The document discusses a simple content strategy called the "Morning Sun" approach where marketers provide valuable free content to attract an audience and build trust, with the goal of eventually selling paid products or services. It provides examples of how companies like Claude Hopkins, John Carlton, Kevin Rogers, and Gary Vaynerchuk have successfully used free content like samples, newsletters, podcasts, and videos to grow their businesses. The key is that any paid offerings must provide real value to the customer beyond what's available for free. Blogging is suggested as an easy way to start producing valuable content without needing to create an expensive TV show.

1. A SIMPLE CONTENT STRATEGY FOR
BRAVE MARKETERS ONLY
Latitude Digital Marketing Blog by @philbinmedia

2. What is the point of content
marketing?

3. What’s the point
of all marketing?

4. To sell.That’s it.

5. Other benefits include things like
Better brand
reputation.

6. Are you a marketer?

7. Then you’re a salesperson.
No getting around it.

8. Hear me out.

9. You might just want to swipe
the same (painfully simple)
strategy for yourself.

10. My daughter loves storytime.
Me too.

11. But I end up applying the
morals of each story to
marketing.

12. Let’s see if this one strikes a
chord with you …

13. The Sun: “Time for a
contest.”

14. The North Wind: “I’m
listening.”

15. The Sun: “See that
gentleman down there on
the crooked path?”

16. The North Wind: “Yup”

17. The Sun: “Let’s see who can
remove his coat.”

18. The North Wind: “No
problem.”

19. The North Wind sucks in a hurricane of
air and roars down on the man –
swooshing up leaves, crisp packets, and
empty Starbucks cups.

20. The man clutches to his coat
even tighter than before.

21. The Sun: “My turn.”

22. The Sun beams softly onto
the back of the man’s neck
and warms the crooked
path ahead.

23. Within seconds, the
man chooses to remove his coat,
sling it over his shoulder, and smile
for the rest of his journey.

24. Not all marketers share the
patience and understanding
of the Morning Sun.

25. But if you tap into it, you can
influence your customers to take
the action that you want, in a way
they welcome – and even enjoy.

26. Your audience grows in
tandem with your authority.

27. You sell more stuff than
before.

28. Lovely idea … but does it
actually work?

29. 5 Examples Show How the
“Morning Sun” Content
Strategy Could Work for You

30. Claude Hopkins Used Free
Samples to Sell [BLANK]

31. Claude delivered products free
of charge to housewives in the
States.
If they wanted more, they paid.

32. And for Claude, the cost of
the sample was buttons
compared to the profit of
his larger sale …

33. Which landed more often
than not, thanks to a quality
product.

34. There was no risk.

35. He improved their lives
for free.

36. And they made the decision
to pay afterwards.

37. John Carlton built the right
(paying) audience with
free newsletter & blog

38. John Carlton followed in the
footsteps of copywriting
legend, Eugene Schwartz

39. He gave away the best parts
of his copywriting books for
free

40. His readers craved more and
were happy to pay for the full
hardback when
The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Getting Your S**t Together
was released.

41. It was their decision …
only they were now more
inspired than before.

42. John picked up new
prospects along the way

43. New orders for his seminars

44. And new sales for his
previous books, too.

45. Kevin Rogers attracted new
customers to a paid membership
site with a
free podcast.

46. He hosts a podcast with John that
reveals (for free) many of the
secrets locked behind his
membership site:
copychief.com.

47. His listeners are compelled
to want more and are more
likely to pay for becoming
an “insider”.

48. Gary Vaynerchuck Wins with
the “Morning Sun” Approach,
Time and Time Again

49. @GaryVee gets a ton of
attention from marketers
like me

50. Who like to shine a light on
him as an example of
someone we should follow

51. … without myself achieving
anything near what he’s
achieved.

52. Gary first used a smart
content strategy for his
parents’ wine business

53. And produced media in the
form of easy-to-follow
videos at winelibrary.tv.

54. He built the audience
online.

55. And the business grew as a
result.

56. Now we see him applying it
again with his latest
book #AskGaryVee.

57. In his time running VaynerMedia,
Gary’s been inviting his audience
of 1.21 million followers to ask him
a question via Twitter every week.

58. Then he answers it in
a short video.

59. His latest book is a transcribed
compilation of those
same Q&A videos.

60. It costs
£20.00 per hardback.

61. And I bet it’s going to sell …

62. Even though most of his
customers have already
consumed a bunch of the
same content before.

63. Why?

64. Because they love Gary.

65. They look forward to the
value he adds.

66. And they want to pay for
more.

67. Starting to make
sense?

68. Brian Clark calls this concept
“Media, not Marketing”

69. Instead of blowing
marketing messages at your
audience,
you produce media.

70. That media offers value to
your prospective customers
– and they welcome your
paid solutions as a result.

71. Brian’s got a paid solution
(the New Rainmaker Platform)
that his listeners are happily
paying for today …

72. …after listening to his free
podcast.

73. Some marketers hesitate to
embrace the idea.

74. Latitude has even been
guilty of it in the past.

75. The North Wind believes “If
I give you my best stuff for
free, why do you need me
afterwards?”

76. The Morning Sun knows there’s
always more behind the curtain,
like a great product/service that
adds value, which can’t be added
through media alone.

77. That’s the key to all of this.

78. Your ‘paid for’ products or
services MUST add value to
every potential customer’s
life.

79. What’s the simplest way to
get started with media
production?

80. Blogging.

81. Why launch a blog when
your competitors are
already doing it better?

82. If you let the fear of
unoriginality stop you from
pulling the trigger

83. You could turn 68 and have
nothing to your name.

84. It’s rare for originality to
spawn out of nowhere.

85. Your originality emerges by
being yourself.

86. You convey similar messages
to your peers, but…

87. It’s your take on it that the
reader buys into.

88. Your life experiences &
brand story play a part in
your unique identity and
message.

89. You don’t need to produce a
TV show to
build your audience.

90. Your content doesn’t even
need to be entertaining.

91. All you need to do right now
is discover your own man on
the crooked path.

92. Get to know your customer
like a friend – and your
ideas never stop.

93. Now, go to the website and
unlock an x-ray of this very
blog post

94. So you can clearly see the
“Morning Sun” tactics I’ve
tried to apply throughout.

95. You might as well get it now,
while it’s free …

96. Because I’m gonna try and
sell it to you at the end of
the year anyway.

97. http://www.latitudegroup.com/blog/a-simple-content-strategy-for-brave-marketers-only/

98. By @philbinmedia