(Update: this entry is more than a little bit ironic, given how rarely I post to my own blog. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the disconnect between “prevailing wisdom” and “practical advice.” They are not the same and should not be mistaken for each other. The following post echoes the so-called “prevailing wisdom” but it is not practical advice! We cannot all be full-time content marketers; nor should we all try. It’s just not realistic. Ahh, well. One lives and one learns. I will be writing future posts on this topic… maybe… if I have time… or maybe not… But with that said, here is my old post.)
I’ve been reflecting on how important it is for a marketing and sales professional to establish and maintain an online reputation by posting regularly to a blog and to social media. It is this act of posting to multiple channels on a regular basis over a period of time that helps to establish your professional authority, by generating and accumulating a substantial volume of related content and (hopefully) inbound links, “Likes” and shares.
I got started thinking along these lines by the excellent book, “Duct Tape Selling” by John Jantsch. In the book, Jantsch recommends writing three blog posts a week; plus many social media posts per day; plus speaking engagements, and online forums, and webinars, and email newsletters, and the list goes on. Suffice to say, if one were able to follow his prescriptions, the result would be a high-profile professional reputation!
Content marketing for the long run
The challenge is always finding the time to maintain these programs over time. You see so many blogs that got started and then abandoned by the owner after a few weeks. It’s one reason why so many businesses hire marketing agencies to run their content marketing programs. As the guy running the marketing agency, I am in charge of doing all these things for myself… and looking at how long it’s been since my last post, I’ve gotta admit, I have some catching up to do. Of course, this is my secondary website, but it should be an important cornerstone of my online persona. Also, this design is out of date, and my profile picture illustration on the homepage is amateurish, and many of the other pages have content focusing on the distant past instead of the more important right now.
Things to do
So, I’m adding the project “Update the Jesse Smith website” to my To Do list. It might be a couple months years before you can really tell the difference. But please know that I’m working on it! And thanks for stopping by.
Have a great day.