Erika Heald is the host of the weekly #ContentChat LinkedIn Live video podcast for content marketers, held Mondays at noon Pacific. As a B2B marketing consultant, she helps organizations define and execute content marketing strategies that drive business and professional growth. As a creator, and gluten-free blogger helping people discover gut-friendly farm-to-table food. She frequently speaks at B2B marketing industry events on employee brand advocacy, content strategy, customer experience, AI readiness, and social media topics. You can find her on her blogs erikaheald.com and erikasglutenfreekitchen.com.
The #ContentChat Bulletin: There are no shortcuts to trust
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Can you guess what these three intro pitches all have in common: 1) Our AI-powered traffic solution delivers engaged visitors to your site, costing significantly less than traditional paid ads. 2) Are you tired of "generic AI" spitting out robotic, soulless text that readers instantly reject? 3) You've poured months of hard work and your entire soul into your manuscript, but the reality is harsh: your book is effectively "invisible" in the vast ocean of Amazon. All three were sent to me via my website's contact us page, under the category "PR Requests", which I think we can all agree these certainly were not. To be fair, that's the first entry on my form's topic list. And I hadn't properly enabled the Business Services Pitch category until just now. These small points aside, each day, I get one or two form submissions that use this same tactic. I'm not certain that someone out there is selling a "Reach Your Prospect Using This One Weird Hack" course, or running a Solopreneur Lead Services Academy. But it certainly seems that way to me, given the sameness of these pitches and how I receive them. So, What's Wrong With This Approach? Once I know a business is ready to go all in on sketchy or annoying tactics to get in front of business owners and make a buck, I don't trust them. In fact, I assume they will use the same tactics on my potential customers, all of whom will then have the ick when they think of me. No thanks! There aren't any hacks or shortcuts to build trust with your ideal customers. Sure, shooting your shot through a contact form that routes to a company's PR response team won't land you on an email service provider's spam list. But it also won't get your message in front of the right person at the right time who wants to hire you, either. Here's the Good News for Content Marketers If you are reading this newsletter, you already understand the power of content to build lasting relationships on a foundation of trust. The more your perfect customer gets off the wall, cold pitches like these, the more they will welcome your smart, empathetic, opt-in content deliveries to their inbox. Now's the perfect time to think about how your content delivery can act as a refreshing palate cleanser, ridding your audience of the bad taste so much of today's direct marketing tends to leave lingering. For more thoughts on building a solid content foundation that scales with your business without giving customers the ick, check out the free resources on my Content Foundations book website. Coming Up on #ContentChatContent Chat is my weekly LinkedIn Live video chat focused on sharing expertise and ideas amongst the content marketing community. Join the conversation on Mondays at noon Pacific / 3 p.m. Eastern. RSVP for our upcoming conversations by clicking the chat date below to get a reminder and to access the chat.
Until next time, stay safe and be well! Cheers, Erika |
The #ContentChat Bulletin
Erika Heald is the host of the weekly #ContentChat LinkedIn Live video podcast for content marketers, held Mondays at noon Pacific. As a B2B marketing consultant, she helps organizations define and execute content marketing strategies that drive business and professional growth. As a creator, and gluten-free blogger helping people discover gut-friendly farm-to-table food. She frequently speaks at B2B marketing industry events on employee brand advocacy, content strategy, customer experience, AI readiness, and social media topics. You can find her on her blogs erikaheald.com and erikasglutenfreekitchen.com.
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