A Content Marketing Reality Check

Posted by Francis Raymond September 23rd 09

There's a big difference between getting publicity and getting productive, reveals Wendy Piersall, founder of Sparkplugging.com, a blog network that focuses on work-at-home resources for solo business owners. Sure, it sounds great to be able to say you've been interviewed by so-and-so, or featured on such-and-such. That you're this close to getting on Oprah.

But, as Piersall writes in a post titled "Internet Fame Ain't All That", it's also a good idea to sit back and look at whether all that buzz is actually producing anything concrete. Piersall recently wrote a post about how, over the past 6 months, she has completely changed her attitude about focusing on getting publicity vs. producing the kind of content and SEO that she initially set out to create.

"When I started Sparkplugging," Piersall writes, "I wanted to create an advertising and affiliate based website that would generate passive income even when I was helping my kids with their homework or out boating with the family. The business of internet fame is the exact opposite of that – not only did I have to work to become ‘famous’, I had to work even harder to maintain it. The impact on my work schedule was gruesome – and the impact on my bottom line was similarly pitiful."

She says that after taking a break from all the PR-related work, and focusing only on creating content and SEO, she made more money in 30 days than she had in the previous year.

"I had no idea how much time I was wasting on something I thought was important to my business – only to find that simple hard work is what really pays the bills," Piersall writes. "It’s not glorious work. I won’t be getting on TV any time soon for it. Nobody has asked to interview me about it. I’m not getting any speaking gigs because of it. And I’ve never been happier with my business."

In the spirit of getting back to basics and doing all that non-glorious work, here's a nice visual explainer on content marketing from Intersection Marketing blog.

Also, cutting down on personal PR doesn't mean you don't have to continue marketing your content. Problogger Darren Rowse is starting a series of posts on how to 'seed' content. Check it out!