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I Have A Secret… Content Is Not King
DANGER: Extreme rant ahead. Proceed with caution!
*START RANT*
Is content king? I think that’s overrated.
The way I see it…
Marketing is king.
Let me throw some examples first:
Case 1: Coca Cola vs Pepsi
Since 1975, Pepsi has been running “The Pepsi Challenge” wherein they hand 2 blank cups to bystanders in malls – one containing Pepsi and the other one, Coke, and then they’d ask which tastes better.
The result? Pepsi topped the challenge.
But Coca Cola is still the number one soft drink. Why? Advertising.
Case 2: Problogger.net
It’s widely accepted that Darren is the #1 blogger who blogs about how to make money blogging (And I amen to that) but does Darren give “the” best content about blogging to make money? I’m not saying that Darren’s content sucks, Darren gives high octane info. But does he give the best content around the blogosphere?
Of course not, there are a lot of bloggers out there who give hard core advice on blogging but they’re unnoticed. Why? Because they didn’t market themselves enough. They haven’t positioned themselves properly. Darren positioned himself as THE Problogger.
Case 3: McDonalds
Let’s face it.
They don’t have the best tasting burgers.
They don’t have the best tasting french fries.
But they do know where to put their branches.
One of my dad’s MBA teachers once said “McDonalds is not in the fast food business, they’re in the real estate business.”
Content is just a part of marketing
I personally believe, and the way I apply it to my business, content – is just part of marketing.
There are a lot of people out there who are topping the charts but are not really “the” best or don’t really posses the best skills – but they know how to market themselves.
Another quick example: Bruce Lee, not the strongest, not the quickest but the most popular martial artist ever.
There are a lot of people too who have “the” best content, but are unknown.
Of course, I’m not saying that you should just put all your efforts into marketing – again, content is part of marketing – you have to deliver.
Not necessarily the best content, but “good enough” content to keep them coming back.
So in conclusion: Marketing is king.
*PHEW! END RANT*
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76 Comments Add yours
August 27, 2009
3:41 am #comment-1
Yeah carl, this is so true. There are so many bloggers out there that injects a lot of useful information to their readers but doesn’t get the attention that they deserve. They should learn how to “sell”. Sell themselves to the public. ^-^
September 25, 2009
9:21 am #comment-2
Exactly! It’s useless to provide good content to a non-existant audience.
Carl made some very good points here.
Content is important, that’s true…
BUT
If you don’t market your business operations wisely, then they will be pretty much useless :/
August 18, 2010
10:14 pm #comment-3
this is such a great info, thanks carl..you are so smart…why not try to take online surveys..?
August 23, 2010
7:14 pm #comment-4
whatever you react regarding this post..it is the author who knows how to succeed..carl is just sharing information, and believe it or not..he makes money even without good quality content..i got your point carl..marketing is the best way to make money online..even if you have good content but no one knows it..it seems non sense..thanks to this idea carl..
August 27, 2009
4:00 am #comment-5
No one seems to approve to this since many bloggers are blogging their heart out and then all of a sudden you talk about content is not king. Very passionate bloggers may disapprove to this but this is what I’m sure of, Carl got to the top knowing this. Good (not best) content + (not good) Best marketing = Top 1 Page Ranking! ^_^
August 27, 2009
10:39 pm #comment-6
You really did a good job Carl. You inspire me a lot. I tried my best to feed my blog with quality contents I knew. But it is enough to gather traffic.
I agree with you Carl. It makes me feel that you need to be intelligent as a blogger but a wise blogger that markets his content to be on public.
Thank you for your inspiring article…
- BloggerGuidez
August 28, 2009
6:59 pm #comment-7
Really really great examples. That is the SAME thing that I have been emphasizing to my readers, that content isnt everything. There is a whole lot of good blogs that are left unnoticed and thats because of lack of marketing or not doing it properly..
Really great writeup carl..
September 18, 2009
4:52 pm #comment-8
Thanks Melvin :)
August 28, 2009
10:22 pm #comment-9
Carl,
Marketing is king but if you don’t give your visitors and email subscribers some good content here and there, you will not do as well as you want to do in terms of making money.
Great article man,
Tal
August 29, 2009
8:05 am #comment-10
You’re just a little child to know what is the important what is not.
I don’t mean your post sucks but why don’t you think how can that people and products can get a returning visitors and buyers?
