For the phone number list past 15 years, I've spent most of my phone number list content marketing time at the biggest of big companies. This means dealing with politics, silos, budgetary issues and agency relations. In large companies, phone number list content marketing is a complex beast, difficult to move around without significant culture change. The phone number list hardest part? Do something differently than they've done in the past (which is mostly paid media).
Enter the phone number list research for my new book, Content Inc. In preparation, Clare McDermott, editor of Chief Content Officer magazine, and I interviewed dozens of entrepreneurs. In almost every case, the entrepreneur started the phone number list business “content first”. It simply means that they identified a content niche, built a loyal following around that niche, and THEN developed products and services to sell.
It's so simple, yet so difficult, even for mid-sized businesses to do. With financial expectations on a quarterly basis at best, few large companies have the phone number list patience to build a loyal relationship with an audience. Additionally, budgets are defined as time-based campaigns, where short-term goals are prioritized. This means the phone number list company is trying to monetize the content program before the audience is ready (a big mistake).
Joy Cho
Today: Joy Cho has designed and co-produced products for brands like Target and Microsoft, and she's developed lines of stationery, wallpaper, bedding, diaper bags and even computer accessories. She recently launched a line phone number list of Band-Aid bandages from Johnson & Johnson, which are almost certain to sell in the phone number list same way as her Target line. Joy's income ranges from direct income from customer engagement to product sales to sponsorship and licensing deals.
More shiny
Today: Glossier's business is booming, with founder Emily Weiss recently raising $8.4 million from Thrive Capital and other investors.
It may surprise you: Emily started the phone number list business as just a blog. Today, with 200,000 Instagram followers and 60,000 Facebook fans later, Glossier has become one of the leading online retailers of skin care products.
EntrepreneurOnFire (EOF)
Today: Fire Nation (as founder John Lee Dumas likes to call it), has grown into a multimillion-dollar podcasting empire over the phone number list past few years. EOF is consistently ranked as one of the top podcasts in the startup space.
It may surprise you: Every month, John releases a podcast to his fans that details where every dollar phone number list of revenue comes from. And you know what? Business is going very well.