I recently discovered a series of interviews featuring the author Ryan Holiday.
When asked about marketing his books, Holiday said, “The best marketing you can do for a book is to write another book.”
The advice has stuck with me, mostly because I think it applies to many other forms of content creation and marketing.
Sometimes my job involves experimenting with unconventional ways to promote blog posts. Many of these techniques involve lots of research into journalists, publications, and niche social media sites.
But at the end of the day, I believe the greatest way to market your blog is to keep writing new blog posts.
Your willingness to consistently create high-quality content over time will take your ideas further than any promotional hack.
Time can be your greatest edge as a writer.
One of my favorite investment writers is Morgan Housel. He has a similar philosophy when it comes to investing. He believes the greatest advantage individual investors have over big Wall Street firms is time.
“The irony is that while Wall Street has more information than you, its short time horizon forces it to deal with more randomness than you have to. That's your edge. And it's why any bumpkin who buys an index fund and forgets about it will beat the vast majority of professional money managers over time. “
Your decision to continuously show up, week after week, to share new ideas and stories, is an act of marketing. Other people and businesses may have greater resources than you. They may have a more SEO-friendly website. They may have a better ad budget or catch a luckier break.
But your commitment to always write that next article will do more to market your ideas and blog than even the greatest marketing secrets.
That’s because playing the long game is the hardest part.
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