Two Essential Content Marketing Books For Digital Beginners
You’ll find a lot of books out there about Content Marketing – a subject we’ll cover in depth in another blog. Suffice it to say, anything you create for your audience is content. And you should know how to do it well.
I promised to cut through the noise and get you the essentials, so here are two books that make up my Holy Grail for Content Marketing.
Why these two books?
Because one of the authors, Ann Handley is, in my humble opinion, the reigning Queen of Content.
Essential Book # 1
Content Rules is a great overview of the Content Marketing landscape. Ann co-authored this book with DigitalDads.com founder, CC Chapman. Together, they provide an in-depth over-view of Content Marketing: What is it? Why do you need it? How do you do it? And where do you start?
This one is my Content Bible.
It’s written in an approachable and easy-to-use manner – the authors suggest you poke around the book as needed because it’s designed that way.
(Personally, I suggest the old “start at the very beginning” approach because that way the chapters slowly build your understanding of content marketing.)
It’s divided into three parts with easily digestible chapters that clear away the marketing jargon – “Frankenspeak,” as Ann calls it.
It’s like “getting into the weeds” with a super-powered weed-whacker: clear, concise advice on all matters Content Marketing.
Chapter topics include:
- The Case for Content
- Share or Solve; Don’t Shill
- The Single Biggest Secret to Creating a Compelling Customer Success Story
- Podcasting: Is This Thing On?
In the crazy, dynamic, ever-changing world of Digital Marketing, I’m not quite sure how budding entrepreneurs, new marketing grads, or established businesses could ignore the importance for getting content right.
Listen to Ann and CC and follow the Content Rules.
Essential Book # 2
If Content Rules is my Bible, then Everybody Writes is my Ten Commandments.
This is Ann’s solo endeavour and, as she points out, it picks up where Content Rules leaves off.
As the first book is the What and Where of content, Everybody Writes is the Why and How.
This one covers the mechanics of good content creation. It would be tempting to think of this as The Public School Guide to Proper Grammar – remember those classes? – but it’s nothing of the sort.
First, Ann approaches the subject of good writing (and, yes, grammar) with humour, warmth, and, most importantly, a straight-to-the-point manner that also happens to be a hallmark of her approach to content.
She practices what she preaches.
An early chapter encourages content creators to “Speak Human” – a phrase I love. It can be so easy – and I am prone to this myself – to use elevated or high-falutin’ language when creating ‘professional’ content.
But Ann points out, correctly, that this A) can alienate your audience and B) sound insincere – among other things. After all, who wants to read or do business with someone who sounds too smart, too fancy, too cold, or too distant?
Consumers are savvy and they know a phoney when they see/read one. So, she advises, talk to them like they’re a real people and – more importantly – like you’re a real person, too.
Second, Ann breaks down the daunting task of writing/creating/curating content into strategic steps that you – yes, you! – can achieve.
Divided into six parts, chapter topics include:
- Follow the Writing GPS
- Start with Dear Mom
- Use Clichés Only Once in a Blue Moon
- Nonobvious Interview Tips
- Writing Social Media with Humour
- Productivity Tools
There’s a few more than Ten Commandments in this book, but each one is an essential tip, trick or tool that will improve your content marketing. The chapters may be short, but their content is anything but.
The book focuses primarily on writing, but its suggestions are universal for creating content anywhere; after all, every web, audio or video project has something written down somewhere, whether in a banner ad, a podcast description, or a video script.
So, while not everybody is a natural-born writer, as a digital marketer (and Digital Esquire), you’ll want to make sure you up your game and do it write.
Right?
Digital Esquire 