Content Marketers! How to Stop Flirting and Make Your Move

Whoa, don’t worry. This blog post is totally free. No strings attached.

You just go ahead and keep reading. You’re welcome.

There’s more where that came from.

But hey, now that we’re talking, there’s also this eBook or eCourse I think you might like. But don’t worry about it – it’s a gift!  If you can just give me your phone number and email, I’ll send it right on over to you buddy.

Hey you! How was that eBook? Pretty cool, huh?

You know, it would be great to know more about you, what you’re doing, where you’re headed. That kind of thing. If you ever want to meet in person for a nice little chat over coffee…

I feel like we were really on the same page right there. We should do this again sometime.

In the meantime, here’s a podcast about that thing we were talking about. Shall I give you a call next week?

Okay, enough of the flirting. It’s time to make this relationship OFFICIAL.

And that, my friend, is how to turn a content marketing strategy into a tool for seduction.

Content marketing is all about the soft sell. It’s not aggressive. It’s not direct. It’s not like advertising or making a sales call. And for that reason, a lot of people really struggle when it comes to getting results. Or even figuring out what results they should be trying to get.

Which is frankly crazy. Because you’re not working your arse off writing great content just to give it away for free.

Wait, what?

This free content is not actually free?

You read that right.

Even though you’re not charging for your content, that’s not the same as simply giving it away for free.

Successful content marketers always know what it is they’re looking to get out of this exchange. Perhaps you’re just looking for a way to strike up some small talk. Perhaps you’re trying to get their phone number. Perhaps you’re angling for a second date.

But whatever it is you’re pushing for, you need to know before you create the content. You need to shape the content in a way that is likely to make that happen. That has the right tone, the right message, the right call to action to make the next thing you ask that person to do feel like a natural progression.

And you need to have a way of knowing that you’ve succeeded in what you set out to do.

A statistic that gets bandied around a lot is that only around a third of marketers have a documented strategy, even though it couldn’t be any more blindingly obvious that this makes you more effective in just about every area of content marketing.

The reason this works isn’t just because writing out a plan helps keep you on track and on time. Or because without one, you won’t produce stuff regularly and consistently enough to build traction. Although both of these things are important.

It’s because it helps you to remember that this isn’t just a series of free gifts you’re giving away indiscriminately in the hope that it will make people like you.

That you’re not buzzing around buying drinks for everyone in the bar and then failing to remember any of their names.

That actually, you’re looking for something a bit more serious and long term. That you’re using this content as conversation starters for a reason. That you need to keep in touch and keep working at it after that initial exchange. That you need to get a read of your audience, to figure out whether they’re ready for the next step without seeming too keen too soon. And that you need to pay them proper attention if you want things to develop into a long term relationship.

So don’t be that embarrassing drunk guy, scattergunning everyone in the room and jumping straight from hello to “let’s take this further”. But don’t be the shy one that never musters up enough courage to ask for a date, either.

If your audience has been flirting with your company via your content for long enough, it’s time to make your move.

Now go get ’em – you big Casanova, you.

Sound like a message your colleagues need to hear? Please like and share this blog post with them immediately!

Love you,

Konrad x