Articles | What Is Content Marketing And How Can It Help Grow Your Business?

Right now there is a movement taking place in the world today-- people don't want to be sold to. Instead it is crucial for business owners to build trust, credibility, and likability with customers and clients before the sale is made.

So while many traditional advertisers are struggling converting customers with print ads, television commercials, and direct-mail advertising, businesses using content marketing aren't. The reason being that for entrepreneurs like you and me-- it is our first priority to give people value first-- then convert them into the sale later.

So What Exactly Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is the act of a business owner creating and sharing free but valuable information that a prospective client or customer has requested (or looked up) and which creates trust, credibility and authority for the business owner that provided the information.

There are characteristics that differentiate a solid content marketing piece from a random source of free content on the web-- content marketing must offer value and have a call to action a.k.a. some sort of action you want the prospect to take after they have read, listened, or viewed your content.

Another characteristic of Content Marketing is that it is something which grows exponentially more powerful with repetition. It's this repeated and regular exposure to your content and therefore your marketing message which builds a relationship of trust, likability, and the opportunity to convert your prospects several times rather then once.

It definitely clicks because statistics prove that it takes more than 7 exposures to a marketing message before a prospect even considers investing in you, and I can only imagine how that number is probably even higher for solo entrepreneurs. I admittedly told one of my most influential mentors how it took about three years of being marketed to by her before I acquired coaching with her!

What Types Of Content Marketing Are There?

Do you already use some of these in your business? Are you maximizing the reach that each of these content marketing tools can make?

1. Articles
2. Blogs
3. White Papers
4. Free Reports
5. Videos
6. Audios
7. Social Media Content
8. Email Newsletters

Luckily over the years I have actually discovered my content marketing sweet spot, and I found it by effectively evaluating the right ratio for providing high-value content vs. promotional messages that resonated with prospects.

Interested in creating & leveraging your own highly marketable content? My assignment for you is to let go of the limiting belief that you are frightened of disclosing all your yummy content. The actuality is that you must give some of the good stuff! And this is why ...

When you deliver your prospects undeniable value, connect with them authentically, build their trust, they are going to count on everything that they purchase from you and they will definitely spread the word about you. That is actually the TRUE potential of content marketing!