How? It’s content.
August 29, 2009
10:39 pm #comment-11
I’d say
Content is king to make visitors return to your site. To make a loyal readers group.
And marketing is king to promote yourself.
Both terms are a MUST nowadays.
Good post Carl :)
September 4, 2009
11:49 am #comment-12
Carl. I love you man!
No no no. Carl is right. Marketing is king. You must think marketing first. Content first is a trap! It’s easy to slip into… If you put ‘content first’ you are training your readers to only expect free stuff from you. Trust me. Been there done that, then did it again, then woke up again. Train loyal customers! Train people to be loyal buyers! DO NOT train people to be loyal freebee seekers! It takes a little leap of faith to do so but that’s just what needs to be done – well, if you’re in business.
September 5, 2009
5:04 pm #comment-13
Defiantly i agree for this post you have quoted problogger in this post i accept he is not giving good tips but he is just telling that i am giving the good tips and i have read his problogger book also what’s there inside nothing no tips only few tips what we are seeing in net same tips in the book.
September 6, 2009
5:20 am #comment-14
Well, in my opinion both are kings in two different perspective, you need content to let people return and find valuable information on your site, you need marketing to let people know that you have something to show anyway nice post! Are you really 13 years old? phew! you write well boy!
September 6, 2009
5:52 am #comment-15
With so many bloggers in the world today, content WILL determine the direction the readers go. Quality content builds trust and loyalty. Believe it or not, many people do expect to get their time’s worth when surfing. Marketing is key but content is the foundation. Good controversial article.
September 7, 2009
2:33 am #comment-16
Without promotion or marketing, good content can still be king… but it will take you a damn long time. By then, you may already be a dying king. :P
September 9, 2009
6:46 pm #comment-17
I tend to believe that charisma is king. We want to follow charismatic persons, not just reading good content.
September 11, 2009
7:54 am #comment-18
I look at it as all a balance when planning my time. On the web it is very easy to get traffic with good content. This is why I see content as important. But if you have content and can’t sell or oversell good luck to you. You won’t be the next Coca Cola!
September 11, 2009
6:17 pm #comment-19
It”s all the brand, it’s all about marketing, it’s all about advertising. Indeed, blogging is more than content.
September 12, 2009
2:37 am #comment-20
Marketing is king but if your content sucks, not much point in spending a lot of effort in marketing. So you have to start somewhere and with most bloggers, content is what gets people’s attention. How well you market, however, does determine how successful you will be. So I agree with part of that argument.
Very good points, Carl but McDonalds DOES have the best fries. Sorry! ;)
August 18, 2010
10:13 pm #comment-21
Thank you carl for this information, i start blogging , i am making money with less effort..hehehe..I love Lisa’s website anyway http://2createawebsite.com
September 12, 2009
9:48 am #comment-22
Man I just love this line ““McDonalds is not in the fast food business, they’re in the real estate business.”. when it comes to blogging, not beats personality and connecting with readers by making them feel they are part of your life.
Cheers
Chris
September 12, 2009
1:32 pm #comment-23
I was sold on the last part. Content is really just a part of marketing. Great post. With good content, people will recommend you to their friends. Thus, you have the best form of marketing which is word-of-mouth.
With the correct mix of flash and substance, you’re sure to have a winner.
September 12, 2009
4:33 pm #comment-24
Well written, I agree too that Marketing is needed but you need a good content too. The way I see it, Marketing and Content are equally important.
September 14, 2009
4:39 am #comment-25
You know what? Amen to that.
September 14, 2009
10:37 am #comment-26
I completely agree with this post. Great stuff man. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
September 17, 2009
7:15 am #comment-27
maybe we can conclude that marketing is the king but the content is the queen ;)
September 21, 2009
11:52 pm #comment-28
Or we can put it this way, like the game of chess Marketing is King and the content is the opening, the strategy and tactics on how to win the game ;)
September 17, 2009
5:15 pm #comment-29
I agree partially. I feel that it’s essential to see as something that comes in group package, in which it can’t be either or kinda situation. It’s about being the overall superpower in combination. In case of blogging, combination of content, marketing, seo & look. I hope it’s applicable in your case studies too. I think so.
September 17, 2009
10:35 pm #comment-30
heheh… you’re right carlo… as you said, content is the part, but marketing is the king.
