How To Use Content Marketing For Startups - CoSchedule

How To Use Content Marketing For Startups You’ve worked hard on your new startup. Launch day is here. Now what? Will anyone notice? Will the world be ready? What if you already had an email list of more than 5,000 engaged subscribers who were already interested in your company and product? What if you already had an audience to buy (or trial) your new thing on day one? This is exactly how we launched just a few short years ago.  We used content marketing to build a huge email list that contained thousands of potential customers who were already rooting for us when we finally opened our doors. To do it, we went  all in on content. In fact, we started creating content before we even started writing code! Heres why your #startup should be #writing blog posts before you even start writing code.Today, I want to share a bit of that story, but more importantly, I want to show you how you can use content marketing to launch and build your startup. I will outline the five key phases that we took to ensure that our product launched to a qualified audience, developed  a steady stream of new customers, and developed one of the most trafficked blogs in our industry- all using content marketing. I’ll start from the beginning and give you the step-by-step process you can use for yourself. Phase 1: Learn To Tell Your Story Startup phase = Minimum viable product; Content phase = Minimum viable blog Ever since I read Charles Duhigg’s book,  The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, I have been uniquely aware of the need for simple habits that will eventually lead to consistently correct behavior. Its a core part of how I now approach leadership and team development, and it’s exactly how I encourage people to approach content marketing. In the beginning, all you need to worry about is building the habit of publishing at least one blog post a week. That’s it. All you need to worry about is building the habit of publishing at least one blog post a week.I found that the easiest way to do this was by telling the story once a week, one blog post at a time. Each week, I would post about our progress in development, share recent product wireframes, or share a problem we were experiencing to  get our audience’s feedback. Not only was it a valuable (and easy) way to generate consistent content, but it was a great way to  gather feedback and get ideas from our potential customers. This blog post asked for survey feedback. This phase of content marketing for startups is about finding your audience  and attracting people who  may be drawn to your company or product over time. Don’t let yourself get bogged down in strategy. Think of it like finding product marketing fit for your blog. You should also be using this time to build an email list and audience by sharing your content regularly on social media. Of course, can help with this. :) If you want to see some of our first blog posts, here are a few: Weve Got A Big Job To Do How Your Feedback Influences What We Build The Minimum Viable CalendarUse this time to build an #email list by sharing your content regularly on #socialmedia.Phase 2: Transition To  Strategy Startup phase = Product market fit; Content phase = Content audience fit The second phase of content marketing for startups is to begin steering your content toward the ideas and topics that fit your startups mission and product. This phase is really  all about converting your regular publishing habit into a true inbound marketing approach where you use helpful content to build trust with your audience. Steer your #content toward the topics that fit your #startups mission and product.This phase  assumes that you have been able to identify an early form of product market fit. Now is the time to start directing your content toward their needs and testing your hypothesis. If you create content that is helpful for them, do they respond? Do they show  interest in your company and product? There are a ton of ways to actually develop your topics during this phase, but keep it simple. Keyword Explorer in Moz In the beginning, I would use Google and the recommended search phrases to find topics that I felt our users would care about. You can also use SEO specific tools like Keyword Explorer in Moz  and SEMrush (two of our favorites) to find important keywords and phrases. Buzzsumo.com can also be a big help. Again, while this stage is about shifting toward a defined strategy, don’t go overboard. Youre still learning, so you need to be agile enough to make changes if things are working. Your product may also be changing at this point, so be prepared to adapt. Be agile enough to make changes if things arent working. #startuplifeLastly, at this time, its still not about writing the 100% greatest content on earth. This is the minimum viable blog phase. Do just enough to prove your theories about what your audience wants and needs, then build on your successes. This phase is also a great time to double down on your email list building and social media promotion. This is the minimum viable blog phase. Your content doesnt have to be 100% Recommended Reading: 5 Easy Lead Conversion Tips For Your Email Marketing Program 8 Social Media Best Practices That Will Save You 25.5 Hours In A 2-Week Sprint Phase 3: Seek Help Startup phase = Hiring a team; Content phase = Hand-off content creation As a founder, I have always tried to do the job we are hiring for before we actually do the hiring. It helps me get perspective on the skills and talents a new hire needs in order to be successful to be successful.  