I’m going to tell you a quick “secret”.
I don’t think content is king.
In fact, after writing 6,000 unique articles that have generated many millions of readers, I can honestly tell you that it most certainly is NOT.
Conversation is KING.
And having an active, engaged, and interested audience or community that craves that conversation is the ONLY real way to make a full-time living online… PERIOD.
For example… all “content marketers” and social media experts aside:
You can create all the content you want, but if you don’t have a community that is paying attention, it doesn’t make a difference.
And most importantly… if that content is NOT created in a way that facilitates conversation, you’ll end up stuck and not knowing which direction to go.
I want to share with you the BIGGEST mistake I made during the first 2 years I worked online.
It’s probably the biggest regret I have in terms of my online business, and if you’re just starting out, my hope is that you DON’T make the same mistake.
I “buyed” the idea that content was KING and all you had to do was get into a niche and be a content creator and CASH would follow.
it did not
And it had a LOT of content.
Several thousand articles at the time… all “living” in the search results, in a myriad of markets and in numerous niches.
What I learned was…
SEO is highly overrated.
So is the traffic that emanates from natural search… and unless you create your content in a very smart and strategic way, you are NOT going to make any real money.
Sure you may have tempting little “tastes”… and occasionally THINK your business is about to boom, but invariably, for 99.9% of us, content marketing alone will never make you rich.
I had no list.
Therefore… it had no real community.
And when you don’t have a community, it’s very difficult to have continuity in the conversation that you launch into the world to attract your ideal audience.
The big “A-HA” moment for me was a super simple change:
I stopped focusing so much on content and started focusing on building a community.
That meant, putting less importance on SEO, keywords, and all the tricks, gizmos, and online gurus that had the magic push-button software solution for overnight success.
Instead, when and where I could control it, I made sure that each and every article I wrote was given a chance… and only one chance:
To have an ongoing conversation with that specific reader again in the future.
My best advice to you?
Create as much content as you can. But be smart and strategic about it. Always start with the end in mind. Not WHY you’re creating that content, and what you want your readers to do when they’re done consuming what you created. Because most people will NOT buy what you sell right away. That takes time… and trust, and you can rarely impart that through an article.
So think “continuity”.
Do not think about quick profits and small sales today. Instead, something BIGGER, broader and much longer term.
Use your content to create the cornerstone for the customers, customers, and cash you’ll earn as CLOCKWORK in the future!