For 20 years -- kindergarten through law school -- I learned. That was my job.

Once I began practicing law, however, I learned something incredibly important about myself. I understood what I wanted out of life, and more importantly, what I didn’t want. So I became an entrepreneur.

Then the real learning started for the next 22 years.

And yet, I’m just getting started. And so are you. We all are, because as long as you’re in business, it never ends.

Some people groan at the thought of it. But I love it, and it’s one of the main drivers behind my success and my favorite catch phrase -- keep going. From my first business all the way up to the new ones I have now, it’s been one incredible learning experience after another.

There are things we learn the hard way. Other lessons come from deliberately seeking out answers to hard questions.

And this should always include learning more about what makes people tick, so you can use that knowledge to help people while creating a business or career for yourself.

I plan to keep going until I no longer can. Not for the money, but because this is what I do. In the words of our man Ogilvy, the secret to a long life is double careers -- one to about age sixty, then another for the next thirty years. :-)

You may feel the same way.

Frankly, I could stop working now. Once both kids are off to college in a couple of years, I’ll be free to travel the world.

And I will do that, but I’ll still be doing the work that I love from wherever I happen to be.

That means I have to keep learning, even at the age of 53. To embrace new technology that may be out of my comfort zone. To keep digging deeper into the enduring aspects of human nature so I can continue to bring value to people.

Plus, it’s damn good for my brain. The last thing I want is to be 65, mentally declining, and out of touch with the world. And I can guarantee you that the world will look radically different in the 12 years it takes me to get there.

But enough about me. Let’s get back to you, and what you’ll need to succeed. So you can travel the world and do work that you love from wherever you happen to be.

More specifically, let’s talk about the skills and mindset required to become a poet and a killer so you can get rich (however you personally define that). That’s why you’re reading, right?

So, what should you focus on learning? Do you have to master every aspect of digital marketing to succeed?

No, I don’t think so.

You need a general familiarity with it all, but your core competency is content creation. That’s not enough alone, but it’s still the vital creative element that sets you apart from those who can’t write as well.

But you must add expertise from three crucial related disciplines that also sets you apart from other writers. Those areas are:

1. Strategy
2. Traffic
3. Audience

Content is at the core of effective digital marketing, but without the addition of all of the above, it doesn’t work. You need a working knowledge of all three, plus a specialty in at least one of them.

Let’s dive into each a little deeper.

1. Strategy

Adding strategic thinking to the creative process has been the key to supplementing a poetic nature with killer instincts for centuries. And it’s one area where anyone can improve; it just requires focused attention on the right resources.

• Marketing strategy: Being able to formulate a documented content marketing strategy is a skill any content marketer should have. Especially those who later create the content to execute on the strategy. It makes sense that the person or team who leads the buyer’s journey should be the ones who map it out in the first place.


• Systems strategy: Separate and distinct from a content marketing strategy is a content strategy, or a systematic approach to content creation and management. Add to that various strategic productivity, workflow, and technology systems to create truly effective marketing initiatives, and you’ve got a well-oiled machine.


• Strategic partnerships: From finding co-founders to entering marketing partnerships, strategic collaboration has been one of my secret weapons for two decades. And when you’re doing it right, the very marketing strategy that attracts an audience also produces perfect partners and affiliates.

2. Traffic

If there’s one topic that bedevils content creators and digital marketers of all kinds, it’s traffic. And while content and copy power site visits and opt-ins, it takes a special expertise to get people to join an audience and eventually convert to a customer or client.

• Online advertising: The golden age of free organic social media traffic has long passed us by, replaced with the juggernaut advertising programs of Facebook and Google. On the other hand, the tools for precisely targeted traffic make this affordable form of advertising more effective than ever before.


• Search engine optimization: While well-placed ads can get you qualified prospects in a matter of days, SEO is a long-term game that can eventually provide a steady stream of organic traffic. It’s no surprise that search is more competitive than ever, and that’s why creativity plus technical skill is the key to attracting links and ranking well.


• Analytics and conversion: An effective traffic strategy uses data to make decisions and adjustments, and that means getting comfortable with website analytics. And mastering the copywriting art of converting cold traffic into leads via landing pages and content upgrades means the traffic doesn’t go to waste.

3. Audience

When it comes down to it, audience is king, not content or traffic ... and yet you need the other two first to attract an engaged group of viable prospects. Specializing in growing, engaging, and deeply understanding an audience makes you much more than a “content writer.”

• Email automation: Once you truly understand an audience and have a viable strategy, implementing smart automation adds value both to the audience and to you (or your client). The tools are not only more affordable than ever, they’re easier to use than ever. It takes some time to master, but your value in today’s marketplace will pay you back.


• Email analytics: The data produced from the email environment is amazing for gleaning further insights about the audience, such as what content they prefer, and what products and services they desire. Again, it starts with understanding the audience at a strategic level, and from there you’ll seem like a marketing superhero simply by paying attention.


• Personalization: Even beyond email automation, the days of one-size-fits-all broadcast marketing are over. Learning how to segment an otherwise unified audience allows you to use powerful technology to deliver personalized content experiences that people have come to expect from dealing with Amazon and Netflix. Truth is, these three areas are everything when it comes to digital marketing. Sure, you still need strong copy to close the deal, but many of you have that skill already (and if not, you’re working on it, right?).

Of course, you can name other specialties. But “social media expert,” for example, is meaningless if it’s just someone showing you how to use TikTok. Today, social media is an advertising channel, and that’s because marketers use it as a traffic source.

I’m known for content marketing and copywriting. But the reality is that strategy, traffic, and audience are what’s powered my success with 10 successful companies and counting.

And even at this point -- when I can outsource pretty much everything other than strategy -- I’m still hands on with new technology.

I’m a firm believer that delegation is not about handing off something you can’t do. It’s handing off something that someone else does better or just as well, so you can focus on things that are more important.

And that something else is ... you guessed it, strategy. You have to be mindful of the details and the technology even as you relentlessly focus on your big-picture objective.

So, in my new businesses, I don’t feel like I have to write everything. As long as I can share my strategy with talented writers like Trudi Roth and Kat Ambrose (two of our Copyblogger Certified Content Marketing writers who I’ve hired), I know that I’m constantly moving toward my business objectives.

But as I continue to ramp up Further and Unemployable, imagine how delighted I’d be to have a great writer who can also run Facebook ad campaigns from start to finish.

And how much would I value a content creator who gets SEO, or knows ConvertKit automation cold, or can find the patterns in audience data?

Rhetorical questions, right? Of course I would hire those people in a millisecond, and I’m not easy to impress. Now imagine how well you’d do in the marketplace in general.

You’d absolutely own it.

And you’d end up succeeding so much that you’d end up without a job, or any clients ... because you’ll soon understand that you have the keys to any entrepreneurial success you desire.

Sound tough?

Well, if it were easy, everyone would be at the level of success they dream about. But -- and this is important -- it’s not about talent or some unreachable personal trait that only certain people possess.

This is all in the realm of the learnable.

And yes, you guessed it ... I’d like you to learn from us, but also learn with us and others in this rapidly changing wicked environment called digital marketing.

More soon.

Keep going-

Brian Clark
Founder - Copyblogger