The 10 commandments of content marketing

I sometimes wish the content marketing gods would summon me to the mountaintop and render unto me the 10 commandments for content marketing awesomeness. But alas, I think I’d be waiting in the valley of ignorance for a long time.

Instead, I have to settle for being an omnipresent observer, consumer, and creator of content marketing. I’ve posted, blogged, read, watched, created, downloaded, clicked, shared, and sent for years now. And it’s given me a few thoughts. Hopefully, they’ll inspire you…

1. Thou shalt know thy audience. You can never know your audience well enough, whether that’s reading comments, joining chats, or *gasp!* actually talking to some of them. Make sure your content is the answer to their interests and struggles.

2. Thou shalt create something of value. Be ruthless about what you create. Is it interesting? Does it fulfill a need or answer a pressing question? It’s impossible to make something that everyone will love, but you can create content that will really speak to a chosen few.

3. Thou shalt keep self-promo to a minimum. It’s still hard for many marketers to not sell. But content marketing is about giving it away, sharing, and enlightening. A quick sign off, ask to subscribe, like, or “to learn more” is OK, but not more than that.

4. Thou shalt know thy platforms. Some platforms where you share content are popular with young women. Others skew older male. Many platform demographics change over time. Know the when, where, and how your audience gets information, and be there for them.

5. Thou shalt create work that works. By this, I mean getting the most out of the platform you’re on. We’ve all seen (and hated) YouTube videos that were just a single still shot with audio. Why watch that? People expect different experiences from different platforms. If you’re going to play in that sandbox, become an expert in that sand.

6. Thou shalt measure thy efforts. A friend of mine pumps out a mountain of content for her company. When I ask her what’s working, she just shrugs. Not good. Even the basics—web traffic, number of downloads, shares, comments, likes, and more—will give you an idea of the content your audience is hungry for. Use it.

7. Thou shalt listen and respond. This naturally flows from the last commandment. Read comments and posts, and if your industry/organization allows, respond. That could take the form of a personal response, an answer to a comment, follow-up content, or even a simple “like.” Build and nurture your connections.

8. Thou shalt be easily found. Remember the old joke, 80% of success in life is just showing up. The same is true for content marketing. The first blog I wrote had two readers: me and a friend. Eventually, I learned how to “show up” with SEO, promoting the blog to clients, using backlinks, posting it on multiple platforms, and more. Before long, I had thousands of readers around the world.

9. Thou shalt give credit and link. It’s popular these days to produce “aggregate content.” That is, news about an industry or topic from many sources gathered in one place, usually mixed in with an opinion or viewpoint. If you create aggregate content, even if you paraphrase, quote, or pick up an idea from someone else, give them credit. It’s as simple as, “According to…” Put in the links where you found your info, too. Besides making your content richer and more credible, it’s just the right thing to do.

10. Thou shalt be a “predictable producer.” We all have people we follow, and look forward to them producing their content. And if their level of output or quality wavers in any way—we notice. If I’m checking out a company and their last blog entry was three years ago, that tells me something. A key to content marketing success is consistent quality. If you’re going to blog, tweet, or post, then do it on a regular basis and do it well. That’s how you earn and keep an audience.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. And it certainly won’t have the staying power of the “original” 10 commandments, I fear. But, most of these content marketing “commandments” are derived from human nature—the need to learn, connect, and grow—which will always be timeless.