%% date:: [[2022-11-02]], [[2023-01-04]] Parent:: [[Writing]], [[Developer Relations|Developer Advocacy]] %% # [[Thought Leadership Content]] Thought leadership [[Content Creation|content]] is about sharing *earned* secrets about your industry and can consist of: ^48a928 - a personal experience that might be useful to others - your process for solving a hard problem - an observation about the industry that only someone experienced might be able to see - a contrarian (but defensible) opinion about so-called "industry best practices" [^ryanlaw] ![[earned-secrets.svg]] Thought leadership content is different from other types of content because it's much more critical, doesn't rely on keyword stuffing, and is more [[The basis of anti-marketing is authenticity|authentic]]. It's a part of [[Anti-marketing]] because it's not about selling anything; it's about making a compelling argument *based on fact and demonstrable experience*. These features also make it more difficult to create! ## Characteristics of thought leadership content ![[Module 1 - Foundation#5 traits of good thought leadership]] ## Benefits of writing thought leadership content - It builds trust and credibility in a way that traditional marketing content does not. - It improves your [[Personal branding|personal brand]] as well as your company's brand. - It reaches skeptical people, which is particularly important in [[Developer Relations|Developer Advocacy]]. ## [[Idea generation for thought leadership content]] ## Challenges in creating thought leadership content - [[Establishing credibility]]. Because thought leadership content more often includes controversial/strong opinions, it's even more important to convince readers that you have the experience/knowledge to write what you're writing. - [[Impostor Syndrome]]. Writing thought leadership content can be difficult because it involves claiming you're a "leader". - [[Making it stick]]. Since you're often going against the grain of the mainstream, pay special attention to how to make something "stick" in someone's mind. [^ryanlaw]: Law, R. (2022). [[How to Write Thought Leadership Content]]