Develop and implement an effective content strategy tailored to your business’s needs
Inbound Content is a step-by-step manual for attracting the right people, turning them into leads, and closing them into customers. Today, everyone knows that content is king. It’s how we engage, how we inform, and how we pass the time; content is everywhere, and if you’re not leveraging its power to promote your business, you’ve already been left behind. Having a website and social media is not enough; if you truly want to take advantage of unprecedented levels of connectedness, you have to create content that draws customers in. It’s not about blindly expanding reach, it’s about reaching out to the right audience. Today’s marketplace is no longer about chasing the sale - with the right approach to content, your customers will come to you.
Your content must be valuable, relevant, and consistent - but how should it be implemented at the actual content-creation level? This book shows you how to develop a unified strategy, create compelling content tailored to your needs, and utilize that content to its greatest advantage in order to build your brand.
- Discover the power of storytelling and generate effective content ideas
- Plan a long-term content strategy and a content creation framework
- Create great content, promote it, measure it, and analyze its performance
- Extend your content’s value, become a more effective writer, and develop a growth mentality
Effective content is worth its weight in marketing gold. It stands out from the noise, and to the customer, looks like an oasis in a desert of clickbait and paid reviews. Inbound Content shows you how to plan, build, and implement your content strategy for unprecedented engagement and sales.
Table of Contents
Foreword xi
by Marcus Sheridan
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
About the Author xix
Introduction: Your Content Marketing Transformation xxi
Chapter 1 Building a Content Creation Framework 1
Why Does Your Business Need a Framework for Creating Content? 1
How Do You Build a Framework for Creating Content? 2
What Resources Do You Need to Build a Content Creation Framework? 10
Chapter 2 The Power of Storytelling 17
Why Does Your Business Need a Story? 17
How Do You Develop the Structure of Your Story? 19
What Does a Good Story Look Like? 27
Chapter 3 Generating Content Ideas 33
Why Do You Need a Process for Generating Content Ideas? 33
Where Do Ideas Come From? 35
How Do You Generate Ideas for Content Creation? 38
Chapter 4 Planning a Long-Term Content Strategy 49
Why Long-Term Content Planning Is Important 49
How Do You Build a Long-Term Content Strategy? 51
Chapter 5 Becoming an Effective Writer 65
Why Effective Writing Matters 65
How to Attract and Engage People with Effective Content 66
How to Improve Your Writing 73
Chapter 6 Creating a Blog Post 81
Why Does Blogging Help Your Business Grow? 81
How Do You Create a Successful Blog Post? 82
What Does a Successful Blog Post Look Like? 91
Chapter 7 Extending the Value of Your Content through Repurposing 99
Why Repurposing Content Is Important 99
How Do You Extend the Value of Your Content? 101
What’s an Example of Repurposing Content? 117
Chapter 8 How to Effectively Promote Content 123
Why Content Promotion Is Important 123
Organic versus Paid Content Promotion 125
How to Excel at Content Promotion 128
What a Successful Content Promotion Campaign Looks Like 133
Chapter 9 Measuring and Analyzing Content 141
Why Measuring and Analyzing Content Is Important 141
How to Collect and Interpret Data 142
What to Do with Data after You’ve Collected It 152
Chapter 10 Developing a Growth Marketing Mentality 157
What Is Growth Marketing? 157
How Can You Develop a Growth Marketing Mindset? 158
What Are Some Growth Marketing Pro Tips? 165
Chapter 11 Creating Topic Clusters and Pillar Pages 171
Why Are Topic Clusters Important? 171
How Do You Create an Effective Topic Cluster and Pillar Page? 172
What’s an Example of a Successful Pillar Page? 190
Chapter 12 The Results: Where to Go from Here 201
Glossary 203
Notes 207
Index 211