September 18, 2009
1:37 am #comment-31
100% true. content is only a part of professional blogging but marketing is a heart of professional blogging. If you have a product but don’t know how to sell it then nobody will buy it. One more thing, if you are blogging but do not promoting any products then your blog is incomplete.
September 19, 2009
9:07 am #comment-32
Great debating post Carl. However, the ones that you’ve made as an example are products that are really good. This products market themselves as people have different taste. You can’t contrast these products with each other as they rule based on what consumers want. Also, you can’t compare and contrast this one to blogging as basically, people on the internet who rely on blogs to get free information are certainly looking for something that is good and that is “good content”. it is important that you have something good to market as it will end up with sales.
Yeah! i know you are a great blogger, i couldn’t more agree with that. But i wanna ask you this. How did you all started and make it this far? isn’t it because of the good contents that you market? No matter how great you market your blog if you’re blog is a crap then all your marketing efforts will be wasted. Its human nature, people look for something good. Therefore, content is king and marketing is queen. This two should go along with each other.
September 19, 2009
11:16 am #comment-33
Marketing is very important, maybe good content is part of make marketing more easier and get success.
September 20, 2009
10:30 pm #comment-34
I agree. :D My content sucks but I have lots for friends.. nyok. :D
I saw u sa wordcamp, pero nahihiya akong lumapit sayo. Too bad… di kinaya ng powers ko makipag kilala sayo personally. :D
Hoping to see you sa future events to come! :D
September 21, 2009
10:42 am #comment-35
this is a great post carl. very well explained. Now I see the difference and importance of marketing. for me, you’re right carl in comparing these products. they are a good examples in explaining your viewpoints. it doesn’t matter if it’s king or queen, what we know is they are both important. Cheers!
September 22, 2009
12:03 am #comment-36
Nice article Carl! That struck me a lot coz I am really ensuring that every article that I publish is definitely of quality. However, I lack the marketing skills. I envy those who doesn’t have very nice content yet they earn so much money online.
September 22, 2009
11:53 am #comment-37
Your conclusion is quite true and I do absolutely agree with you Carl. Marketing is really the King, no matter how good your content is, if we don’t know how to market it, then its useless. However, content is also important on the other hand.
September 22, 2009
12:22 pm #comment-38
That is ENTERTAINING writing. Couldn’t agree with you more….
September 22, 2009
1:26 pm #comment-39
This article is cleverly written! Hands-down…
It`s always been great to be involved in this conversation – really got me thinking. It`s also interesting to note that we would not have been able to have this chat if we hadn`t had a provocative bit of content to talk about in the first place.
September 23, 2009
10:40 am #comment-40
I totally agree with you..
This post is not the best article around blogspehere but you have market yourself..
Marketing is the power
September 24, 2009
12:12 am #comment-41
Carl is correct… I have excellent content…but very little traffic…
I am start to focus on marketing nowadays….
By the way, go buy his theme…
it’s super SEO friendly… and help you rank fast..
go get his bonce as well…very valuable…
checkout example theme layout at my blog P90X Workout
September 24, 2009
10:54 am #comment-42
This article will change the concept of content.Nice post carlo.
September 25, 2009
4:11 am #comment-43
So so true, not to echo everyone else but you can have a really crappy blog but if its marketed right that guys making more money than you are even though you may have better content. Now the key is learning the tricks of blog marketing. Great read as normal Carl – Good job.
September 29, 2009
1:37 am #comment-44
Success equals a combination of both. Marketing brings you the traffic, good content keeps them coming back. Funny enough, it’s the great content that gets them talking = word of mouth = powerful marketing.
September 30, 2009
2:05 pm #comment-45
Content still will always be the king, its both powerful and versatile. Though if you don’t get the words of the site out through marketing, people wont see the site ( the world to come to your door) and wont be able to read the unique content in it and therefore won’t attract the natural links.
Links help build traffic, unique content maintains it!
So content is currently the best way to get links, but if the purpose of your content is to acquire links, then it is just yet another tool to acquire the currency of SEO – links.
October 1, 2009
4:31 pm #comment-46
Yeah this is true, this is exactly why there are a lot shit products in internet marketing today. For cryin out loud there are bunch of hyped up products in the internet marketing niche that are being spammed every freakin day!
