10 Answers To Your Content Marketing Questions

What’s your content marketing question?     

In the past few weeks, I’ve received 11 content marketing questions.

In this detailed post, I want to provide the answers that I deemed suitable for them.

Content marketing can actually grow your business.

It can improve your conversion rate and build you an active community. 

But you must know the correct answers that work.

I’m also certain that as you read the questions and answers below, you’ll better drive targeted traffic, gain loyal readers and increase your income. Let’s go…

 

Question: What really is content marketing?

Answer – I want to make it as simple as possible. Because so many people are getting it all wrong.

Content marketing basically means using articles, videos, podcasts, blog posts, presentations, whitepapers, e-books or any other type of content to educate the target audience and build their interest for your products and services.

In other words, content marketing is not a buzzword. It’s actually a powerful system you can use to educate, inform and build rapport with your ideal customers until they become your friends and customers.

The mindset of a content marketer is different from an advertiser. In traditional advertising, the goal is to make the sale – and not the fame or authority.

But as a content marketer, you want to make the sales, but more importantly, you want repeat customers who love you because you care about their needs. Placing an Ad on Google search engine isn’t content marketing. That’s advertising.

But when you write a valuable article, optimize it for the people and search engine, then, you’re into content marketing – because at the end of the day, you’ll get the SALE and TRUST. While the advertiser only gets the SALE.

 

Question: How can I attract quality traffic?

Answer – Traffic generation is a hot question that keeps popping out. If you want to succeed online in any business model, you need quality traffic.

I’ve covered extensively on the various ways to drive traffic, but there is a BIG difference between “ATTRACTION” and “DRIVING.”

When you’re driving traffic, then you’ve to reach out through guest blogging, social media marketing, forum participation and other mediums. But when you’re after attraction, it means that you want the right people to come to you.

And that’s where content marketing comes into play. Did you know that when you consistently publish exclusive content that helps your readers – gradually, you’re gaining their trust?

As this continues, the words would go out – announcing your website and blog to the world. No, you didn’t ask anyone to tell their friends and fans, but they’re going to do it nonetheless.

The traffic that comes to you willingly, without you asking for it is the best traffic ever. That’s what it means to “attract” quality traffic.

I love organic traffic so much, because when you successfully rank a particular keyword, Google and other search engines will continue to send you targeted traffic. That’s attraction, not driving.

So, focus on the end goal of building a website or blog that caters for people. Don’t be in a rush to establish you as the foremost blogger or content marketer around.

Invest quality time listening to your audience, picking easy-to-rank keywords, writing valuable content and gradually, your website will start to attract traffic freely.

 

Question: Is Google+ better than Twitter?     

Answer – No, inasmuch as Google+ is from Google, it’s still not better than Twitter.

However, what you should be concerned about is the results you can get when you invest time on Google plus or twitter.

You see, the future of web marketing is still search. Even if you want to build an email list, you still must use search engines to attract organic traffic.

If you truly want to dominate your niche and build an authority website, then you should give top priority to Google+.

Because the links you’d get on Google+ would be more valuable in the long-run, than the no-follow link from tweets and hashtags.

I’ve also read case studies where a brand new wordpress blog ranked in Google top 10 within 48 hours, because it was promoted actively on G+.

In a nut shell, if you’re a content marketer who wants thousands of fans, then twitter is for you.

On the other hand, if you prefer a good web presence, a high-traffic blog and SEO-friendly website, Google+ is what you should focus your attention on. That’s what I think.

 

Questions: Should I reach out to my readers or wait for them to come?

Answer – If your blog is fairly new, the best step to take is to reach out to your ideal readers and prospective customers.

It doesn’t matter where they’re hanging out, you MUST locate them and present your best information to them.

You can achieve this through interviews, guest blogging, commenting, social media marketing and the likes.

Interestingly, if you continue to publish quality content out there, a time would come when you’ll no longer reach out that much – because the hard work will eventually pay off BIG time.

So, if you’re just starting out and nobody knows you, please don’t wait for your readers to come. Go out there and meet with them. Give them what they want and invite them to your blog.

 

Question: Why are my blog posts not getting comments?

Answer – There are so many reasons why your blog posts don’t get comments. But the most common is because you’re not solving problems with your content.

