Content Is Crucial: You Can't Monetize From Obscurity

Income in your business is built on the relationships you cultivate and nurture with your clients and prospects. When people know, like, and trust you, they start to buy.

One important way to keep those relationships growing and to start new relationships is to provide great content and spread the word.

You may have heard the marketing expression, 'content is king'. There's a lot of truth in that: great content draws people and keeps them engaged with you.

In your business, you're on a great adventure. You're learning and exploring new things all the time. If you share that experience with your audience, you'll bring them in on the adventure!

A couple of weeks ago, I shared my adventure of starting a podcast on my blog. Because my audience is business owners, it's relevant: I shared the 'behind the curtain' experience of starting something new, something different, and what I went through to bring it to life.

By doing that, you can share in the experience, you know you're not alone in your own new project, not alone in your challenges. You can relate to the experience, and hopefully be inspired to go on your own adventure!

Podcasts aren't the only content you can offer. The content you provide will vary depending on the business you have. Here's a quick list to pick from: newsletter, blog articles, research notes, guest articles, podcast, radio interviews, manifestos, diagrams or infographics, frequently asked questions and your answers, transcriptions of a talk or workshop you gave, notes from a conference presentation, a tool you've created, audios, or Periscope videos.

If you're not a writer, you can still create great written content. Hire a transcriber (not a big cost) to take notes as you talk through something, or record your thoughts and have someone draft it for you to edit.

Many of the things I listed are usually offered free. Not all of your great content will be free. Your content includes what you offer for sale. If you're a coach, it can be a program on a specific topic. If you're an author, it can be a workbook or a retreat based on your book. If you're a photographer, it can be a book of one area of your work.

This content thing can start to feel pretty overwhelming. I won't kid you. Creating fresh content takes a lot of time and energy. The thing is, you don't have to keep cranking out new stuff every day. You just have to create content that stays fresh and doesn't go out of date.

Create content out of something you're developing. Think of it as the extra 10%, something that grows naturally out what you're already doing. If you're creating a program, then share the research you've done in an article.

Other ways to share content is to work with what you already have. A blog post that was really well received and proved to be valuable can be reposted, to help remind your audience or introduce those ideas to newcomers. Curate content from other sources: make discriminating choices from articles and news to share with your audience.

There are a lot of options for content to share and avenues to share it. Be strategic in your choices. What will be most valuable to your audience? Where are ideal clients and customers most likely to see it?

I often get the question, is it possible to share too much? If I'm just giving so much away, then how will my business ever make money? It's a natural fear, but it's small and pales in comparison to the bigger issue: releasing products and services that no one knows about. It's hard to monetize the great work you offer if no one knows what you are offering.

Share your content from the work you are doing as widely as you can. As you do this, you'll be developing a network of interrelated content where every element overlaps and supports the others.

Content is a big part of your marketing. As you nurture and grow your relationships with your audience, you'll build that network and turn them into more and better client connections.