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7-Figure Small with Brian Clark
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Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing
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Whether You Call it Blogging or Not, Online Content Still Rules

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Previous Episode:Answers to the 3 Biggest Email Marketing Questions We Get More Episodes Next Episode:Why Not Sell Physical Stuff With Digital Media?

All Episodes:

March 30, 2020

The Advantage of Email Marketing, Featuring Nathan Barry of ConvertKit

March 15, 2020

How to Write Content That Resonates

March 9, 2020

How to Conquer Your Fear of Selling, with Leah Neaderthal

March 2, 2020

How to Build Remarkable Products to Grow Your Business, with Ramit Sethi

February 17, 2020

What You Should Talk about on Your Podcast, with Tara McMullin

February 9, 2020

How to Win at Search in 2020

February 3, 2020

How to Turn Pro as a Freelance Writer

January 27, 2020

Marketing Segmentation and Personalization with Brennan Dunn of RightMessage

January 20, 2020

Podcasting Still Matters, with Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income

January 13, 2020

The New Look Copyblogger in 2020

January 8, 2020

New Year, New Copyblogger

October 23, 2019

The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur with John Jantsch

October 2, 2019

Consistency Will Take You Further

September 25, 2019

The Past, Present, and Future of Online Learning

September 16, 2019

How to Get More of the Right Things Done

September 9, 2019

Why the Future Is Still Email

September 3, 2019

What’s Next for
Copyblogger Media?

August 26, 2019

How Smart, Nimble Companies Are Using Webinars Today

August 19, 2019

The Clarity Method: A Conversation with Tim Brownson

August 12, 2019

Digital Business Trends and the Latest on the Rainmaker Platform

August 5, 2019

4 ‘Naive’ Business Principles for Enduring Success

July 8, 2019

How to Write an Epic Blog Post, Part 3: Polishing and Promotion

July 1, 2019

How to Write an Epic Blog Post, Part 2: Getting It Written

June 24, 2019

How to Write an Epic Blog Post, Part 1: Thinking and Research

June 17, 2019

3 Almost Magical Headline Ingredients for More Traffic, Engagement, and Shares

June 10, 2019

Lessons Any Business Can Learn from an Impressive Influencer Marketing Fail

June 3, 2019

13 Ways of Looking at a Headline

May 27, 2019

The 7 ‘Bad’ Habits of Incredibly Successful People

May 20, 2019

Writers: How to Move from Making a Living to Driving Revenue

May 13, 2019

Choose the Right Frame to Boost the Power of Your Content

May 6, 2019

How Copywriting Teacher Belinda Weaver Reenergized Her Email List for Massive Engagement

April 29, 2019

3 Reasons Why Really Good Writers Sometimes Can’t Find Great Clients

April 22, 2019

3 Slightly Embarrassing Emotions that Drive Effective Copywriting

April 15, 2019

Get 10 Content Marketing Boosters in 20 Minutes

April 8, 2019

Becoming the ‘Chief Empathy Officer’ of Your Copy and Content

April 1, 2019

One of the Most Important Marketing Decisions You’ll Ever Make

March 18, 2019

What Nobody Wants to Hear about Content Marketing

March 11, 2019

Getting Your Big, Scary Projects Finished: A Conversation about Growing Gills

March 4, 2019

When Is It Time to Bring in a Professional Copywriter?

February 25, 2019

Using Content to Systematically Move Prospects Toward a Purchase

February 18, 2019

Understanding the Lifecycles of Your Website, with Pamela Wilson

February 11, 2019

5 Ways to Manage a Stress-Induced Creative Slump

February 4, 2019

3 Ways Strategic Content Can Drive Measurable Business Outcomes

January 28, 2019

The Social Media Platform Every Content Creator Should Be Using in 2019 (Nope, It’s Not Facebook)

January 21, 2019

Real Talk about Generating High-Quality Content

January 14, 2019

A Conversation with Paul Jarvis about Staying a ‘Company of One’

October 29, 2018

The 3 Plus 1 Foundational Elements of Effective Persuasion

October 22, 2018

5 Essential Copywriting Techniques from Copyblogger

October 15, 2018

5 Ways to Recover Your Professional and Creative Confidence

October 8, 2018

5 Stinky Sardine Secrets to Make Your Content More Fascinating

September 24, 2018

The Mindset ‘Hack’ that Frees Your Creativity and Makes You Happier

September 18, 2018

How to Kill Your Sales and Mess up Your Business: Lessons from a Used Car Salesman

September 4, 2018

The 7 Things Writers Need to Make a (Good) Living

August 27, 2018

Are You Making These Social Media Marketing Mistakes?

