Hooked on classics

Why you can create classic content, but AI can’t. [View Message in Browser]( / [Add Us to Safe Sender List]( WEEKLY NEWS 3.8.24 WEEKLY NEWS 3.8.24  FEATURED [6 SEO Content Mistakes, Myths, and Misunderstandings To Rethink This Year]( By Kim Moutsos Evolving SEO practices, algorithm changes, and intense content competition make optimizing your content harder (and the stakes higher) than ever. Don’t let these SEO mistakes and misunderstandings knock you off your game. [Read more](  READ OR LISTEN TO MORE STORIES FROM THIS WEEK: [Is Your Thought Leadership Stuck in ‘Mutually Assured Irrelevance’?]( by Content Marketing Institute Team New research finds most thought leadership doesn’t encourage or inspire much thought. Yet, if it’s done well, it can strongly influence sales and pricing. How can you leap from boring to motivating? [50+ Blogs, Newsletters, Podcasts, and Video Channels Favored by Marketers]( by Ann Gynn You’re busy enough doing marketing. You don’t have time to search for content that can help. So here are over 50 favorite blogs, newsletters, podcasts, and YouTube channels recommended by your content and marketing peers. [Classic Content Isn’t Necessarily Evergreen: Why Marketers Should Know the Difference]( by Robert Rose Evergreen does not automatically mean the content will stand the test of time. Nor is content that stands the test of time necessarily evergreen. Why? And can AI even generate classic content? Let’s explore. [I]( How To Make Your Next Thought Leadership Program a Success]( by Janie Hulse-Najenson Here’s how to create a program that really deserves the thought leadership label — complete with examples — from someone who’s been doing it for 20 years.  A NOTE FROM ROBERT ROSE Hooked on classics Could AI ever craft a classic piece of content — something that would be seen as foundational and iconic for the topic it covers? A colleague and I debated that issue recently, and I’ll return to that discussion. But first I want to explain the distinction between classic and evergreen content. In B2B marketing especially, many teams devote at least some time to creating “evergreen content,” which isn’t relevant only in the moment but for a length of time (perhaps forever). So, the creator avoids including anything that directly or indirectly indicates its publishing time. But “timeless” content won’t always stand the test of time. And a present-moment context in content won’t prevent it from becoming a classic. In other words, there is a difference between “evergreen” and “classic” content. You should focus on the latter, even though classic content requires more effort. It requires you to create something of lasting worth or of the first or highest quality and in context with its relationship to the moment. In his essay, [Why Read The Classics?]( author Italo Calvino described a classic work as something “which, even when we read it for the first time, gives the sense of rereading something we have read before.” He also says a classic is when “rereading offers as much of a sense of discovery as the first reading.” I love the seeming contradiction, but these definitions really don’t conflict. When you experience a classic piece of content for the first time, you get a sense of familiarity but a new discovery. When you experience a classic subsequently, you get a sense of discovery in the familiarity. From a content marketing perspective, The Lego Movie is a perfect example. Its deeply creative storytelling offers a distinct point of view and trendy, topical characters. But families still enjoy watching that movie over and over again, years after its release, because it never exhausts all it has to say to its audience. The movie Barbie movie will almost certainly be seen as a classic in a few years. My colleague laughed when I asked if they could envision generative AI creating a thought leadership article that was not only timeless (i.e., evergreen) but would provide so much value people would go back and read it again and again. They thought I was joking. They weren’t sure humans could do that, much less AI. They asked, “Is it even possible to produce a ‘classic’ video series on SEO that has the same kind of replay value as an episode of Friends does?” (Side note: The now 30-year-old — oof, that hurt to type — sitcom has maintained and even increased its popularity among both young and old audiences.) “Yes,” I replied. “Classic content not only provides new audiences with value but also provides existing audiences with ongoing value.” B2B content has this ability. For example, I continually return to Theodore Levitt’s paper on marketing myopia to refresh my business strategy chops despite its analysis of 1960s-dated industries. And there may be no better example of classic content marketing than John Deere’s The Furrow. The brand has published its magazine for 129 years, and readers routinely save issues as collector’s items and revisit articles written years ago. The Furrow’s content is both classic and timeless. Of course, you can’t know if a piece of content is a classic until it — well, you know — becomes a classic. Its core requirement is that it must stand the test of time. But you can set your content up to have staying power. [In Rose-Colored Glasses]( this week, I share the traits that classic content pieces share — and why those traits preclude AI-generated content. Do you agree? [I’d love to hear what you think.]( In the meantime, remember: It’s your story. Tell it well. Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute Would any of your colleagues or friends benefit from Robert's weekly updates? Please invite them to [subscribe]( here.  MORE FROM CMI Call for Entries Now Open! Have you spent the past year creating a content marketing masterpiece? If you've been formulating strategies, crafting content, and pushing boundaries, then you should be celebrated for your hard work! CMI is now accepting entries for the 2024 Content Marketing Awards. The largest and longest-running international content marketing awards program, the CMAs recognize the best in strategy, content creation, and visual & audio storytelling. [Submit your entry »](  Next Thursday’s Webinar: The End of Domain Authority If you had undeniable evidence that Domain Authority is irrelevant when it comes to the rankability of your organic content, what would you do differently as a marketer? 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