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Part 1

Starting the Journey

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

ANNE FRANK

To be successful at launching the Content Inc. model, we need to get our goals and plans in the right place. Let’s get started!

Chapter 1

Beginning with the End in Mind

Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor.

BRIAN TRACY

I went through a fairly long period of not feeling successful, though in hindsight it’s more accurate to say that I didn’t really know what success was.

I graduated from Bowling Green State University (just south of Toledo, Ohio) with a degree in interpersonal communications. My major had been “undecided,” until the beginning of my junior year. The only reason I chose interpersonal communications is that it was the only degree I could pursue that would allow me to graduate on time.

As I came close to graduation, I felt like sports marketing was something I’d be good at. I was lucky enough to get an internship with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the professional basketball team, after graduation. But after finding out that all the money went to the players (the operations team works very long hours for very little pay), I decided to go to graduate school.

With two weeks left before fall semester, someone dropped out of the teaching assistantship program at Penn State University, leaving an opening for yours truly. I taught four semesters of public speaking and ended up with a master’s degree in communications.

Overeducated and underexperienced, I traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, to find a job. After sending out seemingly hundreds of résumés with no luck, I took the master’s degree off my résumé and started to do temp work. After a few monthlong work engagements, I landed a full-time job at an insurance company working on internal communications projects.

Shortly after starting my new job, I read the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It made a huge impact on how I defined success and what I really wanted to do with my life. Though I read the entire book, cover to cover, there was one powerful passage I felt particularly compelled to remember: Opportunity has spread its wares before you. Step up to the front, select what you want, create your plan, put the plan into action, and follow through with persistence.

It was then that I started to set goals for my life.

Next, I read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. The second habit listed is “Begin with the End in Mind,” which means: To begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen.

It was then that I started to write down my goals for the first time.

After three years and a few promotions at the insurance company, I left for a new opportunity at Penton Media, the largest independent business-to-business media company in North America. It was there that I expanded on my education, learning the world of media communication, marketing communications, and corporate content creation. It was at Penton where I learned the power of listening to an audience and became familiar with the various business models that made media companies work.

In March 2007 I decided to leave Penton Media (where I was vice president of custom media) primarily because I didn’t feel I had any real influence over the direction of the company (one of my written goals was to have influence at whatever job I was currently in). So I left and started what was to become the Content Marketing Institute.

In that same year, research conducted by Dr. Gail Matthews from Dominican University of California showed that people who wrote down their goals, shared with a friend, and sent weekly updates to that friend were on average 33 percent more successful in accomplishing their stated goals than those who merely formulated goals.

So I started to share my goals with others; but more importantly, I reviewed those goals on a daily basis. That’s right—every day I would read my goals, making sure I was staying on track.

A few years later, after reading the book The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone, I separated my goals into the following six categories: Financial goals

Family goals

Spiritual goals

Mental goals

Physical goals

Philanthropic goals

The difference in the direction my life took from that point on is beyond remarkable to me.

TWO ACTIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON A CONTENT INC. APPROACH

I’ve been blessed with more than my fair share of fortune for many years, but in thinking back, I’ve found that those two daily behaviors I mentioned have likely made all the difference: writing down my goals and consistently reviewing those goals.

Why am I telling you this, and what does it have to do with content marketing and this book? Well, in this case, everything.

Every year, Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs release an annual benchmark study on the state of content marketing in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia (see http://cmi.media/CI-research for the full study).

Upon getting the initial results of the latest study, we looked deep into the data to see if we could determine what differentiates the great content marketers (those who state they are effective with content marketing) from everyone else. While many characteristics came to the surface, we only found two critical differentiators. Great content marketers do two things differently from the rest They document their content marketing strategy in some way (written, electronic, etc.) (see Figure 1.1).

They review and consistently refer to the plan on a regular basis.

Figure 1.1 Elite content marketing organizations have a habit of writing down their plans and documenting their strategy.

Source: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs

So, of all the characteristics we looked at, these two actions made the most difference in determining content marketing success. It seems so simple, but the fact is that few marketers are doing these two things consistently.

From a personal perspective, these are the same two actions that made all the difference in my life’s successes, both personally and professionally.

DO THIS FIRST

Yes, this book is filled with actionable items on how to develop and execute your own Content Inc. initiative; but without setting direction for your life, what good will it do?

I’ve seen so many smart entrepreneurs start with a business idea they think will change the world, only to fail many months later by not having their priorities straight.

Your work begins now. Before you embark on this journey with me, you need to get your six goal areas in order. Here’s how to do it. Under each area, list at least two actionable goals with specific numbers and timetables. It doesn’t have to be perfect. The goals will change on an ongoing basis as you learn more about yourself. And most likely, if you are reading this book, those “career” goals may not be ready for show yet. No worries … you can fill certain areas in as you delve into the book.

