Lessons from 17A

By Pete Kennedy

Flying is bad enough these days, sitting in the middle seat even worse.

But, hey, I was on my way home, the flight was short, and I had something decent to read. Could be worse.

I had barely settled in when the guy in 17A started bending my ear. “Have you seen one of these before?” he asked. He held a Kindle, and yes, I had seen one of those before.

My response made no difference; 17A wanted to show me his new toy, and he immediately began putting the Kindle through the paces. I’m not complaining. He turned out to be a pretty nice guy, and it’s hard to find fault with someone so enthusiastic.

You know what else? Somewhere along the way, 17A taught me a few lessons—and reminded me of a few others, too. By the time we walked off that plane, I felt darn good about my future—not because of the Kindle that was in 17A’s hand, but because of what was on the Kindle in his hand.

My livelihood is writing and editing, and 17A drove home the point that there will always be a place for good content, no matter how it’s delivered.

So what, specifically, are these lessons?

1. Good content gets people excited.

My newly found friend told me he rarely read books before his Kindle. He explained why: the cost, finding the time to get to a bookstore, some sort of aversion to the public library. Yet now he could barely contain his excitement at the prospects. “Do you realize how many good books are out there?” he asked me.

2. Bad content, delivered via a slick new approach, is still bad content.

This lesson was driven home during 17A’s unsolicited “downloading from a magazine” tutorial.

First, he went online and demanded I select a magazine. “Go ahead, pick any one,” he ordered. He then downloaded a story and proudly showed it off.

The article addressed the pros and cons of municipal bond investments. I quickly learned that 17A was not interested in the topic. “If I had the magazine, I’d let you compare this version with the print,” he said. “But there is no chance I’d be carrying around a magazine with that story in it.” (I could only hope the guy in 17C wasn’t a bond saleseman.)

Then 17A showed me another Kindle feature. “Here’s how you delete,” he said.

3. New delivery methods alone can help you gain an audience.

This certainly proved to be the case with 17A. He never would have read his newly found authors had he not been intrigued by his Kindle. Some people like gadgets. Find a way to put your content on the newest, latest, coolest device, and you’ll reach those people.

4. Don’t confuse your content with the mechanism that delivers it.

There’s a place for Point 3 above, but don’t carry it too far. The Kindle is being challenged left and right for market share, and something we don’t even know about is under development. If your message can only be delivered one way, you’ll be sunk when that mechanism goes out of style—and it will.

5. Mix the old with the new.

My buddy in 17A has no interest in the bookstore. On the other hand, plenty of other readers are still using print. It’s likely the same with your customers. You probably don’t have the luxury of reaching only those who are technologically advanced—or, conversely, those who aren’t. Deliver your content through websites, blog posts, e-blasts, e-pubs and, yes, print. Make sure your content is good, and then make sure everyone sees it in the format they prefer.

6. If you create good content, and offer it in enough formats, your audience will find it.

My new flying buddy was reading a bestseller that had been recommended by a friend—a friend who had read a hard copy of the book. The friend’s praise of the book sent 17A to find it via his Kindle.

Your customers and prospects will do the same. Send them an e-newsletter with quality content, and they’ll recommend it to friends and colleagues. Maybe they’ll forward it, or send their friends a link to a story or video on your website.

If it’s good, they’ll find it—and share it.

7. Content can be so valuable that someone will give up something to get it.

For example, 17A surrendered money for a book. The content was so alluring that he actually paid to look at it.

Is your content so compelling that customers and prospects would pay to see it? What if you saved them money, or helped them learn a valuable trick of the trade? Would they be willing to “pay” in the form of an e-mail address that would allow you to deliver future content (along with key promotional messages) to them?

Make your content so good that they ask to receive more.

Sure, it sounds like a tall order. But wouldn’t your customers and prospects be on board if you offered information that helped their businesses succeed, or a promotional offer that saved them money?

Not that developing good content is easy. It requires effort, commitment, attention to detail, and lots of time. Sometimes you need to stand in the rain. You might have to travel (and sit in the middle seat).

To develop really good content, you’ll have to put up with these inconveniences—or pay someone else to.

Yet the benefits more than pay off. You’ll see more web hits, more e-mail captures, more opt-ins to e-communications.

Some benefits are harder to see. Maybe that pre-conditioned prospect won’t be such a tough sell. Maybe those new customers would have looked elsewhere if your content (and message) hadn’t connected with them.

The pieces will fall into place if you offer content so compelling that 17A loves it—whether he is looking at it on his Kindle, or on the wall of a cave.