How to Become the Most Trusted Voice in Your Industry

My friends can tell you -- in 2008, I dragged all of them to see The Dark Knight. Some of them against their will.

In my defense, I wasn't the only one blown away by the second installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. It was a great movie.

Lately, I've been doing something similar -- telling everyone I know to read Marcus Sheridan's new book They Ask, You Answer.

When it comes to content marketing, it might not be the book we deserve . . . but it's the book we need right now.

Who is Marcus Sheridan?

Let's see if this rings a bell: River Pools and Spas. If you've read around on content strategy or content marketing, chances are you've heard of River Pools and Spas. It's the case study everyone cites to prove the efficacy of content marketing.

I even referenced it myself last year in an article on how to find appropriate subject matter for your company blog.

In 2008, Marcus Sheridan was part-owner of River Pools and Spas and the guy who saved his swimming pool company from going out of business . . . with content. He devoted himself to his company blog and to exhaustively answering every single question any prospect or customer could ever have about fiberglass swimming pools.

While my friends and I were sitting in the movie theater, Marcus was sitting at his keyboard, winning a war against economic collapse and proving that listening, teaching and transparency are the keys to connecting with today's consumer.

What Can We Learn from His Book?

First, we learn how he originated and implemented "they ask, you answer" for River Pools and Spas. We get all the particulars of how he put the program together, along with guidance on what types of content worked best then and continue to show results today.

But the River Pools and Spas case study isn't really the point of the book.

The book gives us a different way of looking at business and marketing. It questions our desire for differentiation and challenges us to focus instead on building trust. It makes a strong case for using our content programs to discuss pricing and costs, problems and weaknesses, competitors and other subjects we normally shy away from.

The upshot of it all: how to use a "they ask, you answer" approach to becoming the most trusted voice in your industry.

It's worth a read, and it will make you think.

__________________________________________________________________

Jeff Hazlett - Freelance Copywriter - JeffHazlett75@gmail.com