The Best Content Distribution Strategies

Last updated on June 13th, 2023

Natasha Hoke

Great advice is often hidden deep within interviews or presentations given by
experts and randomly uploaded on Youtube. We’ve transcribed 37+ videos to
capture key points on content distribution to 10X the traffic from every blog
post you create. Reading about the topic cluster strategy will give you
confidence that every post matters, the APP formula will capture a reader’s
attention in 2 seconds and the simple advice of tracking apps will put you
years ahead in distribution strategy.

Sections

Have a strategy or watch content die
Avoid common mistakes most of us lose years on
How to write content that raises you up the rankings
Outreach is hard work with the greatest pay off
Repurpose your content
How to really do that going viral thing
The basics of content promotion for beginners

This is our content distribution series.

1. Have a strategy or watch content die

We create posts that drop into an ocean of content and disappear.

Years later we figure out why the best marketers said to ‘have a strategy’ and
and this section is essential reading to avoid years of mistakes.

This is the first on the list for good reason.

Topic clusters are the future of getting your content seen on Google. Hubspot
re-organised their content under ‘topic clusters’ and increased their
traffic by 50%. We also created topic clusters and got to page 1 on Google
searches.

In short, if you can prove to Google that you are an expert on one topic, you
get to the top.

You can try and trick Google but in the long term it knows if your content
is relevant. Topic clusters are your path to creating your content with
honesty and passion, knowing they’ll have an impact and are part of a good
strategy.

There’s no coding involved for topic clusters, it’s a simple way to
organise blog posts which anyone can do.

Want to see a topic cluster page ranking high on Google?

Google for ‘customer
acquisition’
and click on "21 Customer Acquisition Strategies to Win New Customers". That’s
a topic cluster by Matthew Barbie who not so incidentally began working with
Hubspot to re-organise their content.

In short, you have a central pillar page with lots of related articles linking
to it so you cover one topic in depth. That means, to Google, you might know
what you’re talking about and Google will then raise you up the rankings.

Using this structure gives you a sense that** every blog post now has real
purpose** and is part of a bigger plan that’s proven to work.

The greater your interest in a topic, the more you write about it, the higher
you rank as long as it’s organised ?

We also got our blog content onto page 1 of google search for key
topics and grew traffic using this. We still know relatively little about SEO,
so we’re impressed as amateurs.

Topic clusters are not the end of regular SEO but they may be the immediate
future so we’ll cover what’s happened with us and then get to the talk.

[Track New Apps and Stay Years Ahead in Marketing |

GaryVee](/blog/why-some-are-years-ahead-in-marketing-distribution-strategy-and-tactics)

Do you ever think about those people who were very early users of Instagram,
Snapchat and Vine and how much they gained from it?

How can you do the same and gain enormous traffic just by being early?

Gary Vaynerchuk has a habit we wouldn’t
have guessed, he checks the latest 100 new apps every day. His speech covers
regret, executing, spending 5 hours a day with Instagram influencers and more.

Disruption Vs Distribution | GaryVee

Gary Vaynerchuk explains the importance of disruption within business success,
and how distribution is a key factor in the growth of disruption.

[Marketers are way more important that coders? | Marvin

Liao](/blog/500startups-growth-and-distribution-marvin-liao)

Oh Marvin…

Marvin has a blunt way of talking that could rub you the wrong way but that’s
also what makes it worth watching.

Besides his opinion on the relative value of coders vs marketers, we found
this one key quote to be interesting.

“Take 70% of your budget, and you put it into things that you know will work
for sure. Take 20% your budget, and put it into the next potentially growing
channels, and then you take the last 10% of your budget, and put it into new
things that could work.”

2. Avoid common mistakes most of us lose years on

You’ll notice a pattern through many of the posts and videos of this series.

These guys are the masters and they will repeatedly tell you to understand
your customer and communicate to them in a different way depending on the
channel.

The first article is a gem. It’s really a conversation between us regulars and
the pros.

[Content Distribution Mistakes We All Make | Neil

Patel](/blog/content-distribution-mistakes-we-all-make)

When you’re doing something that’s partly working, you don’t want to change
your strategy in case you lose what’s working right?

Andrea does a great job of explaining that fear and both Neil and Chris do a
great job of explaining the problems with it.

It includes advice on writing for potential buyers not just anyone, writing
content people will come back to for years and how to avoid getting outranked
on Google.

[Why We Distribute Content to the Wrong People and Suffer | April

Dunford](/blog/why-we-distribute-marketing-content-to-the-wrong-people-and-pay-for-it)

Do you hear a lot about marketing personas?

