Wikipedia describes publishing as “The process of production and dissemination of literature, music, or information — the activity of making information available to the general public.”
In traditional publishing, writing of the content is the first step. Nothing happens without the author completing this step. Then the author of the content looks for a publisher to bring it to the intended audience.
Now let’s look at marketing.
Whether it is branding, PR, Direct Mail, Brochure, Booklet or any marketing activity – we must communicate information to our target market. However publishing information in the traditional way means that it is published infrequently.
In the world of publishing, the publisher does not stop with one book. The publisher continually brings out books from the same or various authors to satisfy their audience.
Why modern marketing is same as publishing
Our potential customers are not satisfied with any information. They are looking for the latest up to date information. Whether it be case studies, testimonials or an answer to a technical question, they demand the latest update. To facilitate this our marketing function is evolving in to becoming a publishing function.
What we can learn from professional publishers
- They have a plan – They have a plan to bring out regular publications to their audience.
- They have a schedule. The schedule is what dictates what content gets published and when.
- They deliver content consistently. Publishers who don’t deliver content regularly will be forgotten. Constantly publishing high quality content (books, magazines) is what keeps them on top of their game.
Why thinking like a publisher will make you better at marketing
As I alluded to before our information hungry prospects and customers (with poor attention span) will forget us quickly unless we turn up and add regular value to them. Our website has become the ‘hub’ for our marketing and the source of our publishing. Publishing high quality blogs, testimonials, case studies, FAQ’s, facebook updates, Twitter updates etc… is the only way our potential customer is attracted to us. Unless we think like a publisher, our approach will end up becoming ad-hoc.
Google is thinking along the same lines
Google in its attempt to rank content is looking at the author to publish high quality content regularly to demonstrate their expertise. This should be major part of your marketing. Google’s ranking preferences (Authorship mark up and Author ranking) are also forcing us to think like a publisher. Thinking like a publisher means planning and scheduling to deliver good quality content consistently.
Here are some hints and tips to help you
Plan
– How often to publish
– Where to publish (Your website, guest posts on other sites, offline publishing etc..)
– What to publish. Creating a system for gathering content topics.
– Who is responsible for researching, writing, editing, and promoting content
Schedule
– Create a schedule for writing
– Create a schedule for editing
– Create a schedule for publishing
– Create a schedule for promotion
Rapid changes in marketing communication demands that we demonstrate and communicate our expertise on a regular basis. It appears this is no longer an optional extra.
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