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You've probably heard the phrase "content is king" many times before, especially if you're an affiliate marketer. But what does it really mean and why is it so important for your success?

Why am I writing an article on content?  Well, most of us realize that "content is king" but, for me, I know that through personal experience and lot's of it!  You see, for the longest time, I fell into the trap of 'marketing' via traffic exchanges and safelists.  (It's why the featured image on this post is one of a door-to-door salesman).  Promoters of traffic exchanges and safelists call what they do 'marketing'.  But it's really only advertising isn't it?  And advertising is such a miniscule component of marketing that is created with a view to offering substance and value.

What is Marketing?

Marketing is the effort to supply an audience with value. It seeks to help people with a solution to an issue or a problem they may have.  For that, the marketer needs to know her/his audience and what their wants and needs are.  The advertiser knows little or nothing about these things.  And that is why the failure rate in affiliate marketing is so high.  I know this will be controversial but advertising is really the lazy man's approach to marketing.  There is little or no value in 'advertising' per se.  At it's core, it is little more than spamming, something like the door-to-door salesman or a telemarketer does every day.

Why Do They Say 'Content is King'?

Content is king because it's the main way you can attract, engage and convert your audience into customers. Content is how you provide value to your visitors, how you showcase your expertise and authority, how you build trust and credibility, your brand and how you persuade people to take action on your offers.

Content is also king because it's the foundation of your SEO strategy. Content is how you optimize your site for relevant keywords, how you rank higher on search engines, how you drive organic traffic, and how you generate backlinks from other authoritative sites.

Content is king because it's the fuel of your marketing campaigns. Content is how you create lead magnets, landing pages, email newsletters, social media posts, webinars, podcasts, videos and more. Content is how you nurture your leads, how you educate them about your products or services, how you overcome their objections, and how you motivate them to buy.

Content is king because it's the key to your long-term success. Content is how you create loyal fans, how you increase customer retention, how you encourage referrals and word-of-mouth, and how you grow your brand awareness and reputation.  It's how you create a tribe of loyal, repeat customers!  Without regular customers, you are in the business of cold-calling.  Any experienced stock broker, insurance exec or any other business owner will tell you that, without regular customers, you may as well fold your tent.

As an affiliate marketer, content is king because it's the best way to promote your affiliate products or services without being salesy or spammy. People buy from those who they know, like and trust.  How do you get people to know, like and trust you if all you do is advertise?  There is a simple and straightforward answer.  You can't!  Content is how you add value to your audience, how you solve their problems, how you recommend solutions that fit their needs and how you earn commissions without compromising your integrity.

So, content is king because it's the most effective way to achieve your goals as an affiliate marketer. But not all content is created equal. You need to create high-quality content that is relevant, useful, engaging, original, and persuasive. You need to create content that stands out from the crowd and that delivers results, in other words, top-tier content.  It's an extraordinarily competitive world out there and, if your content is sub-standard, it is not going to get you to the affiliate marketing 'promised land'.

That's why you need to invest in content creation and content marketing. You need to plan, research, write, edit, optimize, publish, distribute and measure your content. You need to use the best tools and strategies to create content that works for your niche, your audience and your offers.  You need to create content that is king.

Grant Rayner