Or the phrase ‘find people similar to your current customers’?

Maybe you’ve even given it a go but felt you did not do it properly.

Here we give both our own recent experience and April Dunford’s take on
understanding the real buyers. It’s amazing how much it costs over time in
failing to do even a simple summary of their job titles.

Read more including how April went to sales and found out the real
problem

[Why Your Content Marketing Isn’t Working | Sujan

Patel](/blog/why-your-content-marketing-isnt-working)

You think, you write, you refine; you create a masterpiece.

You release it into the wild, thinking it’s going to spread like wildfire
because it’s the best thing you’ve ever written.

And… nothing. Sujan Patel walks through five reasons why your strategy is
failing and what you can do about it.

Read more including why 80% of time should be spent
distributing

[From $0 to $21M ARR: Our 5 Biggest Marketing F***U | Matt

Epstein](/blog/from-0-to-21m-arr-our-5-biggest-marketing-f-ups-matt-epstein)

Matt Epstein goes through some of the biggest marketing mistakes he has made
in his career, so you don’t have to make the same ones!

**Read more **including why you should not listen to your
co-workers

3. Write content that raises you in the rankings

Writing well is of course an essential part of content marketing and these
posts contain what we think are the simplest and most useful advice to easily
apply.

[The APP Formula Keeps Them on the Page so Your Content Ranks on Google’s

First Page | Brian
Dean](/blog/keep-them-on-the-page-so-your-content-ranks-on-googles-first-page)

Ever see something so good that you think ‘I want to keep this to myself in
case everyone else starts doing the same thing’.

Well, this is one of those.

Brian Dean shows you how you’re doing blog-post sub-headings all wrong, how to
get over that difficult blog introduction bit using the APP formula, how to
keep them reading through the boring bits and how this keeps you ranking top
on Google search.

**Read more **including the ‘bucket brigades’ trick great copywriters are
using

[10 Steps To Promote Your Content | Neil

Patel](/blog/10-steps-to-promote-your-content-31cd31958fe)

Sometimes we feel we need to do everything to promote content and we do
everything half way.

Sometimes we write a thesis as if we’re trying to impress a teacher, a teacher
that’s no longer there.

Wouldn’t it be nice to get a minimum done that works? Just do steps 1 to 4 but
5 to 10 are great options.

**Read more **including why your essays were boring so why still write
them

[10 Offbeat Tactics to 10x Your Growth | Sujan

Patel](/blog/10-offbeat-tactics-to-10x-your-growth-sujan-patel-f49aa2dbbc7)

Discover Sujan Patel’s tried-and-tested creative tips including getting
customers from your customers and letting your customers write your copy for
better distribution.

Read more including why you should thank your customers in real
life

4. Outreach is hard work with the greatest pay off

Parts of this were scary. It was scary because they showed what ‘hard work’
really means. Reaching out to 1,600 people to get 20 onboard? No, no, no,
please no. Oh ok then, maybe if we know the ratios then we can make it fun.

[Using Distribution To Build Your Following |

GaryVee](/blog/using-distribution-to-build-your-following-gary-vaynerchuk-c1c21840169)

Do you hustle? This is smart hustle we can all do.

Gary Vaynerchuk teaches you how to promote your video content with 2 key
distribution tips, that will ensure the growth of your video blog.

Read more includingreaching out to the top 100
podcasts

[#№1 Content Link Building strategy in 2018 | Brian

Dean](/blog/link-building-case-study-my-1-strategy-for-2018-brian-dean)

Gaining organic traffic can sometimes be a challenge. This easy 5 step process
called ‘Guestographics’ will drastically boost the numbers on your blog and
site.

Read more including a beautifully worded guestographics email that
worked

[Find Guest Post and Keyword Opportunities using Similar Sites Chrome

Extension](/blog/find-guest-post-and-keyword-opportunities-using-similar-sites-chrome-extension)

Lets say you want to write a guest post about amazing donuts.

You find a blog that focuses on amazing donuts and they share your post. How
do you find more sites like that one quickly? It be nice if you clicked a
button and saw a list of similar sites to that guy right?

Read moreabout using Similar
Sites

[How to Craft a Perfect Guest Post Pitch? | Alex

Berman](/blog/how-to-craft-a-perfect-guest-post-pitch-alex-berman)

Writing guest blog posts can drastically boost traffic on your own blog or
website.

