The list goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is it possible to do all of those? Probably not. Most brands simply don\u2019t have the resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So which format should you focus on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answer to that question is different for everyone. In this post, I\u2019m not going to cover every content marketing tactic. I\u2019m going to run through the types of content marketing that have worked for us and helped us grow our traffic and revenue<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Blogging is the format we\u2019ve been using the longest to drive more traffic to our site<\/a> and get more customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our primary goal with blogging is to rank high in Google<\/a> for topics relevant to our business and acquire passive organic traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s turned out pretty well so far:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how we do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want organic traffic, you have to target topics that people are searching for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The easiest way to find these is with a keyword research tool. Enter a relevant topic into a free keyword tool<\/a> like Ahrefs\u2019 Keyword Generator<\/a>, then toggle the \u201cQuestions\u201d report. It\u2019ll show you the related questions that people are searching for, and their estimated monthly search volumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look through the list and note down any relevant topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just make sure you\u2019re not blinded by search volume. You need to choose topics that potential customers are likely to be searching for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, say that you sell cheap city cars. Ranking for \u201cwhat is the fastest car in the world\u201d probably isn\u2019t going to send many potential customers your way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recommended reading:<\/strong> How To Do Keyword Research for SEO \u2014 Ahrefs\u2019 Guide<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n To stand the best chance of ranking, you should create the type of content that searchers want to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s say that you want to rank for \u201chow to lower car insurance.\u201d Your gut probably tells you to write a step-by-step guide. After all, the query starts with \u201chow to,\u201d so that seems to be what people want, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not so fast. If you look at the top-ranking results for this query, they\u2019re mostly lists of tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re wondering why this matters, it\u2019s because Google works hard to surface the best results for most people. And so, the top-ranking results are often a good proxy for what people want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to blog posts, it\u2019ll often be one of four types:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn how to tackle any of these blog post types in our post here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the biggest myths on the Internet is, \u201cif you build it, they will come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Given that over five million blog posts<\/a> are published daily, nobody is going to find your blog post unless you put it in front of your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The work isn\u2019t done when you hit \u201cpublish.\u201d You still have to promote your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow this content promotion checklist to get more eyeballs on your content:https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PoVYweKH4ck?autohide=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&wmode=transparent&autoplay=0FURTHER READING<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve been publishing videos on YouTube since 2015. And we\u2019ve since racked up over 6.4 million views and accumulated over 140,000 subscribers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only have we been able to tap into YouTube\u2019s audience of two billion users<\/a>, but video marketing has also allowed us to demonstrate our products and ideas better than words could ever do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This has helped us get consistent sign-ups from YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, how do we do it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re just starting out on YouTube, you have no subscribers to promote your videos to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The solution? Rank your videos for topics people are searching for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To find these topics, enter a relevant keyword into our free YouTube keyword tool<\/a>. It\u2019ll show you up to 150 keyword ideas and their estimated monthly search volumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eyeball the list and note down topics that are relevant to your channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recommended reading:<\/strong> How to Do YouTube Keyword Research in 3 Easy Steps<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if you rank #1 for every keyword, no one will watch your video if it\u2019s boring and unengaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A simple way to fix this problem is to script your videos before recording them. This will keep your videos concise, and prevent you from going off on a tangent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond that, good editing can also help make your videos interesting.https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/j5EOWffq-gk?autohide=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&wmode=transparent&autoplay=0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recommended reading:<\/strong> YouTube SEO: How to Rank Your Videos From Start to Finish<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ranking on YouTube is great, but it\u2019s not the only way to get more views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn how to get more views on YouTube in this video:https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iwkUlTl2Iow?autohide=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&wmode=transparent&autoplay=0FURTHER READING<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two ways to use podcasting for content marketing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n While starting your own podcast is great for brand and audience building, it can take quite a while to gain traction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, rather than immediately jumping into creating a podcast, why not appear on a few podcasts first and decide if you like the format? Given that there are over one million podcasts<\/a> today, there are plenty of opportunities for you to get interviewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And this was what Tim<\/a>, our Chief Marketing Officer, did. In 2019, he set a goal to appear in more than 20 podcasts, and he accomplished that in only four months<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This has brought us quite a decent number of sign-ups:<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did Tim do it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The easiest way to do this is to use Google. Simply search for However, some of these podcasts will probably be huge. If you\u2019re new to podcasts, your first podcast is unlikely to be the Joe Rogan Experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, a better way is to identify someone of similar calibre in your industry who\u2019s been a guest on multiple podcasts. For example, Laura Roeder, the founder of MeetEdgar<\/a>, is someone in our industry who has appeared on many podcasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To discover the podcasts she\u2019s been on, let\u2019s paste her site into Ahrefs\u2019 Site Explorer<\/a>, go to the Backlinks<\/strong> report, and type her name in the \u201cInclude\u201d box. Now, the links in the \u201cReferring page\u201d column are pretty much all podcasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve identified the podcasts you want to be on, the next step is to pitch yourself as a guest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But before you even reach out to the host, make sure you first listen to a few episodes of the podcast. Not only will this help you craft a more personalized email, you\u2019ll also be able to come up with a few topics to discuss based on the past episodes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recommended reading:<\/strong> 12 lessons I learned from doing 20+ podcast interviews in 4 months<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Decided that you want to start your own podcast?