I want to show you why you’re stuck. 
Even if you’re not known in the blogosphere as a content marketing expert, I can guarantee that you’re secretly admiring it.
You yearn to become better at it.
You read blogs, listen to podcasts, engage in social media jingoism and battle with comments – in order to join the crowd.
I know you’re stuck. You don’t even know what to do again. If content marketing is working, why is it not yielding results for you?
It’s true. Content marketing works. But the sad truth is that it might NEVER work for you.
You can hate me for saying this but I can prove it – just keep reading.
The half truth is a lie!
Whoever told you that content marketing is the answer to your business questions is hiding something from you.
Yes, you can quote me anywhere and I’ll represent it. I didn’t say they outright lied to you, but they didn’t tell you the whole truth.
You need to have an understanding of how marketing is done offline, before content marketing can even work for you.
Most people don’t know how this works and that’s the reason for the murmuring. I’m here to cheer you on by telling you the whole truth why you’ve not been getting results with this marketing strategy and how to start getting results. Period!
In fact, half truth is actually a lie. So, businesses that desire to acquire targeted leads and increase sales shouldn’t berth and start writing content – because there is so much more to do than writing articles.
Without further ado, here are the top 10 reasons in my humble opinion why content marketing has enveloped your mind and getting you nowhere.
In other words, you’re not getting results. Let’s take it:
1. You’ve a small mind
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people – Eleanor Roosevelt
Do you like this quote from a great First Lady of United States of America, and the wife of Franklin Roosevelt? When I consider how powerful the age we are right now is, I can imagine what she was feeling when quoting that.
You see, content marketing isn’t for lazy people. Because you’ll have to work harder than you would if you had invested money on PPC or media buying. In fact, content marketers are one of the craziest people I’ve ever seen.
Content marketing has always been, but about 5 years ago, it became so prominent that 76% of writers, internet marketers and businesses started embracing it.
Truth is, if you’ve a small mind, you’ll always talk about people. Now, that’s a big problem because marketing isn’t about having sleepless nights over what people are doing, but instead, figuring out how to address their problems.
Therefore, if you want to get results from henceforth in your content marketing campaigns, don’t talk about people.
Talk about their problems and your solution. If you talk about people, you’ve a small mind and you’ll be stuck behind the corner until you think GREAT – and talk about ideas (solutions).
2. You think failure is bad
That’s what you think. It’s what you heard but you haven’t studied for yourself.
And that’s the big hiccup because the way you think is definitely unique and you don’t have to follow the crowd.
I’m here to debunk that idea for you. When you write blogs, books, articles, create videos and podcasts or do all sorts, don’t always attribute badness (yes, in my dictionary) to failure. You’ve failed to realize that if prospects hadn’t failed, they won’t be in need of your services?
In fact, when you tell clients or prospects that they failed or that their marketing style isn’t right, you’re making a big mistake.
What makes you think that your solution is the best and perfect for them? If you take this single step, you could start getting more clients for your business. What step is that?
When you send proposals and write articles, present your opinions, suggestions, ideas and solutions in an unbiased manner.
In other words, tell your target audience that your solution isn’t the best in the market, but that it can get them the results they need faster and easier.
I would like to remind you once again that failure isn’t a bad thing after all. It’s a stage, an occurrence that led to where you’re right now. Without a single act of failure, you’d be doomed and your business shattered.
3. You can’t define color psychology 
Since you can’t even define it, how would you take advantage of it?
Seriously, what do you understand by color psychology? You may download this pdf report.
Let me copy from Wikipedia, because they’re the best place to steal ideas and give due credit:
“Color psychology is the study of color as a determinant of human behavior.”
From this definition, you can tell that the colors you’ve been using in your blog, optin box, ebook cover, Call-to-action buttons, videos, flyers and graphics have either contributed to your success or failure.
I’ve always been in tune with colors and how they react with human minds.
That was why from the very beginning I chose red, because red was used in the field of medicine to stimulate the body and mind as well as increase circulation.
Bringing it down to content marketing, if you want people to act right now, red is definitely the right color to use for your CTA graphics.
But don’t go overboard with red, blue welcomes people and if you use it in your website/blog, you’re more likely going to build a raving and engaged audience. And when they’re engaged like that, it’s easier to convert them to customers.
My question to you today is: what colors have you been using for your links, buttons, menus, backgrounds, e-covers and the likes? Don’t ignore color usage; it’s essential to your content marketing success.
4. Website marketing isn’t your passion
There is a place for passion in content marketing. Business owners should resolve to develop this passion for teaching and give away tremendous information for free, at first before asking for money. That’s what it’s all about.
