Content Marketing FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Susan Gunelius 01_9781118007297-ffirs.indd i 5/2/11 10:41 PM Content Marketing For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.com Copyright © 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
and/ or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITH- OUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT.
NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZA- TION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. FULFILLMENT OF EACH COUPON OFFER IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OFFEROR.
For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U. at 877-762-2974, outside the U. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Not all content that is available in standard print versions of this book may appear or be packaged in all book formats. If you have purchased a version of this book that did not include media that is referenced by or accom- panies a standard print version, you may request this media by visiting http://booksupport. For more information about Wiley products, visit us at www.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011928438 ISBN: 978-1-118-00729-7 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 01_9781118007297-ffirs.indd ii 5/2/11 10:41 PM About the Author Susan Gunelius is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc.com), a marketing communications company. Her clients include large and small companies around the world, such as Citibank, Cox Communications, and many more. She has 20 years of experience working in the marketing field with the first decade of her career spent directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, Susan often speaks about marketing, branding, copywriting, and social media at events around the world (www.
Susan is the author of numerous books about marketing, branding, and social media, including: ⻬ Blogging All-in-One For Dummies ⻬ Google Blogger For Dummies ⻬ 30-Minute Social Media Marketing ⻬ Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps ⻬ Building Brand Value the Playboy Way ⻬ Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon ⻬ The Complete Idiot’s Guide to WordPress She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing related-articles have appeared on Web sites such as MSNBC.com, and more. Susan also owns one of the leading blogs for women working in the field of business, Women on Business (www.com), which was a finalist in the 2009 and 2010 Stevie Awards for Women in Business in the cat- egory of Best Blog, and she is the Blogging Guide at About.com, a New York Times Company (http://weblogs. You can connect with Susan on the social Web in the following places: ⻬ Twitter: www.com/susangunelius and www.com/womenonbusiness ⻬ Facebook profile: www.com/susangunelius ⻬ Facebook Page: www.com/keysplashcreative ⻬ LinkedIn: www.com/in/susangunelius 01_9781118007297-ffirs.indd iii 5/2/11 10:41 PM Dedication To my parents, Bill and Carol Ann Henry, who paid for my marketing educa- tion and put me in the position to pursue my career goals. Author’s Acknowledgments Content Marketing For Dummies is the eighth book I’ve written, and none of my books would have made it to book stores without the support of my agent, Bob Diforio, who I can’t thank enough for his wisdom and guidance.
Of course, this book would not have been written without the unending support of my husband, Scott, who takes charge of the household while I’m holed up writing. Without his encouragement and patience, I wouldn’t be able to do the work I do, and for that, I’m forever grateful. I also need to thank Brynn, Daniel, and Ryan, my children, for making me smile and laugh every day, and my parents, Bill and Carol Henry, for babysit- ting when I need to write. Finally, I need to acknowledge the team at Wiley who helped to make this book a reality and get it into your hands.
Specifically, thank you to Amy Fandrei who brought this project to my attention and Jean Nelson for smoothly managing the editing process.indd iv 5/2/11 10:41 PM 01_9781118007297-ffirs.indd v 5/2/11 10:41 PM Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U. at 877-762-2974, outside the U. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Composition Services Development Project Coordinator: Katherine Crocker Project Editor: Jean Nelson Layout and Graphics: Corrie Socolovitch, Acquisitions Editor: Amy Fandrei Kim Tabor Copy Editors: Brian Walls, Melba Hopper Proofreaders: Lindsay Amones, BIM Indexing Technical Editor: Michelle Oxman and Proofreading Services Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner Indexer: WordCo Indexing Services Media Development Project Manager: Laura Moss-Hollister Media Development Assistant Project Manager: Jenny Swisher Media Development Associate Producers: Josh Frank, Marilyn Hummel, Douglas Kuhn, Shawn Patrick Editorial Assistant: Amanda Graham Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.com) Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Composition Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 01_9781118007297-ffirs.indd vi 5/2/11 10:41 PM Contents at a Glance Introduction. 1 Part I: Getting Started with a Content Marketing Plan.
7 Chapter 1: Defining the Content Marketing Opportunity. 9 Chapter 2: Creating a Content Marketing Strategy. 33 Chapter 3: Taking the First Steps to Executing Your Content Marketing Plan. 51 Part II: Marketing with Long-Form Content.