REAL VALUE as opposed to inflated or Higher Perceived Value (as the gurus say) is extremely hard to find especially in the IM niche. Gurus bomb you with their NLP(Neuro linguistic programming) just to sell shitty products that has been regurgitated over and over again. I read about 2 or 3 products that are being sold for $2000 but you can get the same content for $97 or even free somewhere. Most content are just rehashed crap that has been repackaged to a prettier box that happen to cost thousands of dollars.
At the end of the day, you could ask yourself these two questions:
1. Do You Really Want to give really valuable content to your cutomer?
or
2. Do You Just Want to Walk away with their money with your “Good Enough” Content to keep them coming back?
Just my two cents.
October 2, 2009
1:55 am #comment-47
I think you nailed it. I love the comment about McDonalds is in real estate, and it’s so true.
People seem to spout off that content is king left and right, but i just can’t agree. If you don’t market no one will ever see that content. Without inbound links, no one will see your site. Without having some amount of SEO, search engines will never direct traffic your way. When you look at the big picture, marketing is where it’s at!
October 3, 2009
1:20 pm #comment-48
hello carl, I shared This post to Selaplana Post, And this is what he said.. :D
“if you are simply blogging not marketing a particular product, then your main product is your content. In other words, content is not marketing although the content is the one you are marketing to your target visitors.
You can only say that Marketing is King if you are marketing certain product not your blog’s content and that you are just using your blog’s content in marketing that certain product.
However, if you are simply blogging like me, teaching people on how to do something… Then Content is the King… and that Content is not part of Marketing but your main product that you are marketing.
#
SELaplana says:
October 3, 2009 at 8:38 am
Before you conclude that your blog’s content is just part of marketing (marketing is King) you should first ask your self: What I am marketing here. Am I marketing certain product? Or Am I marketing my blog’s content.
If you’d realized that you are actually marketing or promoting your blog’s content, then your content is your main product. But if you’d realize that you’re actually using your blog’s content in promoting certain product, or promoting your own, …. or whatever, then content is not king because it is just part of your “marketing.”..”
October 4, 2009
8:56 am #comment-49
I agree with your post, carl! I would love to see you speak soon about making money online and yes, discuss more on why content is NOT king :D
October 13, 2009
11:29 am #comment-50
I was already convinced, but that was really cool. Thanks for the article, very helpful. I will study it.
October 16, 2009
4:27 am #comment-51
Question, what if I own top level domains like .edu and .gov, who would like to pay for linking to my sites
October 17, 2009
12:47 am #comment-52
Great article with good examples.
谢谢。
October 20, 2009
8:59 pm #comment-53
Awesome, DUDE..!!!!!!!!!!! Its sooo freaking true..!! Wow, you’re smart. ;)
October 27, 2009
8:58 pm #comment-54
So is content queen?
November 9, 2009
10:19 pm #comment-55
I think that it’s a case of striking a balance between the two. I appreciate the examples you’ve given, and they do illustrate your point. But if you were, for instance, to set up a site with shoddy content, and market it like crazy until it hypothetically reached No1, it wouldn’t take long for your visitors to grow tiered of reading the less than inspiring blurb and click off to find a less marketed, more authoritative site that they can actually learn from. However as you said, having great content but no visitors due to lack of marketing, is much worse when it comes to moneterization.
November 12, 2009
8:21 am #comment-56
agree..marketing is number 1, is more importants than other. without marketing no meaning the bast contents
November 17, 2009
9:42 pm #comment-57
Carl posts are as interesting as always. Marketing is king! What to market? Content!
November 30, 2009
11:16 am #comment-58
Can somebody please clarify what particular activity in the blogging process constitute as “marketing”… the way i see it, content is a given, is there any blog out there with no content? My point exactly. But marketing… ah… that is an entirely different thing. I can make a blog without marketing it, but if I want to make money out of my blog marketing comes to play…
Marketing is king if you want to make money!!!
Carl, how do you market? I’m interested the get the DL on that…
November 30, 2009
9:43 pm #comment-59
Great argument.
Maybe i can safely say Marketing is King and Content is Queen!
December 24, 2009
12:49 pm #comment-60
“Content is king.”
It sounds good in principle. Produce a truly great piece of content, and you’ll get all the links you could ever hope for.
Maybe it worked too, several years ago. The Web used to be a fairly quiet place compared to what it is now, and it was easier for people to notice great blog posts.
But not anymore.