But what’s the best way to ask someone to feature your content on their site?

Alex Berman goes through the perfect email example to feature your work on
other blogs.

Read more including what to avoid in guest posting
emails

[Understand the Psychology of Cold Emailing to Get a

Response](/blog/understand-the-psychology-of-cold-emailing-to-get-a-response)

Cold emails — the bane of marketing.

Low open rates, even less click-throughs, and agonisingly poor conversions.

But, this doesn’t have to be the case. Susan Su reveals the psychology of cold
emailing, showing us what subject lines work and get those responses.

**Read more **including how people we like are more
believable

[The Best Content Distribution tools? Try

BuzzStream](/blog/the-best-content-distribution-tools-try-buzzstream-79dc6649dc5)

Yeah, it would be nice to have a little black book of contacts for outreach.

Knowing your audience is relatively easy, finding them and managing them is
the difficult part.

BuzzStream is the natural tool to build a database but one where the ground up
work is sped up without diluting it. This is a quick overview of how
Buzzstream collects data and helps you spread the word.

[Where to Contact Influencers? Twitter, Twitter, Twitter |

GaryVee](/blog/where-to-contact-influencers-twitter-twitter-twitter)

You ever felt your cold emails to influencers have vanished into the abyss?

Gary Vaynerchuk strongly pushes Twitter
over cold email and see how much response he expects us to get for every 80
people we contact.

Read more including what result contacting 1,600 influencers gets
you

[Everyone Wants to Take From Influencers But are You Offering Economic

Value in Return? |
GaryVee](/blog/everyone-wants-to-take-from-influencers-are-you-offering-economic-value)

When you’re contacting influencers, do you ever wonder if you’re offering them
enough value?

Does it feel a little like begging and hoping?

As Gary proves, influential people get angry when they’re offered a bad trade.
The economics need to be right.

[How to Scale your Content Outreach | Neil Patel and Eric

Siu](/blog/how-to-scale-your-content-outreach)

When you’ve published a blog post, do you only then look for people to contact
to help distribute it?

How many people have a ‘go to’ list for outreach?

Can you really contact the same people again?

Neil Patel and Eric Siu give a short smart talk on outreach, building lists
and useful tools that help you speed up and scale outreach for consistently
higher traffic.

5. Repurpose your content

No brainer. Created good content? Don’t start from scratch on something new,
make it work 10X over. Turn it into a slideshare, a video etc but remember the
earlier advice of how different channels need different approaches.

[7 Ways to Repurpose Your Content | Neil Patel & Eric

Siu](/blog/7-ways-to-repurpose-your-content-neil-patel-eric-siu)

Repurposing content isn’t always the easiest task if you don’t know where to
start.

How can you repurpose your content to get maximum exposure?

Neil Patel and Eric Siu take you through their 7 tips to distribute your
content via different channels in creative ways.

[How to Repurpose Written Content on Social Media |

GaryVee](/blog/how-to-repurpose-written-content-on-social-media)

Consistent, original content is a difficult thing to sustain.

So is it okay to recycle the same media, reshaping it to fit the channel?

In this two-minute video, Gary Vaynerchuk explains why he’s an advocate for
both reusing the same content and creating unique pieces.

[How to Publish on LinkedIn and Get Content See | Sujan

Patel](/blog/how-to-publish-on-linkedin-and-get-content-seen)

Sujan Patel gives you 6 expert tips about LinkedIn publishing, and how to make
the most out of the social media platform.

It is the easiest way to get a lot of traction within your existing network,
and actually build your network.

6. How to really do that going viral thing

There are companies that specialise in making things go viral. That means it’s
something that can be learned and repeated. So, lets learn.

[Story Telling for Viral Distribution | Jonathan

Perelman](/blog/story-telling-for-viral-distribution)

This is important because of Mark Zuckerberg’s recent announcement on changing
the Facebook feed towards interactions that bring people closer.

Stories that resonate with people and help them talk will be more important
than disguised business ads.

This is an edited transcript of how Buzzfeed did viral story telling in a
great talk by Jonathan Perelman.

Seeing this, we’re a lot closer to being able to do the same thing with a
slight shift in mindset as it covers how to create stories that resonate with
people.

[The One Element All Virality Has in Common | Josh

Elman](/blog/the-one-element-all-virality-has-in-common-josh-elman)

What does virality mean for a brand? Does your brand need virality?

Josh Elman shares some expert tips about word of mouth virality and what it
can do to drastically change your business.

