Fast Project Recipe - Launch a Content Marketing Platform
As you know, I recently launched OwnerFUEL. It's the media portion of my company, Owner. I wanted to share with you just how simple it was to launch, and what we did to get it up and running. I'll tell you right up front that a lot of what I recommend hinges on you choosing to build on the Rainmaker platform. But I explain all the reasons why that's the right choice.
Fast Project Recipe - Launch a Content Marketing Platform
Project Time: 2 Business Days
As with all things, start with a goal so you better understand the WIN you're seeking.
Our goal: build up newsletter subscriptions by creating a stronger media brand around Owner that's not "Chris Brogan" centric.
From here, I'll give you the steps it took to launch the entire project, plus some ideas on what I might do differently.
- Buy a domain/URL for the project.
- Select a site host. We chose Rainmaker (You'll see why.)
- Select a content marketing platform. We chose Rainmaker because it runs on WordPress, has lots of premium features, strong search engine optimization (SEO) features, etc.
- Pick a mobile-responsive theme. We picked the "Generate" premium theme, which comes with Rainmaker and prominently features a subscription box.
- Create a logo (you could do this earlier in the project. I ran this detail down while we set up the site.). I went with my long time superstar Josh Fisher, but there are many options here. Try CrowdSpring for instance.)
- Edit the site's primary pages (like the About, Contact, page, etc).
- Post content.
- Promote.
Because we chose Rainmaker, a lot of the more annoying steps are just handled fast: SEO, ready-for-mobile, easy content creation. Plus, we have all kinds of options for what kinds of content we want to create. Look at this, for instance:
Optional- Starting a Podcast
Podcasting is going through a second renaissance right now. I think there are lots of benefits to launching a podcast to attract potential subscribers to your business. I had a pre-existing podcast that I ended up looping into the project, but if you wanted to start one from scratch, that's another reason to consider Rainmaker, because podcasting hosting and distribution technology is built right in.
You need a few more things than this to start a podcast. I created a podcasting workflows document for you. And if you want to dive in even deeper, I have a podcast jumpstart program you can run through.
But as I say, this is optional.
Many Other Ways to Accomplish the Project
There are many ways to accomplish the project I laid out above. You can use a free platform like WordPress.com or Wix or Tumblr or Medium, etc. You can blog anywhere.My choices for using Rainmaker for this project are as follows:
- All-in-one option for high quality hosting plus top-of-the-line security protection for my site (I've been hacked multiple times on other platforms, so this matters to me).
- One inclusive and affordable price for hosting, security, SEO, premium themes (dozens of them), mobile optimization, podcast hosting, forums software, merchant and email integration.
- Crisp and simple interface.
- Don't have to worry about upgrades (they do it for me).
- I can focus on creating content.
Should You Even Bother Creating a Content Marketing Platform?
I'm Chris Brogan. This site, chrisbrogan.com, has been my primary personal/business website for years. Not many people come to Owner unless they're already a customer.The beauty of launching OwnerFUEL is that I might be able to make it a brand that's bigger than just me personally, that I can give people even more value by creating something "pure" for business, marketing, and sales. And I like the idea of using it as a "hub" for the other content marketing work that I'm doing.Should YOU have a content marketing solution? It depends on whether you believe media creation and distribution is a good, low-cost method of earning potential new customers to your products and services. I've thrived in this space for quite a while. Mainstream marketing efforts have yielded me far worse results (probably because of what I sell). So I'm all in.What about you?
