Effective content brands rely on both content creation and content marketing to fuel expansion. While most content creators get the creation part right, few engage in content marketing. Many people who love creating content often see the marketing as something that gets in the way.
There are countless ways to market your content. I could create an exhaustive list of 1,000 ways to do so. Promoting on social media is a topic that receives heavy discussion in tutorials on driving traffic to your content. For that reason, I”™ll exclude it to show you additional possibilities for driving traffic to your content.
Many strategies work, but these are the game changers.
1. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
The relationships you make and your ability to leverage those relationships play a significant role in the success of your content brand. Some influencers are happy to share other people”™s content and with a strong relationship, more of these types of influencers will share your content.
Relationships can also result in anything from more podcast interviews to a new speaking gig, but relationships at their core help with publicity and knowledge. For almost any area of content marketing, there are at least five people I can contact if I have a question and need an answer. Build your network to do the same.
Strive to build at least three new relationships every day.
That will result in over 1,000 new relationships by the end of the year.
One of the best ways to build relationships is to host your own podcast and invite people as guests on your show. You put the guest in front of a new audience, provide your audience with new content and strengthen your new relationship with a 30-minute interview (it may be more or less depending on the typical episode length for your podcast).
As you continue to build relationships, also take the time to strengthen existing relationships. Catch up with people you first talked with a few months or years ago. People in the network-building tactic are typically good at outreach, but we also need to get good at reaching inward where our existing connections reside.
2. FOCUS ON GROWING YOUR EMAIL LIST
Your email list is your content brand”™s most valuable digital asset. Every initiative you take to grow your audience must point back to web pages that increase your email list.
On Twitter, I promote tweets that lead to my blog posts, but some of those tweets also lead people to my landing pages.
For my Breakthrough Success podcast, I use a CTA ”“ call to action ”“ that entices people to receive a free offer and join my email list.
If you have a traffic generation strategy that is resulting in more visitors but no change in email subscribers, you need to reassess that strategy and figure out what isn”™t working. If you get 1,000 visitors this month, but none of those visitors subscribe to your email list, there”™s a chance that those people don”™t come back.
Each time you email people on your list, you remind them of who you are and the value you provide. Without those constant reminders, some people who once visited your blog but never subscribed may forget who you are.
3. COLLABORATE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
Of all three strategies, this is the least discussed and most underrated. Some people in your audience have been with you since Day 1. Other people may be newer to the fold, but as you grow your audience, you”™ll have more core fans within that audience.
These are the people who want to get involved in what you”™re doing. They have consumed your content and even bought some of your products. If you have an initiative and invite people to take part, these people are the first ones to sign up.
For next month, plan an initiative in which you collaborate with your audience. When I hosted the Content Marketing Success Summit and invited people in my audience to apply to be a speaker, I got dozens of responses. Many of those interviews were very memorable and those same people came to bat in a big way when it came time to promote the summit.
Get your audience involved in your initiatives. Some will be happy to support you in any way possible and you”™ll develop a stronger relationship between you and your audience.
These three game-changing strategies will steer more traffic toward your content. The only strategies that matter are the results-oriented strategies that you plan for and implement soon after. Focus on implementing at least one of these strategies this week. If you already implement one of these strategies, choose another. Those who take the most planned action tend to be the most successful in any niche they pursue.
Marc Guberti is a student at Fordham University and a social media and business blogger and author. He”™s on Twitter @MarcGuberti and can be reached by phone at 914-722-6005 or email at Marc@MarcGuberti.com.
