Table of Contents
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Chapter 1 Rockets Don’t Fly Themselves 1
The Problem with Marketing 2
The Internet as the Great Paralyzer 4
Meet the Enemy: Channel Overload Syndrome 5
Do People Really Trust Your Business? 6
Introducing the Elevation Principle 7
Elements of the Elevation Principle 13
Why the Formula Works 24
Chapter 2 Starting Your Mission Plan 27
Establishing Your Clear Vision 28
Crafting Measurable Goals 32
Setting Your Course Trajectory 34
Chapter 3 Finding Inspiration by Looking Outward 43
Identifying Role Models 44
Leveraging Inspirational Content 47
Setting Up an Idea Vault 49
Creating a Discovery System 51
Why the Outward Focus? 55
Chapter 4 Leveraging the Power of Other People 57
The Power of Other People 58
Who Do You Want to Reach? 59
Developing Profiles for Your Ideal Reader Base 61
How to Identify the Problems and Desires of Your Reader Base 65
What Problems Are They Facing? 65
Working with Outside Experts 69
Leveraging Fire Starters 77
Why Focus on Other People? 80
Chapter 5 Actively Engaging Other People 83
Reciprocity Marketing 84
The Importance of Giving Genuine Gifts 87
Using Social Proof 93
Moving People to Action 100
Why Engage? 104
Chapter 6 Making Content the Fuel of Your Marketing 107
Proof That Content Works 107
What Makes for Great Content? 113
Creating an Editorial Guide 119
Mapping an Editorial Calendar 121
Why Content? 124
Chapter 7 Creating and Using Primary Fuel 127
What Is Primary Fuel? 128
Comprehensive How-to Articles 134
Expert Interviews 138
Reviews 143
Case Studies 147
News Stories 150
Contrarian Stories 153
Chapter 8 Creating and Using Nuclear Fuel 155
What Is Nuclear Fuel? 156
Reports Based on Surveys 161
White Papers 166
Top 10 Contests 172
Micro Events 178
Chapter 9 How to Employ Marketing 185
What Does ‘‘Caging Marketing Messages’’ Mean? 186
How to Employ Marketing Messages 187
The Last Word: The Elevation Principle Revisited 205
Appendices Primary Fuel Content Samples 207
Appendix A: Comprehensive How-to Article 208
Appendix B: Expert Interview 213
Appendix C: Review 219
Appendix D: Case Study 223
Appendix E: Contrarian Story 229
Glossary 235
About the Author 237
Discover More about the Elevation Principle 239
Index 241
