How often have you seen fishermen fishing near the edge of the sea?  I’m not talking about hobbyists now, I’m talking deep sea fishermen.

They know that if they want to catch either the big fish or a lot of fish, they have to go out into the deep.

Likewise, if you want to catch the big fish, valuable clients, you have to go deeper.

But here’s the rub … it’s sometimes rough out in the deep, and it might mean getting your feet wet and yes, for the ladies, we might even get our faces wet and end up with running mascara.  But it’s where the big fish are.  

Going into the deep requires that you have a different mindset (anyone can paddle), that you have the right equipment, that you know how to navigate the sea in all weathers and you understand the terrain.  But a real deep sea fisherman, knowing what his catch will be worth, is willing to go out into the rough.  

Before he embarks on his fishing trip, he’s already made his mind up about why he’s going and what he intends to catch.  He also knows that even if he doesn’t catch a big one today …

where there are big fish, there are also plenty of smaller ones.  

So now where do you want to fish?

If you’re happy with your catch of one and two at a time, then keep fishing near the edge.  However, if you want more and bigger, you’re going to have to navigate further and go deeper. 

Is Content Marketing the New “In Thing?”

In 2002 after convincing my husband that I really did want to be a stay at home mum (and wife) and start my own coaching business, the hardest part was finding someone who would build a website for me at a reasonable price … It was difficult!

After scouring the web for what seemed like months, I finally came across Ken Evoy’s, SiteSell (I know some of you heard the story before so I won’t spin it again ).

Wading through the 601 page manual gave me a view of marketing that has remained with me to this day, despite the fact that I no longer use the SiteSell software to build sites.

The focus of that 601 page ebook was on building a business through quality content.

No matter how I’ve focused on other elements of marketing, I keep coming back to the SiteSell process of CTPM – CONTENT > TRAFFIC > PRESELL > MONETIZATION.

Why?  It simply just works.

There really would be no need for people to manipulate the search engines, using black hat strategies and begging for links if they would just publish great content that other people want to read and are willing to share.

What really frustrates me are people who want traffic before they create any content and who want to make money before they’ve even warmed up their prospects (presell).  As Alex Mandossian put it, this is like asking a girl to marry you before you’ve even gone on your first date.  Or in my own words, you’re a stalker!

So, you want to know how to stop being a stalker and get some dates?

Build a relationship with your prospects first.  Give them a reason to like you, believe in you and therefore, to trust you.

People Don’t Want A Blog, They  Want New Business

You have to consider what your target market really want and the mistake I made for  years was promote my blog building services until I woke up and realized that my target market don’t want a blog (even if they think they do).  What they want is more business so, they can make more money.  Whilst it’s not my thing to jump on the bandwagon of “make money online,” I can totally understand why even the illegitimate sellers will get floods of people to their site to buy whatever it is they’re selling …

… People want what the product can do for them, not the actual product or service.

For too long I focused on a blog marketing strategy but what I’ve come to realise is that businesses need a content marketing strategy which they can combine with social media (including blogging) to deliver their content to their target market through as many online mediums as possible.

As Paul Colligan would say “I’ve Seen You Out There,” and a good content marketing strategy not only gets you out there, it gets people reading and gets people coming back to your site for more.  That “more” could ultimately be the purchasing of your product or, the hiring of your services.

In my next post, I’m going to focus more on what content marketing is, for my small business clients, but for now, my aim to get you thinking about whether your focus is on blogs and blogging or, are you focusing on firing your best content at your target market … everywhere.