In several recent conversations, new nonfiction authors and consultants asked how to best use their time to promote their book or consulting business. Some people asked if they should run ads or otherwise promote their books. (Promotion works differently for fiction. This post is just for nonfiction.)
That's when I asked if they knew the difference between content marketing and promotion.
They were a bit confused, so here's how I define the difference:
- Content marketing focuses on offering value to your ideal readers or clients.
- Promotion helps you “collect” more “eyeballs,” even though many of those people might have zero interest in what you offer.
Here are some examples.
Content Marketing Examples
Here are examples of content marketing for your business, including books:
- Any speaking engagement where you deliver a taste of your expertise. Often to meetups and professional groups.
- Articles you write for other outlets.
- Blog posts you publish on your blog first. (I'll discuss how you promote the blog posts for discoverability a little farther down.)
- Your newsletters, assuming people can find them after you publish them to your subscribers.
Assuming you speak and write based on your expertise, that's all content marketing.
What about curated link posts? Several of my colleagues do that. Here are their names and links to one of their recent newsletters: Emily Webber's Posts from Awesome Folks, Stefan Wolpers' Food for Agile Thought, and Adrian Howard's Quiet Stars.
When people offer useful curated link posts, that's the same idea as giving other people credit for their work. The curators get to bask in the reflected glory. (Yes, that's a win-win!)
These are all content marketing because they attract your ideal customers (for a book, ideal readers). And while I love content marketing, it's a long game.
Content Marketing is a Long Game
I've had thirty years of practice with content marketing—writing and speaking about my expertise to attract readers who then might turn into buyers. I blog several times a week and write a monthly newsletter.
Sometimes, I got lucky. One client read one of my articles in the old Software Development magazine and hired me based on that one article. I worked with those nice people for a decade in several capacities. That was a great case of content marketing leading directly to a client. And that was back in the day when we had fewer conferences and many fewer newsletters.
Some of my blog and newsletter readers refer other people to me. That's also a content marketing win.
But even with my extensive content, not everyone remembers me when they have a need for my services or books. That's why sometimes consultants and writers need promotion.
Promotion Examples
Promotion does not focus on your ideal reader or customer. Instead, promotion is about creating something with a broad enough appeal so some of your ideal readers and customers can discover you.
Most promotion is about advertising. Here are some examples:
- Indirect ads, often on social media, to attract people to your newsletter or your book. If you're lucky, those people will buy something from you, but ads are about buying people's attention.
- Direct ads that ask people to buy your book or direct people to your website. This is selling, not marketing.
While I do not recommend or use promotion for my books, some of my writer friends do find that ads will increase book sales.
Sometimes, writers and consultants buy ads on various social media platforms to acquire newsletter subscribers. While I have never done this, I do not want to buy people's attention. Instead, I want to earn it with content marketing.
However, many writers and consultants find promotion tempting. They think it's a fast way of getting the right people on their mailing list and to buy their books or services.
However, you can use social media to promote your writing and services widely.
Promote Your Content
Social media is totally fractured right now. (I have no idea if it will stay that way or not.) And it's very busy. That means that while you might optimize for that site's algorithm, no one can find your content later. That's why I choose to publish on my own site first. And then promote to all the other sites later.
Will I get the same number of “eyeballs” (a terrible name for humans) as I could if I posted on their site first? No. Well, not unless I mention other people's names.
I use each site, but I don't optimize for each site. That allows me to control my content.
Focused, Frequent Content Marketing Works
Even now, with the strangeness in the agile community, my content marketing works for me. That's because content marketing offers value to my ideal clients and readers.
If you want to learn how to do even better content marketing, please check out Successful Independent Consulting. There's a fat chapter in there all about content marketing. (And a slightly smaller chapter about promotion and active marketing.)
In addition, please check out the other consulting tips.
And if you want to write better and faster (and be authentic to your brand), see the “writing secrets” posts. And if you want to learn how to write to attract your ideal clients and buyers? Please join me in the next writing workshop.