If you don’t have passion for what you do, there is every tendency that you’d give up and conclude that all the blogs and videos about CM is fake and hype.
Without passion, you can’t survive when money isn’t forthcoming. This thing we all call marketing, whether with content or blatant Ad requires time to mature. During the maturity stage, you’ve to enjoy it, discuss it and celebrate it.
With or without the initial profit, you’ve to take joy in doing more. I’ve discovered that when your target audience is not listening, that’s when you should speak more in the language they can understand.
In other words, listen to their innermost cry, research the keywords they’re using and just give. Website marketing should become your passion.
Brian Clark, Chris Brogan, Neil Patel, Chris Ducker, I and other renowned internet marketers weren’t born with a content marketing book in their mouths. They all learnt how to do it. They developed it into a passion and today, it pays their bill. Sorry, it also pays my bill.
Hey cowboy, make this thing a passion. That’s where result lies. As you deal with clients, blog readers, YouTube viewers and book lovers, communicate your message to them with passion.
Don’t see them as money – let your source of income be higher. You can do it. And you’ll do it!
5. You’ve chopped off your brunette hair
This section is so vital. A lot of business owners have become like Miley Cyrus who is making raves with over 44 million YouTube views on her new Wrecking Ball video.
If you recall when Miley started her “I’m grown up and sexy” makeover a while ago, she went ahead to cut off her long brunette hair and adopted the spiky platinum blonde.
Just like Miley, you can’t show your expertise and creativity by shouting at the top of your voice. You said you’re great? Why not show it with proves?
If you desire to get new clients to work with you, then stop growing up from outside, change your inside first. Work on your customer support. Do you’ve a follow up system that works 24/7?
The pressure of doing good from within Vs honing and shouting and pitching your services and products to potential customers is high.
You must learn to balance it. Of course, it’s cool to have more clients and customers banging at your door, but it’s better to work on strengthening the relationship you’ve with current clients and customers.
Remember, it’s easier to win the hearts of your current customers than getting fresh ones and starting the entire relationship funnel afresh.
A wise content marketer doesn’t churn and burn. He or she doesn’t acquire to discard. Avoid that by all means possible.
6. Your audience is ahead of you
For most of us so-called content marketers, our readers and those whom we serve know a lot more than we do.
At the surface, this isn’t bad. Or what do you think?
But looking at it critically, you’re supposed to be the shepherd of the sheep. You should get the pastures and then lure the sheep to enjoy them.
What does this mean? It means that you can’t afford to be ignorant in this age.
Information is flying at the speed of light and if you’re not updated, your content: advice, opinions, suggestions and product wouldn’t’ suffice or touch lives.
I know this firsthand because I deal with a handful of small and mid-size businesses.
They would prefer to ask you questions that can grow their businesses and they expect answers. Even if you don’t know the answer, they expect you to go find it.
When your audience knows better than you do, it’d be a challenge trying to convince them to read your post, let alone share it.
Worse still, you can’t get them to buy your latest e-book because they’d perceive it as pure crap – just like the heaps of products out there.
Don’t blame yourself for anything yet. But I’ll spank you so badly if you refuse to learn. Use Google. Read books. Read magazines online.
Learn, update, acquire, retrieve, store and use accurate data to dazzle your audience.
You can’t be like other content marketers if you’re always ahead of your target audience. Your content will be epic.
7. Writing isn’t your second nature
From experience, I can gladly tell you that content marketing requires 63% of written content.
This means that if you don’t like to write, you can only market and get a measly result that falls within the remaining 27% – which involves videos and podcasts creation.
Behind the scene, podcasting and video creation also requires a level of written content or an idea.
Now this is a serious problem and could hinder your success online. Any company or individual who ignores writing is going to fail at content marketing. Take it or leave it.
But you don’t have to write all the content yourself. You can outsource to professional writers and copywriters. I’m open for Hire Here.
But learn how to write at least, so that you can differentiate between mediocre and epic content when you see one.
There are great writers out there and a bunch of keyword-stuffing wordsmiths. Don’t jeopardize the future of your online business with low-quality content. Writing should become your second nature. It’s my first nature. Sorry, second.
8. Starting a blog wasn’t your choice
Yes, I said that and I don’t care whether you unsubscribe from my list after reading this.
For most of us, we started blogging because someone told us that BIG money can be made through it. “If you start a blog, you can make money online.”
Deny it – yes, you know what I’m talking about. If you weren’t convinced that blogging is right for you, then content marketing probably isn’t your choice also.
You’re just following, doing what you can just because the experts all talked about blogging and its goodies. It’s a big lie and all of us have lied to you. Plus me!