Perhaps, your content is all about you and not your readers’ questions. You didn’t focus on them – so why would they contribute valuable comments at all?

Nevertheless, if your content is informative and practicable and you still discover that readers are not participating in the comment box, it’s time to do something else.

Each time you write a blog post or article, before you conclude, ask a simple question and demand an answer.

Quietly ask your readers to add their own opinion or help you clarify an issue. For instance, see how I asked a question in this post at the end.

Truth is, blog readers and customers want to feel as though they’re a part of your blog. Don’t leave them behind.

Also, visit their blogs, leave helpful comments and the blog owner would reciprocate the kind gesture. If you want more comments, you also need to enhance your reputation. See how Reputation Changer can help you establish a formidable web presence.

 

Question: Should I submit quality articles to my blog or publish as guest post?

Answer – This question might look straight-forward but it’s not. First, let’s understand why you guest blog in the first place. Isn’t it because you want targeted traffic?

You want people to know your name as the expert behind your blog? You want the right prospects to check out your product or service and take action?

And obviously, you want to build relevant and authority backlinks? If any of these questions sounds true, then make no mistakes about it. You SHOULD never publish a low-quality article as guest post.

It doesn’t matter if the blog in question is yours or someone else’s; always contribute quality content for their blogs.

As for your blog, you’ve no reasons for me to tell you what to do. If you want to grow a profitable blog, don’t even THINK about low-quality content, let alone WRITING one.

 

Question: How can I monetize my 2-month old blog?

Answer – A 2-month old blog is pretty new.

The vital question is, have you been publishing informative and exclusive content all these while? Do you’ve readers coming to your blog? Does Google recognize your content and ranks them?

If these crucial points are missing, then I’d suggest you forget about monetization for now and focus more on building authority with your content.

Now, I’m not telling you to wait for 2 years before you can monetize your blog. But 2-month is very new. You should be more focused on writing and building networks with other bloggers in your niche.

But all hope isn’t lost yet. If you’ve a writing skill, then become a content writer and make money helping website and blog owners with their content.

This was how I started out and today, I’ve earned a decent income serving my clients.

If you’re good at Web Development, then start promoting your skills in order to earn extra income. As for monetizing your blog with Ads and Affiliate offers, please hold on for at least 6 months. The niche might not be internet-based, it could be a blog that reviews shakeology or related weight loss food drinks, don’t outright monetize – take things easy for at least 2 months.

 

Question: Should I build an email list now or focus on valuable content?

Answer – If you want a business that can sustain you for years to come, then start building your email list from today. Don’t wait till you’ve established your online business.

In fact, the best establishment you would ever get as a content marketer is when you’ve built a responsive email subscribers list. Period!

Sure, there is no alternative to ‘valuable content,’ but what’s the benefit of writing exclusive content daily, when you don’t have anybody to read it.

With your email list, you don’t have to worry about Google Panda, Penguin 1.0 and Penguin 2.0. All you’ll be after is educating your subscribers until they become your fans and customers.

So, don’t wait another second, get started with email list today. Forget about selling to your list for now, just concentrate on the relationship aspect and you’ll never regret it in the future.

 

Question: What is the best way to drive traffic without guest blogging?

Answer – The last question I got two days ago was from Jason. He wanted to know if there is another way to drive traffic to a website without guest blogging.

From all indication, Jason is tired of writing for other blogs. Or perhaps, he doesn’t want to do guest blogging at all, because of the stress involved. Thank goodness!

Content marketing has all the answers you’ll ever have. If you don’t want to use guest blogging to grow your traffic and website, the alternative that works so well is web 2.0 networks.

You can create valuable e-book or Special Report and submit to scribd.com, 4shared.com and other document sharing websites.

But that’s not all. You can also create Powerpoint presentations and share with millions of people on slideshare.net, docstoc.com and other networks.

Create short videos and use YouTube to promote them. Video marketing is powerful – I’ll be getting into it soon.

What about optimizing your content for long-tail keywords? Google can send you thousands of free traffic if your content is helpful and relevant.

 

What is your question?

I’m sure you’ve a question you want to ask that can help grow your traffic, sales and income? I want you to use the comment box below – and let me know what that question is.

I hope to update this post soon. So, let’s get kicking. Shall we?