Happy Halloween! Are you familiar with the term content marketing? You’ll have to thank this week’s podcast guest –  Joe Pulizzi! Episode #15 of the Wild Business Growth podcast has DROPPED and features “The Godfather of Content Marketing” himself, who shared how he started Content Marketing Institute, Content Marketing World, The Orange Effect Foundation, and more! Presented by Hippo Direct. Listen on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and your other favorite audio platforms – subscribe and leave a 5-star review for the love of content!

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

Hear how entrepreneurs & innovators unleash creativity to grow bigger and better businesses. Hear from an exciting new guest every single week who’s turning wild ideas into wild growth. Guests include startup founders, product inventors, social media influencers, and much more. Hosted by our digital marketing dude Max Branstetter – that’s me!

Episode #15: Joe Pulizzi – The Godfather of Content Marketing, Man in Orange

Joe Pulizzi, The Godfather of Content Marketing, Speaker, Author, and Man in Orange joins the show for a special Halloween edition to share how he founded Content Marketing Institute and Content Marketing World, the largest content marketing event in the world. I saw Joe speak back in 2012 at an event at The Q in Cleveland. It was the first time I heard the term content marketing and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since! He’s a huge inspiration and a major reason why this podcast exists. This episode covers everything from his predictions on the future of content marketing to how a single color (like orange!) can be a powerful branding tool. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

  • How to transition from the corporate world to entrepreneurship
  • Joe’s favorite memories from Content Marketing World
  • How Joe and his team created the largest content marketing event in the world
  • Why he chose the color orange to represent his brands and content marketing
  • How to monetize from content marketing
  • The importance of goal setting and reviewing your goals daily
  • Why every company is a media company
  • The most famous celebrity Joe has in his phone

Connect with Joe on Twitter at @JoePulizzi, at JoePulizzi.com, and his foundation at TheOrangeEffect.org.

Enjoy the “Joe” and break out your orange clothes! Check out the show notes below for much more detail.

Show Notes

  • Intro
  • How Joe Started Content Marketing Institute and Content Marketing World
    • [10:08] Transition from corporate world to entrepreneurship world
    • [10:40] How Joe knew content marketing would be big
    • [11:17] Why every company is a media company
    • [11:40] What Joe’s wife told him about starting a business
    • [12:15] What his go-to-market strategy was
    • [12:52] How many eNewsletter subscribers they got in the first year
    • [13:28] Why you need to review your goal every day
    • [13:31] Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
    • [13:47] How many days on average it takes to learn a new behavior
    • [14:08] Why you have to believe it for it to happen
    • [15:24] Value of reading your goal at night and in the morning
    • [15:40] Facebook, Twitter
    • [16:40] How Content Marketing World became the largest business event in Cleveland
    • [17:07] Who was involved in building the biggest event in Cleveland
    • [17:38] Renaissance Cleveland Hotel
    • [18:14] Platinum Sponsor
    • [18:19] Destination Cleveland
    • [18:40] How many keynotes Joe has done
    • [19:20] Benefits of having an event in Cleveland and other 2nd-tier cities
    • [20:15] The Flats
    • [20:20] Hilton Cleveland Downtown
    • [20:27] Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
    • [22:02] How many attendees Content Marketing World typically gets
    • [22:10] Dreamforce, Salesforce
    • [22:49] How many Content Marketing World attendees there have been total
    • [23:30] Why they moved it to Columbus for its 2nd year
    • [23:50] Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland
    • [24:11] How many Content Marketing World attendees are visiting Cleveland for the first time
    • [24:54] How much economic activity they deliver to Cleveland every year
    • [25:29] Why Joe was looking for a job in 2009 and how he was surviving financially
  • Memorable Moments from Content Marketing World
  • Past, Present, and Future of Content Marketing
    • [36:10] How has content marketing changed over the years
    • [36:29] Why you had to really sell content marketing in the beginning
    • [37:07] What companies know now about content marketing
    • [38:14] What’s the current state of content marketing
    • [38:24] What’s the future of content marketing
    • [39:12] What was the business model at Content Marketing Institute
    • [39:33] Why any company in any industry can do content marketing
    • [39:56] Why every company will feel like a media company
    • [40:01] Apple, Google, Amazon, Lincoln Electric
    • [40:16] Who’s going to be the largest media company in the world
    • [40:44] What’s the best way to monetize from content marketing
    • [41:06] How to monetize off an eNewsletter
    • [41:32] John Deere, The Furrow Magazine
    • [42:05] Why content marketing is a new term for an old discipline
    • [42:21] How Salesforce started Dreamforce
    • [42:52] How much revenue does Salesforce make off Dreamforce
    • [43:21] How much DreamForce would go for if sold
    • [43:33] Why you should start with one thing and build out from there
    • [43:54] Affiliate Marketing
    • [44:25] Arrow Electronics
    • [44:49] What will the future of content marketing be
  • Wild Business Shoutout of the Week
  • Rapid Fire Q&A
    • [49:07] William Shatner
    • [49:19] Brian Sipe, Bernie Kosar, Eric Metcalf
    • [49:45] Joe’s biggest pet peeve
    • [50:33] Why you need to make things under your control to be successful
    • [50:39] Joe’s favorite hobbies
    • [51:06] What childhood hobby he still enjoys
    • [51:20] Joe’s quirks
    • [51:58] What food he kept a list of eating in all 50 states
    • [52:26] What comic book series superhero needs to be based off Joe
    • [53:01] Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
    • [53:17] Valentine Michael Smith
    • [54:13] Joe Pulizzi Twitter, JoePulizzi.com, TheOrangeEffect.org
    • [54:44] Joe’s final thoughts
    • [54:48] Why focus is so important
    • [55:14] Why you need to figure out what’s most important to you
    • [55:36] What our t-shirt needs to say
    • [56:09] Connect with Joe and read up on his wisdom!
    • [56:20] Subscribe to the Wild Business Growth podcast and leave a 5-star review on iTunes (Apple Podcasts) and more!
    • [56:33] Connect with Hippo Direct at HippoDirect.com and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube
    • [56:52] Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter at @MaxBranstetter
    • [57:00] Sign up for the Hippo Digest for curated creative marketing content from across the internet!
    • Theme Song: Freestyle Percussion Magik – Jungle Tribe – provided by Jamendo

That’s a wrap! Stay tuned for a new super duper guest coming every single week! Let us know any guests you’d like to see on the show and follow along for your favorite marketing tips and business tips on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Sign up for the Hippo Digest email newsletter for your weekly recap of creative marketing. Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!