Weekly Alert: Welcome to the End of the Beginning

Here's your 2018 cheat sheet for better content marketing. [View Message](2e5a5/ct0_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM) in Browser / [Add Us](2e5a5/ct1_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM) to Safe Sender List [] 2e5a5/ct2_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM [] [Forward to a Friend](2e5a5/ct3_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM) This Week in Content Marketing 12.29.17 Connect with CMI 2e5a5/ct4_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM 2e5a5/ct5_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM 2e5a5/ct6_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM 2e5a5/ct7_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM 2e5a5/ct8_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM [] 2018 Content Marketing Toolkit: Tips, Templates, and Checklists [] 2e5a5/ct9_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM Ready or not, the New Year is on its way. Keep your content maturity on pace with innovation – and your efforts on track with your competition – with this content marketing toolkit full of our best tips, checklists, and templates. [Read more](2e5a5/ct9_1/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM)by Jodi Harris [Editorial Strategy and Planning] Some more of this week's best stuff: - [Unsolicited Advice: How to Avoid 4 Content Marketing Blunders](2e5a5/ct10_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM) by Kim Moutsos [Content Creation] - [The Zen of Content Marketing: Higher Consciousness, Better Performance](2e5a5/ct11_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM) by Marcia Riefer Johnston [Content Strategy] - [A Year Full of ‘No Way!?’ Moments for CCO Magazine](2e5a5/ct12_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM) by Clare McDermott [Industry News and Trends] - [This Old Marketing Farewell Episode: Sometimes the End Is a Beginning](2e5a5/ct13_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM) by Joe Pulizzi [Industry News and Trends] [] [] A Note From Robert Rose Welcome to the End of the Beginning Last week, in the grand finale episode of PNR: This Old Marketing, Joe and I talked about our decision to end the podcast. In both my introduction and Joe’s wonderful outgoing message, we pondered the idea that at the end of everything comes something new that can begin. Well, here we are at the end of 2017, so what will we begin in 2018? You may feel good about where you are with content marketing in your business; you may feel frustrated, or you may feel some mix of things that’s too complicated to sum up in one adjective. Wherever you are as this year comes to a close, you can rest assured that the new year will present you with challenges that you haven’t even conceived of yet. Mark my words: 2018 is going to be a pivotal year for our beloved practice. For the many who are succeeding with it, content marketing has become almost synonymous with good marketing. For those who are struggling, it may seem impossible that content marketing will ever pay off. We are at the end of the beginning. These days, I rarely receive inquiries about how to start a new strategic content marketing approach. Instead, almost every question we get is related to how to fix a “broken strategy.” Some analysts have spent this year talking about content marketing as a fool’s errand, claiming that there’s no way for a brand to compete for consumers’ attention by creating a strategy around content. I expect they will continue to do so in the new year, writing breathless columns about how companies – maybe even companies in your industry – are failing with content. Here’s the thing that will either comfort you or keep you up at night. Ready for it? Nobody has this figured out yet. Nobody. Whether you’re a small business or a Fortune 100 global conglomerate, you face the same reality: We’re all navigating our way through the transformation that is occurring. We are all exploring, on a journey together. I will say this, though: Content marketing is coming to the end of the beginning. For the last few years, companies that got content marketing right were the exception to the rule. They were the early adopters; the outliers; the producers of case studies. They inspired the rest of us to try to figure it out. While we enter 2018 with their favorable winds in our sails, we can also count on crosswinds to arrive – the pressure to change or abandon existing content strategies for some other shiny thing. Now that we are at the end of the beginning, early wins won’t suffice. We need to sustain our efforts. Those who show ongoing success will remain the outliers; the case studies. The difference will be the failures. You’re going to hear more and more about them. Sail on. Discoveries await those who persist. This practice will evolve as we keep exploring together. Have a joyous New Year. It’s your story. Tell it well. Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute This article from Robert is available only in this newsletter for you, the newsletter subscriber. If you have friends that would see value in Robert's weekly updates, please have them [subscribe](2e5a5/ct14_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM). [] [] Content Marketing Job Listings Currently on a job search? Thinking about switching gears with your career? Please check out our job listings below. Available Positions: - Client Advocacy Marketing Manager, PartsSource, Aurora, OH - [Learn More](2e5a5/ct15_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM) Interested in posting a job here? Please see our [CMI Careers page](2e5a5/ct16_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM) for more info. [] A Word From One of Our Benefactors Top 50 Ways to Produce Engaging Content Discover 50 ways your brand can stand out with interactive experiences. And with ion’s interactive content platform, marketers are empowered to create, control and measure their audience using fast, code-free, data-driven interactivity. [Get the infographic.](2e5a5/ct17_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM) [] [] More From CMI 2e5a5/ct18_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM TODAY IS THE LAST DAY BUSINESS DAY OF THE YEAR! The best rates for Content Marketing World 2018 go away on Sunday - so register today to take advantage of these great rates. Do something for yourself this holiday season - secure your spot alongside 3,500+ of your content marketing peers, experts and leaders. We can't wait to see you at the largest content marketing event on the planet. [Register today!](2e5a5/ct18_1/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM) [] CMI Video 2e5a5/ct19_0/1?sid=TV2%3AviicipHjM In the spirit of the season and as we begin the new year, we bring you one of our favorite videos from Content Marketing World. Why are you doing what you are doing in your current position? If you know your "why", then your "what" has more impact. Hear from Michael Jr in this inspiring video. 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