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some resources that might help:FURTHER READING<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n At Ahrefs, we\u2019re a big fan of releasing free tools<\/a> as a content marketing strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tools like our free backlink checker<\/a> allow us to show off the capabilities of our product. While helpful on its own, it also gives potential customers a taste of what they can get if they sign up for our service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plus, it also ranks for tons of relevant keywords, sending us a lot of passive, organic traffic:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, our free tools send us almost 200,000 organic visits every month:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pretty cool, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As with blogging and video marketing, you don\u2019t want to create free tools randomly. You need to make sure people are searching for the tools you want to create so that they can rank high in Google and get organic traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do this, you can use Ahrefs\u2019 Keywords Explorer<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s say you have an automotive site, and you want to create a free tool. Enter a broad keyword like \u201ccars\u201d into Ahrefs\u2019 Keywords Explorer<\/a> and go to the Phrase match<\/strong> report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, in the \u201cInclude\u201d box, add terms like \u201ccalculator,\u201d \u201ctool,\u201d \u201ctools,\u201d and \u201cchecker.\u201d Choose \u201cAny word\u201d and click \u201cApply.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can now see some nice topics like \u201ccar loan calculator,\u201d \u201ccar finance calculator,\u201d and \u201ccar lease calculator.\u201d These might be good options for creating a free tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the opportunity you\u2019ve found, it\u2019s time to create the free tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But before you do that, make sure you review the top-ranking results for your target keyword. Look for issues with them. Ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, take what you\u2019ve learned and make something similar, but better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your free tool isn\u2019t going to rank on its own. Since there is a positive correlation between links and rankings<\/a>, you\u2019ll need to build links to your newly created free tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The easiest way to do this is to reach out to those who are linking to similar, yet inferior tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, let\u2019s say you created a free car loan calculator. You should have checked the current top-ranking pages in the previous step, identified what wasn\u2019t so great about them, and fixed those issues with your tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now you can reach out to the people linking to those tools, let them know that your tool exists, and explain why it\u2019s better than the one they\u2019re linking to already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is commonly known as the Skyscraper Technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To find people linking to these tools, just plug its URL into Ahrefs\u2019 Site Explorer<\/a>, then go to the Backlinks<\/strong> report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look through the list, find relevant opportunities, find their emails<\/a>, then reach out and introduce them to your new tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recommended reading:<\/strong> How to Execute the Skyscraper Technique (and Get Results)<\/a><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyone can create an online course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, at Ahrefs, we have an academy<\/a> where potential customers can watch any of our two free courses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This has driven quite a decent number of sign-ups for us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how we did it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Creating a course is a massive undertaking. It took Tim almost a year to complete the Blogging for Business course<\/a>, from conceptualizing, scripting and recording, all the way to promoting it.SIDENOTE. He didn\u2019t work on the course full time. He did it while juggling other aspects of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, before you jump in at the deep end, you should think about the problem you want to solve. And this should be something that your product or service helps to solve. That way, you can promote your business throughout the course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, creating Blogging for Business was a no-brainer for Tim. Not only did he have tons of experience, knowledge and success with blogging, but it was also a topic where he could naturally talk about Ahrefs<\/a> as a solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 90% of people<\/a> who sign up for online classes don\u2019t complete them. And this number could be even higher for free courses since people generally value free content less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is important to understand that insight so you can design a course that\u2019s \u201csticky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was the reason why Tim focused so much on the production quality and the quality of explanation. Most free courses are either filmed as a screencast or a talking head. But every lesson in Blogging for Business is professionally animated:https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QLy5mVV__As?autohide=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&wmode=transparent&autoplay=0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is almost certainly part of the reason why people found it so \u201cbinge-worthy\u201d:https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/index.html?creatorScreenName=siquanong&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=993864142514737157&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fahrefs.com%2Fblog%2Ftypes-of-content-marketing%2F&siteScreenName=ahrefs&theme=light&widgetsVersion=219d021%3A1598982042171&width=550px<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, teaching you how to create an online course is out of the scope for this article, so I\u2019ll leave you with some resources below on how to do it.FURTHER READING<\/p>\n\n\n\n Promoting an online course is pretty similar to promoting a blog post. You can promote it to your existing audience or on platforms where your audience hangs out (e.g., Product Hunt<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also promote your course by offering \u201cbonuses.