The Valuable Content Marketing Strategies Of George Carlin And Sheldon Cooper – How It Has Helped Me

This guest post is by Frank Angelone of Social Tech Zone.

The same rehashed garbage! 

They were my feelings in 2012 about to bloggers implementing content marketing strategies.

They seem to believe that just because they’re in a potentially crowded niche that revisiting topics which have already been covered is going to be successful for them.

These types of bloggers are usually deluded by this misconception:

“The 300,000-subscriber blog wrote about this topic, so if I do it too, I’m sure to get people interested in my content.”

Let me tell you something: it’s not going to work.

When does content actually resonate with someone?

To be brutally honest, in most cases, it doesn’t.  We’re all looking for some type of answer, yet the majority of people online are either talking about the same thing or they really don’t teach anything.

They’re more interested in using their content to get you to buy something.  This is a failed marketing strategy waiting to happen.

In this post, I’m going to share with you how you can connect with your readers and not have to resort to rehashing what everyone else is doing!

Solving problems with selfish content

Aren’t you tired of hearing “good content” or “quality content is the key” every single day?  Yeah, me too.

Your job in content marketing is to be able to tell me why you’re experience is worth listening to.  You need to do something that will smack your readers in the face.

What one, two-punch combo can you deliver? and how do you execute it to perfection?

Simple.  Anything that fills the readers potentially selfish desires.  I mean, we all are online for answers and solutions, aren’t we?

We always say we’re here to help people and it’s true.  Well, you are here to do just that, but the person on the other end wants you to cater to them (and they’re not wrong to feel that way). 

That’s not going to happen unless you trigger a “selfish” emotion that you know they can relate to.

Sheldon Cooper: the A-list marketer?!

If you watch the Big Bang Theory, you’re familiar with Sheldon Cooper and his amusing yet obnoxious sense of humor.

While it is just a t.v. show, everyone loves the character.  Why?  He’s funny, but he’s selfish. 

You have to keep this in mind when writing for your audience.

Viewers of the show (you) are Sheldon’s audience.  We may not always agree with his methods of getting our attention, but we listen because, as viewers, we’re able to identify with a variety of his “selfish” scenarios.

Sheldon wants it his way—and the same holds true for whoever you’re marketing to. If you do something different and in a non-traditional manner, kind of like this post, people tend to pay attention.

Sometimes being a little over-the-top or over-zealous with your content marketing is the real secret sauce that people can relate to. You should definitely considering trying this out.

Derek Halpern of Social Triggers has the over-the-top personality when he markets to you, but you listen because you can relate to him.

So ask yourself this question: “How can I put my experience, plus a story, plus an edge into what I’m teaching?”

Point out the unexpected like George Carlin

Probably the greatest comedian of all time, George Carlin was probably also one of the greatest potential content marketers.

He smacked you in the face. He got you to think and maybe even gave you some insight on what we as a society can do to improve ourselves. (See? It’s all about you!)

His words live on to this day.  Why?  He didn’t rehash what the other big-name writers were pushing out there.  He took a different approach. His 7 Deadly Words You Can’t Say On TV was so off-color, and strayed so far from the norm that he found himself in major trouble with the FCC.  He revolutionized the industry and his content sold!

Now, I’m not saying you need to revolutionize your industry with what you’re creating, but stop getting sucked into the playing-it-close-to-your-chest mentality that so many people have become engulfed by. Do it your way and show people how things really are in your niche.

To put things in perspective, I recently wrote a post entitled How To Land A Job With One Of The Largest Social Media Agencies: What I Did.

Granted, a lot of people write about this topic, but if you notice, I included information about what I did in the title.  This assures my readers that I have a proven tip that works.

“But, Frank,” everyone always says. “Don’t make it about you! Make it about your reader.”  That’s wrong.  If you don’t make it about you and your experience, your content will not be relatable to your reader.  It all goes back to selfish Sheldon Cooper.

I shared a personal experience and here’s how one of my readers reacted to it…

“This blog post should be shared with every college age student looking to grab their dream job! So neat that you left such a prestigious place to perform in a position that supports your passion!”—Jim Traister

I created value by doing something that I’m teaching.

Being selfish isn’t always bad

I want to clear up any ambiguity and let you know that I’m not saying readers of your content are selfish, bad people.  They want answers backed up by experience, not just a rehashed answer that they’ve heard somewhere else.

When I go somewhere for content, I want an answer.  I’m being selfish in that respect because I need the answer to improve my life.  To stay in this mindset as a content marketer can be a very solid approach to grow your business.

I value anyone who reads my content and I talk with all of them.  If they’re enjoying what I provide,  I continue to find ways to do more of what they need.

When I interview well known entrepreneurs like Brian Clark, Gary Vaynerchuk, or Leo Babauta on my podcast, I do so knowing they can help my audience. 

We’re all trying to help the next person in line.  If you’re aware of that concept, it’s all you need to know moving forward.

Do you take this approach when you write your content?  Are you understanding the needs of who’s on the other side?  Do you have an actual experience that I can relate to?  Tell me in the comments.

Frank Angelone is the Founder of Social Tech Zone provide unique views on social media strategies and new technologies instead of the same rehashed grabage.  He couples his blog with the STZ Podcast talking with successful entrepreneurs like Brian Clark, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Leo Babauta. Subscribe to his newsletter and you can be sure he’ll develop an actual friendship with you.