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Hello hello!
Let’s kick off today’s letter with an important question: do you really take the time to distribute your content?
Honest answers only, please!
If you’re like me and like most of the content managers out there, you’re probably feeling a tad bit guilty answering this question. Ok, maybe not a tad bit – a lot, actually.
Because, somehow, distribution or “content amplification” as James Tennant, Founder of Converge calls it, tends to slip to the bottom of your to-do list.
So in alignment with last week’s promise and to help you pay more attention to amplification in the coming year, I got James who is a content distribution pro to share his secret tips.
As is the drill, I asked him:
A mistake James made as he learned about amplifying content.
An actionable tip to get you one step closer to distributing content better.
And, a secret tip to getting more people to read your content.
Let’s roll:
👉 Learn from James’ mistake: Amplifying content without first doing any homework.
“One mistake I’ve made is to assume I know where best to amplify my content without doing any research first – not a good idea and a quick route to suboptimal results,” James explains.
“It’s far better to know if the place you’re promoting your content is relevant before spending the time to do it.”
In short:
“Do the research first, understand the platforms and communities you want to share your content with, and then promote. You’ll find the results are far better that way.”
👉 Do this today: “Reduce the time you’re spending on creating new content and factor in more time to amplify the content you’ve already got.”
“Often the reaction to content that performs poorly is to create more of it,” admits James. “More often than not, it’s not the content but the lack of amplification that led to unsatisfactory results.”
So, each time you think you need to create more content, ask yourself: Did I promote that content as much as I could have?
If the answer is no, start with a mindset shift. “Think of content distribution as an integral part of your content marketing,” advises James. “It’s not something you should do ‘when you’ve got the time.’”
Next, schedule content amplification in your calendar. It’s only then that you’ll get yourself to do it.
👉 The secret tip you need for distributing content better: “Content amplification never ends and always takes longer, per piece of content, than creating the content in the first place.”
Says James, “For example, if you created a blog that will stay relevant for months or years to come it may have taken you 3, 6, or 9 hours to write, but should you ever stop amplifying or promoting it? No.”
“Fighting to ensure your content gets seen means constant, consistent amplification in the right places to the right people.”
So today’s takeaways:
Research your distribution channels first, amplify content second
Not only do you need a content plan for 2022 but a content amplification strategy too
Content distribution always takes longer than content creation
That’s a wrap, fellas.
Cheers,
Masooma
P.S. Since you’re probably neck-deep into content planning these days, I’ll share a content ideas validating template inspired by how the Netflix team validates ideas next week 👊
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