My Content Ecosystem = Revenue

how I built it and 8 takeaways

Jun 19, 2024

👋 Hello Welcome

I’ve built a content ecosystem that generates inbound demands for my business and facilitate outbound (it’s easier to outreach to people because they know me).

In this newsletter, I’m going to describe it:

What is a content ecosystem?
How I built my content ecosystem?
The benefits of my content ecosystem?
What I’m planning for the ecosystem (and why?)?

150+ Students are learning how to build their content ecosystem in my program

Get more information here: https://www.pierreherubel.com/course

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(The course has a 14-day guarantee, you have unlimited access, and I regularly add more lessons and checklists)

What is a content ecosystem?

A content ecosystem is a set of channels interconnected by links and content upgrades. In this system, you publish content about one core topic and showcase your expertise. It helps to build industry authority, trust, and revenue.

How I Built my Content Ecosystem?

1st Channel: Linkedin

I started from posting on Linkedin in January 2022. It’s a great channel to start as you can get a good feedback loop and reach audience in your 2nd and 3rd network circle. Thanks to Linkedin, we got inbound leads for our go-to-market agency.

A feedback loop is a way to get insights back from your audience: you post content, they comment, engage, and DM you. You know what topic / formats work best based on the results. So you can improve based on this.

1st takeaway: You need to start from a channel with a fast feedback loop.

It could also be Tiktok, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter (X), Substack Note

Benefits of LinkedIn:

Direct access to your target audience
Good reach (high visibility)
Fast feedback loop

2nd Format: eBooks sent by Email

Then I started creating ebooks to write more in depth content. It was a great format to write longer version and explain in details some concept. For example, I was able to talk briefly about Messaging Test on a Linkedin post, and explain the full concept in a part of the ebook.

The first ebook I created was “The top 30 growth marketing strategies for 2023”

I was giving away this ebook in exchange of an email in early 2023. It was a highly researched set of growth marketing tactics based on our experiments in my previous GTM agency (acquired in 2023)

Benefits of eBooks:

Show in depth expertise
Good piece to repurpose
Collect emails and phone numbers

2nd takeaway: you need a long form format to start writing content with more depth and insights (real authority comes from long form).

3rd Channel: Newsletter (on Substack)

After a few months of writing online, I started a newsletter called “test, iterate, scale”. It’s still called like this but honestly I need to change as it doesn’t represent my current topic (more about this in the part about the future of my content ecosystem).

At this time, I was using Activecampaign to send my ebooks, but I decided to move to Substack for 3 reasons:

Trend: It was trendy to use Substack (big creators were using it)
Recommendations: It was possible to get recommendations to grow the newsletter (still an active feature)
Blog format: I didn’t want to create a blog at first, so Substack was a great way to host my newsletter directly after publishing them

The start of my newsletter marked the beginning of my “ascension in content marketing”. I can say it’s the newsletter that forced me to go deeper, analyse more insights, write longer text, and overall increase the quality of my content.

Benefits of newsletter:

Good format to repurpose
1 to many conversation
People buy from emails
Creates a deeper connection with the audience

3rd takeaway: Your newsletter can become the cornerstone of your content strategy

4th Channel: YouTube

When I started youtube, I felt like I was seeing in 3D for the first time. Creating written content equals writing and designing infographics. But creating video equals researching the topic, writing the script, recording in studio, editing, and posting. It’s more work, there is a lot of competition, and it’s harder to get views.

Youtube is also more advanced in term of analytics. So you can get more insights about your audience but also about your videos quality.

Your YouTube channel is also a great way to showcase your visual identity:

Benefits of Youtube:

The best way to showcase expertise
Use the SEO function for discovery
Show personality thanks to video

4th takeaway: video gives you an edge over the competition as you can really show your expertise and your personality

5th Channel: Podcast (content syndication)

I haven’t start my own podcast but I started accepting podcasts invitation. This way, I can reach new audiences. We can call this “borrowed audience'“ because most of the podcasts shows allow you to add your links.

In the podcasts, I talk about things I wrote about in the past. This way, what I say is already clear and organized so it’s easier for the audience. I really recommend to write about your concepts and then talk about them during podcasts.

I also always add a link to my free content and to my main offer. So the audience can enter my ecosystem easily, but also understand directly what I sell.

