Use these strategies to help your business generate revenue with content.

One of the biggest challenges inherent to content marketing is measuring how writing blog posts and posting on social media equals a revenue stream. I know I write over and over again in this space about how content marketing is one of the most effective strategies for growing business and generating revenue. But many in the supply chain industry still struggle to understand the connection.

I highly suggest listening to this podcast interview with Content Marketing Institute founder Joe Pulizzi. He talks about monetizing content. In summary, businesses need to be about more than just their products and services — they need to be a valuable resource for their customers. This is why content marketing works. It’s a move away from the promotion of products toward branding oneself as a source of knowledge.

But back to monetization. Here are some key takeaways from Joe’s interview about how to generate revenue with content.

Revenue models

Once you’ve established your outlets for content distribution (blog, podcast, YouTube channel, social media platforms, or other publishing outlets) and built an audience, how do you go about generating revenue? According to Joe, there are 10 different revenue opportunities.

The traditional opportunities that most companies think about are:

• Selling products
• Selling services
• Keeping customers longer
• Increasing yield
• Selling different products

But Joe says that there are five additional revenue-generating activities:

• Sell advertising on your site
• Create a sponsorship deal
• Launch a conference or event
• Sell premium content
• Ask for donations

Joe advises that business new to these ideas not try everything at once. “Try one revenue model every six months,” he suggests.

Rethink your marketing department structure

Chances are, your marketing department is set up far less efficiently than it should be.

Joe sees a trend of businesses setting up their marketing departments primarily as an opportunity for the sales team — in other words, they are leading “product-first.” “Yes,” he says. “Selling products is important. But you can’t lead product-first anymore. The only competitive advantage people have today is communication.”

It’s time for marketers to refocus on making markets and creating opportunities for organizations. It’s about creating and developing trusted relationships with your audience, and monetizing those relationships by doing more than selling products. Adopting a new vision for your marketing can turn it from a cost-center into a profit-center, with marketing being “profitable in and of itself.”

Related posts:

• Stop Pitching, Start Helping

• Why Your Sales Pitch Is Bad for Business
• 12 Content Marketing Stats the Supply Chain Should See