\u201d For example, when we first launched Blogging for Business, we offered two main bonuses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n How do you know what\u2019s a good bonus to give away?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The key to choosing a good bonus is to give away something that would be valuable enough to be sold as a standalone product or service. For example, to get access to Ahrefs, you would typically have to be a paying customer. But, for the period of the course, you get to use it for free. So that was valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, if you want Tim to give you a consultation, you\u2019d likely have to pay for his time. But as part of the course, you get to ask him any marketing-related question. Again, that is super valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Content creation takes a lot of time and effort. So, in the beginning, you should focus your efforts on just one type of content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My suggestion would be to start with either blogging, video marketing or podcasting. Free tools and online courses have a much larger barrier to entry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But out of these three options, which should you choose?<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, you need to think about what kind of content your audience likes.<\/strong> For example, most people tend to read blog posts in the SEO niche. That\u2019s why we started with blogging. If you\u2019re a fitness professional teaching people how to workout from home, then you might want to start by making videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, you should think about where your skillset lies. <\/strong>For example, some people might find it easier to talk than to write. In which case, podcasts are a good starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve decided, stick with this format until you\u2019ve figured out a good process for creating that kind of content on a consistent basis. Only then should you branch to a new format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, that\u2019s what we did. Almost all our efforts were on the blog until 2018 when we hired Sam to take over our YouTube channel<\/a>. And Tim didn\u2019t start appearing on podcasts until he delegated the blog and YouTube to Josh and Sam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, even when you\u2019ve decided to move to a new format, you don\u2019t always have to start from scratch. You can also repurpose content from formats you\u2019re already using.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We do this all the time at Ahrefs. For example, we turned our video on affiliate marketing<\/a> into a blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hopefully, this post has gotten you unstuck on which type of content marketing to go for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n1. Blogging<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"01](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/01-ahrefs-blog-traffic.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 1. Find winning topics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"keyword](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/keyword-ideas-cars.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 2. Create the right type of content<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"how](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/how-to-lower-car-insurance-serps.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 3. Promote the blog post<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Video marketing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"02](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/02-youtube-channel-stats.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"03](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/03-youtube-registrations.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 1. Find topics that people are searching for on YouTube<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"youtube](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/youtube-keyword-tool.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 2. Create optimized videos<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 3. Get more views to your video<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Podcasting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"spi](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/spi-tim-soulo.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"04](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/04-podcast-registrations.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 1. Find podcast opportunities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
top [your niche] podcasts<\/code>, and you\u2019ll get tons of curated lists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"top](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/top_business_podcasts_-_Google_Search.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"05](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/05-laura-roeder-podcast.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 2. Pitch yourself as a guest<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Free tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"backlink](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/backlink-checker.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"06](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/06-backlink-checker-traffic.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"07](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/07-free-tools-traffic.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 1. Find opportunities to create free tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2020-06-25-at-20.06.29.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"08](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/08-car-loan-calculator.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 2. Create the free tool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 3. Build links<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"pasted](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/pasted-image-0-2.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"backlinks](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/backlinks-car-loan-calculator.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n5. Online courses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"ahrefs](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ahrefs-academy.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"09](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/09-blogging-for-business-registrations.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 1. Choose a problem to solve<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"10](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/10-tim-soulo-credentials.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 2. Create the course<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 3. Promote the course<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"product](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/product-hunt-blogging-for-business.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhich type of content marketing should you use?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"how](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/how-to-choose-the-right-type-of-content-marketing-for-you.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Affiliate](\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Affiliate_Marketing_for_Beginners__Complete_Tutorial_for_2020_-_YouTube___and_Affiliate_Marketing_for_Beginners__7_Steps_to_Success.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFinal thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n