You’ve to be ready – ready to take challenges, ready to accept change and do what it takes to grow a business. It’s no child’s play.
Did you know that blogging is one POWERFUL way to do content marketing efficiently?
I mean, you can build a community; a tribe and then consistently delve into their minds to become the authority they know.
They breathe you almost all the time. They can’t but tell others about your awesome blog and how much impact you’ve had on their lives.
Yes, blogging can do all that and so much more. But if you’re doing this thing because someone offered you a free webhosting for the first month, then you should be ready for failure.
It takes hard work and not just that – you’ve to work smarter and listen more to your audience.
These days, writing articles all the time isn’t the ideal thing.
Sure, it can turn you into a better writer, but not a better marketer. The attention span of your audience is limited. You must captivate their minds with your awesomeness.
The best way to rejuvenate your blogging life and skyrocket into content marketing planet is to embrace it. You can’t close down your blog or quit – it’s too late to do those stuffs. Just draw up a plan of attack and get to work.
Work when others are sleeping. Work when others are surfing the web.
When every of your friends had gone to see their lovers, stay behind and upgrade your blog with relevant, detailed and valuable content – then go out there and promote the heck out of them. You’ll reap better dividends that most Wallstreet investors. Really?
9. Offline marketing scares you
Content marketing actually began offline.
Yes that’s true. Have you ever walked into a grocery store or supermarket and after shopping, when you were about leaving, the cashier hands a leaflet or flyer to you and courteously asks you to fill the questionnaire?
Now, what do you think was happening at that moment?
It’s pure content marketing because the said company wants to extract the right information from you, in order to use it to serve you better.
Sounds good, huh?
I know it’s awesome and your mind is already bubbling with ideas right now. Don’t just look at content marketing as something that is raising the roof online.
You can’t learn it effectively on the internet because the amount of information from amateurs, intermediates and total dunce are way too much.
Take your learning course offline. Go and see how Departmental stores do their business. Study your credit card form. What questions are you required to answer that touches your very existence?
Once you can grasp the concept behind content marketing, you’ll take yourself out of it and focus on the prospects.
When I discovered the simplicity behind it, my business took a new leaf and today, I’ve succeeded in helping companies achieve their business goals, at least by 66%. If you expect me to help them achieve 100%, sorry, I’m human and doesn’t have all the answers.
10. Take action: on what exactly?
The last reason why content marketing may not be working effectively for you is because you’re taking action on the wrong stuffs. Oops!
I thought the action part is the most important? Well, that’s what you read on blogs that publish junk.
What they fail to tell you is that taking action on the wrong stuffs is more dangerous than not taking action at all. [Tweet this]
There is nothing like marketing assumptions or luck. You’ve got to figure it out before dipping your toes into the market.
Twitter marketing is good, but what should you tweet about? Interacting with your Facebook friends is awesome, but exactly what should you share with them?
Now, Pinterest is the mother of all social media photo marketing, but you may not have realized that certain pictures perform better than the others.
You can’t just pin a stack of dollar bills on your board and expect hundreds of likes and repins. Whereas, a pink shower towel could garner 200 – 1000 likes and shares.
Guest blogging is good, but what should you write about?
Most bloggers who are addicted to guest blogging are not getting significant results because they’re doing it the wrong way.
For instance, if you’re a freelance writer and you want prospective clients to hire you, then submitting your guest articles on freelancing websites is a total waste of time.
Also, writing about ways to start a freelance business is the wrong choice of topic. People who care about starting a freelance business are broke.
They’re looking for free info. You need companies with huge marketing budget to hire you. Write for them.
You’ve to address topics that can connect with your ideal clients. E.g. how they can get more buyer traffic, convert leads and increase sales.
Remember, it’s never about you and the rule hasn’t changed since the last time I checked my journal. You’ve to write about them and use the right platform for your guest blogging campaigns.
Content marketing is really simple
Simplicity doesn’t mean it’s easy to do.
The whole concept revolves around identifying a specific need in your niche, and using content of various forms to reach out and meet that specific need – while getting paid for it either in cash or brand loyalty.
You can see how simple the whole buzzword (content marketing) is.
So, what’s stopping you from taking full advantage of it to grow your blog, website, clients’ business and personality?
Use the quick fixes that are attached to the top 10 reasons above to redefine and repurpose your business.
I love content marketing because it works. If it’s not working for you, it’s your fault not mine.
If you agree with this, tell me ONE quick step you’re going to take right now – the comment box below is yours… make use of it. See you at the top!
Image Credit: Valentine