There’s a revival going on and I couldn’t be happier about it. Content is back in a big, big way.
For some of us content has always been king, but now content is getting its rightful due in the online marketing space.
After attending two big conferences in January (Affiliate Summit Wets and the LinkShare Symposium West) one of my big takeaways was that many of the top publishers are actively hiring content writers.
I heard on four separate occasions from publishers that were adding between 10 and 40 writers to their ongoing marketing efforts. This news came from a range of publishers including datafeed specialists, coupon/deal sites and reward/loyalty sites. The publishers I spoke with said they were hiring internally for quality control, and not outsourcing the jobs.
I know that we have started post more content on this blog and have seen great results.
Adding good content is a great step towards the maturing of the affiliate marketing/performance marketing space. It looks like online publishers have figured out that their audiences want more than just offers on great products. These consumers want compelling, engaging content as well.
Competition is stiff and it’s no longer viable to compete only on offering the best deals and prices, you have to give visitors a reason to come to the site (customer reviews, recommendations, unique uses of the products, etc.) and a reason to return. Content helps differentiate your site from competitors.
And because SEO is a big part of these businesses, having the best content is really of optimum importance. Good content that is unique gets you ranked higher in search engines, which can drive more traffic to your site. If you’re a publisher, this can all lead to more commissions. And isn’t that what’s it’s all about in performance marketing?
Good content rules. Long live content.