Recently, a CEO asked about what to do with his column on an influential publication. He hadn’t submitted an article in months and is at risk of losing the opportunity.
Here’s the thing about CEOs : they’re busy. He is no exception.
I get it it. It’s hard to play the long-term branding game when you’re busy firefighting. However, sometimes the reason authority marketing opportunities are given up is because they’re not properly framed.
Here are a few suggestions I offered him — and offer you, too.
1. Are you willing to stop changing people’s lives?
A reader had just sent him amazing feedback on an old piece he’d written.
In essence, the reader said his work changed her husband’s life because it motivated him to start a new business.
His content is quite literally adding so much value it’s changing people’s lives. So I asked, “Do you really want to let that channel of influence go?”
What do you have to say that can change people’s lives? Where do you have the opportunities to say it? Are you willing to let that channel of influence go?
2. How can you re-task your content to make it more valuable? (Here are 17 ideas)
Next, great content should be re-tasked into multiple media:
- Articles
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Interviews
- Keynotes
- Courses
- Books
- Social media posts
- AMAs
- Sales decks
- Conference calls
- Webinars
- Client-facing newsletters
- Email marketing
- Internal memos
- Coffee meeting conversations
- Mastermind topics
- …and a host of others I can’t think of.
Occasionally, I’ll have an executive push back on this idea, worried they’ll be saying the same things over and over…
“Exactly!” I say. “You have to continually remind people of your key value!”
Also, you communicate differently in videos than you do in articles. There will be different emphases, anecdotes, and even examples. In a podcast episode, you might reference a fresh experience on the morning commute or at a restaurant that has happened since pressing publish.
Moral of the story: say the same important things in every medium possible.
3. Cash in on the SEO capital.
What other content on any of your websites do you want to rank higher on Google? How can you drop a link to them in your column in a non-sleazy way to get some SEO juice?
- Has your brand published original data?
- Do you have contrarian opinions?
- Are you serving up innovation in a new product or service?
Simply find a way to incorporate any of the above within the flow of helpful content.
4. Test your ideas for bigger projects.
Have you ever thought about starting a podcast, writing a book launching a course, etc…?
If so, start testing your ideas to see what resonates with people. Use your opportunities as a testing ground.
If a certain concept keeps getting major traction, quantify the results and share them with a publisher in your next book proposal. Use questions in the comments section as your next podcast or video topic.
What engages your target audience should become your North Star.
5. If you’re short on time but long on value, hire a ghostwriter.
Have someone interview and then ghostwrite the columns for you.
It’s still your content in your voice, but good ghostwriters can knockout killer articles with only 15 minutes of your time. Then, they can also repackage them into other media for you.
