Every CMO has firsthand knowledge of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. There is that stomach-dropping, heart-stopping moment when your blood, sweat, and tears are rejected without so much as a blink. No callback. No response. Just a click that takes them away from your hard-crafted content.

Oh, the agony!

Thankfully, though, there are those more pleasurable times that make your work feel less like a triathlon and more like an easy stroll through the park. You’ve written just the right content, drawn from the perfect resources, and chose the most compelling image. Thrilling. Just thrilling.

As is the case with every Summer Olympic competition, excellent content marketing requires diligence in training, focus, and practice–lots and lots of practice. It is also important to know right from the starter’s pistol that, even when you have an off day, you just get right back up, dust yourself off, and finish the race. (In other words: don’t quit your efforts if you don’t get the results you expected.)

So, what does that look like in practical terms?

Let’s look at some tips and tricks designed to help you overcome any obstacles you may encounter in your content marketing endeavors. Put these into practice and you’ll be on your way to the gold!

It’s all About Graceful Timing

You’ve probably already realized the importance of timing when sharing content with your customers. In fact, the art of perfect timing is no different than the graceful symmetry seen in synchronized swimming. For those swimmers, one wrong turn, one second off, and the whole routine can sink faster than the Titanic.

Likewise, you want to make sure you are conscious of the most common elements that can make or break the timing and effectiveness in this industry.

• Understand who you are speaking to, know their language, and try to get inside their head. Ask yourself, “What do you have to do to convince them to make it past the first paragraph?”
• Get all of the promotional aspects of your marketing efforts lined up so that they work together.
• Not only do you need to know who you are speaking to, you also need to know how they feel about your brand or company. Figure out their sentiments and see if you can create content that’s the most natural fit for your audience’s needs, attitudes and behaviors.

Expect to Get a Little Dirty

Just as with every career, content marketing can have its fair share of bumps and bruises. But don’t let a little thing like rejection or discouragement keep you down. Think about it like this: hardcore Summer Olympics’ fans aren’t watching beach volleyball just so they can watch a boring ball lobbed back and forth across a net. Right? Of course not. They watch for the times that the competitors dig deeper, take a dive that lands them face first in the sand, even seeing a little blood drawn to prove that they are in it to win it.

In the world of content marketing, you’re going to have obstacles. That’s just part of the territory. The key to overcoming these obstacles is: don’t give up! Keep your eyes on the goals you’ve set, utilize the skills you have, and dust yourself off every time your face hits the sand.

Have a Defined Goal

The sport of archery is one of precision, accuracy, and concentration. The slightest variation can be the difference between hitting the target dead center and lodging your arrow into the hat of the guy in the third row. It’s a clear cut case of direct hit vs. disaster.

Speaking of not poking anyone’s eye out: what kind of goals are you setting? Content marketing demands that you create a target that is slightly more difficult than you think you can handle. Having the willingness to settle for average will get you run over in this fast-paced business world, so ask yourself: what you are doing to hit the bullseye every time?

Runners, Take Your Mark!

One thing is perfectly clear: you’re never going to simply be handed a gold medal. That is the prize reserved for the person who trained, practiced and planned their dreams and goals. Likewise, your success in content marketing hinges on the effort that you put into knowing your audience and the timing it takes to win them over to your campaign. By overcoming dreaded obstacles with perseverance and setting goals that force you to grow beyond your comfort zone, you can move from the last-place position to the head of the pack.