Content Inc. Tip

Try using Evernote to keep track of your goals so you can keep them with you at all times, whether you are on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. If that doesn’t feel right, just use a traditional Moleskine notebook and keep it with you at all times.

Content Inc. in Action

My Six Goal Areas

Financial

I own companies that I can control at a distance and have great people working for me.

1.

2.

3.

Family

I have healthy children who believe they can accomplish anything.

1.

2.

3.

Spiritual

I pray every evening with my family.

1.

2.

3.

Mental

I read one book per month on something non–business related.

1.

2.

3.

Physical

I run three times per week and compete in two half-marathons per year.

1.

2.

3.

Philanthropic

I have helped turn Cleveland, Ohio, into a vibrant city.

1.

2.

3.

What You Are Risking with a Content Inc. Approach

When I left my “real job” to start a business, countless friends and family members voiced their concerns.

“Are you sure you want to take that big a risk and leave a secure job?” The question was understandable. I had a young family with two small kids. Heck, even my friends who were entrepreneurs and business owners questioned my move from a six-figure salary and solid benefit package.

The problem was, as “cushy” as some may have thought my position to be, I didn’t have much say in how the company was run. I had virtually no control over what the company did or did not do. I’m not sure if my position was at risk, but my job seemed awfully risky, benefits and all.

What Can You Control?

If you’ve ever read any of Robert Kiyosaki’s books (from Rich Dad series fame), you may see risk a bit differently than most. Here’s an overview of Mr. Kiyosaki’s thinking: If you cannot make a phone call or send an e-mail that will directly influence how a company is run, then investing in that company is like gambling at the casino.

I have investments in the stock market. I own stock in Facebook, Google, Electronic Arts, and others. But to be honest, since I cannot call the CEOs of these companies to influence change, these investments are risky to me personally. For whatever you think about investing in stocks, if you have no control over what decisions are made, you are just playing the odds that some companies, for whatever reason, may perform better over time and increase in value.

Is Starting a Business Riskier than Taking a Steady Job?

During a phone interview in early 2015, a reporter made the comment to me, “You really took a risk by leaving your job and launching a new concept.” My response was something like this:

Yes, at first it seemed like I was risking a lot. But in hindsight, I made the safest move possible. Over the time I’ve been an entrepreneur, many of my friends lost their jobs. A number of my well-respected and incredibly smart teacher friends sweated nights and weekends hoping their levy would pass so they could keep their jobs. Amazingly talented people I know who write, draw, construct, design, and more for other people have been struggling to find a “steady job” to support their families. But in taking control of as much of my life as possible, I believe my move was the least risky of all.

I honor and respect what many of my family members and friends do for a living. What they do helps so many people in many different ways. But I also worry about their livelihood.

While 2014 was an amazing year for many of my friends and colleagues, a good number of my “corporate friends” lost their jobs in downsizing and restructuring efforts.

Taking Control Back

Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur or take a Content Inc. approach. It requires a unique combination of passion, vision, perseverance, patience, and blind belief in yourself to become a success. But I believe we have to start thinking differently about how the seemingly safe choices we make are actually incredibly risky. Some questions to consider: • In your current situation, do you have enough control to help set the direction of the business? Will the CEO or business leader take a meeting from you and actually listen?

• What can you do in your current role to start to win over that influence?

• Are you investing in assets that you have some say in (e.g., real estate or investments in companies and individuals), or are you investing all your money into “good bets” (e.g., the stock market)?

For whatever reason, we’ve been lulled into thinking that certain things are safe and certain things are risky. I believe the majority of human beings are living with blinders on to this fact. My hope is that you start to look at your current job, your career, and your investments a bit differently.

So many things in life we have no control over … for those few things we do have control over, we need to grab it and run.

AS YOU BUILD …

As you move into building a Content Inc. model, there are two critical things to start thinking about. The first is what the legal entity for the business should be. In our U.S. examples, it seems the most popular legal model is the creation of an LLC (limited liability company) taxed as an S corporation (see a professional legal consultant for advice on your situation). The second is hiring a virtual assistant. If you are going to make Content Inc. work for you, you need to be focused on the business. Offloading calls and scheduling to someone else is not a “nice-to-have,” but critical. Two resources to check out are Chris Ducker (http://cmi.media/CI-virtualstaff) and Jess Ostroff (http://cmi.media/CI-dontpanic), who both offer highly recommended virtual assistant services.

CONTENT INC. INSIGHTS

Before you begin your Content Inc. journey, start with why. Why are you doing this? What do you want to achieve? Visualize who you really want to be.

Write down and review your goals as often as you possibly can.

Contemplate what you are really risking in your current position. Our view of risk is heavily shaped by what others think. Try to look at your situation objectively and determine if the Content Inc. risk is worth it.