It also helps me define the scope of the position so we don’t give someone so much to do that they can’t possibly be successful. This is exactly what you need to do in the third phase of content marketing for startups. During phase two, you are essentially proving your hypothesis- can you generate consistent traffic and build an audience with content? And what  exactly do you need to do it? Phase three is about taking those results and starting to scale them. At , this meant hiring a Content Marketing Lead and doubling down on staff that could create compelling graphics and downloads. This phase is about scaling your ability to acquire an audience. By adding a full-time team member, you will make sure the day-to-day management of your content is handed off to someone other than a founder of the team. This should improve consistency and overall content quality. Make sure your #content is consistently converting visitors into #email leads.After all, at this phase, your time available as a founder will continue to be marginalized. (That’s a good thing!) You should also use this phase as an opportunity to make sure that your content is consistently converting visitors into email leads or social media followers. Tools like OptinMonster and LeadPages  are great for this. We cover a bunch of tools that are perfect for converting leads in our post: 5 Plugins Guaranteed To Help You Collect More Leads. One word of caution: Adding new team members shouldn’t necessarily increase the amount of content you are producing. Ease into it, and use this phase to develop a consistent voice, quality standard, and working model of what things work and which things don’t. Phase 4: Get Analytical Startup phase = Optimizing your funnel; Content phase = Turning content into science Up until this phase, I recommend only tracking two metrics for your content marketing: page views and email subscribers. In the beginning, most content marketing is simply about developing an audience, bringing eyeballs to your product, and seeing what sticks. There are so many things in flux at this time, that it just doesn’t make sense to focus on anything else. But, at some point, that has to change. You have to start digging into Google Analytics to  understand  what  content is performing the best and why that is. You need to start digging into the analytics to understand what content is performing best and why.Up until now, you should have been writing about a wider variety of topics, even if it felt a little random at times. That’s good. It should give you a wide spectrum of data to consider and compare. If you have a product youre selling online, you should be looking at how your content is converting your visitors into users. Which topics covert the best? Use this data to write the  best possible content for your audience. Ask yourself which topics are converting the best? #content A good example of this phase for us was the use of the word ‘calendar’ in our blog post headlines. We found that blog topics that included the discussion of a calendar generated 2 to 3 times more interest in our product than topics that didn’t. This was a key insight for us that allowed us to convert our data into instant results by increasing the frequency of posts that included topics about editorial calendars. Build massive traffic. #startup #bloggingAnother major change that we made at during this phase was the inclusion of a free download or â€Å"cookie† with every blog post. We learned that by including a content-specific download in each of our posts, we could dramatically increase the number of email subscribers from those posts. This became a snowball effect. As our email list grew, so did our traffic and referrals on social media. The goal here is still fairly simple- build massive traffic. The only difference is that you want to start making sure it’s smart traffic, not just traffic for the sake of it. Recommended Reading: How To Increase Blog Traffic: 5 Ways To Make Contagious Content Phase 5:  Scale Startup phase = Scale; Content phase = Scale At this point you should have a small team of writers, designers, and editors dedicated to content marketing. You should be a total ace at shipping high quality content consistently and converting your visitors into loyal email subscribers. Your traffic should be growing consistently, and your influence in the industry should be skyrocketing. There’s only one problem. All of the instructions for making it happen are locked in your head. This means that you have a scaling problem. How long does it take to train in a new hire? How can you continue to execute at a high level while maintaining your obviously high bar of quality? The is the part of content marketing where you need to start writing things down. At , this included an intense series of documents that outlined our entire process. At any time, our content team would be able to reference the checklist and stay on par with our expected level of quality. Start #writing down your ideas so that you dont forget them.We stay on track with these task templates. Once we developed the checklist, we were able to convert it into a killer task template inside of . It made sure we never missed a beat  and allowed us to start taking on new challenges. Like: Developing a series of ebooks targeted at key customer pain points. Shifting our content to a stronger â€Å"demand generation† approach. Getting nerdy with spreadsheets and starting to develop a literal formula for perfect content. Increasing our content publishing schedule with confidence that it would provide the right results. Focusing entirely on content that generates demand for our tools, not just traffic. All of these sound pretty great, right? The point is that scaling allows you to grow, but it also allows you to make the leap from audience to acquisition with ease. Once you know how to build, maintain, and grow a blog audience, you can do the exact same thing with customers and your product. Of course, if you have been doing it right, your content should have been converting customers all along. I can say with confidence that our blog has also been our #1 driver of new customers. Now you can squeeze every last drop of value from the audience you’ve worked so hard to build. Recommended Reading: Heres How You Can Double Your  Blog Conversion Rate Right Now How To Create Content That Converts By Writing Your Reader Happy How To Delight Your Marketing Target Audience To Boost Conversions Go Forth And Market Your Startup Good content marketing for startups isn’t necessarily easy. It takes a ton of work, and more importantly, commitment. Its important to recognize that good content marketing is a long-term strategy and not a short-term boost in the arm. Realize that every step of the process is designed to prepare you for what’s to come just as much as it should benefit you right now. With the right perspective, content marketing should become the best investment your startup ever makes. I can tell you that without it at , we never would have made it as far as we have with it.

