sell a clickbank fat loss ebook…..when you could promote Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Medifast and those sorts of programs in the diet and weight loss world instead?
  2. Why promote an obscure, high hype, dating ebook that may convert 1 in 400, instead of selling a dating service like Match.Com which 99% of the population knows by name already, and that may convert 1 out 12 or 15 instead?
  3. Why promote some odd online personal development guru that only a handful of people know…..when you could piggyback off of the millions of dollars of media that folks like Anthony Robbins already have spent to bring their message to the masses?

Pick products you’ll be proud to promote and they’ll be far more profitable…..I promise.  (that may be a record for “Ps” in a sentence)

For a bit more on selling what you love and building your business around your natural gifts, sign up for a FREE ACCOUNT with CJ.Com and browse the offers that match YOUR market (it’s 100% free to join)………….OR, check out the short article I submitted earlier today to EzineArticles – you can read the whole thing at the link following the short excerpt below..:-)

Getting paid for doing what you love?

Either create something to sell to your community of fans and followers, OR simply find something that already exists that you can heartily recommend.

For example, you can be a diet and nutrition specialist and either create your own “course” or diet program, or you can simply go out and find an existing diet with an international brand name and become an affiliate for them.

If you love spiritual, paranormal or psychic topics, you can either create something of value to share with your community (i.e. – offer intuitive readings, or a how to on developing psychic abilities if that’s your expertise) OR simply partner with an existing service as an affiliate.

Are you passionate about personal development?

Why not offer coaching yourself….OR, simply sell some of the big name programs from the motivational speakers who are already household names. As long as they teach and preach things that you agree with and are comfortable recommending.

Get Paid For Your PASSION! The Easiest Way to Build a Home Based Business Out of What You LOVE

Filed Under: KARMA Tagged With: ,
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