Content marketing wisdom from Jason Lemkin at SaaStr

This Jason Lemkin post is loaded with advice on how to create a successful content brand. I’ll probably add these notes to my personal bible.

NOTES

Quora is great but takes a lot of content (more than 2K answers for 1M monthly views)
The key to Quora is I did what was easy. I used Quora questions as a vehicle to stimulate a memory of some mistake I’d made, some learning I’d had. And I made a rule if I couldn’t get the answer done immediately, I’d move on.

Blog traffic is consistent and reliable but has stopped growing (3% MoM)

What didn’t work: engagement on LinkedIn and Facebook Page, YouTube audience growth despite posting high quality videos, traffic levels on Medium

Podcasting is a lot of work:
Post-production takes a lot of time, and it’s very hard to build an audience. There are so many podcasts now, and little organic way to discover new ones. So unless you can crush it with a podcast, you may find the ROI very low

In-person events conferences have dis-economies of scale, especially in an expensive and event-heavy region like the Bay
So my suggestion is don’t try to put on an industry event in the Bay Area unless you are sure you somehow can be #1 or #2. Do a customer event instead. Higher ROI, much easier to put on.

Twitter is good once you have critical mass (~40K quality followers)

Mediocre content does not perform. Contributed articles and boring sponsor posts…are read by very, very few folks.

Always experiment with new channels
I think if you want your content marketing to keep growing, you have to add new layers that perform. Our goal is one new material initiative / channel a year.

Find a publishing cadence and stick to it

Like a startup, give your strategy time (his magic number is 24 months) to develop a sustainable and growing audience

An essay all online writers should read, from Patrick McKenzie

Patrick is an inspiring entrepreneur and writer who generously shares what he learns. His writings have taught me how to be a smarter, more effective business person.

Making Your Writing Work Harder For You” is one of my favorites. Please read the whole thing; in the interim, here are some of my notes!

  • calling it “content” often devalues it
  • write things which retain their value over time (less news-y, less sensational)
  • remove dates from your work
  • call your best work “essays” or “comprehensive guides”, not blog posts
  • build your best work into the core navigation of your site so it’s easy to discover
  • have a goal for each piece of writing; often, it’s to continue the conversation via an email newsletter
  • provide something of immediate value to readers for giving you their email
  • build a library of your best content that you can re-use and remix (e.g., a case study, data)
  • types of content:
    • high-quality beginners’ guides (e.g., Moz’s beginner’s guide to SEO)
    • next steps for intermediate learners
    • dedicated task-oriented content (e.g., how to setup Rails on your new MacBook)