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Editor's Notes

1. Be the King – Stay the King (unofficial reason).
2. We’re going to cover those last two items quite a bit.
3. Content Creation – more than a buzzword; it’s a key pillar of a business modelBusinesses must be successful online – attracting and educating customerslast 10 years littered with companies that failed to evolve in time or at all (Blockbuster to Netflix).Our industry, for various reasons, has been relatively unaffected in the past. This began to change a few years ago.What is forcing our evolution? Companies that survived the First Internet Age in the 1990s are now hardened giants with experience and an appetite.
4. This is not a good sign; This is one of several boogiemen. The monstrous size, brand, and ability is staggering. And it comes with FREE 2 day shipping.This is far from finished. The goal is to be comprehensive.
5. Grainger has 151 items available under “Hydraulic Bulk Hose”Ships within 3 days.
6. Another giant: Nike and Nike StoresNikeID skips retailers and sells customized gear directShortly after launch, Nike’s market share jumped from 48% to 61% (2010) and is at approx. 20% of their revenue.
7. While physically constrained by servers, the Internet is about as boundless as anything we’ve got. This means that there are more items to catalog than any one company has resources to do it.Larger websites are more noticeable to Search Engine algorithm programs in the same way that objects in space are attracted to the gravity of larger masses. The logic is that a larger website is more popular and therefore probably has more valuable information than a smaller website.This is why content creation is emphasized.
8. That’s Billions with a “B”. You can see that Google indexed over 45 Billion web pages at several points in the last 3 months, but that – overall – the number has decreased. This does not mean there are less pages to be indexed. Google is the largest, but pickiest, search engine, and its criteria for a deserving website is fluid.What this decrease actually illustrates is Google destroying websites hopes and dreams, at a rate of 10 billion webpage per month.
9. This is a 2 year look at the same chart you just saw. You can see the downward trend here as well. Because we’re all thinking people, here’s a peak behind the curtain to see WHY our websites are in danger.
10. Atapproximately these intervals, Google launched algorithm updates designed to rid the web of crappy websites. Since Google cannot delete websites, and since access is the real power, Google simply knocked them out of the search results.
11. Online space is only getting more crowded and competitive. Sure the internet could be an unlimited place, but it’s ACCESS that is important. The gatekeepers are search engines.
12. Here is the Key to the Internet. Content – the publication of useful pages, blogs, papers, videos, etc – leads to higher search visibility. Higher search visibility will lead to more people entering the website. More people on the website leads to more people who see that you know what you’re talking about and they should probably call you.
13. Innovative Controls has taken to content production like fish to water. Despite being extraordinarily busy, they have managed to publish 3 whitepapers with 6 more in draft.
14. Since the middle of September, these papers have been downloaded at least once each for a total of 6 downloads. This is not bad at all for a resource library in a temporary location.
15. Ryan Christian is one of our most enthusiastic content marketers. He instantly recognized the value of content creation and, despite all of the challenges of being new to his job, he began blogging right away and has kept a consistent weekly blogging schedule. I recently asked Ryan to summarize the results stemming from his content creation, and how he felt about it. The following information came from that conversation.EmailsRyan has received several email inquiries deriving from various blog posts. They typically arrive like this:
16. What makes this significant is that Jay is asking Ryan for help on a specific problem after Ryan published a blog post called “Pneumatic Actuator Speed Control”. Jay read the blog and considered Ryan enough of an expert to help him out. This is the sort of Freemium effort that could eventually turn Jay into a paying customer, and all Ryan did was write down what was already in his head and let Google do the heavy lifting. This next email is more recent:
17. This email was forwarded on to Wade Wright and Kevin, here, was considering an $8k sensor. Like Jay’s email, Kevin’s arrived out of the blue after reading one of Ryan’s blogs – this one “Solve Laser Displacement Sensor Problems.”If this seems fairly straightforward, that’s because it is! Ryan had some knowledge, he wrote it down, he gave it an accurate title, and he received some emails asking for his opinion, which lead to sales opportunities.
18. Andy Larson is the largest content marketing success story at Cross Company – so far. But he will be the first to tell you that he was not expecting these results. I had to really talk Andy into doing some writing and the usual excuses came to bear – not having the time or the inspiration to do it. But once Andy began publishing a few blog posts, he really began to enjoy organizing topics, thinking like his customers, and exploring new technologies in his field.Andy’s enthusiasm and knowledge bled into his writing and it was easy to see that he genuinely cared about his topics. Solution Seekers are always drawn to such transparency and helpfulness, so Andy received some emails of his own. Here is one such exchange from September 10th.
19. Here you see Eyembe recognizing Andy as an expert in his field, who is attempting to help people by offering his opinions and guidance on a new robotic technology. Eyembe describes his situation, and – like in Ryan’s emails – asks for Andy’s opinion regarding his specific situation.
20. Andy responds promptly and politely. Just like his blogs, his emails are friendly and personable. He takes an immediate interest in Eyembe and his project and requests detailed information, which Eyembe would not hesitate to give. This quickly establishes rapport and a higher level of trust with a new contact.
21. Eyembe immediately acknowledges Andy’s timely interest in his project and expresses his appreciation. The final step to cultivating a brand new lead is reached when – without being asked – Eyembe gives Andy his contact information for a more in-depth conversation. Thanks to the blog and his good customer service, Andy has not only been found by a prospective customer, but this customer has reached out and asked Andy to contact him further!Imagine if Andy had to search the Atlanta area, call around, and beg to talk to Eyembe…that would be hard!
22. When asked how he handles emails such as Eyembe’s, Andy said…
23. I hope this has highlighted the lead creation potential of content marketing, but in case it hasn’t, let’s look closely at some of Andy’s Universal Robots successes.
24. Added note, between just Technimark and Phoenix Stamping – two blog associated leads – there is $700k in business potential over the next two years.
25. When I asked Andy to describe his blogging experience, he said that it was good to see an added credibility associated with Cross Company, from current customers to competing venders and industry counterparts.
26. Andy also made a key observation regarding the efficiency of blogging. He said that he has been a part of dozens of costly and time intensive outbound marketing efforts, but none have been as productive in such a small amount of invested time as blogging.
27. With about 12 of these hours coming in “Dead Time” in the airport, or waiting on Account Managers.
28. Content marketing will become an increasingly significant method to generate awareness, leads, and sales for Cross Company. But this presentation only covered a bit about what we have done and little about what we will do.
29. Content marketing will become an increasingly significant method to generate awareness, leads, and sales for Cross Company. But this presentation only covered a bit about what we have done and little about what we will do.
30. I cannot wait to talk to each of you on an individual level and to answer any questions you might have about content marketing or your role within it. I’ll leave you this excerpt from a letter that Ryan Christian wrote to me when I asked him how he felt about blogging.