Who needs editors?

Google has dis-intermediated the content business.

You don’t have to hire a PR agency to kiss the arses of the editors any more.

You just have to generate content that people really want to read and then make sure it’s findable by doing all those optimisation tricks and tactics of the digirati: SEO, PPC, social media, online PR and pimping the hell out of your own website and landing pages.

The second part is a lot easier if you get the first part right.  The first part — generating great content — isn’t easy but is definitely worth the effort.

Q: What is great content?

A: Stuff people want to read  and are glad they read

Q: How do you do that?

A: Take a fresh angle on a problem you KNOW they care about; write with some energy and passion; pack in extra value (data, good quotes, links to great resources…); think about the last article you said, ‘Wow’ about; keep the overt selling to a minimum (the latent selling increases in proportion);

Q: What if there’s no new angle?

A: There’s ALWAYS a new angle, a fresh spin, a different way in to the story.  Maybe hook to a piece of news. Maybe turn the thing on its head, take conventional wisdom and negate it. Maybe use an example from an entirely different world.  Maybe run an experiment or conduct a survey with non-obvious results.

The point is, if we’re getting rid of editors, we B2B marketing agencies and clients need to start thinking like editors. That means looking through your prospect’s eye-holes and doing something to surprise, delight, inform or serve him.