When the Content Marketing Institute asked me to review an early copy of Content Inc.: How Entrepreneurs Use Content to Build Massive Audiences and Create Radically Successful Businesses, I jumped at the chance. I knew it would be useful for my work helping businesses create content marketing strategies. What I didn’t expect is how much it would help me with my own marketing.
Let me explain. I’ve been a dedicated follower of Joe Pulizzi’s work since before he started the Content Marketing Institute. I’ve read his previous three books. I listen to his This Old Marketing podcast every week. I’ve been listening to the Content Inc. podcast, as well. I knew I was going to find value in this new book but I was surprised how much.
Great examples for small business owners
Content marketing is a terrific discipline for small business owners who rarely have big marketing budgets. Content Inc. is the perfect book to help small businesses and entrepreneurs achieve results by using their expertise in a particular niche. Pulizzi uses gobs of case studies from a variety of businesses from all over the world to show how content marketing can work for anyone.
Content Inc. pulls no punches. It makes no false claims about the discipline needed to implement a successful content marketing initiative. Pulizzi comes right out and says content marketing is hard. But he also shows the advantage small and microbusinesses have over enterprise organisations that often struggle with getting company-wide support.
Practical advice in an easy format
Content Inc. provides invaluable templates and worksheets to help you figure out how content marketing can help your business. He distills the essence of a strategy into easy-to-use exercises in each chapter. It’s practical advice you can implement right away. The examples he uses are both encouraging and inspiring no matter the size of your business. He makes content marketing accessible for anyone, whether you’re an experienced blogger or have never published a single word.
The biggest challenge with Content Inc. is reading it all the way to the end. Even though I’ve been working in content marketing for nearly 20 years, I found so many new ideas and explicit instruction I was tempted to jump in and get started. I wish I’d had this kind of guidance when I first started Global Copywriting.
Buy the book; you won’t be sorry
Pulizzi provides everything you need to become a successful content marketer. He packages it in an easy read that’s extremely inspiring and backed up with a lot of stories from successful entrepreneurs. He’s not offering personal opinion or giving a recipe that worked only for his company. Instead, he’s showing a proven method used by a plethora of businesses from all over the world. If you want a road map for how to achieve the same success for your business, buy the book and follow his advice.
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