Joe Pulizzi knows events. His company’s annual conference, Content Marketing World, is not only the largest content marketing event on the planet (think: 4,000 attendees from around the world every year), it’s also the reason Content Marketing Institute makes money.
But CMI didn’t jump straight into Content Marketing World. It built a loyal database, supplying educational content every day for 36 months before events began driving half its revenue.
Joe gave us the lowdown on how to build your audience with content to set the stage for a profit-driven events program.
Let’s learn from the Godfather.
You wouldn’t start a company without a sense of your unique place in the market, but most brands skip the planning phase in favor of getting something out the door quickly.
Instead of rushing half-baked content, treat your efforts with the same level of intent as your company mission statement.
For CMI, whose company mission is to advance the practice of content marketing, their editorial mission statement takes things a step further by naming the who and how:
Before you start writing, you must know who you’re targeting. If you don't know what your audience cares about, your marketing efforts have no guiding star.
The result?
Content that’s targeted to more than one audience +
Content that’s more about the company than its audience =
Too much content that no one cares about
Don't create content in a vacuum. Use your brand’s mission statement to suss out who you're writing for and what unique challenges they face.
Once you’ve defined your audience and identified their respective pain points, treat each piece of content as an opportunity to offer targeted, relevant solutions with enough value to trigger a behavior change, like providing their email.
If you’ve 1) crafted a mission statement rooted in your brand’s unique value, and 2) identified your target audience—and their concerns—you should have tons of insights about what will capture their attention.
The challenge lies in maintaining it.
To keep your audience coming back, keep your pulse on what matters to them by encouraging conversation, sending surveys, and capitalizing on tools like Google Trends.
No matter the industry, your content marketing compass should be fueled by continuously seeking answers to the question, what are all the things that go into [X] so that our audience can be successful?
Most importantly, set a content and communications schedule and stick to it.
No one will rely on you until you’ve proven yourself, so keep on giving and eventually, they’ll give back.
Produce useful, targeted, and consistent content for long enough and your audience will swell as more and more of the right people recognize your brand’s value.
You’ve earned their trust and established your authority—so pat yourself on the back before rolling up your sleeves—at this point, you’re ready to monetize.
But just how do you leverage the trust and authority you’ve built with content into an event people will pay to attend?
As Joe explains, preparing for Content Marketing World is all about remembering CMI’s objective: “If they’re going to be the most successful content marketer in the world (which is what we want our audience to be), what do they need to know?”
As you move into the event stage, your mission statements should again steer your brand in the right direction. Plus, by this point, you should have ample data about what really resonates with your audience.
Orange-themed snack breaks, anyone?
The road to monetization is a lot like landing your dream job: you can’t expect people to pay you until you’ve established your value.
The process of building an audience may sound slow-moving (and it is) but if you build it, revenue will come.
For those who can’t wait, Joe’s also got you covered: “If your deadline is less than six months, go buy advertising."
First step: build your audience. Second step? Connect with your audience. Learn how to make your events truly memorable with our first Run of Show Weekly episode.
