Startup Revolution

Great content marketing infographic for startups. 

Not So Much
I love it when people say they are going to create LESS content of higher quality. If you knew how to do that then you would be on a beach somewhere sipping a frosty drink with little umbrellas in it.

No ONE knows what "quality" is until you've created enough content to take a hard look at the numbers. This is why I like consistency. I create content daily and don't wait for some "perfection" that I can't determine.

We don't determine QUALITY scores anymore THEY DO. To suggest otherwise is dangerous hubris and goofystupid. Listen more than you talk, create something everyday based on what you learned and when you stumble upon greatness double down.

Don't ask the wrong question in the wrong way and HOW MUCH is exactly the wrong question. Write what you believe and think. Watch your shares, engagement numbers (time on site, pages viewed) and test a new idea (always). Over time you will see patterns.

When in doubt ASK. No harm in admitting you are confused or unsure and asking your supporters for help. When THEY help YOU a magical thing happens transforming YOU and THEM into US.

Startups think about content LAST. This is a mistake. Content is tied to MONEY and money is the lubrication that keeps everything running. Startups should start wide sharing as much of what is happening TODAY as possible. This makes potential investors feel they know you before writing a check.

Sharing content creates TRUST and no one invests in people or things they don't trust. Consistency is important for Startups. Create content DAILY and when you see a chance for a schedule create one and publish it. Mondays are about X and Wednesdays about Y. Schedules create trust too.

PS
Only those NEW to Internet marketing spend a lot of time thinking and pulling their hair out about HOW something should be done. This process concern reminds me of sitting with my former catalog bosses one day. They told me they spent hours teasing out whether a hero image (largest image on a webpage is a "hero") should be this way or that.

They asked me what I thought. "It doesn't matter," I told them and their faces fell. They were used to a decision like that, the cover of a catalog, costing tens of thousands of dollars. The hero for our webpage didn't matter because we would change it in seven days (if not sooner) anyway AND I didn't have to guess.

DATA would start to flow the minute we put the image up. They were used to expensive tests that took months to resolve. I was used to inexpensive tests we did all the time, so no reason to EVEN HAVE the process conversation.

So much of this debate is of the "It doesn't matter" variety. Every moment you THNK about creating great content instead of creating SOME content and testing are a moment lost. YOU don't crate great content. You create content and THEY decide if it is great or not. Best way I know to create GREAT content is create consistently and learn as you go.

When I was a Director of Ecommerce here is something I said frequently to my team, "We are going to do SOMETHING even if it is the wrong thing". Never regretted saying it or anything we did because SOMETHING always beats NOTHING online.

SMBs need to generated ROI for their time and money. This Haiku Deck shares 5 Top Content Marketing Tips for small to medium sized businesses.