67 Chapter 4: Introducing the Tools of Written Long-Form Content Marketing. 69 Chapter 5: Using Video, Audio, Online Events, and E-Mail for Long-Form Content Marketing. 93 Chapter 6: Writing in Long Form for the Web. 109 Chapter 7: Taking Long-Form Web Content to the Next Level.
119 Part III: Marketing with Short-Form Content. 129 Chapter 8: Introducing the Tools of Short-Form Content Marketing. 131 Chapter 9: Using Twitter and Creative Ideas for Short-Form Content Marketing. 151 Chapter 10: Writing in Short Form for the Web.
171 Chapter 11: Discovering Ways to Improve Short-Form Content Marketing. 179 Part IV: Engaging in Online Conversations to Share Content. 187 Chapter 12: Defining Conversational Content Marketing. 189 Chapter 13: Introducing the Tools of Conversational Web Writing.
197 Chapter 14: Getting the Most out of Online Conversations. 227 Part V: Achieving Long-Term Success. 239 Chapter 15: Integrating Your Content Marketing Efforts. 241 Chapter 16: Analyzing Results and Fine-Tuning Your Strategy.
259 Chapter 17: Building a Content Marketing Team. 283 Part VI: The Part of Tens. 293 Chapter 18: Ten Free Tools to Get Started with Content Marketing. 295 Chapter 19: Ten Sites to Publish Your Content for Free.
303 Chapter 20: Ten Resources for Content Marketing Help .indd vii 5/2/11 10:41 PM Part VII: Appendixes. 315 Appendix A: Sample Content Marketing Quick Start Plans .indd viii 5/2/11 10:41 PM Table of Contents Introduction. 1 About This Book. 2 Conventions Used in This Book.
2 What You Don’t Have to Read. 3 How This Book Is Organized. 3 Icons Used in This Book. 5 Where to Go from Here.
5 Part I: Getting Started with a Content Marketing Plan. 7 Chapter 1: Defining the Content Marketing Opportunity.9 Understanding What Content Marketing Is. 10 Understanding the Google Effect: How to Leverage the Power of Search. 17 Revealing the Broad Reach of Online Content.
21 Shifting from a Marketer to a Publisher Mindset. 23 Developing Content to Build Your Brand and Form Relationships. 25 Committing to a Long-Term Strategy. 29 Benchmarking Other Businesses That Are Doing It Right.
30 Chapter 2: Creating a Content Marketing Strategy .33 Researching Your Competition. 34 Identifying Your Audience. 39 Establishing Goals and Choosing the Best Forms of Content Marketing. 44 Creating a Core Branded Online Destination.
45 Surrounding Consumers with Branded Content. 48 Comparing Free versus Premium Content Strategies. 49 Chapter 3: Taking the First Steps to Executing Your Content Marketing Plan.51 Cross-Promoting and Interlinking for Greater Success. 52 Link Building versus Link Baiting Strategies.
53 Understanding the Do’s and Don’ts of Content Marketing. 55 Giving Up Control and Letting Your Content Spread. 60 Using Content as a First Step to Sales. 62 Leveraging Design to Enhance Content .indd ix 5/2/11 10:41 PM x Content Marketing For Dummies Part II: Marketing with Long-Form Content.
67 Chapter 4: Introducing the Tools of Written Long-Form Content Marketing .69 Understanding and Using Long-Form Content Marketing for Your Business. 71 Writing Articles and Contributing to Web Sites. 84 Writing Press Releases. 87 Writing White Papers.
91 Chapter 5: Using Video, Audio, Online Events, and E-Mail for Long-Form Content Marketing. 93 Using Audio and Podcasts. 100 Holding Online Events. 103 Integrating E-Mail Marketing into Your Content Marketing Efforts.
106 Chapter 6: Writing in Long Form for the Web .109 Finding Your Style and Voice. 109 Making Your Long-Form Content Shareworthy. 110 Following and Breaking Formal Writing Rules. 111 Formatting Long-Form Content.
112 Finding More Tools for Long-Form Web Writing and Content Marketing. 114 Chapter 7: Taking Long-Form Web Content to the Next Level .119 Using Search Engine Optimization. 119 Building Relationships and Opening the Doors for Dialogue. 126 Syndicating Content for Broader Exposure.
128 Part III: Marketing with Short-Form Content. 129 Chapter 8: Introducing the Tools of Short-Form Content Marketing .