Christian Content Marketing: Become Your Industry’s Authoritative Figure

“All I need is to SEO my website, and I’ll make tons of money!”  

“If I could just figure out this Email Automation stuff, then I’ll double my revenue!”

“If I could just build my list…?  They say the money’s in the list!”

Does any of this sound familiar?

The truth is: SEO, Email Automation and List Building are very important when it comes to generating revenue and growing your business.  However, when it comes to internet marketing, Content is still King!

“But, Josh, why have I never heard of content marketing before?  And what is content marketing anyway?”

To state it plainly, content marketing (and in our case, Christian Content Marketing), is the undeniable traffic and revenue driving variable to any and every business – though hardly anyone speaks of it.

When you begin your research on how to grow your business and increase profits, you will undoubtedly run onto article after article about Search Engine Optimization and Email Marketing, along with many other business building strategies.  Though there are many strategies available, these strategies are all too often implemented long before they are actually ready to be fully accepted by your clientele.

However, before we begin building anything, haven’t we read somewhere before about how we should be careful as to the foundation we are building upon?

When it comes to business, whether it is a Christian business or organization, things such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Email Marketing and Automation should be considered as your businesses’ Building Blocks.  But content… Content is the foundation on which those blocks are constructed.

And quite honestly, this is why 99% of businesses today are constantly searching for the “Next big business-building strategy” to drop a thousand bucks on, just so they can do it again when the next big business-building strategy comes along.

We’re all looking for the quick-fix!  But we’re all well aware that Rome wasn’t built in a day.  And even after becoming the greatest nation in the world, it eventually came crumbling to the ground.

Christian Content Marketing is about taking your future customers on a journey.  They begin as:

• A Member of an Audience

then, 

• They Become a Prospective Client

then, 

• They Become a Loyal Client

and they do so because,

• You Have Become an Authoritative Figure

So, how does this all work?  I thought you’d never ask!

When referring to Christian Content Marketing, I’m actually referring to Online Content Marketing.  This is literally describing the information that is located in the pages of your Christian website or Ecommerce site.  And in my opinion, as I stated in a previous article, 6 Essential Christian Marketing Tips for Every Christian Business, content marketing is the #1 overlooked marketing strategy in the business world today.

It’s a great feeling when hundreds and thousands of people are coming to your website.  But the question that remains is:

“What are you doing with that traffic once it’s on your site?”

Two of the most common responses go something like:

1. “Well, they can subscribe to my Newsletter – that I never send out.”
2. “Oh!  I’ve got one of those Optin-Monster popup thingies.”

Let me ask you a question:  How often do you leave a business that you know nothing about, your private and personal information through an opt-in?

But… when it is a trusted business, or an authoritative figure, you and I have no problem opting in, do we?

And that’s it!  That’s the secret! In order to get people to know, like and trust you, you must become the authoritative figure they’re looking for.

When people are seeking answers, solutions to their business or personal needs and desires, they come looking online for the exact information that will fill those needs and desires.  However, when they land on a website and all they see is:

Hey, I’m Joe and I Wanna Sell You Stuff!

there’s not much authority in that.  What Joe wants, and what his site visitors want are two completely different things.  Joe wants to sell stuff and make money.  However, his site visitors so often have an incredible need to fill.  And they will eventually fill that need with products and services from those whom they consider to be authoritative businesses and people.

Now, there are a few different concepts and strategies when it comes to content marketing.  But when explaining how you become an authoritative figure, I’m referring to your business website becoming an Information Station.  This is valuable information you will have published on your site that proves your expertise in whatever products and services you have to offer.

So, how are you to go about publishing this information on your website…?

I received an email yesterday with a subject line that read, How to Spot a Utility Scam.  I was intrigued, saw that it was from my utility company, and opened the email.  You might consider what I’m about to say a tip both for email and content marketing.

Now, here’s what’s amazing.  You and I never receive emails like this from retailing lists of which we’re subscribed, do we?  NO!  We receive emails from bookstores and other retailers about the “Hottest Bestsellers!“  And if you’re like me, most of the time you simply delete the email.

I purchased a new vehicle last year, and am constantly receiving emails about the “Next Big Sale!”  I wonder if they really believe I open all of those emails?

When I constantly receive emails such as these, one of the images that immediately comes to mind is that they are simply trying to scrape every penny they can from me.  I mean, I just gave them $40,000 for a new vehicle; what more could they want?

However, what if once or twice per month I was to receive an email from my dealership with a subject title that read something like, “This Safety Tip could Save Your Child’s Life?”  And what if… what if when I opened the email, there was actually a well written article about an actual safety tip that could save my child’s life while riding as a passenger in my vehicle?  And what if this continued happening a couple of times per month?  Meaningful… Important… They-actually-care-about-me type emails?

• First, don’t you think I’d be more likely to get my vehicle serviced there? 
• Secondly, don’t you think I’d actually be more likely to open the “Next Big Sale” email when it did come? 
• Thirdly, and probably most importantly, don’t you think I’d refer ALL of my friends and family members to that dealership?

Absolutely!  Not only would they have shown they actually care about the well-being of my family, but they would also have demonstrated that they have an Authoritative Voice when it comes to automobiles and automobile safety.

And like I’ve already stated, if not immediately, over time I will begin sharing those invaluable posts and emails with my friends and family members.  And do you know what would happen next?  I’d receive a “Friend Request” from the dealerships Facebook Page, I’d accept, and then I would start “Liking” and “Sharing” these Highly Important and Highly Informational posts every time they appeared in my news feed.

What this concludes is that over time, Your Audience Will Begin to Build Itself!

Therefore, let me quickly put everything you’ve just read into perspective…

First, I made an outlandish claim that Content Marketing is the undeniable traffic and revenue driving variable to any and every business.  However, I then took you through the step-by-step process of how it works:

• Someone becomes a member of your audience when referred by a friend, or after seeing one of your posts through social media.
• Once having witnessed your expertise through your content, your new audience member begins to see you as an authoritative figure (if the content is good).
• Your audience member will then become a faithful client once sold on the fact that you are an authoritative figure in your field.
• Your new faithful client begins sharing your content with friends and family members, which begins the onset of your audience actually building itself.
• While others are paying big bucks for advertising, you have an influx of naturally organic traffic for FREE because of your Content Marketing Strategy.
• Over time, you begin to inherit your competitions customer base because they have never established that they are Authoritative Experts in their industry; regardless of how big their business currently may be.  Why?  Because the Millennials are Content Driven!
• Whether today, or sometime in the not so distant future, the customers will all migrate to the Proven Expert, who has the Content to Prove it!

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God Bless!