It’s a difficult time for entrepreneurs. Each day appears to deliver 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 not too long ago. I additionally understand how discouraging and anxious that feels.
In November 2008, I learn a weblog submit from David Meerman Scott referred to 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.
After I obtained dwelling that day, I instantly reread David’s submit.
I can distill the takeaway into two sentences:
Wish to discover a new job? Cease pondering like a product advertiser and begin pondering like a writer.
In search of a job? Suppose 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 government at Microsoft. She didn’t use standard strategies for sourcing and hiring candidates. As a substitute, she searched the net for potential workers. As David concluded, “So when you’re not publishing, you gained’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 hundreds of attendees. These corporations noticed digital occasions as the subsequent period of on-line lead era.
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 straight away. A vendor of my earlier employer employed me as a consumer companies government 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 group. We knew you had expertise with digital occasions, however we had no concept you knew this a lot. We’re so impressed.”
I stored running a blog. In the course of the first months, a reader requested to speak. Within the name, he stated, “You understand, in final week’s submit, you shared some concepts about digital occasions that actually obtained me pondering.”
My inside voice stated, “Wow! Not solely did he learn my submit, but it surely’s serving to him plan digital occasions at his firm.”
The optimistic reinforcement gave me the inspiration and need to proceed writing.
I discovered a constant publishing schedule for my weblog was important. I printed one submit per week from 2009 to 2012. I wrote the submit in a Microsoft Phrase doc, staged it in WordPress, and scheduled it to be printed 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 crucial, says @DShiao through @CMIContent. #PersonalBranding Click on To Tweet
The weekly cadence of publishing helped me set up myself as an professional on digital occasions. I used to be invited to writer visitor articles and communicate at business conferences. I assembled posts into PDF guides and even self-published a ebook, Generate Gross sales Leads With Digital Occasions.
I may see the fruit of David Meerman Scott’s recommendation to be a “writer of knowledge.”
What I’d have executed in another way once I began the private 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 repeatedly, 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 lively, however I plan to spend extra time on LinkedIn. (I’m additionally prioritizing old style 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 folks that I don’t take life too severely. I need folks to think about me as helpful and participating. My final purpose 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 need folks to think about me as [ADJECTIVE] and [ADJECTIVE]. My final purpose 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 avoided 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 means, they provide you a chance to share your experience in entrance of a captive viewers.
In content material advertising and marketing, two widespread chats are Erika Heald’s #ContentChat (Mondays) and CMI’s #CMWorld (the primary Tuesday of the month).
What I’d have executed in another way in my early Twitter days:
- Adopted others extra as they adopted me
- Targeted 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 purpose was easy – to deliver collectively entrepreneurs to study 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.
Primarily based on enter from members, I broadened our mission, altering the identify to Bay Space Content material Advertising and marketing Meetup. In-person gatherings comply with the identical format: half-hour of networking and pizza, adopted by a 60-minute professional 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 all around 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 and marketing 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 executed once I began a meetup:
- Requested for assist earlier – I did every part on my own to start with
- Requested presenters to advertise the meetup to their networks
- Experimented extra with paid promoting
- Gained extra monetary flexibility by promoting extra sponsorships
Sending an electronic mail e-newsletter
After I thought I would expertise a second layoff, I launched an electronic mail e-newsletter. I preferred the thought of constructing an electronic mail listing, an viewers with whom I may share my ideas and experience.
I additionally wished to advertise our upcoming meetups additional. The Meetup platform permits me to ship a message to the group; nonetheless, the system doesn’t present me with electronic mail addresses. I created a free account on Mailchimp and referred to as my e-newsletter Content material Nook. I requested meetup members in the event that they wished to subscribe and manually added them to the listing.
The e-newsletter comes out each different Friday and consists of these sections:
- Introduction
- Across the Nook (curated content material)
- Subsequent Meetup
- Twitter Nook (one Twitter person function)
- 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 worthwhile. I’ve turn into fairly selective. As a substitute of publishing a laundry listing of content material, Across the Nook has just one or two alternatives. For every decide, 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 e-newsletter additionally options many features of my model, from my writing and perspective to my style and experience.
It’s a wonderful automobile for amplifying my private model. When one consumer was pondering of hiring me, this electronic mail e-newsletter clinched the deal. I’ve helped a couple of purchasers create electronic mail newsletters. Seeing my private e-newsletter in motion helped them perceive how I would assist.
What I’d have executed in another way once I began the e-newsletter:
- Targeted 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 form of factor. For me, it’s ingrained in nearly every part I do on-line: publishing articles, organizing meetups, tweeting with others, sending my electronic mail e-newsletter, and so on.
Managing your private model just isn’t a one-time, spring cleansing form 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 advisor, my private model makes it simple for brand 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
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Cowl picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content material Advertising and marketing Institute
