“If you can be commoditized, you will be commoditized…. If you stay stuck in “ordinary”: going to market with product or service, price and discounts, vague generality claims of (slight) superiority as one of many choices… you will be crushed.”
~ Dan S. Kennedy
Let’s start with an important distinction between content marketing and information marketing because the two are often confused. Content marketing usually refers to the constant production of free information to be posted on your blog, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Information marketing is the strategic and purposeful creation of evergreen assets and lead magnets which draw prospects into your ecosystem and lead directly to engagement and sales.
Content marketing is driven by other people’s (i.e. social media and search engine’s) endless need for new items to publish, post, and promote because ‘viral’ media means that more people spend more time on those platforms. It is also driven by writers’ need to maintain constant employment by churning out a steady stream of words for others. Information marketing is driven by your business’s need for qualified prospects and customers so that you can increase your profitability. It’s about choosing who you work with and attracting people who need to work with want, want to work with you, and can afford to work with you. On the surface they may appear similar, but their purpose and outcomes couldn’t be more dramatically different.
Information Marketing is THE Key to Any Successful Businesses
Hopefully, your goal is not to create a ‘small’ business, but to create a successful business that is structured in such a way that it provides the income, lifestyle, and satisfaction you want. Governments and statisticians like to use size as a measure of success (where bigger is always better), but a successful business might have just one or two people working full-time and be generating millions of dollars in profit, while a business with tens of thousands of employees might have a much smaller profit… or might be losing money.
In either case, the strategic use of information marketing is the key to creating your own ‘category of one’ and enabling you to set your own prices, dictate the terms on which people do business with you, and make your business more profitable and satisfying.
If you want you business to survive the onslaught of competition from Amazon, Artificial Intelligence, and other threats to your years of specialisation and investment, then you should be seriously investing in information marketing and you should think carefully about your target market and profitability. If you truly believe that your target market is solely driven by price, then now is a great time to step back and rethink your business model so that you can step out of that sink hole… fast!
Who Should I Get to Write My Information Marketing Pieces?
I’m glad you asked!
Actually, the best person to write, or at least inspire, your information marketing is probably you… assuming that you are passionate about your business and the value it delivers. If you don’t have the time or the interest, then you need a well-trained direct response copywriter (like me, or one of my colleagues).
DO NOT… waste $50 or more on fifty articles pumped out by a cheap writer and spinning software! This is content marketing and it won’t do what you need it to do. Also DO NOT ask an academic, English teacher, or your friend / niece / daughter who likes to write.
Your purpose is to create evergreen marketing assets that will help you sell more, not to pump out more words just for the sake of more words which means that you want to write thoughtful, powerful, and strategic articles and lead magnets that accomplish your primary purpose of building your business.
Why Am I ‘Doing’ Information Marketing in the First Place?
You are NOT ‘doing’ information marketing for it’s own sake.
I hate to belabour the point, but many businesses do act as though the reason for creating anything is simply for the sake of creating it. This goes for books, videos, lead magnets, articles, social media… Your information marketing fits into a comprehensive advertising, marketing, and selling process.
Every informative asset you create is aimed directly at a specific segment of your target market and designed to attract their attention, engage their interest, and lead them steadily through the buyer’s journey you have mapped out for them. Nothing about it is random or generic.
A Challenge:
- When you look at your blogs, articles, lead magnets, books, and other information pieces are they assets that are working for your business, or simply items of production?
- Does each one play a specific role in attracting your ideal prospects and bringing them into your ecosystem?
- If not, what do you need to do make them work for you?
- If so, congratulations? How can you make them even more effective?
Need some advice on what information marketing assets your should create next, or how to make them work harder for your business? Schedule a free 30 minute call with me to talk about your options. http://www.scheduleyou.in/aPy7Kmkuez