August 20, 2018

Fix These 7 About Page Mistakes for More Traffic and (Possibly) Better SEO

August 13, 2018

7 Ways to Boost Your Creativity

August 6, 2018

A 10-Step ‘Checklist’ for Your Content Marketing Site

July 30, 2018

The 3 Keys to Publishing Strong Content … Even If You Aren’t a ‘Great’ Writer (Yet)

July 23, 2018

Fix These 3 Points of Failure to Get Better Results for Your Content

July 16, 2018

Big Changes at ConvertKit: A Discussion with Founder Nathan Barry

July 9, 2018

3 Skills to Master to Become a Marketing Badass this Year

June 18, 2018

The Quiet Power of Conversational Copy

June 11, 2018

5 Rules of Thumb to Relieve SEO-Induced Stress

June 4, 2018

How to Use the GDPR to Make Your Business Stronger than Ever

May 14, 2018

‘Good Karma’ Selling that Works: A Conversation with Tim Paige

April 30, 2018

How to Get More Comfortable (and Effective) at Selling

April 23, 2018

Privacy and Permission in the Wake of Cambridge Analytica

April 16, 2018

Seth Godin and How to Create Change

April 9, 2018

Email? Chatbots? Social? How Are We Supposed to Reach People?

March 26, 2018

The Double-Edged Sword that Can Make (or Break) Your Content

March 19, 2018

Make More Progress by Getting (Gently) Out of Your Comfort Zone

March 12, 2018

Are You Doing Content Marketing Wrong?

March 5, 2018

Storytelling for Modern Content Marketing (Part 2 of 2)

February 26, 2018

Storytelling for Modern Content Marketing (Part 1 of 2)

February 19, 2018

10 Quality Factors Search Engines Need to See on Your Site

February 12, 2018

A Simple Content Strategy to Make Your Site Massively More Useful

February 5, 2018

How to Avoid a Heartbreaking Business Failure

January 29, 2018

Hey Writers: Let’s Get You Paid What You’re Worth

January 15, 2018

5 Keys to Making Your Content More Shareable

December 18, 2017

3 Observations on Trends (but not Predictions) for 2018

December 11, 2017

3 Tips Now to Build a Strong Foundation in 2018

December 4, 2017

The 3 Success Factors that Help Writers Earn a Great Living

November 27, 2017

How to Recognize a Great Content Idea

November 20, 2017

How to Cultivate a More Meaningful Gratitude Practice

November 13, 2017

Advice for Poets, Advice for Killers

October 30, 2017

Face Your Business Fears on Halloween Week

October 23, 2017

How to Make Smarter Decisions about Your Website

October 2, 2017

A Series of Unfortunate Content Events

September 18, 2017

The Evolution of a Successful Copywriter

August 28, 2017

7 Ways to Improve Your Marketing by Harnessing the Power of Evil

August 14, 2017

Smart Questions from our Brilliant Audience

August 7, 2017

Does the Web Have Enough Patience for Your In-Depth Content?

July 31, 2017

How to Write (Much Better) Blog Comments

July 17, 2017

Which Works Better: Positive or Negative Content?

July 10, 2017

How to Attract the Exact Customers You Want

July 3, 2017

How to Create Stability and Success as an Artist

June 19, 2017

Two Powerful Resources for Life-Changing Growth

June 12, 2017

How to Turn All that Marketing Advice into Action

June 5, 2017

How to Develop a Compelling Marketing Idea in 4 Steps

May 30, 2017

Getting Over the Fear of Selling

May 22, 2017

Talking Community and Digital Business with Tara Gentile

May 15, 2017

Plagiarism, Self-Deception, Bad Sandwiches, and Other Interesting Disasters

May 1, 2017

Professional Writers: Find Out How to Get Certified by Copyblogger

April 17, 2017

The Painful Core Lesson Taught by 3 Astonishing Big-Brand Fails

April 3, 2017

5 Mindset Habits that Actually Work

March 27, 2017

On Grammar, Usage, and Not Being a Great Big Jerk

March 20, 2017

Creative Strategies for Content Writers

March 13, 2017

A New Ultra-Easy Resource for Creating Excellent WordPress Sites

February 20, 2017

Thriving Freelancers and Clients from Hell

February 13, 2017

Politics, Content Marketing, and the 2017 Super Bowl Ads

February 6, 2017

Copyblogger Book Club: Winning the Story Wars

January 23, 2017

3 Content Marketing Strategy Fails (and How to Fix Them)

January 9, 2017

The 2017 Content Excellence Challenge: Your January Assignments

December 19, 2016

Bad Writing Advice: The ‘Post Truth’ Episode

December 12, 2016

Get Ready Now for a Creative and Productive 2017

December 5, 2016

The 4 Pillars Every Online Business Is Built On

November 28, 2016

Orbit Media’s Latest Survey of 1000 Bloggers

November 14, 2016

Have You Already Missed the Podcasting Gold Rush?

November 7, 2016

Getting More Traffic, Links, and Shares to Your Content

October 31, 2016

5 Quick Wins for Content Marketers

October 24, 2016

Announcing: An Intriguing New Tool for Collaborative Content

October 17, 2016

A New Book to Make Content Marketing Easier

October 10, 2016

Behind the Scenes at Copyblogger: Our New Email Approach

October 3, 2016

The ‘Obligatory’ Structure of Effective Content

September 26, 2016

7 Powerful Content Strategies Borrowed from Advertising Masters

September 15, 2016

How to Handle Demographic and Psychographic Segmentation (without Looking Like an Idiot)

September 8, 2016

Ethics, Professionalism, and Good Manners for Content Marketers

September 1, 2016

3 Questions that Can Haunt Creative Professionals

August 25, 2016

How to Give and Get Exceptional Testimonials, Part Two

August 18, 2016

How to Give and Get Exceptional Testimonials, Part One

August 11, 2016

Are You Leaving Money on the Table with Weak Headlines?