Read more including Josh Elman’s concept of
inception

[How to get your ideas to spread | Seth

Godin](/blog/how-to-get-your-ideas-to-spread-seth-godin)

Deep down inside we really do know when we’re about to send the right content
to the right person.

We can roughly predict if they’ll be happy once they’ve seen it.

This talk by Seth Godin is both classic and still relevant to content
distribution. The key themes are of how people don’t care, the need to be
remarkable or fresh and talking to the people who really are listening or even
obsessed.

Read more including his famous purple cow
analogy

[How to Design and Track Viral Growth Experiments | Brian

Balfour](/blog/how-to-design-and-track-viral-growth-experiments-brian-balfour)

This is for the heavy duty thinkers at the top of their game. It’s about a
growth engine and that’s a vital part of the distribution process.

How do you know what works and what doesn’t? Growth isn’t achieved by hacks
and tricks, but processes and optimisation. Brian Balfour talks through
Hubspot’s project cycle and how they turn experiments into success.

Read more including how silver bullets don’t
exist

[Distribution and Growing Your User Base | Drew

Houston](/blog/distribution-and-growing-your-user-base-drew-houston)

Growing your user base from scratch is a challenge.

Prior to Dropbox’s famous simple email viral they did do some good headline
writing and distribution that also worked.

If you have a good product then try going to the extreme like they did. They
grew from 5,000 to 75,000 people overnight.

[How to Make a Viral Video | Karen X

Cheng](/blog/how-to-make-a-viral-video-karen-x-cheng-c417c943d9)

Looking to make a viral video or a video that converts? Karen X Cheng shares
her top 10 tips for making multi-million viewed videos.

Read more including why you should write the news headline
first

[How to Go Viral Overnight Using Reddit | Brian

Hanley](/blog/how-to-go-viral-overnight-using-reddit)

Viral content — the marketer’s dream, and with more and more platforms to post
on such as Reddit, marketers are taking advantage of them to boost
distribution.

Brian Hanley walks through the basics of posting on Reddit and how it is used
to increase exposure.

7. The basics of content marketing

These articles cover the basics of content marketing if you’re starting off.
They offer the simple solid advice that has worked again and again. It’s great
to read as jumping into the more advanced SEO strategies or talking about
storytelling and viral videos is further down the path.

[Blog Content Distribution for Beginners | Josh

King](/blog/blog-content-distribution-for-beginners-josh-king)

Josh King explains the key points to help you kick start your content
distribution journey.

[Want More Social Media Traffic? 6-Step Blog Content Distribution Plan |

Lindsay Marder](/blog/want-more-social-media-traffic)

What do you do once you have great content? You want to share it, so more
people see it, and continue to share it, so that new people see it!

Follow these 6 easy steps to distribute your content and continue to get new
clicks on old content. Maximum exposure for your work!

Read more including the process of splintering your
content

[Top 5 Tips For Content

Marketing](/blog/top-5-tips-for-content-marketing-small-business)

Planning a content marketing strategy isn’t always clear cut. These five tips
by Roberto Blake will help you target and reach the audience you want to with
your content.

[Aim to Generate Leads with Content Distribution | Melissa

Chang](/blog/aim-to-generate-leads-with-content-distribution-melissa-chang)

You’ve written a great article. You can’t just post it and hope for the best .
Use these key distribution tips to bring new eyes to your work, even on older
posts and get those leads.

**Read more **including going where your customers are in the
conversation

[Are You Using the Best Content for Social Media Distribution? | Christer

Holloman](/blog/are-you-using-the-best-content-for-social-media-distribution)

Heard of Foxton’s in the UK? Well, lets just say it’s an estate agent that
lots of people use but are always complaining about.

Social media content is an artful balance of business and culture. Jeremy
Spiller interviews Christer Holloman about what to include in media content
and how to create a more engaging profile, how to look for different angles to
improve an image.

Read more including making a good social media
proposition

[Distributing Content Through Paid, Owned and Earned Media |

CMA](/blog/distributing-content-through-paid-owned-and-earned-media)

Find the right way to share and get exposure for your work. Discover what
channels and tips you can use to optimise your content and get the best
results.

Read more including learning to speak the language of the
channel

END!

When you’re too tired to advertise our own product

This series took work…

If you liked it then do 2 things…

Visit the Upscope site if you use a live chat service like
Intercom, Olark, Zendesk, LiveChat, Drift etc. It’s a very popular add-on that
lets see your user’s screen from live chat, instantly.
Get the next series coming out soon by adding your email below. Bless.