Content Marketing is Hard Work: 4 Tips to Make it Easier

content marketing hard work

Content marketing is the wave of the future for ad agency new business, but to have success you will need to make advance preparations to consistently deliver quality content.  

I’ve recently written my 650th blog post article. I have a sense of jubilation mainly because I had been battling one of the most serious bouts of “writers block” since starting my blog. I had dealt with this dreaded writers malady in the past but I have never had this much trouble overcoming it.

Writer’s block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some “blocked” writers have been unable to work for years on end, and some have even abandoned their careers. Wikepedia

If you are discovering just how difficult it is to write and create quality content, you aren’t alone. Here’s a collection of notable quotes on the challenges of writing:

  • “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Red Smith
  • “I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” Steven Wright
  • “Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” Gene Fowler
  • “I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.” James Michener
  • “Every writer I know has trouble writing.” Joseph Heller
  • “When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing.” Enrique Jardiel Poncela
  • “I do not like to write – I like to have written.” Gloria Steinem
  • “Writing is the flip side of sex – it’s good only when it’s over.” Hunter S. Thompson
  • “Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the Internet.” Anonymous
  • “Easy reading is damn hard writing.” Nathaniel Hawthorne

There is nothing mystical about writing, it is simply hard work. It begins with deciding on the purpose of your writing and who you are writing for. What is the benefit to your readers? What is the benefit to you?  It’s also about making a serious time commitment and then grunting the work out until you get it done.

Here are some tips that I would suggest to make content creation easier:

  1. Know your audience: One of the first things you MUST do is to identify who your audience is. Then you must focus your content toward their marketing challenges and needs. Use your analytics for instant feed back to know what content is appealing and what isn’t. Your audience will become the guide for your writing.
  2. Keep your objective top-of-mind: You are writing with a purpose. Use content marketing to generate new business opportunities for the agency by building awareness, lead generation, referrals and positioning as a thought leader. If you don’t have a clear objective you will be wasting your time.
  3. Commit to create original content: Many agencies are trying to take the easy way out by only curating the content of others. There is a place for curating content, but note that original content is in great demand. You will get the best return of your time investment if you are the one that is creating the content that others are curating. That’s where the gold is.
  4. Develop a process for delivering content consistently: Small to midsize agencies should develop a content marketing team, but be sure to name the team leader. If everyone is responsible then no one is. A designated person should be responsible for setting up and managing the editorial calendar and edits as well as managing the content delivery process. I’m hearing from many agencies that have recently created a position of Content Director who oversees the creation of content on behalf of the agency as well as agency clients. I think this is a smart move. Agencies can also hire a freelancer to oversee and manage the process remotely.

Here are some additional articles to help with your agency’s content creation:

photo credit: wolfgangfoto via photo pin cc

About Michael Gass

Consultant | Trainer | Author | Speaker

Since 2007, he has been pioneering the use of social media, inbound and content marketing strategies specifically for agency new business.

He is the founder of Fuel Lines Business Development, LLC, a firm which provides business development training and consulting services to advertising, digital, media and PR agencies.

Comments

  1. Hey the tips here are very helpful.. Writers block can be awful at times.

  2. We use a content writing service to cover 101 level topics. This helps us fill out our editorial calendar and make sure we, internally, have time to write about higher-level insights. When you use a service it’s easy to find one or two writers you like and trust—articles cost $15-$30. It’s not totally labor free, there is still a lot of prep and editing on our part. But for a nominal cost we get more words written, a higher frequency of publishing, more things to talk about and more content to share.

  3. Thanks for sharing Jeffrey.

  4. Love the quotes!

  5. Michael,
    Thank you. Well written. I can almost see the blood.

  6. I’m sure you can Bob. I know it will be worth it. I’ve been writing for days in a row for a global business magazine in the UK. I’m hoping to finish today. A few sleepless nights.

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