I think the relationship between content marketing and sales too often gets lost. It’s difficult to measure how providing content translates into purchases, especially when the content is given away for free. So here’s a reminder of how content directly contributes to sales:

I went to the grocery store this weekend to buy ingredients for a seafood paella dish I like to make. I wanted a bottle of wine to drink with dinner, but I was in the mood to try something new. I’m not an oenophile by any means. I like beer, drink a lot of beer, even make my own beer, but when it comes to choosing wine, I’m a novice.  So I did what a lot of consumers do in this situation: I picked up bottles that had interesting labels.

A pretty label might be enough to attract my attention, but it wasn’t going to sell me on the wine. It got the bottle into my hands, but the real test came afterwards, when I started to read the label. More and more wine companies include a description of the product on the bottle. In my case, the bottle I eventually bought not only described how the wine would taste, it went a step beyond and prescribed how and when the wine should be consumed. By the time I read “goes well with paella,” I was sold.

That description is an example of effective content marketing. It’s relevant, useful information. It served an educational function. It’s information I wanted and needed, and it ultimately caused me to buy the product.

Content marketing doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. The cost to produce that little bit of writing is marginal considering that the wine was more expensive than many of its shelf-mates. What’s important is recognizing what kind of content your customers want and need, and then delivering it to them at the right time, through the right platform. A label on a bottle of wine is as valid a delivery vehicle for content as a newsletter.