August 4, 2016

Content Marketing for Nonprofits

July 28, 2016

The One-Two Punch that Creates the Most Successful Copywriters

July 21, 2016

Pokémon Go: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

July 14, 2016

5 Suggestions When You’re Writing About Controversy

July 7, 2016

Announcing: A Breakthrough Educational Collaboration between Copyblogger and U.C. Davis

June 30, 2016

How to Break Past the #1 Conversion Killer

June 23, 2016

The New Age of Marketing Automation: Powerful, Simple, Cost-Effective

June 16, 2016

How to Make a (Really Good) Living as a Freelance Writer

June 9, 2016

Self-Publishing, Side Hustles, and Doing It All: A Conversation with Linda Formichelli

June 2, 2016

A Process for Content Marketing Success

May 26, 2016

Content Marketing Best Practices: Getting Email Opt-Ins

May 19, 2016

Behind the Scenes: Adventures in Advertising

May 12, 2016

Trump, Apple, and Facebook Advertising: Content Marketing News for May, 2016

May 5, 2016

Sally Hogshead and the Art of Fascination

April 28, 2016

Behind the Scenes at the Rainmaker Digital Company Meeting!

April 14, 2016

Social Media News, Social Media Constants

April 7, 2016

Strategies for B2B Podcasting, with Clark Buckner

March 31, 2016

Content Marketing Success Stories: Fitness Powerhouse Examine.com

March 24, 2016

Behind the Scenes: An Inside Look at the Rainmaker FM Redesign

March 17, 2016

Our Latest Advice and Resources for Digital Business Owners

March 10, 2016

Should Content Publishers Adopt Google’s New AMP?

March 3, 2016

7 Ways to Get Smarter with Social Media Listening

February 25, 2016

Content Marketing Shout-Out: Orbit Media and Andy Crestodina

February 18, 2016

The Tactic You Should Steal from Copyblogger

February 11, 2016

Content Marketing News for February, 2016

February 4, 2016

Email Marketing: The Misunderstood Powerhouse

January 28, 2016

The Secret Weapon Behind Great Websites: The Role of the Content Editor

January 21, 2016

Behind the Scenes: The Relaunch and Re-Imagining of Copyblogger.com

January 14, 2016

Trends and Predictions for Digital Commerce: A Conversation with Brian Clark

January 7, 2016

2016 Content Marketing Resolutions

December 28, 2015

The End of The Lede, The Beginning of Copyblogger FM

November 10, 2015

Constraints Can Be Blessings (Plus 2 Other Essential Lessons Jerod Re-Learned This Week)

November 3, 2015

Long or Short? The Content Length Question Answered, Once and For All

October 27, 2015

The Simple Publishing Hack That Gives Old Content New Life (Plus 3 More Tips)

October 20, 2015

The Surprising Truth about Earning a Profit from Your Content

October 13, 2015

How to Move Your Audience From Infatuation to Love

October 6, 2015

3 Things Your Audience Wants You to Know about Useful Content

September 29, 2015

Revisiting Authenticity: What It Is, What It’s Not, and Why It Matters

September 22, 2015

Publishing Lessons from Dave Pell, the Most Fascinating Email Newsletter Writer in the Business

September 15, 2015

Why Content Creators Should Kiss Their Programmers

September 8, 2015

Finally — A Podcast about the Superiority of Written Content

September 1, 2015

Hot Seat: Grilling Jerod on Using Audio Content to Seed a Content Arsenal

August 25, 2015

How to Optimize Your Headlines for Content Discovery with Vinegar (Before You Die of Cholera)

August 18, 2015

5 Stories That Explain Jerod Morris (Plus One Massive Marketing Lesson)

August 11, 2015

Lede Potpourri: A Big Idea, Talking About Demian Behind His Back, and Lessons from #PM15

August 4, 2015

How to Attend an Industry Conference Like a Boss

July 28, 2015

Getting the Most Out of a Conference When You’re There to Promote, Part 1

July 21, 2015

How Much Does the Modern Content Marketer Need to Know About SEO?

July 14, 2015

Are Podcasters Digitally Sharecropping Without Realizing It?

July 7, 2015

Celebrating Our 101st Episode (with a Special Guest Interviewer)

June 30, 2015

Why The Phrase ‘Leaders Are Readers’ Should Die

June 23, 2015

Why You Should Think Outside the Box About Online Courses

June 16, 2015

The Proper (and Safe) Way to Republish Old Articles

June 9, 2015

How to Grow an Audience on LinkedIn by Repurposing Content

June 2, 2015

Key Takeaways from Three-and-a-Half Hours with Henry Rollins

May 27, 2015

Rapid-Fire Takeaways from Authority Rainmaker

May 19, 2015

The Proper Way to Grow an Audience on Medium

May 12, 2015

The Introvert’s Guide to Launching a Successful Podcast

May 5, 2015

The One Quality All Popular Podcasts Share

April 28, 2015

Proof That Grit Is the Only Way to Reach Your Potential

April 21, 2015

Do We Celebrate Failure Too Much?

