Your Mid-Year Content Marketing Checkpoint

Can you believe we’re just about halfway through 2014? We can’t either. Seeing as how time is just flying by, we figured it would be a good time to talk about the importance of checkpoints. Not just ones based on the calendar, but ones triggered by points throughout your content marketing plan.
Being smart with your content marketing means remembering that the “set it and forget it” approach has no place here. If you just implemented a content marketing plan in 2014, you now have a solid six months of data to review.  Hopefully you’ve been looking at it all along, but if not, now’s the time. Grab a cup of coffee and all the data you can get your hands on, and let’s face the numbers.

What to do when you’re seeing success.

Celebrate, of course! But then keep on doing what you’re doing. Seems like obvious advice, but too often marketers feel the need to move beyond their current approach just because.  Keep this in check by mixing it up with some new approaches while sticking to the fundamentals that got you where you are.

What to do if it’s NOT working

If things aren’t working as you had hoped, don’t give up. First, take an honest look at your efforts over the past six months and consider how you’d rate yourself based on the following content factors:

• Quality
• Consistency
• Sharing
• Variety

Chances are, you’re not giving yourself five stars in at least one of those categories. And that’s ok, because it’s not too late. Find the area where you need to improve and focus on that over the next few months. Results don’t happen overnight, so don’t feel frustrated if you don’t see results by next week, or even next month.
Feeling overwhelmed? Here’s a few of our most popular posts in each category, chock full of tips that’ll help you get back on track:

Quality

• 7 Ways to Cut Through the Content Clutter
• 20 Best Content Marketing Writing Prompts
• Create Outstanding Content With These 3 Content Idea Tools
• 5 Simple Storytelling Tips That Will Get You Results Today

Consistency

• Finding Time for Content: 4 Quick Tips
• 20 Best Tips for Building the Ultimate Editorial Calendar

Sharing

• Quick Guide: Promote Your Blog Post Like A Pro
• The 6 Simplest Ways to Stay Social

Variety

• Don’t Have Time to Blog? Write a Book.
• How to Use SlideShare to Get More From Your Content