Stop kidding yourself. Your company can’t jump into content marketing to generate new business and stop suddenly once sales are up. Developing a smart content marketing strategy is a forever thing, like a diamond.

Your prospects need to know about you and hear from you. They need to learn what you can do for them and why you’re the right provider in your field. They will respond to good content if it’s interesting (#1), relevant to them (#2), and delivered where they’ll see it (#3).

It’s not to say they’ll respond immediately. In my experience as a content marketer for my own business, it may take months, years, or occasionally just a matter of days (I get lucky from time to time).

Generally, a prospect will notice your content, register interest in what you’re sharing, come back for more (i.e., subscribe to a blog or email; follow your posts, tweets, etc.; or visit your site regularly), and once he or she trusts that you know what you’re doing and sees great value in what you offer, the phone rings, or an email/web query arrives, asking for a conversation about your services.

When sales are up, your content marketing doesn’t recede. You continue delivering good information that people want to read – and share. Good content floats on the top layer of that vast sea of information. If it’s excellent, it shines like a beacon.

That’s what we’re all striving for. Don’t stop believing in the power of great content.

© 2013 Margie Dana.