April 14, 2015

Choose Yourself Part 2: James Altucher Fights Back

April 7, 2015

Should We Fear Content Shock? (Or Could It Actually Be a Good Thing?)

March 31, 2015

Should You Really ‘Walk in the Direction of Your Fear’?

March 24, 2015

Is ‘Choose Yourself’ Good Advice … or New-Age Phooey?

March 17, 2015

Is Authority Earned or Bestowed?

March 3, 2015

Dan Pink on How to Succeed in the New Era of Selling

February 24, 2015

Here’s How to Answer the Most Important Question in Life (and Make a Living from It)

February 17, 2015

Sally Hogshead on How You Can Unlock Your Natural Ability to Fascinate

February 10, 2015

How to Learn from Your Successes

January 27, 2015

How to Learn From Your Mistakes

January 13, 2015

Lessons Learned from Conducting Two Monster Audience Surveys

December 16, 2014

Adaptive Content: A Trend to Pay Attention to in 2015

December 2, 2014

The Most Important Lessons You Should Have Learned in 2014

November 18, 2014

How We Built Our Careers Online (And What You Can Learn From It)

November 4, 2014

Interview with Brian Clark: How Customer Experience Maps Help You Develop a Smarter Content Strategy

October 21, 2014

How Empathy Maps Help You Speak Directly to the Hearts of Your Audience

October 7, 2014

How to Ignite a Feeling in Your Audience

September 23, 2014

Are You Overlooking This Cornerstone of a Smart Content Strategy?

June 26, 2014

How to Curate Knowledge, Turn it Into Wisdom, and Build Your Audience

June 19, 2014

How Successful Writers Curate Ideas

June 13, 2014

The 5 W’s of Link Curation

June 6, 2014

Why You Should Curate Content (And How to Do It Right)

May 30, 2014

How Freaks and Misfits Can Succeed in Business: A Conversation with Chris Brogan

May 23, 2014

The 2 Reasons People Don’t Click on Your Buttons … And How to Overcome Them

May 16, 2014

Chase Customers, Not Clicks

May 9, 2014

How to Be Authentic

May 2, 2014

How to Close With Style

April 25, 2014

The Best of Seth Godin on Copyblogger

April 17, 2014

How to Choose Arresting Images for Your Blog Posts (And Why You Should)

April 11, 2014

Removing Blog Comments: The View So Far

April 4, 2014

How to Use Internal Cliffhangers

March 28, 2014

Hangout Hot Seat with Brian Clark

March 21, 2014

How to Tell a Seductive Story

March 14, 2014

How to Create Exquisite Subheads

March 7, 2014

How to Write Killer Bullet Points

February 28, 2014

How to Write Damn Good Sentences

February 21, 2014

How to Use Persuasive Words

February 14, 2014

Michael Stelzner on Capturing Emails and Committing to Quality

February 7, 2014

How to Nail Your Opening

January 24, 2014

How to Write a Magnetic Headline (in Under 15 Minutes)

May 18, 2012

Seth Godin on When You Should Start Marketing Your Product, Service, or Idea

May 11, 2012

How to Attract an Audience by Integrating Content, Social, and Search

March 30, 2012

Why You Should Build an Audience Before You Build a Business

March 16, 2012

How Chris Brogan Built His Content Platform

March 9, 2012

Jay Baer on How to Turn Interested Prospects into Lifelong Customers

March 2, 2012

A 30-Minute Copywriting Course from a Master of the Craft

February 24, 2012

The Path to a Legendary Copywriting Career

February 17, 2012

5 Tips for Affiliate Marketing Beginners

February 10, 2012

Why Not Sell Physical Stuff With Digital Media?

February 3, 2012

Whether You Call it Blogging or Not, Online Content Still Rules

January 27, 2012

Answers to the 3 Biggest Email Marketing Questions We Get

January 20, 2012

How to Newsjack Your Way to Free Media Exposure with David Meerman Scott

January 13, 2012

Steven Pressfield and the War of Work

November 18, 2011

The Strategy Behind the Copyblogger Redesign

November 11, 2011

7 Ways to Create an Email Marketing "Snowball Effect"

November 4, 2011

Warning: If You're Not a Privacy Nut, You're Losing Sales

October 28, 2011

The 3 Kinds of Writing That Builds a Business

October 21, 2011

The Art of Seductive Writing: A Conversation with Robert Greene

October 7, 2011

Why Content Marketing Doesn't Suck

September 30, 2011

Are You Weird Enough to Succeed at Content Marketing?

September 23, 2011

What Works With SEO Right Now and Why No One Does What You Want

September 16, 2011

Are You Flushing Your Marketing Down the Social Media Toilet?

September 11, 2011

Seth Godin on Blogging, Business Books, and Creating Content that Matters

September 2, 2011

The Return of Copyblogger Radio …

June 10, 2011

Answered: Your Most Burning Content Marketing Questions

June 3, 2011

How to Get All the Clients and Customers You Can Handle

May 20, 2011

Is Content Marketing Worth the Work?

May 13, 2011

How to Write Nearly Undeletable Emails

May 6, 2011

Is the Online Gold Rush Over?

