It’s a difficult time for entrepreneurs. Each day appears to deliver information of layoffs from one other notable tech firm.
I do know a number of individuals who’ve been laid off from content material jobs not too long ago. I additionally understand how discouraging and worrying that feels.
In November 2008, I learn a weblog submit from David Meerman Scott known as Downsized? Fired? Right here Are the New Guidelines of Discovering a Job. A month later, I used to be laid off f(together with greater than 10% of the corporate) on account of the 2008 monetary disaster.
Once I received house that day, I instantly reread David’s submit.
I can distill the takeaway into two sentences:
Need to discover a new job? Cease considering like a product advertiser and begin considering like a writer.
On the lookout for a job? Suppose like a writer, not a product advertiser, advises @DMScott by way of @DShiao @CMIContent. Click on To Tweet
David relayed the story of Heather Hamilton, then a recruiting govt at Microsoft. She didn’t use typical strategies for sourcing and hiring candidates. As a substitute, she searched the online for potential staff. As David concluded, “So should you’re not publishing, you received’t be discovered by Microsoft.”
Thus, I started to show my job loss right into a content material advertising and marketing journey to create a private model.
Launching a weblog
Previous to the layoff, I helped to plan and execute digital occasions for the tech sector. I labored with shoppers like HP, Oracle, and CA Applied sciences on large-scale occasions that attracted 1000’s of attendees. These corporations noticed digital occasions as the following period of on-line lead technology.
The day after my layoff, I created a weblog on WordPress – It’s All Digital. My first submit was 2009: The 12 months We Go Digital.
The day after @DShiao was laid off in 2008, he began a weblog about his business. @CMIContent #PersonalBranding Click on To Tweet
As luck would have it, I discovered a brand new job straight away. A vendor of my earlier employer employed me as a consumer companies govt to work on their shoppers’ digital occasions and function an business evangelist.
Making an affect
I emailed my new boss a hyperlink to that first submit. He replied, “Dennis, I shared this with our group. We knew you had expertise with digital occasions, however we had no concept you knew this a lot. We’re so impressed.”
I saved running a blog. In the course of the first months, a reader requested to talk. Within the name, he mentioned, “, in final week’s submit, you shared some concepts about digital occasions that basically received me considering.”
My inside voice mentioned, “Wow! Not solely did he learn my submit, nevertheless it’s serving to him plan digital occasions at his firm.”
The constructive reinforcement gave me the inspiration and want to proceed writing.
I discovered a constant publishing schedule for my weblog was important. I printed one submit every week from 2009 to 2012. I wrote the submit in a Microsoft Phrase doc, staged it in WordPress, and scheduled it to be printed the following morning. In parallel, I wrote weblog articles about digital occasions on my employer’s web site.
Making a constant publishing schedule for a #weblog is important, says @DShiao by way of @CMIContent. #PersonalBranding Click on To Tweet
The weekly cadence of publishing helped me set up myself as an knowledgeable on digital occasions. I used to be invited to writer visitor articles and converse at business conferences. I assembled posts into PDF guides and even self-published a guide, Generate Gross sales Leads With Digital Occasions.
I might see the fruit of David Meerman Scott’s recommendation to be a “writer of knowledge.”
What I might have carried out in a different way once I began the private weblog:
Taking to social media
Throughout my time as a digital occasions blogger, I found a neighborhood of occasion planners and assembly professionals on Twitter. We adopted one another and used Twitter to share concepts and content material.
Twitter was as soon as an important social community for my private model. I used to converse about advertising and marketing there commonly, and the conversations with different entrepreneurs elevated my private model.
Since Twitter’s administration modified in late 2022, I tweet a lot much less. My account stays lively, however I plan to spend extra time on LinkedIn. (I’m additionally prioritizing old style social media – assembly folks for in-person chats over espresso).
However you may adapt the method I adopted to construct my Twitter model to different platforms.
Begin with a mission assertion
I developed a mission assertion for my Twitter presence:
I need to share fascinating content material about advertising and marketing whereas exhibiting those that I don’t take life too severely. I need folks to think about me as helpful and partaking. My final aim is to meet new folks and discover fascinating content material.
Right here’s a template I developed from that mission assertion:
I need to [ACTIVITY] whereas [BALANCED BY]. I need folks to think about me as [ADJECTIVE] and [ADJECTIVE]. My final aim is to [GOAL].
Be a part of the dialog
Within the early days, I considered Twitter as a distribution channel, a spot to share my newest weblog submit.
I advanced my strategy to deal with Twitter as an always-on, world dialog – it’s extra rewarding to work together with others on social than to easily share hyperlinks.
I additionally kept away from overpromoting my firm and content material. You acquire extra respect and appreciation by generously sharing different folks’s content material.
