مدل سه و سه

Part 6

Diversification

Career diversification ain’t a bad thing.

VIN DIESEL

You built the model and are reaping the rewards with new subscribers and audience loyalty. Now is the time to diversify your portfolio and stake your claim as the leading voice in the industry.

Chapter 18

The Three and Three Model

We learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

CONFUCIUS

Now that your audience is growing, it’s time to take your Content Inc. strategy to the next level. In Content Inc. interviews we find trends, consistencies, and surprising repetition in the patterns that define success. I call this the “three and three” model. The first three are personal.

IT’S PERSONAL: PLANNING THE FIRST THREE

In Jeopardy style:

The answer: A blog, a book, and speaking.

The question: What are the three most critical strategies an entrepreneur can do to build a thriving personal brand?

From personal experience, building a blog, writing books, and spreading my message through public speaking have been the three most impactful strategies for growing my personal brand. All three have led to the most amazing business opportunities.

But it’s not just me. Jay Baer, Ann Handley, Marcus Sheridan, Michelle Phan, Ann Reardon, and other successful thought leaders from around the world such as Michael Hyatt and Tony Robbins have used this strategy. Each of these successful entrepreneurs leverages the same formula. Let’s break it down.

The blog. A place on the web where you distribute your differentiated story on a consistent basis and which is shared by your audience to gain wider reach. Most Content Inc. strategies use this as the main platform.

The book. The greatest business card on the planet. The book is your story in physical form. If someone asks you what you are all about, you hand the person the book.

Speaking. The blog and the book lead to public speaking opportunities. Conference providers from around the world will reach out to you to gain your insight and expertise in the area you now own. Think of it this way—you will get paid to get your message in front of an entirely new audience (talk about stealing audience!).

Now that we have covered building your blog platform, here’s how to execute the next two: the book and public speaking.

8 TIPS FOR EXECUTING A BOOK

In 2010, over 2 million books were published around the world (over 300,000 in the United States). Just a handful of people made money from the book itself. So here’s the deal: done correctly, you make money from other things you sell in your Content Inc. program, not from the book directly. The goal for a book is to help expand your business opportunities.

Creating a book that makes an impact on your industry and business is anything but easy. Nevertheless, there are some tips I’ve picked up along the way (in publishing four books) that will make a difference in helping get your book off the ground: 1. Do a “Deep-Dive” Content Audit

You may already have a treasure trove of material that can be repurposed, or at minimum you have content that can be collected to form the initial workings of some key chapters. Be sure you do the work up front to see what you have to start with.

Key point: Don’t overlook this step. Most individuals start from ground zero with writing a book. If properly done, a content inventory will give you a head start.

1. Mine the Blog

For all four of my books, including this one, a lot of the material, ideas, and content originated from existing blog posts. If you have six months of blogs, you might already have half a book. Now writing a book is not an easy endeavor, but you may have a lot of the raw content already at your disposal to develop a book.

Key point: The “blog-to-book” strategy can be amazingly effective. As you create content for your blog, keep your book in mind and start to build the chapters as you go, using the blog as the conduit.

1. Cocreate

Do you have key, noncompetitive partners that target the same prospects and customers as you? If so, consider reaching out to them about partnering on the book concept. Also, once you start promoting, you have two different networks to reach out to.

In a phone conversation with Newt Barrett in 2007, I learned that Newt was writing a book on content marketing, same as I was. After a few additional calls, we decided that partnering made more sense, and in 2008, Get Content Get Customers was born as a joint project.

Key point: You don’t have to do this alone. Most likely, you have many partners who will benefit by getting your message out to the public (and they may have the content assets to help).

1. Get It Funded

My first book Get Content Get Customers was self-published before McGraw-Hill purchased the rights. Much of the up-front investment for the book was covered through selling bulk shipments to partner companies. This enabled us to cover much of the up-front costs of the book.

Jeff Rohrs, former VP of marketing at Salesforce.com and now chief marketing officer for Yext, was working on a book, entitled Audience. He recognized quickly that the topics in the book were ones that his employer deeply cared about. Because of this, Salesforce assisted Jeff in bringing the book to life.

Key point: Most likely, there are players in your industry that care about the book you are producing. If it makes sense, approaching them early could help you fund your project.

If you decide to publish the book yourself, try services like Amazon’s CreateSpace or Lightning Source. Both services do on-demand printing. If you are willing to pay a publisher, check out a service like Advantage Media. It’s pricier than doing it yourself, but the company handles everything in the process for you, including the ongoing marketing if needed.

