Do You Make This Error That Some Content Marketers and Direct Marketers Make?
Today’s post was inspired by some things that I talked about in two recent posts.
The inspiration came to me after thinking about the first step that I talked about in our post THE 5-STEP CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY THE WORLD’S LARGEST HEALTH AND WELLNESS MEDIA COMPANY USES.
And it came from thinking about what we learned the skillful content marketer or copywriter does in our post HOW TO CREATE CONTENT AND COPY THAT SELLS (LESSONS FROM A FORGOTTEN BOOK FROM 1912) – PT. 1.
And when I thought about these things, I couldn’t help but think about an error that some are making.
And if I am honest, I make this error sometimes too.
As I thought about this error, I remembered a fable that I once heard that I think will help us to see the error of our ways and how to fix it.
An error limiting our marketing and the results that we see from it.
(*And if you don’t consider yourself a marketer, but you are trying to figure out how to get more customers, clients, patients, etc. from your marketing efforts, then keep reading. Because what you’re about to read will help you fix this problem.)
The Sharpshooter and the Royal Duke
Once a duke was hunting in the forest with his advisers, men-at-arms, and servants.
Suddenly he came across a tree that caught his attention. Why? It was because he noticed targets painted on it. But that wasn’t the shocking part.
What caused him to stop was the fact that right in the middle of each target was an arrow. When he saw this, he spontaneously yelled out, “Who is this incredibly fine archer? I have to find him!”
Not seeing anyone around, they continued through the forest for a few miles.
Until something stopped him again. This time he came upon a small boy carrying a bow and arrow. They began to question the boy to see if he was the amazing sharpshooter.
At first, the boy pretended to not know what they were talking about. But eventually, the boy admitted that he was the person who shot the arrows in the center of all of the targets.
But the duke wasn’t sure if he could believe the boy or not.
“Are you sure you didn’t just walk up to the targets and hammer the arrows into the middle?” asked the duke suspiciously.
But the boy said, “No, my lord. I shot them from a hundred paces. I swear it by all that I hold holy!”
When the duke heard this, he was amazed and said, “That is truly astonishing!” And then he said something unbelievable to the little boy…
“I hereby admit you into my service!” The boy didn’t know what to do except to thank him over and over again.
But then the duke asked the boy if he could do him a favor.
He said to the boy, “You must tell me how you come to be such an outstanding shot.”
And that’s when the boy revealed his secret…
“Well“, said the boy, “first I fire the arrow at the tree, and then I paint the target around it.”
Source: This story is a well-known fable, but this version of the story comes from the book “The Collapse of Chaos” by Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart
What We Have in Common with That Boy
The error that some of us make, some of the time, is very similar to this boy.
We fire our marketing out there, and then after it hits, we try to draw a target around it.
Sometimes we get lucky and this method works.
But many times, the results of our marketing fall short of what we hoped for, dreamed of, and thought they would be. And if you think about it, how could they not?
We’re just firing our marketing out there and we’re having to settle for whatever target we hit and whatever results we get.
If you’re happy with the current target market you’re reaching and/or satisfied with the results you’re getting, then stick to your current strategy.
But if the people that you’re reaching aren’t the best for you, your company, or the company you’re creating marketing for, then you need to decide on your target first.
And then you need to create all of your content and your marketing with that target in mind.
When you do that, and continue to test, tweak, and improve your aim, then you will get closer and closer to reaching/impacting that ideal target market and the results you will get will become more and more to your liking.
The First Step to All Effective Marketing
What I’ve been talking about here really goes along with something I teach my UC Berkeley Extension marketing students that I call “the first step to all effective marketing.”
I call it that because it’s the first place you need to start with any type of marketing that you use. If you don’t, then the results will always be less than you hope for and less than they could be.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can listen in to some of the lessons that I teach my students, then check out the links below.
Some Helpful Links for You
Here is a list of links that I mentioned in this post and also a link to an additional resource:
THE 5-STEP CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY THE WORLD’S LARGEST HEALTH AND WELLNESS MEDIA COMPANY USES
HOW TO CREATE CONTENT AND COPY THAT SELLS (LESSONS FROM A FORGOTTEN BOOK FROM 1912) – PT. 1
HOW I STUMBLED INTO MARKETING (AND THE MARKETING LESSONS YOU CAN LEARN FROM IT)
“A Different Way to Think of Marketing” Audio Recordings
Target Marketing Magazine (A website that’s all about targeting!)
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