It’s a difficult time for entrepreneurs. Every single day appears to carry 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 lately. I additionally know the way discouraging and tense 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) because of the 2008 monetary disaster.
Once I acquired residence that day, I instantly reread David’s submit.
I can distill the takeaway into two sentences:
Wish to discover a new job? Cease considering like a product advertiser and begin considering like a writer.
In search of a job? Assume like a writer, not a product advertiser, advises @DMScott through @DShiao @CMIContent. Click on To Tweet
David relayed the story of Heather Hamilton, then a recruiting govt at Microsoft. She didn’t use standard strategies for sourcing and hiring candidates. As an alternative, she searched the online for potential staff. As David concluded, “So for those who’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 purchasers like HP, Oracle, and CA Applied sciences on large-scale occasions that attracted 1000’s of attendees. These firms noticed digital occasions as the subsequent 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 immediately. A vendor of my earlier employer employed me as a consumer companies govt to work on their purchasers’ digital occasions and function an business evangelist.
Making an impression
I emailed my new boss a hyperlink to that first submit. He replied, “Dennis, I shared this with our workforce. We knew you had expertise with digital occasions, however we had no thought you knew this a lot. We’re so impressed.”
I saved running a blog. Throughout the first months, a reader requested to speak. Within the name, he stated, “, in final week’s submit, you shared some concepts about digital occasions that basically acquired me considering.”
My inside voice stated, “Wow! Not solely did he learn my submit, however it’s serving to him plan digital occasions at his firm.”
The constructive reinforcement gave me the inspiration and need to proceed writing.
I discovered a constant publishing schedule for my weblog was important. I revealed 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 revealed the subsequent 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 through @CMIContent. #PersonalBranding Click on To Tweet
The weekly cadence of publishing helped me set up myself as an skilled on digital occasions. I used to be invited to creator visitor articles and converse at business conferences. I assembled posts into PDF guides and even self-published a e book, Generate Gross sales Leads With Digital Occasions.
I may see the fruit of David Meerman Scott’s recommendation to be a “writer of data.”
What I’d have accomplished in another way after I began the non-public 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 a very powerful social community for my private model. I used to converse about advertising and marketing there frequently, 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 energetic, however I plan to spend extra time on LinkedIn. (I’m additionally prioritizing old school social media – assembly folks for in-person chats over espresso).
However you possibly can 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 wish to share attention-grabbing content material about advertising and marketing whereas exhibiting people who I don’t take life too significantly. I would like folks to consider me as helpful and participating. My final aim is to meet new folks and discover attention-grabbing content material.
Right here’s a template I developed from that mission assertion:
I wish to [ACTIVITY] whereas [BALANCED BY]. I would like folks to consider 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 method 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 shunned overpromoting my firm and content material. You achieve 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 through @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 method, they provide you a chance to share your experience in entrance of a captive viewers.
In content material advertising and marketing, two fashionable chats are Erika Heald’s #ContentChat (Mondays) and CMI’s #CMWorld (the primary Tuesday of the month).
What I’d have accomplished in another way in my early Twitter days:
- Adopted others extra as they adopted me
- Centered 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 carry collectively entrepreneurs to be taught from one another. I went to Meetup.com and created the San Mateo B2B Bloggers Meetup.
Right now, 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.
Based mostly on enter from members, I broadened our mission, altering the title to Bay Space Content material Advertising Meetup. In-person gatherings observe the identical format: half-hour of networking and pizza, adopted by a 60-minute skilled 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 purchasers, and develop shut friendships. And I attribute 9 of my 20 consulting purchasers to the meetup.
What I want I had accomplished after I began a meetup:
- Requested for assist earlier – I did every thing on my own at first
- 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’d expertise a second layoff, I launched an e mail publication. I favored the concept of constructing an e mail listing, an viewers with whom I may share my ideas and experience.
I additionally needed to advertise our upcoming meetups additional. The Meetup platform permits me to ship a message to the group; nevertheless, 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 needed to subscribe and manually added them to the listing.
The publication comes out each different Friday and contains these sections:
- Introduction
- Across the Nook (curated content material)
- Subsequent Meetup
- Twitter Nook (one Twitter consumer characteristic)
- Podcast Nook
- In Your Nook (an attention-grabbing article not associated to advertising and marketing)
I take nice pleasure in uncovering attention-grabbing articles that others would discover precious. I’ve turn out to be fairly selective. As an alternative of publishing a laundry listing of content material, Across the Nook has just one or two alternatives. For every choose, I write a number of paragraphs to convey why I included it.
Whereas designed to tell, educate, and typically entertain my subscribers, the Content material Nook publication additionally options many features of my model, from my writing and perspective to my style and experience.
It’s a wonderful 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 purchasers create e mail newsletters. Seeing my private publication in motion helped them perceive how I’d assist.
What I’d have accomplished in another way after I began the publication:
- Centered on high quality over amount with curated content material
- Employed a graphic designer to assist with the emblem and HTML template
- Discovered extra methods to develop my subscriber listing
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 type of factor. For me, it’s ingrained in nearly every thing 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 type of factor, says @DShiao through @CMIContent. #PersonalBranding Click on To Tweet
In my full-time roles, my private model gave me extra visibility in my business and made me simpler at my job. Now that I’m a advertising and marketing guide, my private model makes it simple for brand spanking new purchasers to search out me. It’s content material advertising and marketing for me, and it really works.
Up to date Jan. 23, 2023
HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:
Cowl picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content material Advertising Institute