1. Identify Your Mission—What You Want Readers to Get from Your Book

Be very clear about what you want your readers to get out of the book. Write it down and keep it posted on your wall as you work on the book. Many writers focus on what they are trying to say, instead of pinpointing the main focus of interest for the reader.

Key point: Go small to go big. Focus on a content niche with your book where you position yourself as the leading expert in your niche.

1. Include the Influencers

If possible, include key examples from industry influencers, as well as partners, as long as it’s good content. The more people you include in your stories, the more opportunities for outside sharing.

Key point: Repeat after me … I should not write the entire book by myself. You’d be surprised about the number of people out there that would love to be included in your book and give you the rights to use their content (notice the number of guest articles in this book). Also, if you include others in the book, they are more likely to share it with their friends and colleagues.

1. Consider a Ghostwriter

Believe it or not, many of the books from the authors you love have been written by someone else. I know, hard to believe, right? But it’s true. The best ghostwriters out there start at about $50,000 and then go up from there. If you simply can’t make the internal time or don’t have the resources to get it done, consider it.

Key point: You may not have the skills or the time to make a book happen. There are some amazing people out there who can help.

1. Get Editorial Help

Authors should not edit their own writing. If you want to create a professional piece you are proud of, you need to identify reviewers and editors that will give you honest feedback about the content and the style of the book.

Key point: One editor to review the book as you develop it and one editor to review the final manuscript are the bare minimum.

Elements of a Book Proposal

• Title page. Include an image and contact information.

• Concept brief. Highlight the problem and why the book’s content will be valuable.

• Concept summary. Give a compelling overview of the book. Include the key takeaways that readers will learn.

• Chapter outline sample. Make this as complete as possible.

• About the author. Provide a detailed look at your life and tell why you are qualified to write this book.

• Author’s backstory. Explain how you got to this point in life.

• Book marketing section. Include all your marketing assets. How many connections do you have on which channels? E-mail addresses? Upcoming speaking engagements? Any partnerships with trade associations? This is the most critical section. The publisher will want to know how many copies you can sell.

• Audience section. Show who the audience for the book is and why this book will fill a content gap.

• The competition. List the books that most closely compare with your competitive set.

• Introduction to the book. Include this if possible.

Overall, the proposal should be between 10 and 15 pages.

A book is not just a “nice to have,” it’s a game changer. A published book opens up more opportunities than you could ever imagine. Now is the time to put your big idea in motion.

TOP WAYS TO GET SPEAKING GIGS

It was the middle of 2008. At the time, I was still working on the blog platform and building a loyal audience. Newt Barrett and I had just released our self-published book (through Lightning Source), Get Content Get Customers. It was then that I received an intriguing e-mail from Belgium.

In the e-mail a large Belgian publishing company told me it was hosting a large customer event in Brussels and wanted to know if I was available to speak at the event. The company offered to fly me over, all expenses paid plus a small stipend. How did this happen? The blog and the book.

What I now know is that it’s next to impossible to truly be a thought leader in your industry without a killer blog, a thoughtful book, and a speech that rocks. Yes, the first two are critical, but it’s as a regular speaker where you hit the lottery. When you get regular speaking engagements, people talk about you, spread your message, and want to actively do business with you. It’s where the magic happens.

Many conference producers won’t even consider you as a speaker unless you have a published book.

If you think public speaking can make a difference in your Content Inc. model, here are the top ways to get speaking engagements.

Back to the Blog: Your Proof of Expertise

If people asked you for proof of your expertise, what would you show them? Awards, perhaps? Maybe testimonials?

While those are fine and dandy, they are secondary in today’s world of absolutely everything being available on the web. As a conference producer looking to choose the best speakers for our event, the first place I go is to the prospective speaker’s blog. A consistently delivered blog is proof of both dedication to and passion for the industry. Also, if done properly, the blog very quickly shows your area of expertise. That means if you blog about all sorts of topics, it will hurt you. Get focused on what makes you a leading expert in your field.

A Video Example

For the Content Marketing World event, we received over 500 speaking submissions in 2015. I discounted almost 200 immediately because they didn’t have a link to a prior speaking event or a compilation of speaking engagements.

Most conference planners won’t sign on speakers without at least seeing them speak in some capacity. That means if the speaker selection committee hasn’t seen you speak, and you don’t have a proper example of your speaking skills in action, you won’t get the speaking engagement.

If you’ve never done any speaking, make a video. Even an edited video will suffice so people can see you in front of a camera.