Now great is no longer good enough. The Web is full of so much remarkable content that bloggers don’t have enough time to read it all, much less link to it.
If you want links now, you need to be more than great. You need to be connected.
http://arthur-internetmarketing-guide.blogspot.com/2009/12/is-content-really-king.html#more
March 9, 2010
12:40 am #comment-61
At some points I agree with you and content is not everything. But what about a product with very good marketing and poor quality. My point is that in the end all that matters is ‘content’ itself.
Anyway, as you said, it may be overrating to refer content as the king. But for better marketing content is inevitable.
But I think it will be overrating to refer Marketing as King as well.
March 9, 2010
1:32 pm #comment-62
A product/blog with great content and no marketing will never be successful. Anyway a site with only marketing with no content will not be succesful either.
Content may not be King, nor the Marketing as well.
But in the end the thing that matters is Content itself. It is the quality of the content that makes it sticky and worth using again and again.
A product with great content will also gets marketed by their own customers, i.e. customers recommend it to others!
May 30, 2010
9:16 pm #comment-63
I agree because from what i understand, marketing and content should be good, but marketing is the King. Not to down grade content but you can’t have two kings on the throne. Of course the queen matters but she still has to subject to the king. But we know when it comes down to carrying out a decleration, the queen influence the king. I like this post. It is a fact and not an opinion.
Good stuff-keep it coming!
June 1, 2010
4:06 pm #comment-64
I second that too! Marketing is king. Very interesting discussion on McDonalds! They’re like everywhere I go haha.. Thanks for sharing your opinion with us!
June 6, 2010
6:56 pm #comment-65
i think you just proved yourself wrong… because i like this content… LOL
June 13, 2010
5:22 am #comment-66
Hi carl,Content is not king??it is true?In my opinion traffic is also important to grow up our blog
June 23, 2010
3:48 pm #comment-67
I agree with this, I’m not fan of Mcdonalds after all, they have products that taste great but not all of them really sells great and it cost higher than other competing companies here in the Philippines.
I agree with this topic, content is only a part of marketing but on how you promote your blog and generate traffic will be the most important of marketing.
June 30, 2010
3:15 pm #comment-68
I know exactly where you are coming from but I still think that content can go a long way. There’s no doubt that someone who knows how to market the hell out of their content as opposed to someone who focuses solely on content will probably gain more exposure in the end, though.
July 4, 2010
1:17 am #comment-69
ha ha ,well said carl ,mad me laugh very well,well marketing outside and here can i refer to good + perfect SEO can do the job ,google can make u as popular as McDonalds !
July 20, 2010
1:59 pm #comment-70
imagine you believe you have a superior product but your brand name is unknown to the would be buyers. you are sure that they will keep on coming back once they try your produce.
then you try to sell your product by getting a space in a big mall known of high foot traffic, unfortunately the location that you can afford is at the corner dead end. you know that there is less foot traffic. you need to get their attention!!
now, what method of attack will you employ to get the attention of would be buyers? Freeb!es!! i think this is what everymarketeer is doing now : )
August 14, 2010
9:03 am #comment-71
Maybe content is still king. Look at all the comments on this article (content) :)
August 16, 2010
9:58 pm #comment-72
I think content and marketing should be adjust on every blog.
August 20, 2010
7:48 am #comment-73
Short sharp and snappy – I like it… It is always a difficult choice when deciding about time and money spent – more time on content or more money and time on marketing.. finding a good balance to make sure you have enough meaningful and inspiring content to keep people once you have marketed to them is the key…
And that seems like a working progress..
Thanks you are a whiz and look forward to hearing more from you..
Charlie
August 22, 2010
7:18 am #comment-74
Of course you are right but because my line of work involves selling content, I have to market it in a way that will make people believe that it is king. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to sell anything. :)
August 23, 2010
7:10 pm #comment-75
Blogging is no doubt among most effective approaches to generate funds by laying at family home. All you desire is a computer with a Connection to the internet. Companies like blogger.com and WordPress.com are popping up to teach you establish a website for cost-free. The biggest gain of a weblog among normal webpges is that it’s without delay obtainable. You are allowed to combine, alter or clear away your content as you wish. Often, a independent software is downloaded on your laptop or computer which you can work with to manage your article more readily and promptly.
August 28, 2010
3:33 am #comment-76
I agree with you. Content is not king.. Marketing is King.. and The good Marketing Online is SEO