Your customers have all closed the doors on the traditional forms of marketing such as Yellow Page advertising, newspaper ads and even television commercials.

So in order to survive in this new online world you decided that you’re going to  market your business online, however months later you discover that this isn’t working either.

So now you now your asking yourself, why isn’t my marketing working anymore and why isn’t anyone buying my stuff?

The bottom-line in today’s digital world, marketing is Impossible Without the Secret Sauce of having Great Content.

At this months AZIMA (Arizona Interactive Marketing Association) meeting our guest speaker was Joe Pulizzi the “man” of the content marketing world and author of “Get Content, Get Customers”.

What is Content Marketing?

Content Marketing is the art of communicating with your clients and prospects without selling. So instead of pitching your products and/or services you are providing valuable content that allows your clients to make informed buying decisions, thus framing yourself as an expert in your industry and winning them over with their business and loyalty.

10 Reasons Why Your Content STINKS and How to Fix it.

During Joe’s presentation he offered ten reasons that why your content may stink and tips on how you can change it.

Reason #1 – Lack of Content Marketing Goals

Do you have a long list of goals that you are trying to achieve in your marketing or even worse are you flying by the seat of your pants?

Solution: Prioritize, pick one goal and stick with it

Reason #2 – Your Content is about Everything

Is your website about your entire industry covering every nook and cranny? If so perhaps your readers feel that you have grown too big and that they don’t care.

Solution: Focus on what brings in new customers and become an expert in your field, create a niche market.

Reason #3 – The Content is about YOU YOU YOU

Your customers don’t give a dam about you or your company, all they care about is themselves.

Solution: Listen to your prospective clients using Twitter to find the pain points that are keeping your customers awake at night and become the solution expert.

Reason #4 – Good Enough is not Good Enough

You are not only competing with your competitors with your content, you are also competing with other traditional media outlets, therefore if your content isn’t the best it will be lost in the “content clutter”

Solution: Make your content unique, interesting and fun and develop a “content marketing mission statement”.

Reason #5 – Lack of a Content Calendar

Your customers and the search engines love fresh and new content, however how often do you provide this new content and if so do you have a calendar?

Solution: Create a content calendar, one example may be; 1 – 7 – 30 – 4- 2 -1

1 – A daily tweet on Twitter or an article on your blog
7 – A weekly newsletter emailed to your list30 – A monthly webinar
4 – Quarterly E-Book or Magazine
2 – Bi –Annual Event
1 – Annual Research Project

Reason #6 – Not Leveraging Your Employees

Are you leveraging the power of your employees to develop fresh content for your website?

Solution: Find employees within your company that you can utilize as content creators

Reasons #7 – Your Not Hanging Out with Your Customers

Unless you’re a rock star prospective clients are not going to be visiting your website.

Solution: Find out where your customers are hanging out and go there. Listen to their concerns and offer solutions to their problems.

Reason #8 – Your Content Has No Owner

Is there anyone responsible for the content that is posted on your website that completely understand and appreciates the content mission of your organization?

Solution: Designate a chief editor within your organization or go outside and hire one

Reason #9 – You Don’t Have Content Experience

One of the greatest challenges in Content Marketing is developing great content that your audience would be interested in reading and/or sharing

Solution – Outsource or higher a journalist

Reason #10 – You Don’t Have Internal Support

If you don’t have the full support from senior level management for your online marketing efforts you are very likely to fail.

Solution: Buy your boss Joe’s book “Get Content Get Customers”

The Path to Publishing Great Content

1. Have specific blogging goals
2. Make your blog SUPER niche
3. Content that focuses on customer pain points
4. Your content is among the BEST in your industry
5. You stick to your publishing schedule
6. Employees are a key part of the process
7. You build online relationships
8. You have a Chief Content Officer
9. You Insource or Outsource your content to experts
10. You have C-Level support for your marketing and blog