A Beginners Guide to Delphi Database Programming

A Beginners Guide to Delphi Database Programming About the Course: using TADOConnection Email Course Prerequisites: Delphi Programming A Beginners Guide to Delphi Programming Chapters Start with Chapter 1 : Then continue learning, this course already has more than 30 chapters ... CHAPTER 1:Fundamentals of Database Development (with Delphi)Delphi as the database programming tool, Data Access with Delphi...just a few words, Building a new MS Access database.related to this chapter! CHAPTER 2:Connecting to a database. BDE? ADO?Connecting to a database. What is the BDE? What is ADO? How to connect to an Access database - the UDL file? Looking forward: the smallest ADO example.related to this chapter! CHAPTER 3:Pictures inside a databaseDisplaying images (BMP, JPEG, ...) inside an Access database with ADO and Delphi.related to this chapter! CHAPTER 4:Data browsing and navigation Building a data browsing form - linking data components. Navigating through a recordset with a DBNavigator.related to this chapter! CHAPTER 5:Behind data in datasetsWhat is the state of data? Iterating through a recordset, bookmarking and reading the data from a database table.related to this chapter! CHAPTER 6:Data modificationsLearn how to add, insert and delete records from a database table.related to this chapter! CHAPTER 7:Queries with ADOTake a look at how you can take advantage of the TADOQuery component to boost your ADO-Delphi productivity. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 8:Data filteringUsing Filters to narrow the scope of data that is presented to the user.related to this chapter! CHAPTER 9:Searching for dataWalking through various methods of data seeking and locating while developing ADO based Delphi database applications.related to this chapter! CHAPTER 10:ADO CursorsHow ADO uses cursors as a storage and access mechanism, and what you should do to choose the best cursor for your Delphi ADO application.related to this chapter! CHAPTER 11:From Paradox to Access with ADO and DelphiFocusing on the TADOCommand components and using the SQL DDL language to help porting your BDE/Paradox data to ADO/Access.related to this chapter! CHAPTER 12:Master detail relationships How to use master-detail database relationships, with ADO and Delphi, to deal effectively with the problem of joining two database tables to present information. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 13:New...Access Database from Delphi How to create an MS Access database without the MS Access. How to create a table, add an index to an existing table, how to join two tables and set up referential integrity. No MS Access, only Pure Delphi code. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 14:Charting with Databases Introducing the TDBChart component by integrating some basic charts into a Delphi ADO based application to quickly make graphs directly for the data in recordsets without requiring any code. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 15:Lookup! See how to use lookup fields in Delphi to achieve faster, better and safer data editing. Also, find how to create a new field for a dataset and discuss some of the key lookup properties. Plus, take a look at how to place a combo box inside a DBGrid. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 16:Compacting an Access database with ADO and Delphi While working in a database application you change data in a database, the database becomes fragmented and uses more disk space than is necessary. Periodically, you can compact your database to defragment the database file. This article shows how to use JRO from Delphi in order to compact an Access database from code. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 17:Database reports with Delphi and ADO How to use QuickReport set of components to create database reports with Delphi. See how to produce database output with text, images, charts and memos - quickly and easily. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 18:Data Modules How to use the TDataModule class - central location for collecting and encapsulating DataSet and DataSource objects, their properties, events and code. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 19:Handling database errors Introducing error handling techniques in Delphi ADO database application development. Find out about global exception handling and dataset specific error events. See how to write an error logging procedure. