When it comes to success, most people will tell you that the best and fastest way to achieve it is by having a well-thought strategy in place. However, its execution should also pay a significant role. And seeing how all your content marketing related efforts add to something truly great is by no means an exception.
Yes, it is true that over the year content marketing has suffered quite a lot of changes, and some of the practices that proved successful in the past do not really apply nowadays. In some cases, even strategies that were golden a year ago are a thing of the past. And seeing how everything related to content marketing changes so much on such a regular basis, it shouldn’t surprise you that publishing ideas tend to be mentioned and used more and more.
Nowadays, most business owners believe that the best and safest way to achieve success as far as content marketing is concerned is to adopt a publisher mindset. Still, I constantly see a lot of marketers struggling with this issue. They are simply not able to put themselves in the publisher’s shoes.
And while some may argue that there are several similarities between having a publisher mindset and thinking like a true marketer, such as having similar goals, I ask you the following question: “In your opinion, what does thinking like a publisher refer to?” Also, if we’re still on the subject, I’ll add another one to the mix: “How is a marketer supposed to use the publisher mentality within a content marketing related strategy?”. There’s no reason to panic because if you were to separate it into several units, you would be able to have a clear picture of what adopting the publisher mindset refers to.
So where should we start?
The first step you will need to take so as to be able to adopt the mindset I’m talking about is to start by understanding what exactly a publisher values most, the things that peaks his or her interest content-wise, what feelings rush through his body once the content is published and also what he or she feels needs to be done further so as to add value to the already published content. If you are able to truly understand and adopt this mindset, I guarantee that the content you produce will definitely be picked up by several websites or other publications.
Considering the fact that publications have to deal with a lot of content on a daily basis, you need to bear in mind that they will definitely have a strict schedule and very rarely stray from it. Nowadays, with the emergence of the blogging phenomenon, schedules tend to show a higher degree of flexibility, you will need to know some key aspects regarding publications and how they operate given the fact that they have both regular authors and columns. Also, being aware of this aspect could potentially aid you in getting your awesome content accepted.
If there’s one thing to remember when approaching a publication is this. If you decide to contact one of the editors of the publication, ensure that you clearly mention the deadline you are considering and a specific schedule you would be able to keep. Yes, you’ve guessed it; the editor will be the person who decides whether you receive the “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”, but you need to show him or her that you are not only flexible, but also able to commit to a regular arrangement that ultimately will make their job and life a whole lot easier.
A close friend and marketer nonetheless opened my eyes as far as the first thing is concerned. He reminded me how publications work, their structure, thus making me realize that they will run feature pieces pretty often. In most cases, a certain target audience will decide to enter the website or read the publication just for that feature piece. And if it’s as great as you think, they’ll keep coming back. Just remember that you will need to provide unique material the publication, something that the competitors have omitted or are not interested in offering their readers.
If the editor is interested in using your content, you could pitch him or her some of the great ideas you have that will work for the target audience, whether it’s providing the target base with video series, or writing about the most important events that took place within your industry over the last month. Thus, you need to do a little bit of research beforehand and see what types of feature pieces a specific publication usually posts and plan and create as you go.
A publisher will always focus on the people he or she is interested in targeting. It has to do with being able to get their attention. Afterwards, you need to showcase that content as being both attractive and accessible for the target audience. This is why, creating great content for a specific purpose is so important in the mind of a publisher. And even though this should be one of the things content marketers should pay extra attention to, that is not always the case. However, for publishers it has always been like that. Content must always be relevant to a particular audience. Thus, we can definitely state that publishers have managed to achieve success when they made use of this particular focus.
If you are a blogger or writer that is seeking to collaborate with a publication, this potentially is the most important thing you could do. Content that is not intended for a specific audience, but rather for a general one is not something you should plan on doing. Pay close attention and try and determine who your potential audience is, but also make sure to check and see what type of content has been published in the past. Best case scenario, you should try and create content that has not been covered extensively or at all.
Last but not least, you need to take into account the quantity of material you will provide. In order for a publication to work, it has to offer a constant workflow content-wise. And although quality is at the forefront of the editor’s mind, quantity is never disregarded. According to a HubSpot report, companies that blogged at least 20 times a month were able to generate 5 times more website traffic than businesses who blogged 4 or less times a month.
And this means that, the more high-quality, unique and engaging content you are able to produce and offer your publishers, the better off you’ll be.