April 22, 2011

The Art of Enchanting Online Marketing with Guy Kawasaki

April 15, 2011

The Market for Something to Believe in is Infinite: An Interview with Hugh MacLeod

April 8, 2011

How to Constantly Create Compelling Content

March 25, 2011

The Content Marketing Question You Need to Answer … Now

March 18, 2011

Good SEO is Simple. Really.

March 4, 2011

Did Social Media Kill the Marketing Star?

February 25, 2011

How to Write (and Execute) a Simple but Powerful Business Plan

February 17, 2011

How to Kick Groupon to the Curb and Become a Local Hero

February 3, 2011

Convert … Or Die

January 27, 2011

Attention: Is Your Headline Getting Any?

January 20, 2011

How to Craft Landing Pages that Work

January 13, 2011

Why Every Smart Business is in the Media Business

January 5, 2011

2011 Content Marketing Predictions

December 15, 2010

Tim Ferriss on How to Reinvent Yourself with Blog Marketing

December 8, 2010

The 6 Elements of an Influential Web Experience

December 1, 2010

Your Staggeringly Unfair Marketing Advantage

November 17, 2010

How to Get Some Action

November 10, 2010

The Foundation of All Marketing that Works

November 3, 2010

Introducing Copyblogger Radio

February 3, 2012

Whether You Call it Blogging or Not, Online Content Still Rules

What if most of the business world stopped blogging tomorrow?

Would you stop as well?

No, if that happened, you’d find yourself sitting on the opportunity of a lifetime. Social networking sites would explode with likes and retweets and pins and +1s of your original content all day long.

This is why the annual “blogging is dead” claim is so dumb. Even if it were true, your continued content production would dominate the web in every way.

So, instead of worrying about the latest claimed trend or alarming decline of the moment, stay the course.

Original content creation is the present — and the future — of online marketing.

In this episode, Brian Clark and I discuss:

  • Has blogging peaked?
  • The clear future of online marketing
  • What Twitter wants, and how to give it
  • Is the online playing field really even?
  • Why it doesn’t matter (at all) if “blogging” dies
  • What even the major brands are focusing on right now

Hit the flash player below to listen now:

Whether You Call it Blogging or Not, Online Content Still RulesRobert Bruce
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The Transcript

Please note that this transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and grammar.

________________

Robert:This is Internet Marketing for Smart People Radio. I am Robert Bruce here with Brian Clark.

This radio show is brought to you by Internet Marketing for Smart People, which if you haven’t heard yet, is our online marketing course that we deliver straight to your email inbox. The course contains 20 highly useful emails covering everything from content marketing, to email marketing, to the basics of good phone etiquette on podcasts (laughs, home phone is ringing).

If you want to jump-start your online marketing efforts, if you want to skip a large part of the learning curve with all this stuff, if you want to learn how to use online marketing strategies and tactics that actually work, get on the bus. Sign up. It’s totally free! If you want in, it’s easy. Head over to Copyblogger.com scroll down to about the middle of the home page where you will you’ll see the headline “Grab our free 20 part internet marketing course” drop your email address into the little box there and we will take care of the rest for you.

Is blogging dead… again?

Robert: Brian let me read you a little something as we get into the show today. And I quote, “The use of blogging may have peaked as a primary social media tool in the US business world. The new data shows adoption of blogging is declining for the first time since 2007, among the Inc. 500 companies.”

That is from Nora Barnes, a University of Massachusetts, a Dartmouth researcher, from a new study looking at the online activities of Inc. 500 Companies. In a nutshell, the study basically states that more and more of these larger companies are abandoning their own online real estate, their own websites and/or blogs, in favor of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. What do you think about this?

Brian: I think that’s a leap. It’s interesting, I read about this study yesterday, which would be Tuesday, and I didn’t think much of it because I’d learned about the study from a very well-balanced and analytical article that really dug into what was being said and the reality of it and then I was like “Okay, no big deal.”

The next day everyone is up in arms about it. ReadWriteWeb basically just published those assertions, no one else’s, with no questioning. And I like ReadWriteWeb, so I was a little dismayed especially since they happen to also be a blog.

Then the other people are blogging and the advocates are firing back saying this and that, some of it kind of good and humorous, but here is the thing, and I’ll see if I can find that article because I don’t even remember where I read it at this point, the Inc. 500 changes every year.

It’s not just the same 500 companies year to year, it changes actually much more then you might think. That was the first thing that was pointed out, that you are not comparing apples to apples because it’s not the same companies, so you can only say, “Of these companies, less are doing corporate blogging” not that others have abandoned it. That’s important.

The second thing is that the study even points out that certain companies just aren’t going to blog, like government service companies and construction companies. That would be ridiculous, right? Government service companies get a government contracts that’s their business model and again, the article pointed out that, due to Obama’s economic stimulus plan, the inclusion of more government service companies in the Inc. 500 was a natural result.

So companies that don’t need to blog are more prominent in the 500 this year. If you look at it that way, I am not sure that the study really says anything at all about corporate blogging.

Robert: You are saying 1) this is not a static, the Inc. 500 is not a static list. New companies are coming in all the time for various reasons and 2) this shouldn’t be a worry, because, as you say, with a lot of these companies there is not necessarily a need for … well there is a need for content marketing, but they are not concerned about it.

