Newt Barrett
Author,Get Content, Get Customers
Mindjet sat down with Newt Barrett, co-author with Joe Pulizzi of the new book Get Content Get Customers, to talk about how customers successfully incorporate content marketing into their outreach strategies.
Mindjet: You had a long history in publishing before you ventured into the world of content marketing. What inspired this change of focus?
Newt Barrett: Actually, I didn’t really venture far – content marketing is all about publishing. The difference from traditional publishing is that businesses are becoming publishers themselves. In many cases, they bypass traditional media companies entirely and go directly to their customers. For example, Mindjet doesn’t focus as heavily on traditional advertising in business or technology publications. Why do I believe that is? Because I’ve noticed Mindjet is able to best reach their target buyers directly with their website, newsletters, social communities, and through word of mouth. In “Get Content Get Customers” we also showcase more than a dozen other companies we feel are really pioneering the way, including: ThomasNet, Best Buy, Miller Electric, Northern Trust, Rockwell Automation, Webkinz, and Fleischman Hillard.
I now find myself advising my clients to think like publishers so that they can provide content that is truly relevant and valuable to their customers. If the content they provide has intrinsic value, buyers will trust them just as they used to trust their favorite trade or consumer publication.
MJ: What, in your opinion, are the necessary factors involved in effective content marketing? What qualities kill an attempt at effective content marketing?
NB: The most important factors in creating a successful content marketing campaign are:
- Carefully define your ideal customers, who are those companies and individuals who are most likely to benefit the most from the use of your products and services.
- Develop an in-depth understanding of the major issues and problems that your target customers face.
- Create compelling, valuable, and relevant content that helps those ideal customers solve their most pressing problems.
- Make it easy for them to buy from you once you have earned their trust with your content.
But here’s what to watch out for: you will almost certainly kill your content marketing campaign if you keep interrupting your customers with old-fashioned messaging they don’t want and didn’t ask for.
MJ: Why did you decide to feature Mindjet and mapping in Get Content Get Customers?
NB: I have always loved MindManager but never thought much about the company’s use of content marketing until I began researching Get Content Get Customers. What became obvious just from observation as I explored your website and looked at past newsletter issues was that terrific content was at the heart of your marketing strategy.
But I became even more intrigued, as I got to know members or the Mindjet marketing team. They shared details of the launch of MindManager Pro 7. One element of the launch that blew me away is an awesome MindMap which also happens to be a perfect example of content marketing. Your marketing team created an elaborate map that precisely targeted a naturally cynical audience— reporters and analysts.
This map amplified the power of a straightforward news release by teaching journalists covering the MindManager Pro 7 launch how to write an article in today’s Web 2.0 world. For example, the map showed how to use an RSS feed to stay current on topics related to mapping. In fact, the map contained to live links to RSS feed tools on the Web and was full of tips on how to put MindManager to work for you.
The genius of this strategy was that it made mapping not just understandable, but truly relevant to those hard-to-impress reporters and analysts. That is great content marketing.
MJ: Any advice for prospective authors?
NB: I’d suggest finding a great co-author, as I did with Joe Pulizzi, who can share 50% of the burden, add his unique experience and perspective, and make it possible to laugh about absolutely everything— no matter how gruesome things seem at times.
Also, find a topic you’re absolutely passionate about. Then determine if sharing that passion will be meaningful to a critical mass of readers. If the answer is yes, there’s a chance all your hard work will make a positive difference in their personal and professional lives.
Finally, understand the meaning behind the saying, “When you write a book, you become an expert.” On one level, just because you write a book, lots of folks assume you’re an expert. But the real meaning is that you have to work so hard to synthesize enormous amounts of information and knowledge— and to communicate effectively— that you are forced to become an expert on the topic of the book.
Newt Barrett is President of Content Marketing Strategies, helping small and medium-sized organizations attract new customers through content marketing strategy. His new book, Get Content Get Customers, highlights both the concept of mind mapping and Mindjet as a company which practices expert content marketing. For more information and to download the summary map of the book, check out his Mindjet customer vignette.
