Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business

As a web content writer, I can't pass up a book that promises to help produce killer content for the Web. Thanks to my Kindle, I was able to buy the book and start reading it within seconds. Even though it took me a while to finish it (moving oblige), I'm really glad I did.I loved one of the foundational premises of the book: "marketing can learn a lot from the art and style of storytelling (literature) and the fundamentals and science of good reporting (journalism)" (loc 314). This is a book after my own heart-introducing literature in the marketing mix.The book is geared towards businesses and brands, not personal bloggers, but I did get a lot out of it anyway. As I'm trying to get up to date on web marketing and content management, I found the 11 rules the authors lay out simple and comprehensive: Embrace being a publisher Insight inspires originality Build momentum Speak human Reimagine, don't recycle Share or solve, don't shill Show, don't just tell Do something unexpected Stoke the campfire Create wings and roots Play to your strengthsThe rest of the book is devoted to explaining and demonstrating these 11 rules, first through theory and practical advice and then through several case studies.I appreciated the tutorial style of the book. Instead of focusing on why marketing has changed (a role fulfilled by The New Rules of Marketing & PR), the authors decided to discuss the how: the basic rules to create great content that supports your brand and brings you traffic.Something I found especially useful was the bare bones of an editorial calendar-what to post every day, every week, every month, every quarter and a few times a year. This will come in handy as I work on Molives` content strategy. In fact, most of the book is useful: it lays out in simple terms the different ways to produce good content without being prescriptive or preachy. The authors believe that there's no one-stop solution and that every content strategy must fit the business's goals.This is not a marketing theory book but rather a how-to. If you're interested in the theory behind the practice, look at The New Rules and other books about the same topic. There's plenty of them out there. But if you're looking for hands-on, practical tips that you can implement right away, Content Rules is a great choice to get started.

I've determined to read my way through "The New Rules of Social Media" series from Wiley, ignited by David Meerman Scott. The series includes Social Media Metrics by Jim Sterne, Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Sha, Get Seen by Steve Garfield and Beyond Viral by Kevin Nalty. The series was kicked off by Scott's New Rules of Marketing and PR.The third book I've tackled in the series is Content Rules by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman. Hanldey is Chief Content Officer at Marketing Profs and Chapman is founder of Digital Dads. Both have more than enough experience and pedigree to back up their writing. There's a quote in the introduction that is the essence of content marketing: "Produce great stuff, and your customers will come to you. Produce really great stuff, and your customers will share and disseminate your message for you."This book is a solid resource for building a strong three-legged stool for social media optimization: search, social and content. I first ran across the three-legged stool idea from Jay Baer, and it's has changed the way I train businesses and organizations to do social. When online marketing first came along, I focused on teaching people to integrate social into their traditional marketing plans. Now, I've learned that the need is not just in social integration, it's in social optimization. It's in measurement; it's in SEO; it's in good content; it's in inbound traffic. It's in much more than just learning how to put a Facebook page together. This book helps build that content leg.What good is great SEO if your content sucks? People can find you, but they won't stick around if there isn't a good reason to. What good is a social media outpost if the content isn't good enough to facilitate an action like sharing or donating or purchasing? While SEO experts scream about meta tags and titles and headers and keywords, they sometimes miss the whole picture of search-boosting by social sharing. That's where good content enters the picture.The book expounds on 11 basic content rules in a fashion that is fun, engaging and knowledgeable. Even though the material is process-oriented, it is backed by successful case studies and experiences of both authors. I think I can honestly say that if you followed their "formula," you can achieve content success. But one thing is for sure, it takes calculated work--it just doesn't happen. Good content is a commitment.Generating great content doesn't turn everyone's crank, as the #1 rule emphasizes," embrace being a publisher." But, it can be achieved by anyone who wants to do the work. If you don't like to blog, produce videos, podcasts, and other kinds of content, you better find somebody who does...and will. One of my favorite chapters in the book is on re-imagining--taking stuff you've already done and putting it into different formats or presentations.The book is divided into three parts: the rules, the how-to section, and the success stories (case studies with info you can steal). The last piece of the book is a 12-point checklist to developing good content. It is a smooth and enjoyable read. My next step is to implement.

The book is terrific and very interesting. After read, we started to see people in different way!

This book is great for developing content for social media! The tone of voice this book is written in is very fun. Theories are explained in a way that is casual but informative to the reader.

This book is a must-read for anyone wanting to master content marketing. Information is evergreen and very easy to follow.

Das Buch führt uns Marketing-Profs in die Welt des Erzählens über Inhalte, die eher als trocken und langweilig angesehen werden. Wir erfahren, wie wir Marketing interessanter gestalten können und gerade deshalb mehr Geschäft generieren können. Das Buch macht dem Leser bewusst, wie wertvoll guter Content für das Marketing ist und wie er publiziert werden sollte.Klaus GroteKDG Management GmbH

The subtitle says it all: "How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and more) that Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business"This book is divided into four parts, entitled:`The Content Rules'`The How-To Section'`Content that Converts: Success Stories'`This Isn't Goodbye'Part One explains what content is and why you should need to create it. There are 10 chapters in Part One that essentially set out the Content Rules, with headings that include: Reimagine; Don't Recycle: Anatomy of a Content Circle of Life, Share or Solve; Don't Shill, and the intriguingly titled: Attention B2B Companies: This is the Chapter You Are Looking For.Part Two has 8 packed chapters with step by step instructions on how to create content. Included are Blogs, Webinars, EBook & White Paper, Using Case Studies, FAQs, Videos, Podcasting and Photographs. This is gold for anyone wanting to get started creating their own content.In Part Three, there are 10 concise chapters, each one a case study, which the authors prefer to call Success Stories, and all have `Ideas You Can Steal'.Part Four contains just one short chapter inviting connection online & also linking to a couple of bonus downloads!I found this book extremely helpful (my copy is full of colourful sticky bookmarks for reference)and happily recommend it to anyone who needs to know how create content and use it as a way of marketing their business (large or small). It certainly isn't a stuffy textbook and is written in a humorous and conversation style. It's choc full of great tips, explanatory screenshots and diagrams.