The clear future of online marketing

Brian: Certain companies just don’t have the need. I’ve got a buddy from high school who manufactures these giant springs for heavy machinery, it’s the most horribly boring business ever, but they get these huge government contracts and he’s doing very well. He’s not going to blog. He doesn’t even understand what I do. That’s not the issue because there are lots of companies that can benefit from it.

But you really bring up the important thing, which is that it’s not about corporate blogging. Most corporate blogs are horrible because on one hand, they are corporate, and on the other hand, the idea of what the C-level people thought the blog was suppose to be ended up, in most cases, being really bad. The blog became press releases and dry dribble about the company instead of being focused on prospective customers or whatever the business model is.

You are hearing a completely different story about content itself and I am talking about web content. Last time we addressed the “blogging is dead” thing I just said

“Look, okay, we’ll just call it content marketing, is that better? Okay good. Now keep using WordPress and keep doing what you are doing, you just don’t have to call it blogging”.

I don’t think a lot of people call it blogging anymore and WordPress is a more functional full CMS. We build all our sites out of it whether there is a blog involved or not.

Let’s look at another report that was issued yesterday about the concerns of CMO’s, Chief Marketing Officers, when it comes to digital growth. Among many interesting points, the number one thing that they need in order to grow in the online world is sharable content.

Bingo!

So far this year, I have been spending a ton of time talking to the agency and consulting folks, the people that are on the front lines with all the big brands and content marketing is all the rage. They get it now.

Again, it’s a whole mix of things, but it’s primarily about content that is spread through social media, and then of course you get the longer-term benefits of search engine rankings.

Google has made that quite clear that the social signals are more important than ever. So the story that you hear from this “corporate blogging is dying” report, might actually be accurate because they are not talking about blogging but they are talking about building content focused websites. So it’s just nomenclature really.

Why major brands are acting like media companies

Copyblogger doesn’t look like a blog to some people, right?

Really, what’s happening here are that the big brands are building stand alone content sites, many times on WordPress because that’s what the agency people will tell them to adopt. They are finally thinking and acting like media companies.

Talking about companies that you would never expect, like Procter & Gamble, of course we know they’ve always been into content. What about Clorox and Tide and Coca-Cola who we profiled during their big move into content marketing? But that’s because it’s what works and they don’t think about slapping a blog onto their corporate site, although Clorox for example does have an entire section of blogs, not one blog, not a corporate blog, but consumer focused content, and they are done as blogs.

It doesn’t have to be, Procter & Gamble doesn’t even have anything really about them other than as a sponsor on their “Man of the House” site. It’s a standalone content site that happens to be produced by Procter & Gamble.

So that’s what you are seeing. Some companies are building individual media assets often many of them 10, 20 some companies, you’d be surprised like in the travel space, have hundreds of niche sites that they own.

Is the online playing field really even?

Robert: We talked briefly about this a while ago and it’s one of my favorite stories, but just to give people some context, let’s talk for just a second about Procter & Gamble. In the past, you could call it their content marketing of the past and what they are doing a little bit in the future or doing now and into the future. This is a company that has millions and millions of dollars that they could pour into traditional advertising with all kinds of media and they still do.

But they are also, and I am torn here because I really want to talk about Coca-Cola going all in as we were discussing a few weeks back, great article, but Procter & Gamble just the short version if you will. What was the old decision they made decades ago and then what does it look like now that they are doing today? Just to give people an idea of what this looks like in the real world.

Brian: I mean we’ve talked about it on the show before, but they invented the soap opera on radio as a way to reach depression era housewives and they did it through serial drama, you know, show up every week, find out what happens, cliff hangers, family drama, all that kind of stuff.

Then obviously with the advent of television they made that move, by the 70’s soap operas were the most lucrative form of television on the planet, and two of the most popular shows were actually produced by Procter & Gamble by a separate division called Procter & Gamble Productions.

Most of what happened from those early days, that changed and you didn’t have companies producing their own content, they just went with advertising. During the golden age of advertising, people who spent the most money just literally crushed it and Procter & Gamble did that too.

But they were really taking from both sides; they were going direct to their target audience with soap operas using new mediums like radio and television. Of course, then they were brand advertising out the wazoo, as well, because they were masters at that game.

But we’re living in a different world now, so now Procter & Gamble’s out of soap operas, which were declining in popularity, now they build niche content sites in this case, for men not housewives, housemen. House husbands, whatever you want to call it. It’s an interesting adaptation with the times, right?

Robert: Those content sites, those niche sites they look a lot like what we’re doing, not in content obviously, but in terms of the structure and in terms of how they are producing it and putting it out there.

Brian: Oh sure, I mean, mainstream media sites are all social now and a lot of blogs have transformed themselves into something bigger, if the business dictates it.

I mean everything from Mashable which is an amazing story, a blog started by a 23-year old, now a major media company. So things are evolving to where there is not really old media and new media, there is just a big mess of media.

The cool thing is that I can build a site that builds a business just as much as Proctor & Gamble can, just as much as Time Warner can. We are all media now.

Why it doesn’t matter (at all) if “blogging” dies

Robert: If some of these companies don’t want to go to the effort to create great content, what do you say to them?

Brian: I don’t care. From what I am hearing, there is enough exceptional momentum out there with content marketing that there’s an entire industry that’s being built around it and it’s not going away. It’s just not.

