Examples of content marketing:
- My column for the magazine University Affairs, “Ask Dr. Editor.”
- My Editors Weekly blog post “The Ethics of Online Portfolios” is content marketing for my Editors Canada webinar about building an online portfolio.
- Hannah de Keijzer’s blog post “3 Common Fears of Hiring a Freelance Editor,” which was published on Jane Friedman’s blog, is content marketing for de Keijzer’s book, How to Enjoy Being Edited.
- Jane Jones’ interview on The Social Academic blog and podcast is content marketing for her coaching and editing business, Up In Consulting.
- Crystal Shelley’s interview on The Deliberate Freelancer podcast is content marketing for her Conscious Language Toolkits for Editors and Writers.
Resources mentioned (plus a few not mentioned that informed Letitia’s thinking):
- Bly, Robert. The Content Marketing Handbook. Although Bly’s intended audience is large companies that make widgets, his advice about what constitutes good content marketing, and his recommendations for titles of content marketing pieces, transfer well to the freelance editing context.
- Burnett, Bill, & Evans, Dave. “Good Time Journal – Activity Log.” Designing Your Life. Some folks hate Designing Your Life, because they find it too self-help-y. For someone like me, who isn’t naturally reflective, Designing Your Life was incredibly helpful in enabling me to collect and analyze data about my own needs and values. The book is a fairly quick read, but I recommend really spending time with the exercises, even if that means you have to suspend your disbelief for a little bit. Burnett & Evans have published multiple books since the original came out, but the original book has all the info you need, and many libraries hold copies of it, AND most of the worksheets can be downloaded for free from the designing your life website (like the PDF linked to above).
- Henville, Letitia. “Edit Your Résumé for In-House Work.” Editors Canada webinar recording. This free 60-minute webinar describes how to frame your work as accomplishments and achievements that have had an impact on others, rather than tasks you were responsible for completing. In today’s presentation, I suggested that in-house folks who create pieces of content marketing can use accomplishment statements in their annual performance reviews to mount an argument that their work is ‘exemplary’ or ‘exceeds expectations’ (or whatever you need to argue to get a raise).
- McMakin, Tom, & Fletcher, Doug. How Clients Buy. McMakin & Fletcher’s book describes the buying decisions made by people who purchase services from experts. Their seven-step process emphasizes clients’ need to understand, respect, and trust service-providers. Content marketing is an excellent strategy to foster understanding, respect, and trust, even if McMakin & Fletcher don’t discuss it in much detail.
- Roenker, Robin. “How to Create a Content Calendar.” Dragonfly Editorial. While Roenker’s post imagines that you’re creating content for your own website or social media, her recommendations for calendar-driven and evergreen topics would work equally well in the context I’m recommending, in which you pitch your work to venues where your ideal clients spend their time.
Strategic Marketing for Consultants & Freelancers:
If you found today’s presentation helpful, you might also be interested in the course that I offer, “Strategic Marketing for Consultants & Freelancers.” Use the coupon code CONTENTED until July 1, 2024, and get $50 off the price of the course.
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