Associations regularly censor expert’s voices.
Like associations, there are companies who market with their content and as a result have a trove of information that could be useful to your audience. Their expertise is in a niche area and if properly packaged could be a valuable offering. But, associations don’t want to hear from them.
Associations only want their money. This group of experts has been labeled, it’s their scarlet letter A. Their expertise is untapped, their good ideas are not received. A in this case stands for Advertisers.
In driving retention, associations prove their value again each day by delivering useful information that is targeted to their member segments through many mediums and channels. According to the Content Marketing Institute, the #1 challenge for companies that are actively marketing using content is creating engaging content. Following close behind that is creating enough content. So, why would any group’s ‘voice’ be censored?
In the 90s, attempts to grab more advertising dollars in the form of advertorials fell flat. An idea with promise, but perhaps it was before its time. You might remember those useless ad pages where companies offered information all about themselves with their own ad on the facing page. Only the publisher’s bank account benefited and most advertisers would tell you that those advertorials didn’t deliver more buyers for them. But today, these companies have content at the ready and a request for information could turn up some incredible finds.
These experts, your advertisers, can help you with your content goals. If your audience is corporate counsel and self-employed lawyers, then they probably have some interest in ediscovery. And you probably have companies who are experts in that area as advertisers or sponsors. eDiscovery is a field that is rapidly evolving because of the ever-increasing preference for digital documents and technology making it easier to convert, search, organize, and archive, but it might not be a topic that a lawyer may go searching to read about unless they were in immediate need. But content topics like these, if properly packaged and delivered to your audience, could offer insight and likely be valuable.
Since the ediscovery field is changing so rapidly, predictions about the future of ediscovery and how that new landscape is going to reshape how law firms undertake discovery might grab attention even if an attorney wasn’t actively searching for an ediscovery provider. I smell an ebook! In three days it could be up on your site for FREE download! And, yes, you could even sell ads in it, if you are still stuck thinking that this group’s sole purpose is to pay you to offer value to your audience.
But this might be a time when the fast buck doesn’t get you as much as the patient money approach. If there is no barrier to entry beyond quality, you’ll end up with a better ebook and you might find that they start developing content ideas for you. For free. Now you’ve got a free content team working for you to solve your #1 and #2 content marketing challenge.
Don’t censor their voices. Monetize them (but not in the old way)!