Social media itself is just the internet and sooner or later, we’ll stop talking about it as a distinction, right? Content is what works so Lisa Barone wrote a responsive post to the ReadWriteWeb article and basically that was her angle, she like “you don’t want to blog, who cares, here’s what you are missing out on if you don’t” and she just ran through ten of the biggest benefits. People share content.

Another report that just came out found the best way to use to Twitter is sharing content. Basically, what that means is that the content creators get the most benefit even though others are curators and the sharers. Basically her argument was “fine, don’t blog, I don’t care” and I agree with her in that there are enough people who get the content thing whether you call it blogging or not, that it just doesn’t matter.

There are companies who are Facebook only; good for you. When Zuckerberg cashes out and they change the rules on you again, have fun, I’ve got my site and if anyone is going to screw that up it’ll be me, not Zuckerberg.

The opportunity for small businesses

Robert: Yes and this creates quite a hole for maybe smaller business to run through right? To create great content, to reach those customers and reach those people through content marketing.

Brian: I mean the people who do, will have outsized results, they will own the search results, they will have much bigger social networks because every time someone shares your content, it’s being exposed to that entire person’s network and they may or may not already know you.

If all you’ve got is a Facebook strategy, all you are doing is attracting the people you already do business with or already know you.

So for some huge brands maybe they think that’s fine, what’s amazing about content marketing with social media, one of the points Sonia made in her 10 Content Marketing Goals post, is that it’s consistently creating awareness among people who might not know who you are. Obviously with the small business that can have an amazing impact, and literally build the company like it did with Copyblogger. The big companies are clearly getting in on it.

What Twitter wants

Robert: You brought up this, we’re running short on time here, but you brought up this new Carnegie Mellon Study which highlights what we’ve been saying for years about exclusive use of these social networking sites and the quote that you pulled out on Twitter was that the Twitter ecosystem values learning about new content, and this goes directly to the heart of one of the core principals of Copyblogger which is, don’t be a digital sharecropper.

Brian: Sure, like I mentioned just a second ago, Twitter is the greatest content distribution network out there for people who create content. Everyone gets that. Twitter didn’t start out with that idea, but that’s what it became because they kind of stepped back and let us use it the way we wanted to, what choice did they really have?

It’s interesting that Dick Costolo, the CEO of Twitter came out and said that Twitter was not a media company because they don’t create content. Which is interesting because a lot of these user generated content companies do present themselves as media companies.

So I don’t know, if you’re a content distribution platform, aren’t you still a media company? But he just kind of rephrased it as “we’re in the media business because, of course, we sell advertising”. Interesting distinction, but yes. It’s the content that people value on Twitter, it’s the information, it’s about finding out news, it’s about finding out useful things about their interest, their industry, whatever.

So that’s why you produce content, because those people want to share it, they want to read it and then you can establish that direct relationship with it.

Robert: A distribution system is nothing without something to distribute.

Brian: Exactly.

How building an audience can build your business

Robert: You’ve talked before about using content, but also the reason to build an audience and using content in the context of building an audience. How does that apply to this stuff that we are talking about today?

Brian: Going back to Sonia’s post of this week that talked about the goals, everything from lead generation, establishing trust and rapport and stuff that used to be traditional advertising or copywriting like overcoming objections and expressing benefits, all of that can be done in a much more friendly and useful way over time with content.

But the one she focused on at point nine, “developing new business ideas”, I am going to be talking about this in detail, because again that’s how we built the company. We had an audience first, and then we listened to the audience, we watched, we didn’t necessarily survey or ask, but we watched and then time after time after time, we figured out what people wanted and would actually pay for because it solved a problem.

That is my project for this year, you’ll be hearing about it more, is that cryptic enough?

Robert: I am interested.

Brian: Well you kind of have an unfair position.

Robert: I’ll get a little inside look before you make it public, right?

Brian: Sure!

What this means for you

Robert: So what’s a good take away for all of this? For somebody who is looking at these articles and these studies, they are doing content marketing, they’re blogging, they’re putting content on their websites, what does it mean for them?

Brian: Basically it means that content is the thing, it’s what people want. They don’t want advertising, they want content that solves a problem. This has gotten a lot of very smart people to finally see the light that they, indeed, do need to be digital marketing companies and, in fact, a lot of the big brands are really into that. I mean it’s cool, right? Everyone wants to be their own version of uncle Rupert Murdoch, I guess.

For the little guys, of course, we all enjoy building our businesses, but there are certain side benefits of having an audience, fans, people who look forward to hearing from you instead of turning up their nose when they see another one of your ads.

That’s the deal; this is what works now in online marketing and marketing in general, so get in on it. It’s actually kind of fun. If you are not a writer or a content creator, figure out a way to partner, hire, bribe, whatever, you have got to get a team together and act like a producer.

Robert: I gotta get out of here to get some writing and editing of new content done which will, of course, appear on Copyblogger.com shortly. Thanks for listening everybody and Mr. Clark, as always, save Ferris!

Brian: Please do!!

