Why Content Really Isn’t King and What Actually Is…

Ever come across a great blog post or slideshare and be surprised that it only has a handful of retweets or shares? Maybe you’ve created great content before and found similar results.

Don’t be discouraged. It’s not because the content sucks. You may have created one of the best resources in your industry and still not make a dent. It’s not that your content wasn’t well written. It’s not even that your content is going after the wrong topic. It’s more likely that it’s something else holding your content back, and I’m going to tell you all about it.

Now, before I actually dive into the real reason some content thrives and others barely survives, let me show you what led to this epiphany.

Over the last two years, I’ve written more than 500,000 words for a combination of ebooks, blog posts, ultimate guides and infographics. Some blog posts were shared 400 times on social, some blog posts were shared 2.5K times on social. Some guides were shared more than 30,000 times on social, some guides were shared less than 5,000 times.

As you can see, the results were very hit or miss from one piece of content to the next. Yet, I started to noticed a pattern that differentiated the content that generated the most traction vs. the content that went unnoticed.

So, I dove deeper and went all in to leverage this pattern and drive success. The first idea I had to challenge was one that is making waves across the industry…

C.R.E.A.M: Content Rules Everything Around Me.

Everyone is screaming that content is king. Everyone wants in on the content marketing space and brands from every industry are publishing content day in and day out.

How much content is created every single day? A lot.

How much content is created in your industry every single week? A lot.

In the marketing space, there are thousands of blog posts published every day on topics very similar to me. This surge in the amount of content being created is found in every industry. In a nutshell, content is everywhere we look and is resulting in people screaming that content is king.

The idea of content being king, is being promoted so frequently that the quality of content being created is suffering. Brands, organizations and businesses are pushing out hundreds of blog posts a week just because they want to be a part of this latest trend and frenzy.

This brings me to the problem. The problem is that some of this content is great but it’s not able to get the attention it deserves because it’s being lost in a sea of noise.

Your Best Content Is Getting Lost… 

Yes, you read that right. Your best content is getting lost in the sea of noise. It’s happened to me many times but I’ve taken the steps to go against the sea by recognizing that content isn’t actually king…

Distribution is.

D.R.E.A.M: Distribution Rules Everything Around Me.

I built up my distribution channels through a combination of hustle and building relationships.

That’s right.

No tricks, no hacks, no quick and easy wins. Hustling to get guest blog posts, tweets from influencers and focusing on giving value to my audience allowed me to establish a reliable and quality distribution network.

How Can You Build A Quality Distribution Network?

It’s actually not that difficult to do. I know some people feel awkward about doing outreach and kick starting blind relationships but it’s relationships that are the backbone of business.

The one thing you don’t want to do if you’re just starting out is shoot for the stars. It’s unrealistic to think that in the matter of minutes you’ll be able to build a relationship with someone like Gary Vaynerchuk or Chris Brogan.

Instead, focus on people who have slightly larger followings and networks than you do and build those relationships. Sure, it’s not going to land you that 100,000 subscribers next week but it’s a good start.

From there, start looking for channels you can publish your content on that will give you credibility. Look for channels that will syndicate your content out to larger audiences and look for guest blogging opportunities.

Finally, you’re going to have to hustle. You’re going to have to submit your own links to channels like Inbound.org, HackerNews and Reddit. You’re going to have to ask your friends to upvote your posts so they generate more buzz. You’re going to have to hustle and promote your content as if it was a business.

Because it is.

At the end of the day, content is important but distribution is what will drive real results. It’s your distribution channels that will help your content reach a larger and more relevant audience. It’s your distribution channels that will help you reach the audience of your dreams.

Wrapped Up

When you publish your next great piece of content, spend double the amount of time you took writing it, to promote it and get it in front of the right people. Steal some of the ideas I’ve used to drive distribution and let me know how it works!

PS: I’d love for you to share this post with your followers & friends. It would mean a lot! 🙂

(Photo by pasa47)