Listen to this post: [sc_embed_player fileurl=”http://profpopfreeaudios.s3.amazonaws.com/the-25-75-rule-of-content-making-and-promoting.mp3″]
When I teach about content marketing, one concept I share is the 25/75 rule.
This rule relates to how much time you spend creating content (25%) compared to how much time you spend promoting it (75%).
In truth, I came up with this rule because it’s something I need to remind myself of. I, like you, perhaps, love to create content. I love to think of new ideas, write them down, and share them. I have hundreds of posts on this blog, which is evidence of how much I like blogging.
I also keep up with regular status updates in social media, convert my content to other formats, and create audio, video, and presentation content as well.
At heart, I am a writer and communicator and content creator.
However, in business, I am – and need to be a marketer.
In my case, marketing is my business (we all teach what we need to learn, right?)- and so I, like you, need to remind myself that I should spend more time promoting content than creating it.
The creation is easy, and this is why I think we all like to do more of it.
The promotion can sometimes be challenging, and that’s why, I think, we do less of it.
Sometimes we can’t think of how to promote more. Sometimes we don’t know what to do. Sometimes we wonder if anyone is listening or paying attention or really cares anyway.
Certainly, I have had the experience of putting my content out into the world and getting nothing back- no comments, no shares, no likes- no nothing.
It doesn’t take too many of those experiences to make you wary or uncomfortable with promoting your content.
However, what I’ve learned over time is this:
Content creation by itself is not marketing. Marketing is where your content meets other people.
This means that, as the steward of your message, you have- as I do- a responsibility to promote your content into the world so it reaches and helps those who would benefit. You could have the secret cure to cancer on your blog, but if it never reaches other people, something immensely valuable is lost.
Whenever I feel like creating without promoting, I remember the 25/75 rule. If I write a blog post, for instance, I find at least three ways I can share it immediately after. In my case, I publish to Twitter and Facebook, and then do a long form post on LinkedIn. I also sometimes link to my blog from my email newsletter, and I sometimes turn my blog ideas into graphics or visuals to share on Pinterest.
My goal is make my content meet other people.
If you find that you’re creating more than you’re promoting, I invite you to adopt the 25/75 rule for yourself. It will make a huge difference in how your message is accessed and spread.
