Blogging vs content marketing

Just because you have a blog doesn’t mean you’re blogging.

… because if you’re trying to build a real business, then you really shouldn’t be blogging. You should be doing content marketing, tho.

What’s the difference? People kind of use the words interchangeably, but there’s a distinct difference of approach between them. And you need to know the difference.

It’ll decide whether your blog works for you, or whether you work for your blog.

Blogging began as a form of online journaling. And just like people will write in their journals, they did the same on their blogs.

It is why blogs come in that default, chronological structure with dates.

Some people still do it this way. They just blog about personal stuff or write random stuff. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s fun. It gives an outlet. And, hell, maybe you’ll develop a following, too. But, that kind of blogging is more hobbyist.

That kind of blogging is what leads to the notion that blogging is “high maintenance”. That it’s too time consuming. That you have to post super often.

Blogging is when you write based on the clock.

Content marketing is different. It has everything to do with your priorities and your intention.

Content marketing is content created for a purpose. It has a reason to exist. It isn’t there to fulfill a quota. It is there to act as a long-term marketing asset for your business. It is there to drive the reader to DO something.

But, what?

Well,  your blog should sit over top the business. I sometimes call it “the business machine”. The blog sits there like the part of the iceburg everybody sees, but under it is the business machine.

That machine is made up of things like:

• Your email list
• Your landing pages and sales funnels
• Retargeting ads

So, your blog and your machine sit there and work in unison.

Your content is designed to fuel the machine.

All sales funnels could be broken up into 3 main parts:

1. Top of the funnel. Attracting new people, building awareness.
2. Middle of the funnel. Moving them to a point of looking for a solution.
3. Bottom of the funnel. Getting them to pick YOUR solution.

Your content should be created to power each of these parts of your funnel – your machine.

Top of the funnel content would be your redwood posts. These posts lead with major value, are designed to attract new people and ultimately to get them to opt into your list (ideally via content upgrade).

Middle funnel content is different but can also go on your blog. It isn’t necessarily about attracting new people, but addressing more specific concerns and making them aware of solutions. The kinds of blog content which can work well here are things like case studies, specific questions answered, posts about things to look for on various solutions. Middle funnel content would also take place off-blog… in ebooks, webinars, videos, etc.

Bottom funnel content is specifically about your solution and making the sale. This type of content won’t typically be on your blog, but on landing pages.

So…

You can have a blog but not be blogging.

Content done with a purpose is content marketing. It is content done specifically to fuel the machine, to serve a certain role in powering that machine.

Blogging is done for sh*ts and giggles or because the calendar said you needed to post something.

Which are YOU doing?

Oh, and BTW…

If you ever want to understand why most bloggers have such a hard time monetizing and making any money…

…it’s because they’re blogging and not content marketing.

It’s because they spend so much time blogging that they don’t build any business machine at all. They have no business. Just a blog.

Is it then any wonder they aren’t makin’ any money with it?

But, not you.

No, you see the bigger picture here.

You know you need to build an actual business machine and that you need to treat your blog more strategically.

For the exact layout and step-by-step walkthrough on building that machine, we’ve got ya covered in the Lab course: Building Your Blog Profit Funnel.

– David