Andrew Davis has a website (at http://www.akadrewdavis.com/) dedicated just to his speaking. It includes multiple videos; there is even one that specifies what he believes makes a great speech and another that tells you how he can help you promote your event.

Get a Hook

You need something to stand out and separate yourself from the pack. Why should anyone choose you? Why are you special? Here are some ideas: Get a color. Orange is my color. I wear some form of orange to every event … shirt, suit, shoes, pocket square, etc. I have an entire wardrobe dedicated to the color, and I have set that expectation with my audience.

Social media expert Mari Smith uses turquoise as her color (Figure 18.1). She even decorates the stage before she begins her talk. If color is not your thing, try a certain theme or costume.

Figure 18.1 Facebook expert Mari Smith leveraged her passion for one color to assist in her notoriety.

The elevator pitch. Can you very quickly state what you speak about? Is it on “networking for shy people” or “how financial companies can grow without advertising”? Don’t ever say you can speak on anything … that means you will speak on nothing. Refine the pitch that encompasses your niche.

Focus on the Hit List

So many public speaking wannabes talk about wanting to speak more often. When I ask, “What are the top events you’d like to speak at?” you’d think I’d asked them to recite the Apostle’s Creed.

If you don’t have a clear vision of where you want to speak, then you don’t want it bad enough. Follow these steps: Create your event bucket list. Have a list of at least 10 events that your target customer attends. Then find out when speaking submissions are due for each event. Develop a calendar for it.

Contact each one, using the proper channels. (Do not send an e-mail outside the form … event organizers hate that.) Convey a clear vision for your speech (where it could be placed, why it’s a good fit, how long it will be). Include a link to your video. Event planners dislike uncertainty the most, so make sure you are specific and take out all the guesswork.

Share your terms up front. If you require travel expenses paid, say that now to avoid conflict later. You’ll be cutting yourself out of some events, but if that’s your deal, that’s your deal.

THE NEXT THREE: ALL BUSINESS

Now we turn our attention to the second “three” of our model. In contrast to the first three, which are personal, the next three—digital, print, and in person—are business (see Figure 18.2).

Figure 18.2 The three and three model, visually represented.

Take a look at some media brands that you may have heard of:

ESPN. Multiple properties in digital, a print magazine, and multiple in-person events.

Forbes. Multiple properties in digital, a print magazine, and multiple in-person events.

Inc. Multiple properties in digital, a print magazine, and multiple in-person events.

As a publisher, I have always believed in the three legs of the publishing stool—print, digital, and in person. Those are the three key channels, and to be the true informational expert for your niche (like those listed above), you need all three. That’s why we launched a print magazine and an in-person event in conjunction with our key platform (the blog).

As you begin to learn more about the behavior of your audience, you’ll see patterns showing that the more you can get the people in your audience to engage in your content in different ways, the more likely they will be to buy from you.

CMI’s main revenue driver is an event, Content Marketing World. It’s imperative that we communicate in a way that maximizes the chances for our audience to attend the event in person.

After Content Marketing World 2014, we asked attendees what channels they access from CMI. What we found was astounding: 80 percent of our paid attendees consistently engage in at least three channels (Figure 18.3).

Figure 18.3 CMI finds that those that spend money to go to our events engage in multiple other content initiatives throughout the year.

This is exactly why it’s imperative at the diversification stage of the Content Inc. model to begin building out properties in each channel. Since the majority of this book covers digital channels in detail, let’s quickly look at print and in-person events.

THE PRINT OPPORTUNITY

According to 2015 Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs research, only about one in three marketers uses the printed channel as part of a content marketing strategy. Marketers today are so focused on digital channels that they’ve all but forgotten the power of print.

Now am I saying that you should be looking at print as an opportunity right now to get and keep audience attention? Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. I believe there has never been a bigger opportunity for brands in the printed channel than right now.

While I would not want to be in the broad-based, horizontal print game (à la USA Today), highly niche, highly targeted publications are flourishing as a marketing tool. For example, ThinkMoney magazine from TD Ameritrade sees about 90 percent of its customers take direct action on a product it sells through its print magazine. The magazine is a true collision of amazing design and provocative information. It’s the type of content that is anticipated by its trader audience. And better yet, since traders are in front of computers all day long, they look forward to the opportunity to disconnect and discover.

And the best finding: subscribers who regularly read the magazine trade five times more than those who do not. Now that’s a magazine that will always get budget approval.

Is Print Dead?

