This document discusses using content marketing at the top of the sales funnel. It recommends creating non-commercial content that appeals to potential customers rather than off-topic content solely to attract links. Content can rank for relevant search terms and be discovered through links and shares, introducing new customers early in the buying process. The document also emphasizes building relationships with influencers and using them for feedback during the content creation process to improve visibility.

1. Using Content at the
Top of the Funnel
Rob Ousbey
www.distilled.net
@RobOusbey

2. Why an SEO Company
Embraces Content Marketing

3. SomeBrand.com
The business technology experts.
Cloud
Computing Your Guide
Mobile to Surviving
Workforce a Zombie
CRM Apocalypse
Software
SEOs used to create off-topic content to attract links, thus increasing Domain Authority and helping commercial
content to rank. It generally worked reasonably well.

4. SomeBrand.com
The business technology experts.
Cloud
Computing 10 Ways to
Speed Up
Mobile
your Office
Workforce
Internet
CRM Connection
Software
We’ve skewed toward creating non-commercial content that will appeal to the same people that are interested
in our products & services. This content can be discovered through links & shares, but will also rank for
relevant terms – attracting customers who are much higher up in the sales funnel.

5. -- mens razor
Content marketing has also been a successful extension of SEO, when we’ve maxed out on searchers for the
head terms, or when there’s very little search volume to begin with.,

7. -- mens razor
-- dollar shave club
DollarShaveClub created a market for their product and for themselves.

8. Simply Business
http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/microsites/wordpress-for-small-businesses/
http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/microsites/productivity/workload-guide/
http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/microsites/hiring-your-first-employee/

9. Simply Business
Guide to Social Media Success
The Productivity Series
Google AdWords for Small Businesses
Data via: http://www.alexa.com

10. 36,000 FB likes
325 linking domains
47,500 FB likes 1,000 FB likes
43 linking domains 145 linking domains
http://dis.tl/sb5ki4
http://dis.tl/Y5d32v
http://dis.tl/zgp5vG

11. Outreach
The hustle that turns great content
into famous content

12. Priorities for Outreach
Build relationships
Get Coverage
Acquire Links

13. Identifying Targets

14. Using Google
Cloud Computing Blogs
best cloud computing blogs
Men’s Fashion Blogs
allintitle:list fashion men
Rock Climbing Blogs
allintitle:"list of" climbing blogs
Yoga Blogs
“list of” intitle:blogs intitle:yoga
Via GroupHigh: http://dis.tl/qeJlSi

15. Alltop
EG: cloud-computing.alltop.com

16. Competitor Analysis
• Find relevant content
• See who embedded / linked to it
• See who linked to those embeds
Via @GeoffKenyon at Distilled: http://dis.tl/outreach-targets

17. Link Research: Open Site Explorer

18. Link Research: ahrefs.com

19. Individual Research: FollowerWonk

20. Individual Research:
FindPeopleOnPlus

21. Making Contact

22. Hi Dave,
I work for FishingNet, we’re a fun young company that runs www.Fishing.net, a place
for people to find and review great fishing spots. I found your blog and I can see that
you’re a fishing lover through and through!
We recently partnered with the Good Pub Guide, so that you can now find pubs near
to your favorite lakes and streams! Great, but why do you care? Well, to celebrate this
partnership we have some copies of the Good Pub Guide to give away and wondered
if you wanted one?
There’s absolutely zero obligation and no strings attached – we’d love it if you were
able to post something on your site about how awesome Fishing.net is in return, but if
you don’t want to that’s totally fine. Either way, we’re offering you a free book :-)
If you’re interested then please let me know your address so we can get the book out
to you. If you’re not interested, my sincere apologies for bothering you by email. Let
me know how I can make it up to you?
Thanks, Sam

24. Dear Blogger:
Love, Website
A single step approach to outreach leads to getting what you want, or not. Usually, no one ends up happy here.

25. Dear Blogger:
Dear Blogger:
Dear Website: Dear Website:
Love, Website
Love, Website
Love, Blogger Love, Blogger
A longer conversation – a ‘multi-step’ approach – likely brings better results. If there’s only one change you
make to your outreach efforts, do this. It forces you to build relationships.

26. Hi John,
I’m Sam from LearnFrench.com. We’re running a
competition for bloggers to win an iPad and a
‘Learn French’ gift box.
Let me know if you’re interested in entering your
blog, and I’ll send you all the details.
Best wishes,
Samantha
A shorter introductory email means you can contact more people, and with a lower barrier to response they
usually have higher engagement / response rates.

27. First Contact Strategies

28. First Contact Strategies
For example:
Follow them on Twitter
Comment on their blog
Retweet something of theirs
Tweet at them
Comment again on their blog
Email them

29. First Contact Strategies
Follow Blog Comment Retweet @ mention Email
Jonathan Smith ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Joseph Bloggs ✓ ✓
Annabelle Other ✓
Stanley Burrell ✓ ✓

30. Pre-Outreach as a
Content Marketing Tactic

31. Process (Take 1)
Research
Content
Create
Content
Push on social networks
Publish
Content Promote to appropriate sites

32. Process (Take 2)
Research
Talk to relevant sites & individuals
Content
Publish Create
Content Content
Talk to those sites again
Promote on social

33. Process (Take 2)
Talk to relevant sites & individuals
Ask these people to:
give their feedback on content / draft
“what do you think of this?”
give their feedback on the idea / concept
“would you be interested in this?”
suggest resources or data
“what should we include?”

34. Biggest Takeaways

35. Succesful content will
appeal to the same
people who are interested
in your product / services

36. Content can be targeted
at people who didn’t know
they were looking for your
product / services

37. Promote your content to
people who can give it
visibility, but make
relationship building with
them your priority

38. Use those ‘gatekeepers’
as sounding boards in the
content-generation phase

39. Using Content at the
Top of the Funnel
Rob Ousbey
distilled.net
@RobOusbey
Photos were CC licensed by:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jetow/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11384441@N06/4129779298/