Benefits of podcast:

Deep dive into one topic in details
Reach new audiences
Easy to repurpose into other formats

5th takeaway: Podcast is a great way to reach new audiences with a topic you previously write about

6th Channel: Substack Notes

I recently added Substack notes to my content ecosystem. As per now I have very limited information about the results. I can only see the engagement (likes and comments). I will write about this format when I have more information.

6th takeaway: Substack note is promising (still early)

7th Channel: Twitter

I recently started Twitter seriously because I want to reach new audiences and be able to test ideas fast.

7th takeaway: Twitter is great to test ideas

8th Channel: Blog

I added a blog as the last pillar because now, I’m sure of my positioning. It was better for me to validate my content pillars and core expertise before launching a blog. The old way was to start from a blog and then promote it on social media, I did the opposite.

For my newly launched blog, I chose to focus on specific keywords that are linked to the topic of B2B Content strategy. The goal is to build a topical authority.

We also ranked 1st on specific topics such as “ABM Checklist”:

Benefits of a Blog:

Use SEO to reach new audiences
Insert links to your offer in high-value blog
Create a place where the audience finds a lot of insights

8th Takeaway: create a blog to build topical authority online

So if I recap, here are the channels I added step by step:

Linkedin to connect fast with my audience
eBooks to create in depth content for authority
Newsletter to have a cornerstone for my strategy
YouTube to build authority and educate with video
Podcast invitations to reach new audiences
Substack notes to test a new channel
Twitter to add another channel with a fast feedback loop
Blog to benefit from SEO on a key topic

The benefits of my content ecosystem

My content ecosystem is now my strongest asset. Most of my revenue comes from this system and it also contributes indirectly for other sales channels.

For example, if I meet someone during an event, they will type my name on google and find me on Linkedin, youtube, and my blog. Those are proof of my expertise.

I can highlight 3 main benefits:

Multiple touch points lead to more visibility and authority.

With multiple channels, your audience will see your content (and your face) on multiple channels. The goal is to repurpose content and repeat the same messages to be positionned in your audience’s mind.

This leads to more visibility, authority, and trust. With the halo effect, your prospects will associate your good content with a good product/service.

Multiple formats creates a more complete content presence.

Some people prefer to watch videos, other prefer to read, and some only listen. By multiplying the type of content on channels, you access more audiences.

Also, your audience can move from text, to audio, to video, depending on their needs and mood. You can use your content ecosystem to unveil your messages across channels.

A strong revenue channel:

A content ecosystem generates inbound leads; they are easier to close because they have a high intent. It also facilitates outbound.

Some businesses won't reach out to you for various reasons (time, ego, busy, forget). But they know you from content. They already trust your brand and understand your solution. You have higher chances to get positive replies from these businesses.

The future of my Content Ecosystem

In this part, I’m going to explain my current missions to improve and extend my content ecosystem. I’ve highlighted 6 main missions:

Mission 1 - Make it easier to enter my content ecosystem

I created so much content that it might be complex for a newcomer to discover my work. That’s why I need to create easy entry points.

Mission 2 - Create free courses

I’ve done my first experiment with the free 5-day course. It’s a simple course about the 5 foundations for a strong content marketing strategy. The audience receives one email a day during 5 day.

Mission 3 - ‘Scale’ my Substack newsletter

I want to reach 100,000 email subscribers. For this I need to find new way to acquire subscribers. I also want to generate $100 000 of ARR with my paid newsletter.

Mission 4 - Produce more video content

YouTube requires consistency. I’ve been travelling the past 2 months so it’s harder to create quality videos. I also tested the B2B VLOG format but didn’t publish it.

Mission 5 - Build a stronger bridge between free content and my program

As I launched my program recently (April 11), the connection from free to paid is still in progress. I don’t want to use any aggressive sales techniques but I need to work on this to increase annual revenue.

Mission 6 - Showcase more my personality

I’m very analytical and focused on my expertise rather than personality. That said, I know adding 15% of personal content leads to authority and growth. So I will make an effort to publish more about me.

My course will help you to create content

If you want to go further with your content strategy, have a look at my B2B content marketing course. I teach my 5-step system to install a profitable content strategy for your business. You can download the curriculum on the page if you want more information first.