Digital prognosticators say that most print media will be gone in the next decade. I think anyone who makes those types of comments does not understand history. Just type into Google “the death of TV,” and you’ll see hundreds of articles predicting the end of television. One could make the argument that right now is the golden age of television, with amazing shows like House of Cards, The Walking Dead, and Game of Thrones leading the way.

The evolution of the Internet doesn’t kill off these channels … it makes us look at them differently because they are used differently by consumers.

And just recently, online housing rental service Airbnb launched a customer magazine called Pineapple (the universal symbol for “welcome”). As well, digital car service Uber launched a magazine for its drivers called Momentum. When the most innovative companies on the planet are now looking at print, it’s time to take notice.

Here are a few reasons to starting thinking print.

It Grabs Attention

Have you noticed how many fewer magazines and print newsletters you get in the mail these days? I don’t know about you, but I definitely pay more attention to my print mail. There’s just less mail, so more attention is paid to each piece (I actually get excited when Inc. magazine arrives at the office). Opportunity? With traditional magazines like Newsweek, SmartMoney, and others ceasing publication, there is a clear opportunity for brands to fill the gap.

Customers Still Need to Know What Questions to Ask

We love the Internet because consumers can find answers to almost anything. But where do we go to think about what questions we should be asking? I talked to a publisher recently who said: “The web is where we go to get answers but print is where we go to ask questions.” The print vehicle is still the best medium on the planet for thinking outside the box and asking yourself tough questions based on what you read—it’s “lean back” versus “lean forward.” If you want to challenge your customers, print is a viable option.

Print Still Excites People

I talked to a journalist who said it’s harder and harder to get people to agree to an interview for an online story. But mention that it will be a printed feature and executives rearrange their schedules. The printed word is still perceived as more credible to many people than anything on the web. It goes to the old adage, “If someone invested enough to print and mail it, it must be important.” We’ve seen this firsthand with our magazine, Chief Content Officer. Contributors love being featured on the website, but they crave having their article in the printed magazine. It’s amazing how different the perception is of the print versus online channel when it comes to editorial contribution. This goes as well for consumers.

Print Lets People Unplug

More and more, people are actively choosing to unplug, or disconnect themselves from digital media. I’m finding myself turning off my phone and e-mail more to engage with printed material. Today I relish the opportunities when I can’t be reached for comment.

If I’m right, many of your customers (especially busy executives) are feeling the same way. Your print communication may be just what they need.

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS NEED IN-PERSON EVENTS

I attended an executive meeting at Penton in the mid-2000s, where the subject of the meeting was what to do with our events portfolio. There was concern that because more of our audience was communicating online and, increasingly, through social media, there would be less of a need for conferences and events.

Boy, were we wrong!

In-person events and conferences continue to grow. As more people connect socially, we are seeing an increased need for those people to meet face-to-face.

Some questions to consider:

Does your content niche have a dedicated event?

If the answer is yes, could there be an opportunity to develop a small event for just one particular portion of your audience.

Let’s look at CMI’s event portfolio:

Content Marketing World is the largest industry event. We have multiple tracks for marketers and business owners of all types. It attracts 4,000 delegates.

Intelligent Content Conference is our West Coast event that only targets more technically savvy marketers and content strategists. It attracts 400 delegates.

CMI Executive Forum is an invitation-only event for senior executives who are concerned about content marketing. It attracts 40 delegates.

Michael Stelzner added an event to his Content Inc. portfolio in 2012. Brian Clark added one in 2014. Rand Fishkin has been running his event, entitled Mozcon, for years.

The conference you design can be small, midsize, or large, but there is most likely a deep need for your audience to meet and network, strengthening your industry leadership at the same time.

Digital Events

As much as I believe in the power of in-person events, you may want to consider launching a digital event to test the waters. Webinars and virtual trade show technology from companies like ON24 and GoToWebinar are relatively inexpensive and logistically much easier to produce.

The greatest new and old media companies around the world started out leveraging one channel. As they have grown, each one has built out the digital, in-person, and print channels to wrap its readers in “content love.” Your opportunity is to do this from an individual and business perspective to ultimately drive your Content Inc. model.

CONTENT INC. INSIGHTS

As you begin to diversify your platform, be sure to look beyond digital for hidden opportunities. The greatest media brands in the world leverage not only digital, but in-person and print components as well.

The most successful Content Inc. entrepreneurs focus on a blog, a book, and public speaking. All three of these in combination will help take your Content Inc. strategy to the next level.