Alan Chu's blog

I read last week an article titled Content Isn’t King. The author presented the idea of learning being the new king, and content as a monarch that had its run. Ironically, if he hadn’t produced that content, there wouldn’t have been anyone reading it. Having read his content, I now know who he is. I also learned that he is an expert in the field of learning and development. His point is that content has been replaced by instructional designers. My point is that the source of instructional designers and learning is content.

Two things struck me when reading that post about how content is dead. The author briefly mentions how Aristotle talks of learning, and also speaks critically of YouTube and content. My thoughts on these:

1. YouTube: Acquired by Google for $1.65 billion nearly a decade ago. Imagine how much someone else would have to pay to convince Google to part company with YouTube now – it’d be a whole lot more than $1.65 billion. Content-generation and content on its own is still wearing its crown, and now, in the form of video. It’s safe to say that more people are generating content than at any point in the history of the world.
2. Aristotle: Lived and died more than 2,300 years ago. There were many wise men during his time, but why do we still talk about him and a few others in particular? Simply because they had penned down their thoughts and while Aristotle didn’t live forever, it’s likely that his words will. The content he generated has resulted in learning and development throughout the centuries.

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Let me tell you why content is still king. You could be selling anything. Try walking into a meeting and saying, “I have integrity”, or entering a room filled with prospective clients, announcing to you them, “You should listen to me, because I am credible”.

No one will listen to you. There will be utter silence. The first person to speak will ask: “What do you mean you have integrity?” or “What do you mean you have credibility?”

Generating content that aligns with your brand strategy is what will back you up.

Want a good reason why I say that? I’ll give you five.

1. It demonstrates thought leadership. Regardless of what you do, you want to present to others that you are ahead of the curve. It is important that thought leadership is shown to the industry in order to keep yourself leading the charge in whatever you do.
2. Name Recognition. Closely linked with thought leadership is name recognition. The aim of generating effective content is to have your name as the first thing across people’s minds when they think about a certain product or service. Brand association, some say. And this is done by dripping quality content consistently into the industry.
3. Trust. Content can help build relationships. When readers invest time in perusing your content, trust factor grows too. They feel like they know how you think and hopefully like you too.
4. Authority. Consistently producing quality content establishes your authority on the pertinent subject. Given that you are a thought leader in your industry, consistently producing A-Grade content shows readers that you are thoroughly well-versed, and experts in what you do.
5. Search Engine Optimization. Search engines identify keywords, and fresh content. The more content is produced, the higher the likelihood that it lines up with what search engines are looking for. People who view your website will also see it as fresh, and very current (as compared to many websites which sit dormant).

People who run for President write books. Famous people write books and blogs to establish themselves as experts in their field. Think Robert Kiyosaki. Think Malcolm Gladwell. Then think again: for these two aforementioned people, what came first? Their works, or their fame? It can go both ways.

What you must know, is that content generation doesn’t get you money. It gives you a better shot at getting money. It gives you conversations because of the credibility it builds for you and that’s a great starting point. How you distribute your content and how your leverage it is what comes next.

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By Alan Chu

Potential investors come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them are big players, and some of them are small-time. Some of them are tall, and some of them are short. Some of them need to be mollycoddled, and some of them allow more independence. No one investor is the same as another.

A relationship with an investor is just like marriage, which means two things:

1. You first have to pick the right investor. This is very important. At the end of the day, you ideally want to have the right number of high net-worth investors rather than an excess of fickle-minded investors, eager to redeem their money when the boat gets rocky.
2. You have to show that you are together with them, in the same boat to either success or failure, but more importantly, that you are able to resonate with them and create a personal interest. In doing so, investors will believe in your vision, trust you, and will be more willing to stick with you long-term.

That being said, often (more often than not), you don’t have a choice in an investor like you have in picking a spouse. Sometimes, you just need money. Sometimes investors make redemptions because they have to pay off something else. But, you do have control to some extent.

How do you choose this spouse of yours? “Cold-calling” and the so-called “warm-calling” won’t allow you to do that well. Not on its own. You don’t want to be fishing through a list of hundreds of thousands of people. You want targeted lists.

Make use of a CRM system to filter out “duds” and target your audience more specifically. Find out who’s engaging with your email campaigns. Analyze your opportunity funnel. You’ll be able to get a sense of who’s interested and who’s not in a glance.

Build quality content consistently. Show that you’re a thought leader, and instill name recognition so that you or your company are first thing on their minds when they come across a certain product or service. When readers invest time in perusing your content, trust factor grows too. They feel like they know how you think and hopefully like you too. Consistently good content also establishes your authority on your pertinent subject. And very importantly, it helps with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Use video. A video shows passion, authenticity, and a personality that a marketing deck simply can’t articulate. Use the analytics that are generated to re-define your ability to profile interest. This is an example. You’re able to track people as they watch your video, and you can start a conversation the very moment they finish watching the video. Believe me, that this will blow their minds.

Streaming the diligence process is an enormous marketing opportunity too. See how it’s done here.

By using email and video analytics effectively, you are better served to pick the right investor. By using a CRM and proactively speaking with your clients that matter, and by making use of video, you’re showing your investors that you are together with them.

And speaking of being “together with them”, the best way to create sticky money is to be very clear about the market situations that you expect to perform both very well and very poorly. That way, when they occur, people will not be surprised. When they are surprised, they redeem.

There certainly are many, many more ways to have a relationship with an investor which is just like marriage. These are just a few examples among many, but let’s just take these for a start, shall we?

By Alan Chu