Other listening options:

  • Click here to download the mp3 | 25.1 MB | 20:49
  • Click here to subscribe via iTunes
  • Click here for the RSS feed (non iTunes)
  • Click here for the show archive

The Show Notes:

  • Internet Marketing for Smart People Course (free)
  • Blogging Declines Across the Inc. 500
  • Are company blogs really declining? Maybe not…
  • Content Marketing 101
  • Why You Want To Be the Last Blog Standing
  • Be Better at Twitter: The Definitive, Data-Driven Guide
  • 10 Content Marketing Goals Worth Pursuing
  • Do not click this link
  • We left the building with Girl Talk …

About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s Chief Copywriter and Resident Recluse.

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Comments

  1. Kola says

    February 3, 2012 at 9:09 AM

    this is so on point! i like to think of blogging in the same way Warren Buffet thinks about investment. it’s a long but pleasurable endurance trek if you know what you’re doing and you just keep at it

    Reply
  2. Hector Cuevas says

    February 3, 2012 at 1:19 PM

    Awesome podcast.. I agree 100% that no matter what you call it, blogging or content marketing, the internet only works if information is created and shared. Case n point.

    By the way, I just saw the Eleven40 child theme and couldn’t help myself. It’s so clean and elegant; a site redesign is in the works 🙂

    Thanks for all you do..

    Hector

    Reply
  3. doug_eike says

    February 3, 2012 at 4:05 PM

    Content is obviously important. The question is, though, whether and when the search engines are going to acquire the ability to distinguish good content from bad. The process of learning how to do that is a long and arduous one, and the only thing bloggers can do is continue to produce the best content possible and wait. Thanks for the insights!

    Reply
  4. Ray says

    February 4, 2012 at 2:19 AM

    Content is the king, but i feel that if you’re not getting the word out there. It’s pretty much useless, i have the tendency to believe blogging is like a deck of cars. Advertising = Ace, Content = King, and all the other card’s are things such as: SEO, Guest blogging, and etc. Anyways, it was really great listening to the audio. Thanks!

    Reply
  5. Alex Taylor says

    February 4, 2012 at 2:51 PM

    Great podcast, guys, really enjoyed it (especially all the references to Ferris!)

    Regarding the topic of the podcast: Whenever I hear that “X Is Dead” in Internet Marketing, I now make it a point to totally tune out anything I hear. I think that most people who make these claims are just struggling for content so they wheel out the good old “The Sales Letter Is Dead” or the “Email Marketing Is Dead” chestnuts.

    Blogging isn’t dead, expect for companies and niches where it was never alive.

    Reply
  6. Archan Mehta says

    February 5, 2012 at 4:18 AM

    What is important is to produce content. That content should add value. It should be directed to your relevant publics.

    The content should be relevant, appropriate: right timing is also crucial. The content should be newsworthy and it should include examples and even case studies. It is also important to remember that perception is reality, so make sure your content is perceived in a positive, constructive light. Readers only value what they perceive speaks to their needs and desires. Too many marketers produce content they think is the Incredible Hulk only to find out that it has fizzled out at the box office. And avoid technical terms and jargon. Instead, be reader-friendly; appeal to emotions.

    Thanks for your work. We appreciate your efforts here. Please keep up the good work. Cheers.

    Reply
  7. Tommy G says

    February 6, 2012 at 1:11 AM

    Well said Robert. I hate to sound cliche and beat the content drum (especially as an SEO guy), but the need for great content (read: great bloggers) simply won’t go away. It’s too important to the web ecosystem as a whole. We’ve gotten to a point where the web will never be without great, consistent blogging, There’s always going to be demand.

    Reply
  8. Robyn Tippins says

    February 7, 2012 at 6:25 PM

    Sorry I’m just getting around to responding, I’m behind on my podcast listening 🙁

    We didn’t do much analysis on that because we merely wanted to share the data.  Personally I think there’s a decline there because blogging is difficult and many companies don’t have the resources and/or the inclination to put in the effort.  And, like you said, “most corporate blogs are horrible” so I’m not overly upset to see those blogs decline.  

    ReadWriteWeb doesn’t think blogging is dead, because if so we’re all in trouble. 🙂

    Reply
    • Brian Clark says

      February 7, 2012 at 7:02 PM

      Hi Robyn, thanks for the comment. You know, perhaps the study didn’t really merit much analysis. New week, new drama. By the way, I found the Ragan article I talked about in the show that deconstructed the study results. It’s now in the show notes if you’re interested.

      Reply
  9. Dave Young says

    May 17, 2012 at 10:32 PM

    I’m kicking myself for not keeping up every week and only just now listening to this episode. This particular episode is so spot-on with my new business. Do you have a policy regarding embedding this on other sites? I’m happy to link here as well….but this is simply something that my audience needs to hear.

    Reply
  10. Rohi says

    May 20, 2012 at 11:09 PM

    Thanks, Brian and Robert, for this great info.

    I’m on the verge of starting my first blog, so this was very helpful.

    Reply
  11. Chris says

    May 23, 2015 at 8:01 AM

    Thanks Brian and Robert. I completely agree. Doesnt matter the form or what you call it, content is the core to effective online marketing and branding. Its important that you leverage all that is available to you:
    Audio – Podcast
    Email
    Video
    Blogging
    Live Streams like Periscope/Google Hangouts OA/Youtube Live/Meerkat
    Live Webinars

    Its all about providing valuable content.

    Reply

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