Weekly Alert: Mind Your Mission

Focus on your "why" to give your content marketing more purpose [View Message](2e5a5/ct0_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034) in Browser / [Add Us](2e5a5/ct1_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034) to Safe Sender List [] 2e5a5/ct2_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034 [] [Forward to a Friend](2e5a5/ct3_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034) This Week in Content Marketing 3.3.17 Connect with CMI 2e5a5/ct4_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034 2e5a5/ct5_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034 2e5a5/ct6_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034 2e5a5/ct7_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034 2e5a5/ct8_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034 [] How to Give Meaning to Your Content [] 2e5a5/ct9_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034 Content Marketing World’s most popular speaker Michael Jr. offers a simple statement: “When you understand your ‘why,’ your ‘what’ has more purpose.” It’s poignant on its own, but there's also a deeper meaning for content marketing. [Read more](2e5a5/ct9_1/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034)by Michele Linn Some more of this week's best stuff: - [5 Research Insights to Drive Your Content Marketing](2e5a5/ct10_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034) by Lisa Murton Beets - [Beauty Matters: 3 Tips to Create Attractive Blog Posts](2e5a5/ct11_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034) by Bill Widmer - [3 Museum Design Principles to Help Your Content Marketing](2e5a5/ct12_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034) by Noelle Chorney - [Things to Consider Before Crowdsourcing Design](2e5a5/ct13_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034) by Joseph Kalinowski - [Identity Matters: How Content Strategists Build Trust and Loyalty](2e5a5/ct14_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034) by Melissa Eggleston [] [] A Note From Joe Pulizzi Check Your Mission Statement A few weeks back I took a vacation in Florida with my family to get some much-needed vitamin D (it's in short supply this time of year in our home city of Cleveland, Ohio). I spent a bit of our vacation time catching up on some reading. After I finished a sci-fi book I had on my to-read list (Ready Player One by Ernest Cline... a must read for any science fiction or video game lover), my wife threw me the latest issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. That’s right... I was reading Cosmo (don’t judge). In looking through their [media kit](2e5a5/ct15_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034), I learned that Cosmopolitan magazine reaches a monthly audience of over 50 million people (including its digital channels). Around 60% of the audience reads at least three out of every four issues, and they spend an average of 75 minutes on the issues they read. 75 minutes. How’s that for engagement? Cosmo’s stated mission is: “To empower young women to own who they are and be who they want to be, and we’re focused on propelling her into her a fun, fearless future. No excuses, no bull@#*%, no regrets.” Let’s take a minute to compare that to the mission outlined by one of the largest companies in the world, [Exxon Mobil](2e5a5/ct16_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034): “Exxon Mobil Corporation is committed to being the world's premier petroleum and petrochemical company. To that end, we must continuously achieve superior financial and operating results while adhering to the highest standards of business conduct.” Notice a difference (aside from the element of fun)? Cosmo is completely focused on its audience; there isn’t a single word in their mission about what they sell to make a profit. Exxon's mission, on the other hand, is clearly focused around what they sell (oil... and lots of it). Good for them. Cosmo has made content its business model. It is the strategic use of content that will not only build audiences and drive the creation and retention of customers, it can do so at a profit. Sounds like a media company, right? It should. While, traditionally, Cosmo’s go-to revenue strategy revolves around selling advertising, Cosmo also has a number of flexible options they can pursue to make money from their content. Cosmo’s model looks something akin to this: Create a loyal audience. Once we learn the deep-rooted needs of that audience, deliver value to them consistently, and the audience (reader) becomes a fan (subscriber), we can monetize that relationship in multiple ways. And they do – from books, to beauty packages, to native advertising, to syndicated content, to promotions. If Cosmo’s leaders are even partially open to innovation, they’ll see how many products they could sell directly to their readers (instead of just selling access to advertisers). Once that happens, watch out! (Incidentally, this concept of the “content business model for direct profit” is the core theme of a new book Robert Rose and I are working on, coming out in September.) Nothing against Exxon Mobil; but the more I see company mission statements focused on product rather than audience, the harder it will be for them to drive direct or indirect revenues by leveraging content. So, take a look at your own company's mission statement the next time you have a chance. How does it look? Good luck. Yours in content, Joe Pulizzi Founder Content Marketing Institute This article from Joe is available only in this newsletter for you, the newsletter subscriber. If you have friends that would see value in Joe's weekly updates, please have them subscribe [here](2e5a5/ct17_0/1?sid=TV2%3AESFKm5034). [] [] Content Marketing Job Listings Currently on a job search? Thinking about switching gears with your career? Please check out our job listings below. Available Positions: - Sr Digital Media Copywriter, T. 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