My friend, Kayla, is headed to Hawaii for the rest of the year. With all the snow here in Charlotte, I'm looking forward to my virtual Hawaiian vacation via Kayla's Tweets. Since I'm not going anywhere, I'm looking forward to a productive, if somewhat streamlined, work week.
One of the things I'll do is follow this week of content marketing strategies to help me prepare for 2011. As we count down to the new year, I invite you to come along, and take just 30 minutes a day or less to perform each task with me. Here they are:
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Today: Prepare a few list posts. List posts, itemizations of items of interest to a community, are among the most popular and shared types of blog posts. Look back over 2010 and create a list or two that summarizes and links to some of your most useful posts of the year. Some Of My Best 2010 FaceBook Advice is a good example of this. These are easy posts to prepare and you get a lot of out them for the work you have to put in.
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December 27: Create a publication schedule. Make it easier to maintain constant contact with your community in 2011 by creating an editorial schedule and sticking to it. For example, publish your newsletter on Thursday, publish text blog posts on Mondays and Wednesdays, and publish a video on Thursday. The idea is to create media that continuously and proactively nurtures your community of customers, “likers,” friends, competitors, business colleagues, and other stakeholders.
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December 28: Subscribe to and participate in 10 blogs. Identify and subscribe to ten blogs in your area of expertise and make it a point to share substantive comments there on a regular basis, and also to share the best posts on your FaceBook Page and on Twitter. I call this “blog commenting,” and it's a great way to expand your sphere of influence. Remember, no influence means no sales.
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December 29: Add links back in your blog. Note that this post is sprinkled with links back to older blog posts. I do this because I want you to read more and learn more. I also do it because it keeps my blog fresh and active in search engines. Select 50 blog posts from your Archive and link them to at least one other blog post at your blog. When you link new content to old content, and vice versa, readers will stay at your blog longer. Linking back is an important part of maintaing a blog. It keeps older posts alive and helps your blog continue to be a vital and valuable community resource.
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December 30: Chart your revenue streams. I have always found it helpful to make a table with columns showing the different ways my business generates revenue. While a table or chart is no substitute for in-depth business planning, there's great value in the snap shot approach. It's something you can review daily to make sure your activities are serving specific parts of your business.
Make a table and put your different revenue streams at the top of each column. Then list activities associated with each stream underneath each column heading. Here's a sample table for a company selling cosmetics ingredients.(PDF). Note the level of activity for the items bringing in 10% of revenue versus the one bringing in 90% of revenue.
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December 31: Register for The Media Is You. If you've read this far — heck, if you've read my blog for even a few weeks — you know that, no matter what business you are in, you are also in the publishing business. Only by creating content that consistently shares your expertise, influence, ideas, and tips with the world will you be able to grow a community that supports your business goals and serves your customers well.
The Media Is You is designed especially for INDIEs who are tired of struggling to keep up with the reality that content is what drives community, and business success along with it. Instead of continuing to be overwhelmed by all the technology coming at you, embrace what you need and ditch the rest. Use only what you need to make your marketing effective and efficient for 2011. I am here to help.
My program will help you stremline and focus your marketing outreach so you can confidently lead your business into the new year. December 31, 2010, is the last day to register at the low price of only $99. The price goes up by $100 on January 1 so don't miss out — REGISTER TODAY!
Question: Will you join me?
