Content Marketing 101 -- No hype, no buzz. Just an ACTUAL playbook you can follow step by step.

1. Seriously, How Do I
actually execute
Content Marketing?
JAY ACUNZO | @JAY_ZO

2. Jay Acunzo | @Jay_zo
(BosContent.com)

3. Agenda:
• Why Content?
• How to Execute
– Revealing Patterns
– Lean on Three Things
– Visual Playbook
• Resources
• Q&A
Outcome:
(More)
(Less)

4. A Story…

5. A Story…
Sit through THIS,
sucker!

6. Modern Marketing:
Make Stuff
People Want
Make People
Want Stuff
@Smithery.co)

7. Why
Content?
(ASIDE FROM THE BUZZ DU JOUR)

8. To be a great modern
marketer is to accept
1 simple truth:
@

9. To be a great modern
marketer is to accept
1 simple truth:
Consumers have
all the power.
@

10. To be a great modern
marketer is to accept
1 simple truth:
Consumers have
all the power.
Period.
@

11. Three Causes
@

13. Modern Marketing:
Make Stuff
People Want
Make People
Want Stuff
@Smithery.co)

14. How to
Execute
(OR, “HELP! HELP! MY BOSS WANTS ME TO,
LIKE, WRITE STUFF NOW!”)

15. At HubSpot…
• 5-8 blog posts/day
• 4-6 premium resources/month
• 1.5M views, 250K subscribers
• 50K monthly leads
@

16. Title and Content Layout with List
• Add your first bullet point here
• Add your second bullet point here
• Add your third bullet point here
Holy Scale, Batman!
@

17. Process, Infrastructure, & Foundation
@

18. How to Execute:
2 Revealing Patterns

19. Pattern 1:
vs.
@

20. Pattern 1:
vs.
@

21. Pattern 1:
vs.
@

22. Pattern 1:
vs.
@

23. Pattern 2: Helpful vs. “Thought Leadership”
23
Most views when it launches
Crashes over time, but not to zero
@

24. Pattern 2: Helpful vs. “Thought Leadership”
Most views upon launch
24
Crashes
to zero
Unpredictable
traffic
@

25. Pattern 2: Helpful vs. “Thought Leadership”
25
Grow this by
building inventory.
@

26. Pattern 2: Helpful vs. “Thought Leadership”
26
(Boosted by old
posts and inventory
of helpful content.)
@

27. On HubSpot’s Blog
• 70% of traffic from posts older than 1 month
• 50% of top 10 most viewed monthly posts older than 1 month
Huge inventory.
Huge ROI.
@

28. How to Execute:
Lean on 3 Things
PEOPLE | PERSONAS | PROCESS

29. 1. People (Not HubSpotter.)
(PhotoBomber.)
@

30. Why Do YOU
Create Content?

31. 2. Personas
Fictional representations of your
ideal customers based on real data
about demographics and behavior,
[name]
[demographic]
along with educated speculation
[goals]
about their personal histories,
motivations, and concerns.
@

32. “Create content for
“Create content for
marketers.”
Mary.”
?
@

33. Who Is YOUR Persona?
3 words to describe them
3 problems they face
3 adjectives for subsequent content

34. 2. Process
@

35. 2. Process
@

36. 2. Process
@

37. What’s This Process
Actually Look Like?

38. 3. Process
Content Team Workflow
Planning Production
Goal
Analysis Distribution
@

39. 3. Process
Content Team Workflow STOP! Get These First…
Planning Production
Goal
Analysis Distribution
• Personas
• Visual workflow tool (my
favorite: Trello)
• Editorial calendar
(spreadsheet or Google
Calendar)
• Idea pipeline (Trello or
Evernote)
• Match metrics to content @

40. 3. Process
Campaign Playbook
Blog +
“Atomize”
Email +
Social
Paid Promotion Partners +
Outposts
Core
Content
@

41. 3. Process
Campaign Playbook
Blog +
“Atomize”
Email +
Social
Paid Promotion Partners +
Outposts
Core
Content
Turning This Wheel…
• Core content first
• Blogging as distribution
• Email lists nurture, but
also GROW reach
• Outposts = organic
audience acquisition
• Paid: Taboola, Outbrain,
etc.
@

42. 3. Process
Content Team Workflow Campaign Playbook
Planning Production
Goal
Analysis Distribution
Blog +
“Atomize”
Email +
Social
Paid & Partner
Promotion
Audience
Outposts
Core
Content

43. @Recap

44. Thank You! Questions?
Free Resources
• Boston Content
(boscontent.com)
• Buyer Persona Template
(tiny.cc/persona)
• Editorial Calendar Template
(tiny.cc/edcal)
Reading
Content Rules (old but good)
Crap! The Content Deluge
The Elements of Content
Strategy
John Cleese on Creativity
(YouTube search)
The Accidental Creative