Content Inc., Second Edition: Start a Content-First Business, Build a Massive Audience and Become Radically Successful (With Little to No Money)

This isn't a book to be sped through, this is meant to be read and practiced.

Excellent book. Clarified so much of information in a step by step format. Loved it

Pulizzi takes the reader step-by-step from identifying a content provider's sweet spot to the exit strategy with stops along the way for refining your content tilt, selecting your chief platform, building your audience, monetizing your content, diversifying your channels and/or platforms and acquiring content. Pros: • Pulizzi is very through and provides clear, actionable tasks at every step. • He is very specific and realistic about the timeline to deploy this model and up-front about the work involved. With his guidance, the path to a successful Content, Inc. business may be simple, but it is in no way easy. • He outlines the (mostly) internal roadblocks to success (I saw myself in a few of these). Cons: • Updated earlier this year (2021), many of the technology and platform specific tips are likely to become outdated soon. • Though Pulizzi makes the argument that everyone is in the content business, this book does have a narrow focus that might not be appropriate for most business owners. If content is part of your business strategy, this book is indispensable.

My first-edition copy of Content Inc. is full of highlighted sections, torn-up bookmarks, and dog-eared pages. After being laid off from my newspaper job in 2015, Joe Pulizzi made me rethink how I can apply my journalism skills outside of the newsroom. His book has since held a special place in my office as my wife and I run our own content-based business. I was curious just how updated and expanded this new edition would be, so I offered to read an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Obviously, based on the impact the first edition had on my life, I’d recommend Content Inc. to anyone trying to make a career out of content. Joe’s real-world examples of content entrepreneurship go hand-in-hand with the model he not only lays out for readers but has lived himself. The latter is what makes this edition valuable to anybody who’s already read the first. The “Sell or Go Big” section is completely new and gives readers an inside look into Joe’s journey with Content Marketing Institute, from its origin to its sale to UBM. As someone who’s followed Joe the past 5 years (his newsletters, podcasts, blogs), the book included material he’s never really talked about before, and I appreciated the candor and vulnerabilities he shared. The bright orange second edition earns itself a place on my bookshelf next to the first. I’ll likely reference it just as much whenever I’m looking for ideas or inspiration while building my own content enterprise.

I read this book with a highlighter and a notebook because there are so many good nuggets in it, not to mention a full course on how to do content marketing the right way to start a business. Forget what you've ever learned about starting with the product and instead, start with your passion (sweet spot) and the audience in mind. Then find "the Tilt" to get heard above the competition. Joe lays it out in an easy to follow format with interesting case studies and insight into both business creation and life. A must read for anyone who loves to write content and has an entrepreneurial spirit.