Quick question: When do you tend to produce new marketing content?
If you crank out mostly "brochure ware" or if you only create educational content in fits and starts, dictated only by your product release or update schedule, you’re stuck in the mindset of a traditional marketer.
It's completely understandable, since traditional marketing has been "the way we've always done things" for decades.
But you've got to get out of that mindset! Because marketing has changed more in the past five years than it has in the previous 50...
"Thought leadership", "content marketing," "educational marketing," and what I call "reciprocity marketing" has arrived, and it's sticking around.
What does this have to do with thinking like a publisher?
Think of your favourite magazine. If you called the Editor or Publisher right now and asked, “What’s running in January next year?” they’d be able to tell you right away. They've got a content plan.
Likewise, to make the leap toward thinking like a publisher, you’ve got to map out a clear content plan for the months ahead.
So what are you running in January next year?
A white paper? (What’s the topic?)
A case study? (Is the client interview lined up?)
Thinking like a publisher means mapping out and committing to a content plan that delivers high-value information, with sufficient frequency, to your prospects.
Planning in advance will save you tremendous stress. In my experience, more than 80% of marketers produce new content at the last possible minute, causing tremendous stress and urgency every time a deadline like the monthly newsletter comes along.
Why? One reason. Because their traditional marketing tendencies have not yet fully given way to the new habit of thinking like a publisher. But once you make that switch, your marketing efforts become easier, and far more authentic and most importantly, more effective.