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 20:From ADO Query to HTML How to export your data to HTML using Delphi and ADO. This is the first step in publishing your database on the Internet - see how to create a static HTML page from an ADO query. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 21:Using ADO in Delphi 3 and 4 (before AdoExpress / dbGO) How to import Active Data Objects (ADO) type-libraries in Delphi 3 and 4 to create a wrapper around components that encapsulate the functionality of ADO objects, properties and methods. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 22:Transactions in Delphi ADO database development How many times have you wanted to insert, delete or update a lot of records collectively wanting that either all of them get executed or if there is an error then none is executed at all? This article will show you how to post or undo a series of changes made to the source data in a single call. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 23:Deploying Delphi ADO database applications It is time to make your Delphi ADO database application available for others to run. Once you have created a Delphi ADO based solution, the final step is to successfully deploy it to the users computer. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 24:Delphi ADO/DB programming: Real Problems - Real Solutions In real world situations, really doing database programming is much more complex than writing about. This chapter points to some great Delphi Programming Forum threads initiated by this Course - discussions that solve problems on the field. CHAPTER 25:TOP ADO programming TIPS Collection of frequently asked questions, answers, tips and tricks about ADO programming. related to this chapter! CHAPTER 26:Quiz: Delphi ADO Programming What would it look like: Who Wants to be a Delphi ADO Database Programming Guru - the trivia game. related to this chapter! Appendices What follows is a list of articles (quick tips) explaining how to use various Delphi DB related components more efficiently at design and run time. APPENDIX 0DB Aware Grid ComponentsThe list of the best Data Aware Grid components available for Delphi. The TDBGrid component enhanced to maximum. APPENDIX ADBGrid to the MAXContrary to most other Delphi data-aware controls, the DBGrid component has many nice features and is more powerful than you would have thought. The standard DBGrid does its job of displaying and manipulating records from a dataset in a tabular grid. However, there are many ways (and reasons) why you should consider customizing the output of a DBGrid: Adjusting DBGrid column widths automatically, DBGrid with MultiSelect Coloring DBGrid, Selecting and highlighting a row in a DBGrid - OnMouseOverRow, Sorting records in DBGrid by Clicking on Column Title, Adding components to a DBGrid - theory, CheckBox inside a DBGrid, DateTimePicker (calendar) inside a DBGrid, Drop down pick list inside a DBGrid - part 1, Drop down list (DBLookupComboBox) inside a DBGrid - part 2, Accessing protected members of a DBGrid, Exposing the OnClick event for a DBGrid, What is being typed into the DBGrid?, How to Display Only Selected Fields in a DbGrid, How to get DBGrid Cell coordinates, How to create a simple database display form, Get the line number of a selected row in a DBGrid, Prevent CTRLDELETE in DBGrid, How to correctly use the mouse wheel in DBGrid, Making the Enter key work like a Tab key in a DBGrid ... APPENDIX BCustomizing the DBNavigatorEnhancing the TDBNavigator component with modified graphics (glyphs), custom button captions, and more. Exposing the OnMouseUp/Down event for every button.related to this quick tip! APPENDIX CAccessing and managing MS Excel sheets with DelphiHow to retrieve, display and edit Microsoft Excel spreadsheets with ADO (dbGO) and Delphi. This step-by-step article describes how to connect to Excel, retrieve sheet data, and enable editing of data (using the DBGrid). Youll also find a list of most common errors (and how to deal with them) that might pop up in the process. related to this quick tip! APPENDIX DEnumerating available SQL Servers. Retrieving databases on a SQL ServerHeres how to create your own connection dialog for a SQL Server database. Full Delphi source code for getting the list of available MS SQL Servers (on a network) and listing database names on a Server. related to this quick tip!