Content
Marketing
Everything you ever wanted to know about content marketing for your business.
What is Content Marketing?
You know those cheesy infomercials that come on around 2am selling knife sets or cleaning products or home exercise equipment? They show totally unrealistic models achieving fantastic results with minimal effort in an ideal scenario then urge you to call now!
Content marketing is the exact opposite of that.
Content marketing is the story you tell your kid when about the summer you were 11 and spent a month building a treehouse with your friends. You borrowed tools from your parents, scavenged materials from…wherever, you got sunburnt and bug bitten and hit your finger instead of the nailhead more than once, and you came home for dinner exhausted and happy every night. You tell that story about your 11 year old self as a way of connecting with him, but also to encourage him to get off the couch and enjoy the great outdoors and connect with kids in real life. And you also do it, deep down, because you’re hoping he’ll ask you to build a treehouse with him.
Content marketing is using a story about you to relate to your audience in a way that will resonate with them; that will feel authentic and visceral and memorable; that will compel them to take action and to choose your brand when the time comes.
content marketing is an investment in your relationship with a customer rather than an investment in a sale.
There’s no story in buying an end-cap at a supermarket. Sure, you’ll make immediate sales that way, but you also have to rely 100% on your product to make those customers come back again.
When you tell a story that someone can relate to, when you make a stranger feel like you understand them and their experience, you’re winning hearts and minds. And when you’ve got someone that invested in your brand, they won’t need a sale or special pricing to want to buy from you.
Instead of selling, content marketing allows you to stand out by demonstrating your values and that you already know how to care for your customer in the way they want. It’s useful, relevant information that your prospective customer can use to make an informed decision. Rather than promoting your goods and services, it elevates your audience’s experience and connects you to them.
Content Marketing turns strangers into fans, fans into customers, and customers into referents.
How to get started with Content Marketing
Ready to jump in? You can flex your content marketing muscle with social media, blog posts, articles, videos, e-books, webinars and more.
Start by asking:
Who do you want to reach?
What do you want to tell them?
Where does your audience hang out?
When are they around?
Why is your story valuable?
If you can answer all those questions and produce a steady stream of high-quality content, congratulations! You’re way ahead of the curve.
Most businesses don’t have the time or the man-power to devote to content marketing, but they’ve still got great stories to tell and wide audiences to reach! If you’re still reading, you’re probably waiting for me to say “I can help!”
If you want to reach your audience with those great stories, but you don’t have the time, the man-power or the ability to do it I CAN HELP!
My clients trust me to create a cache of stories in their voice, tailored to their audience.
We work closely together to make sure that I’m nailing the stories you want to tell, and have a complete picture of who your existing and ideal clients are.
So I’m a content marketer, what the heck does that really mean? What am I?
I’m a copywriter who also does some design. I’m a wordsmith who sometimes uses colors and font and pictures to help tell a story. I’m a storyteller.
I like the internet. I like social media. I like old school print.
I’ve been in marketing and advertising for nearly 15 years so I’ve learned a thing or two. I’ve been in start-up environments and well-established corporations too. I’ve worked in tech and finance and fine arts. I’ve helped small businesses and big businesses and individuals who were on the cusp of something really great.
I’ve been telling stories since I was old enough to talk, and before that? I was waiting.
Help, I need a
NEW!
GET ORGANIZED
How I can help you with Content Marketing
I have a bachelors degree from the University of Toronto in socio-cultural anthropology, and a post-graduate certificate in creative book publishing—I love stories about us!
My clients have included treatment centers and wellness professionals, book publishers, fine arts organizations, national events, not-for-profit organizations, creative advertising agencies and even the financial sector. Though vastly different in their products and services, all these clients share a desire to connect with their audience through story-telling and entrusted me to help them.
And heck, I’ve done some pretty cool things. I’ve produced cinematic corporate videos, piloted social media programs, launched internal lunch ’n’ learn programs, written video scripts, helped authors write book proposals, built websites from the ground up, totally overhauled visual branding and so much more.
Since 2004 I’ve been HELPING MY CLIENTS MEET THEIR GOALS, SHARE THEIR culture, and INTERACT WITH THEIR AUDIENCE through pictures and words.
In recent years, working with health and wellness businesses has allowed me to tell the stories that address tough situations—stories about challenges, struggles, and hardships, and about shame, anger, and fear. What thrills me about these stories in particular is that, ultimately,
they are all about HOPE.
I was raised by a pair of college professors on a steady diet of She-Ra and Star Trek, bike rides and dog walks, liberal arts and human-centric politics. I was a star of my school's debate team, captain of our cheerleaders, and editor-in-chief of a poetry anthology.
I love a good joke, a good taco, and a good book—not necessarily in that order. I’m a closeted cat person, an all mountain snowboarder, and when I’m not in front of a computer I spend a lot of time with a fishing rod in hand. I’m passionate about the Everglades, am quietly into reducing waste and being gentle on our planet, and much of the work I do for clients reflects that. I take on a lot of digital work, and when I get something printed, I work with vendors who care about the planet too.
I’d love to talk more about how we can make something really cool together. Click here to use my contact form, or email me at hello@rustproofdigital.com.