An Introduction to the 4 Essential Types of Content Every Marketing Strategy Needs

This article is part of our series on the 4 Essential Types of Content Every Marketing Strategy Needs. Make sure to get your special free bonus at the end of the article.

This week, we have something special for you.

We are going to publish a five-part content marketing series, with a new article in the series each day.

The series will focus on the four essential types of content every marketing strategy needs.

Let me explain why that matters.

What are the 4 essential content types?

Different types of content play different roles in your marketing strategy. They help your business in different ways. Here at Copyblogger, we’ve been successfully using these four types of content for more than a decade.

In this week’s series, we are going to walk you through these four different types of content and show you how to use them yourself. The content types are:

1. Attraction
2. Authority
3. Affinity
4. Action

Keep in mind that these content types are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes a piece of content can play more than one role. They can work together and complement one another.

In addition, although they all may have the same look, the same feel, and the same voice, they each serve different purposes. Because of that, they have different attributes, which we’ll talk about in detail in the week ahead.

A summary of the 4 content types

Attraction content helps you reach a new audience and get your message in front of new people.

But eventually you’ll want to convince those people to trust you as an expert, so you’ll need to provide Authority content.

Once you’ve established authority, your message will spread through Affinity content. Affinity content is how you build a community of like-minded people that share your beliefs.

And it’s this community who will be your best customers. But nobody will listen to you — let alone buy from you — unless you create Action content.

Sometimes these are discrete, standalone pieces of content. Sometimes they’re a blend of two of the types. Sometimes three. We’ve got examples that blend all four.

Why it’s important to master these 4 content types

Successfully using all four types of content on your website is what allows you to command larger fees for your services and charge more for your products.

It’s what gets people to link to your content (without you even having to ask).

It’s how you land guest posting opportunities you once thought were out of your reach.

It’s how you get influencers to share your content on social media.

Successfully using all four content types is also how you convince people to like you, trust you, and ultimately buy from you. But that’s not all. These people will not only become customers. They’ll become advocates, fans, and even, in some cases, friends.

Masterfully weaving together these four content types is truly one of the best ways to build an audience that builds your business.

I hope you enjoy this week of learning about the four essential types of content every marketing strategy needs. Stay tuned for my article about Attraction content tomorrow.

Check out the other articles in this series

• Attraction Content: The Foundation of a Smart Content Marketing Strategy
• Authority Content: Build an Audience that Builds Your Business
• Affinity Content: The Key to Growing Your Community
• Action Content: Turn Fans into Customers