Creating content
Suddenly, podcasting is hot. It’s taken a combination of smartphones that can download online files easily, earbuds and noise-canceling headphones, easy-to-use recording hardware and software – and not the least, places like iTunes and Stitcher to make one’s podcast findable online. But podcasting has moved from geeky to cool, when it comes to getting your ideas in front of potential clients.
Do you offer services that can be filled by other business professionals? Almost certainly, yes. If your service is so narrow that there’s no competition, there’s probably not much of a market for it either.
So how do you give clients a reason to choose you over a competitor? The procedures you follow may be the same – and may actually be dictated by regulations or professional practice. Your pricing is about the same. So how do you stand out, and also avoid a race to the bottom regarding your fees?
So how do you give clients a reason to choose you over a competitor? The procedures you follow may be the same – and may actually be dictated by regulations or professional practice. Your pricing is about the same. So how do you stand out, and also avoid a race to the bottom regarding your fees?
Why do you divert time from other uses (like sleep, or billable work …) to create blog posts, prepare and present speeches, as well as write articles for publication? I’d say that this activity has just one purpose. It’s to help you get noticed and stand out, so you can get more of the work you want to do, become the preferred choice in your field, and earn more.
Given that focus, wouldn’t you want those blog posts, speeches, articles and other content to be as effective as they can be?
In this newsletter, I’ve so far avoided the topic of blogging – even though this newsletter is really a blog. And not that I’m bragging (well, I suppose I am), this blog has now been publishing for a year, which is some kind of a gauge of success. The number of subscribers keeps on climbing, unsubscribes remain low, and metrics indicate a pretty high “open” rate.
Once upon a time in America, if an event didn’t get covered on the six o’clock news of CBS, NBC or ABC, it was like it didn’t happen. There were “major news media,” and there were those that didn’t matter.
In a business context too, there were major media like Fortune and the Wall Street Journal, as well as specialty publications like Engineering News Record – titans that stood like gatekeepers, between “sources” with expertise to offer, and the readers of those publications.
In a business context too, there were major media like Fortune and the Wall Street Journal, as well as specialty publications like Engineering News Record – titans that stood like gatekeepers, between “sources” with expertise to offer, and the readers of those publications.
Some of the technical professionals I’ve worked with don’t think much of marketing. “My work speaks for itself,” they say. “Do good work, build your reputation, and clients will find you.” A number of the people who’ve told me this take an understandable pride in having built a practice and a reputation that brings in repeat work and referrals.
Maybe you’ve devoted a lot of time into creating Really Useful Content – blog posts, articles, speeches, maybe a video or two – and it’s just not working. It’s not getting you business. So, what to do?
