RULE 2:
Know your audience and
put them first

RULE #2

Make it about them

We've said it already, but it bears repeating as a rule of its own. Put your audience's interests and needs first – not your product, service, or brand.

Some marketers argue against allowing any sort of reference to product or service in a piece of content marketing. It doesn't need to be this black and white. Just make sure that any reference to your brand, product or service makes sense in the given context, and doesn't read as self-promotion dressed up as something else.A brilliant example of this is Grammarly's weekly progress emails. Customers are given information about their own writing skills benchmarked against other users. Their common errors are highlighted, serving as both useful personal insight and a nudge to keep using the tool.

90% of successful content marketers prioritize the audience’s informational needs over their sales/promotional message

CMI, 2019