The problem with content marketing, isn’t that you’re producing free information/articles/ebooks/whitepapers for the stated purpose of turning your readers into paying customers…

The problem is that most companies producing content purely for the sake of selling a product, will produce to produce crap content, with zero depth, and minimal value. They will lose readership, and business, in the long run.

The term ‘content marketing’ doesn’t go far enough. Companies should focus instead on serving their customers through a ‘core intent’.

My own company, The Art of Education, has a ‘core intent’ of “Empowering art teachers with Ridiculously Relevant Professional Development.”

This means, that the entire organization — and everything we do — seeks to provide art teachers with quality PD in whatever form it most makes sense.

Sometimes this means free articles, other times it means paid online conferences. Sometimes it means $500 online classes, and other times it means a free e-book!

What remains the same, is that every product we offer, is completely devoted to our ‘core intent’, and each product works seamlessly with the other.

We write articles because it helps fulfill our core intent, not because it helps us sell classes — which it does. As a result, we’re not burdened by a need to sell, sell, sell… and each interaction with our audience is completely organic.

When your company’s mission or core-intent is serving a specific customer, in a specific way, you’ll have no problem creating free products/information which will inevitably help sell your paid products/information. This model is far more healthy and sustainable than the short-sighted ‘content marketing’ alternative.