It worked! You were drawn in by my audacious headline! And yes I am seriously going to try and do this.

I would like to present to you a list of the blog posts that I feel have the most to say about content marketing. There are tons of posts out there on content marketing. Most of them are saying the same thing. Without someone to show you the way, you will have to wade through a sea of half helpful, second hand information before you can truly get a grasp on content marketing and how to do it well.

This is not necessarily a list of the most popular posts on content marketing. It is a list of the articles that I think will give you the broadest, deepest, and most up to date understanding of how your company can get the most out of content marketing.

Some of these posts are huge posts from huge people. Some of them aren’t. Some of these posts are extremely new, some are old. All of these posts offer some incredible insight into content marketing.

They are not organized in order of “best” to “worst”, instead I have organized them into the order of questions you need answered to do content marketing well. In other words the list starts with articles that will help you learn the foundations of content marketing, then the ins and outs, and then some big picture concepts.

The Foundations

1) Where did content marketing come from?

The History Of Content Marketing [Infographic] – Corporate Storytelling Is Not New by @JoePulizzi

The term “content marketing” has been around since 1996. The practice has been around much longer. Follow Joe Pulizzi as he follows the evolution of content marketing throughout history.

2) Why should I care about content marketing?

The Experts’ Views On Content Marketing by @johnabrena

Some of the most influential marketers in the world sound off on why you should care about content marketing.

The Irresistible Bussiness Case For Blogging by @gcharlton

So you may be thinking: “Great lots of important people like, but benefits will it really provide my company?” Funny you should ask! Check out why Econsultancy’s Graham Charlton thinks that blogging (one of the main forms of online content marketing) will help your business.

3) Should I hire a content marketing agency or do my content marketing in house?

How To Know When You Need A Content Marketing Agency by @kathrynhawkins

For some companies, hiring an agency to handle their content marketing is the best idea. Find out if you are one of these companies.

5 More Tips On How To Choose A Content Marketing Agency by @King_Content

If you are one of those companies, it can be hard to know how to find the right content marketing agency to hire. Learn how to find the perfect company in this post.

4) Who should I hire, or what skills should I develop to be a good content marketer?

Building A Content Marketing Team For Your Startup? Here’s Who You Should Hire First by @kyleplacy

Want to do your content marketing in-house? Whether you are a content marketing team of 50 or 1, there are certain skills that are integral to success. This post lays out the three skills that you need to succeed in content marketing, and how to find people with those skills.

5) How do I implement content marketing?

How To Build A Content Marketing Strategy by @stephchang

This post gives you a detailed overview of the strategy that Moz.com gives its clients to implement content marketing.

The Advanced Guide To Content Marketing by @neilpatel

This is an incredibly comprehensive chaptered overview of content marketing from one of the most successful marketers around. Just getting in to content marketing? Trying to hone your current strategy? This is a great place to go.

The Ins and Outs

6) Which tools should I use?

17 Fantastically Useful Tools For Content Writers And Bloggers by @Christophe_Rock

Are you being crushed by the burden of content marketing? This post is chock full of killer content creation tools that will lighten your burden. Find images, catch grammar and spelling mistakes, get inspired, and more. Don’t reinvent the wheel, use these tools to make your content shine.

The Most In-Depth HubSpot Vs. WordPress Review Ever Written by @TheSalesLion

This post compares two of the biggest content management systems around. Even if you don’t end up using either one, it’s incredibly helpful to know what they have to offer.

7) How do I become a better writer?

The Ultimate Copy Checklist: 51 Questions To Optimize Every Element Of Your Online Copy by @iconiContent

There are a lot of things that go in to a good piece of online writing. In other words, there are a lot of ways to mess up. Check out this checklist to make sure you aren’t overlooking anything.

6 Steps For Writing Simple Copy That Sells by @iconiContent

While people love complete, in depth content, they don’t like complex content. Learn how to write more simply with these six steps.

The 5 Most Persuasive Words In The English Language by @GregoryCiotti

While you never want to oversell, you always want to persuade. Turn up the persuasive power of your copy with these five words.

8) How do I promote my content?

The Day After: 11 Things To Do After You Publish A Post by @neilpatel

Creating content is just half the battle. Promoting it and getting it found online is the other. This post will give you a slew of ways to get your content noticed.

9) How do I create a community?

25 Smart Ways To Increase Your Blog Comments by @neilpatel

Ok, so I like Neil Patel. He’s great, you should too. One key aspect of creating a great experience for your blog readers is fostering community on your blog. The main way to foster community on your blog is to have a lively comment section. Follow these tips to get people interacting with your blog content. (Still a process for us at MLT!)

The Big Picture

10) Is content marketing invincible?

Content Shock: Why Content Marketing Is Not A Sustainable Strategy by @markwschaefer

So hopefully you’ve read the above articles and implemented their tips and are plugging along just fine. You’re starting to gain an audience, and you think this is great! I could do this forever! Wait… maybe not. Read this post to make sure you don’t flutter away to content marketing la la land.

Oh, your content marketing isn’t working? This article might point out why you feel like you’re trying to have a conversation at a punk rock show.

11) Is content marketing doomed?

Surviving “Content Shock” and the Impending Content Marketing Collapse by @soniasimone

Have you thrown up your hands? Has content shock made you want to give up content marketing altogether? Take a look at this dissenting opinion. There may still be hope.

The Blogging Tactic No One Is Talking About: Optimizing the Past by @pamelump

This post will show you how to squeeze all the potential out of your b2b blog and remind you why you started in the first place. Learn more about how “historical optimization” can help you overcome big bad b2b content shock.

Stay up to date with who’s leading the world of content marketing with this realtime list of top marketing blogs.

So what do you think? Are these the best b2b content marketing blog posts EVER WRITTEN? Let me know if you think one of these particularly rocks. Let me know kindly if you think one of them stinks. Let me know what YOU think I’m missing out on. As always, thanks for reading!