Content Marketing: How to (Not) Blow It

Oh, gurus and super managers. You gotta either love them or learn not to hate them - or avoid hitting them with a stick. There are plenty of them out there, catering to all tastes and niches. Some are fabulous communicators, while others are, simply put, full of themselves.

You know this. You've been around in the world, in life. There's no other way around these things, and that's where outstanding teamwork skills or the advertised great company culture come to light.

Let me start this straight: I have one of those manager words attached to my job description. I work hard to be the nicest, coolest, friendliest team member you've ever had - especially because it comes from a place of genuine respect for others - but honestly speaking? I sometimes hate people.

I don't hate YOU per se, but I have a rather long and extremely diverse background in customer service. One area I suggest everyone takes a dip in at some stage in life. You can't truly work with or for people without being in a position where you serve their needs. Sounds condescending? A slice of humble pie? It is what it is - great customer service is about taking other people's pains and making them your own.

Much like #marketing, it seems.

Keep it Simple, and Your Head Out of Your A$$

If anyone ever worked in a place where someone didn't have a power trip, raise your hand. It doesn't matter if that power was/is relative. Perhaps someone was holding a broom while the other only had a shovel. Maybe they had manager in front of their title, but all it meant was that they looked after the fries instead.

People are, by all measures, hard cookies. Simultaneous agendas, values - or lack - and ways to get things done. I respect that. I value and treasure that. But I can think of many times when I would rather be left alone and do my thing.

That creative loneliness, may I say, sometimes works wonders. I built profitable content by myself, did research by myself and learned how to enjoy the sweet taste of victory in that same fashion. Would I rather work with a nice team? Sure, why not? But what do I really love to do? Work with an awesome, crazy and fun team.

#Aviation had this one fun thing: if you wanted to get a promotion, you'd have to show how to stick to your guns. Not to be steered away by others nor break under pressure. Learn how to listen to everyone, but decide based on the best information available. Pure gold if you're ever in a situation where you feel a bit lost.

Content marketing presents many of these. In fact, they could be part of the job description. Problem-solving, pressure management, time management, creative solutions and, ideally, a unique line of thinking can get you a place under the sun. But by all means, I suggest you remain humble because there is no learning curve: every day IS the bloody curve.

"I Don't Know, I'm Not Sure"

An example of my own: I once fixed a broken, dead domain. Brought it back to life by spending weeks working on it. One day, someone decided to refresh the whole team, bar the only guy that could work on that content at the time - moi.

A new leader arrived and a few months later, that domain was dead. Abandoned. Left to die. Thousands of euros down the drain on what could've/would've been a serious case of success.

When people assume they know everything and ignore all the steps someone took to reach a certain stage, they have no respect for the process - or you. We're back to the power tripping and to how the lack of humility is often a cause for disgrace.

Whatever work you do, consider doing it for two reasons: love and fun. It's exciting to chase up new ideas and see them all come to life. Humans need purpose. Without purpose, we're mere meat puppets waiting for our expiration date.

I want to build a domain that wasn't there and now gets thousands of hits. An article that didn't exist on a certain topic gets referred to on plenty of other sites. A series of ideas, cooked in the complex network of neurons inside your brain, translated into a visual depiction. A hard topic translated into simple principles.

Do Yourself a Favour

Learn how to identify what works and what doesn't. Find processes that help you find new ways to do the old things plus the new things. Listen to everyone not merely out of respect or to seem nice but because their input matters.

Use every single opportunity to learn more about other people's work and processes. Practice active listening. Only their experience can help you understand things you don't and grow along the way. Maybe you see them as your juniors, but they've certainly been to places you haven't.

Never assume you know best. Unless you're working by yourself and simply for your solo business. Even then, ask for advice and read a lot about failure and overcoming pressure.

Content marketing is a long game. It's a vast universe where you can only touch so many things in a year, a decade, or a whole career. You remain hungry for knowledge and seek it out in the best possible way you can. It refreshes your mind every so often and allows you the one thing that every marketer must keep close to their hearts:

The ability to dream.