Andy Crestodina - Content Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing

Copyright 2016 by Orbit Media Studios, Inc. All rights reserved.

Content Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook to Content Marketing Paperback - Published 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN: 978-0-9883364-6-9 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-0-9883364-7-6 (EPUB)

ISBN: 978-0-9883364-8-3 (mobibook)

THIS BOOK IS THE RESULT OF THOUSANDS OF CONVERSATIONS WITH HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES OVER THE LAST 16 YEARS.

On January 1, 2000, I started the new century with a new career on the web. Since that day, Ive immersed myself in nearly every aspect of digital marketing. In April 2001, I co-founded a web design company called Orbit Media Studios with my great friend Barrett Lombardo. Today, Orbit is an award-winning team of 40 specialists with hundreds of happy clients and over 1,000 successful projects.

Through all of that experience, Ive learned many things about digital marketing. The book youre reading now is a compilation of the most important and effective lessons Ive learned.

The simplest way to summarize all of it goes something like this

To be successful, websites must do two things: 1) attract visitors, and 2) convert those visitors into leads and customers. To do this, web marketers must do two things: 1) create content, and 2) promote it. Great content makes the difference between success and failure on the web.

By the time you finish reading this book, you should have a solid understanding of what makes content great and the specific actions youll need to take to create that content. Youll know which actions lead to which outcomes. Youll know where youre going and how to get there.

Beyond this, my hope is that your new insights into web marketing will motivate you to get started and stay active. I hope you find that web marketing is enjoyable because its both creative and analytical. Theres nothing intimidating about it. You may discover that, yes, web marketing is critical to modern business, but its also a lot of fun.

Andy Crestodina

Strategic Director, Orbit Media Studios
@crestodina | Google+ | LinkedIn

Web marketers must do two things: 1) create content, and 2) promote it. Great content makes the difference between success and failure on the web.

This book is for people who are interested in improving their marketing, increasing sales and growing their business. You dont need to be a social media celebrity or a best-selling author to benefit from these lessons. You do need to be yourself. And regardless of who you are, its almost certain that youre well-suited for content marketing.

If youre a thoughtful, detail-oriented person who enjoys researching and writing well-considered articles, content marketing is for you. If youre a fast, informal writer who can produce quick posts based on todays news, content marketing is for you.

If youre analytical and prefer digging through data over chatting with people, content marketing is for you. If youre a social person who would rather connect with people than analyze numbers, content marketing is for you.

Introverts and extroverts, number-crunching researchers and big-picture thinkerscontent marketing has something for everyone. The one non-negotiable for any content marketer? You must write.

This book is called Content Chemistry for a reason. As in chemistry, content marketing is about experimentation and measurement. Like a chemist, well mix chemicals (content), add energy (promotional activity) and observe and measure the reactions (analytics). Then well repeat or try something new.

• Experimentation: These practices will continue to evolve. Adapt the techniques to suit your business. Its an ongoing process of trial and error and gradual improvement.
• Measurement: Virtually every aspect of web marketing is measurable, much more so than with traditional advertising. This is part of the fun, but also a necessary part of the work. If youre not measuring results, youre not doing content marketing.

Results will often be unexpected, but the purpose remains constant: We seek awareness, relevance and trust.

This book is broken into two sections: Lecture and Lab. The Lecture section includes the theory of web marketing, which consists of attracting visitors (traffic) and getting them to take action (conversions). The Lab section covers web marketing in practice, which means creating content and promoting it.

There is no need to read this book cover to cover, so feel free to jump around. Each page has insights and ideas for you to try. Depending on your skill level, you may skim the Lecture section ().

The techniques in this book are intended to demonstrate the concepts. I have tried them all and found each to be successful. Once you understand both the theory and the practice, try a little chemistry of your own!

Content marketing is the art and science of pulling your audience toward your business. It is based on the concept that relevant prospects are looking for your product or service right now. If you can connect with them, help them and teach them, some of them will become loyal customers.

Content marketers create and promote useful, relevant information with the goal of attracting and engaging website visitors, and then converting those visitors into leads and customers.

We do this by creating, publishing and promoting content that is relevant to our clients and prospects through three main channels: search engine optimization (SEO), social media and email marketing.

Content marketing is sensitive to the behaviors and psychology of potential buyers. Whether were looking for jet engines or consulting services, a wedding DJ or a local florist, we are all more likely than ever to look to the internet before making a decision. Every day, we search, research, read recommendations and seek advice from experts.

Where traditional advertising aims to interrupt and distract, content marketing aims to attract and assist.

CAUTION! Content marketing is a slow process. Although the techniques in this book are things you can (and should) start doing today, the effect on sales and revenue may be months or years away. Many of the tactics are cumulative, such as increasing email subscribers, growing social followings and building links. Building up your content and audience takes time. Dont expect to be relevant (or get rich) overnight.

To understand the future of marketing, we must first understand the past. Lets take a brief look at the history of marketing.

1950-1994 Traditional Marketing