Welcome to our series Digital Marketing in a Noisy World. This content was originally presented in our breakout session at Breathe Christian Writers Conference 2015. (Check out our Prezi here.) We hope this information is helpful and encouraging for you. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or contact us.
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The 4 Rules of Content Marketing
by Alexis De Weese
With an understanding of the WHY, HOW, and WHAT of your platform (read the post here if you missed it!), you are ready to leverage your content and develop your voice.
Developing your unique voice is the key to producing great content. This can sound daunting if you’re not sure what your voice is. It can be really easy to look at the platforms of those you admire and mimic their voice. Or fall to the temptation to put on a salesmen persona when promoting your work.
Neither of these tactics are recommended, namely because neither are you! Marketing does not mean becoming someone you’re not. Only your voice can capture your WHY. Developing your voice is the key to successful content marketing.
Here are 4 content marketing rules to help guide you in discovering and writing in your unique voice:
1. Be Consistent
If you want people to hear what you have to say, you have to be there to say it. Be a source they can rely on.
This does not mean you need to blog every day or tweet every hour on the hour. This means that whatever content your are producing should come regularly. Your audience will know when they can expect new content and will be ready to listen to what you have to say.
2. Be Confident
Your voice is as unique as your WHY.
No one else has your perspective, your take, or your specific passions. You are the expert of your WHY. Approach your content with confidence. You are the only one who can capture your message—be bold!
3. Be Resource-Full
It can be overwhelming to think that you will need to create new content for years to come. It is okay to recycle!
Build content from what you’ve already worked on—speaking outlines, writing prompts, drafts, questions you encounter, even commentary on the content of others (with credit, of course!).
4. Be Involved
Your platform is a conversation. As people respond to your content, respond back. Ask follow up questions to continue the discussion.
Don’t only respond, but also reach. Comment on the content of others whose message speaks to you. You contribute to their conversation and, you never know, they may contribute to yours!
With a developed voice, you can easily leverage your content. Don’t be afraid to be clever. When it comes to content marketing, there are points for creativity.
Digital platforms leave room for innovation and experimentation. Don’t be afraid of trial and error. Some things are going to work better for your platform than others, but you’ll never know until you try.
This takes time, but the same amount of effort, time, and thought should be put into your platform as you put into your creative project. (Don’t worry! Remember, you can recycle.) Building your platform is part of the writing project, not a separate entity. Your WHY drives both.
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Creative writer, editor, word wiz and self proclaimed ‘punk-kid’ Alexis is Apricot’s content magician. Lex is passionate about books, music, movies, scrambled eggs, and nail polish. She prefers her music on vinyl and tea leaves loose.
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Thank you for joining us on this series. Tune in next time to learn more digital marketing tips.
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