Permission marketing, or content marketing, is a system of tools that operate at the intersection of building trust, loyalty, and sales. First and foremost, businesses and marketers need to understand this “beast” and how it impacts their target audience. Next come copywriters and content writers. And then there are SEO specialists, whose obsession with keywords often ends disastrously for a business’s reputation.
In short, without going into detail, permission marketing, or content marketing, is the publication of useful materials in various formats that solve your target audience’s problems immediately after they read them.
The concept of permission marketing was popularized by Seth Godin and includes newsletter subscriptions and SMS notifications, allowing users to choose which content they receive. Together with the ideas for building content marketing outlined by Michael Stelzner in his book, they form the foundation of any strategy.
Why is permission marketing important in crisis times
Content marketing is already rightfully considered a proven means of business promotion, pushing traditional advertising into the background. Of course, if you’re a large brand with an unlimited budget, you can use all media channels and every means.
But in any crisis, both external and internal, advertising budgets are the first to be cut. Business crises never stop, from global ones, such as stock market crashes or COVID-19, to local and industry-specific ones.
With a smart approach, advertising budgets aren’t cut to zero, but simply minimized, and the business owner or marketer’s task is to use existing resources as effectively as possible. In such circumstances, content marketing comes to the forefront and becomes the king of business promotion.
The main reason is that a businessman, as a thrifty owner, understands…
Traditional advertising is simply an expense
And high-quality, useful content is a long-term investment in your business, because it will work reliably for a long time.
Just think about how often, when searching for information, you come across materials published in 2019-2020, or even earlier. Yes, sometimes the information there is hopelessly outdated, but:
- firstly, the articles still rank high on the search results pages;
- secondly, if the high quality of the material is immediately apparent, the reader stays on the site and finds fresh information.
And if the information is spot-on, you get a bonus—a new subscriber. And a subscription is an opportunity to regularly communicate with a potential client.
What happens when using traditional advertising channels and formats?
I’m talking about video and radio commercials, outdoor advertising, and print ads.
I won’t even mention banner blindness and how difficult it is to combat. The fact is that no one watches, listens to, or reads advertising; no one passes it by. And even if it does catch our eye or ear, our consciousness skillfully shields itself from advertising messages, protecting itself from them like a virus.
Even a great advertising message that penetrates our defenses only works while it’s being broadcast, that is, while the advertiser pays for the airtime or print space. And then, out of sight, out of mind. No one will even remember you, unless, of course, you’re a mega-brand constantly fueling interest.
5 signs of high-quality content
What kind of content should it be to stand out in the noise, attract new readers and convert them into loyal customers, retain existing ones, and even bring back those who have left?
If I search for “how to…” or any other question where I’m trying to solve a problem, Google will return tens, even hundreds, of thousands of results. 50-70% of them will be SEO junk trying to sell me a service. But I don’t need the service yet, and it’s frustrating that they don’t want to help me, instead pushing articles about nothing. Your goal is to stand out with quality and provide real value.
1. Usefulness always comes first
Content should meet people’s needs, reflect their interests: educate, entertain, and give positive emotions.
The benefits aren’t limited to the narrow sense of teaching how to solve a problem but also include the following:
- educational content—to impart new knowledge;
- entertainment content—everyone needs a break sometimes;
- emotional content—helping people choose based on clear criteria;
- achieving goals with clear steps;
- analyzing offers;
- learning something new.
People are looking for information to solve various problems. Help them.
2. Relevance and originality
How can uniqueness be achieved if the product or topic isn’t new, and everything has already been said and retold? I often hear this question from content writers and business owners.
This criterion means that you and your readers need fresh information, not something that’s been worn to death, outdated in the last century, and duplicated on dozens of other websites with similar topics. When selecting content, it’s important to remember that it’s unique in its essence, not based on search engine analysis. Provide added value in your text.
If you’re having trouble finding completely new topics, choose a new angle, share your opinion, and create a collection. Don’t republish what already exists – provide a new perspective, approach, and gather more information. Don’t reinvent the wheel; just stay on top of the latest trends.
3. Expertise and professionalism
Without this, the previous two characteristics are impossible. Make sure your article is free of platitudes and factual errors, meaning that:
- you’ve selected reliable sources;
- you’ve spoken with experts in the field;
- you’re an expert in your business and share information;
- you’ve engaged your current clients who know the industry;
- you’ve interviewed or consulted external online experts and colleagues whose blogs you read.
4. Relevance
The texts are of interest to your target audience and meet your goals, connecting with both your target audience and your product. From this point, we see that articles also require basic marketing information—who we’re writing for, what useful content competitors are writing, and what topics the product covers. Don’t write texts about everything; always keep it focused on your project.
For example, if you’re a content writer and a client asks you for a text: “I need an article about dental care methods.” This information isn’t enough to start writing. Without knowing where the material will be published and what the client is selling (toothpaste, whitening strips, floss, implants), we don’t know what to emphasize. It’s strange to describe daily care and flossing on an implant clinic’s website.
5. Ease of perception and visual appeal
You can gather information and write a wonderful piece. But if it looks like a brick wall, has gross errors, isn’t divided into paragraphs and lists, and isn’t illustrated with images, it’s unlikely to be read. No one will ever know how hard you worked and how much you moved in search of information.
How does this relate to sales and copywriting?
Or are sales copy completely unnecessary now?
It’s directly related. After all, the most loyal, “warm” target audience for sales copy is your trained readers, who have developed trust in you through the useful materials they’ve received. Conversion among regular readers is always much higher than cold traffic from ads or spam emails.
Give people your expert assistance, and in return, you receive loyalty and new orders.