The demand for content marketing services is definitely on the rise. So, if you’re new to the industry and want to learn more, my best advice would be for you to roll up your sleeves and get in the trenches. A lot about content marketing relies on your ability to recognize good opportunities for promotion and having a good eye for quality content that’s relevant. These are skills that you hone through hands-on experience.

That said, my years in content marketing also taught me that there are some benchmark practices that you should always keep in mind. Here are some that I think top the list:

Start with a content marketing strategy

A content marketing strategy doesn’t necessarily have to be a 100-slide deck full of jargon. It can be as simple as mapping out your objectives and tying that to goals that are feasible and measurable. It also makes doing your job easier because it’s clear what your next steps are and what you need to do to achieve your goals.

Be consistent

Often, new marketers forget just how important consistency is when it comes to getting real, measurable results. If your goal is to stay top-of-mind with your audience, then you have to maintain a consistent publishing schedule that your audience can count on.

Consistency isn’t just about frequency either. You also have to make sure that you’re producing high quality content, no matter how often you release new material. This is why I strongly advise you to start your efforts with a marketing strategy as well. It allows you to carefully assess how much bandwidth you can dedicate towards content marketing while ensuring regular postings and high quality materials.

Don’t focus too much on SEO

Yes, SEO is definitely important and should be a part of your content marketing toolkit. However, it shouldn’t be the only consideration when creating content. Relevance and quality should still be your primary considerations. Make sure your articles are well written and tell a cohesive story that your audience can relate to. From there, you can add keywords and key phrases to help make your content easier to find and rank better on search engines.

Track your content with an editorial calendar

Even if you’re only publishing a small volume of content as a newbie, trust that you will eventually increase the volume of material that you’re publishing as you continue your efforts. Don’t assume you can keep track of everything in your head—it just won’t work. You need to remember what topics you’ve already written about, what potential subjects you can still talk about, and map it out in a strategic, logical manner that you can track.

A simple Excel file can do this effectively. Just be sure to update it regularly as you publish content.

Hope my answer helps! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a message on my Twitter or LinkedIn.