To achieve extra respect on @Twitter, chorus from overpromoting your organization and #content material, says @DShiao by way of @CMIContent. #PersonalBranding Click on To Tweet
I additionally participated in Twitter chats – a scheduled time when an viewers gathers and follows the identical hashtag. Some have visitor audio system. Others have a subject or query round which the chat is constructed. Both approach, they offer you a chance to share your experience in entrance of a captive viewers.
In content material advertising and marketing, two in style chats are Erika Heald’s #ContentChat (Mondays) and CMI’s #CMWorld (the primary Tuesday of the month).
What I might have carried out in a different way in my early Twitter days:
- Adopted others extra as they adopted me
- Targeted much less on sharing hyperlinks to content material
- Engaged extra with customers
- Obsessed much less over the sequence of tweets in my profile
- Had extra enjoyable
Beginning a advertising and marketing meetup
In 2015, I launched a advertising and marketing meetup. My aim was easy – to deliver collectively entrepreneurs to be taught from one another. I went to Meetup.com and created the San Mateo B2B Bloggers Meetup.
Presently, I used to be working for a B2B software program firm, and my boss let me use the workplace after hours to host the gathering.
Primarily based on enter from members, I broadened our mission, altering the identify to Bay Space Content material Advertising Meetup. In-person gatherings comply with the identical format: half-hour of networking and pizza, adopted by a 60-minute knowledgeable presentation.
In March 2020, we shifted to 30-minute on-line meetups over Zoom (co-organizer Wealthy Schwerin named these “Zooms at Midday”). We’ve held greater than 90 on-line conferences since then, attracting attendees from everywhere in the world.
We’ve featured in-person presenters from Marketo, Demandbase, VMware, SiriusDecisions, and Flipboard. We’ve had particular visits from Congresswoman Jackie Speier and Content material Advertising Institute founder Joe Pulizzi.
Whereas our members benefit from the studying alternatives, the connections and neighborhood are what they cherish probably the most. I’ve seen folks discover new jobs, land new shoppers, and develop shut friendships. And I attribute 9 of my 20 consulting shoppers to the meetup.
What I want I had carried out once I began a meetup:
- Requested for assist earlier – I did all the pieces on my own to start with
- Requested presenters to advertise the meetup to their networks
- Experimented extra with paid promoting
- Gained extra monetary flexibility by promoting extra sponsorships
Sending an e mail publication
Once I thought I would expertise a second layoff, I launched an e mail publication. I appreciated the thought of constructing an e mail record, an viewers with whom I might share my ideas and experience.
I additionally wished to advertise our upcoming meetups additional. The Meetup platform permits me to ship a message to the group; nonetheless, the system doesn’t present me with e mail addresses. I created a free account on Mailchimp and known as my publication Content material Nook. I requested meetup members in the event that they wished to subscribe and manually added them to the record.
The publication comes out each different Friday and consists of these sections:
- Introduction
- Across the Nook (curated content material)
- Subsequent Meetup
- Twitter Nook (one Twitter person function)
- Podcast Nook
- In Your Nook (an fascinating article not associated to advertising and marketing)
I take nice pleasure in uncovering fascinating articles that others would discover precious. I’ve grow to be fairly selective. As a substitute of publishing a laundry record of content material, Across the Nook has just one or two picks. For every choose, I write a number of paragraphs to convey why I included it.
Whereas designed to tell, educate, and generally entertain my subscribers, the Content material Nook publication additionally options many elements of my model, from my writing and perspective to my style and experience.
It’s a superb car for amplifying my private model. When one consumer was considering of hiring me, this e mail publication clinched the deal. I’ve helped a number of shoppers create e mail newsletters. Seeing my private publication in motion helped them perceive how I would assist.
What I might have carried out in a different way once I began the publication:
- Targeted on high quality over amount with curated content material
- Employed a graphic designer to assist with the brand and HTML template
- Discovered extra methods to develop my subscriber record
It’s time to work in your private model
Within the 14 years since, I’ve actively and purposefully managed my private model. It’s not a one-time, spring-cleaning kind of factor. For me, it’s ingrained in nearly all the pieces I do on-line: publishing articles, organizing meetups, tweeting with others, sending my e mail publication, and so forth.
Managing your private model shouldn’t be a one-time, spring cleansing kind of factor, says @DShiao by way of @CMIContent. #PersonalBranding Click on To Tweet
In my full-time roles, my private model gave me extra visibility in my business and made me more practical at my job. Now that I’m a advertising and marketing guide, my private model makes it straightforward for brand new shoppers to seek out me. It’s content material advertising and marketing for me, and it really works.
Up to date Jan. 23, 2023
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Cowl picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content material Advertising Institute
