A quick check of my Twitter feed told me it's that time of year: when bloggers write about their most popular posts from the last year.
Everyone is doing it. Jay Baer, Copyblogger, Moz and HubSpot, to name a few.
It's definitely a useful exercise to discover what's working (and what isn't).
Hopefully we learn a few content marketing lessons by reviewing the past year, then use that information to develop even more effective editorial calendars in 2015.
Here are some of Polaris' most popular blog posts from 2014, along with the lessons they taught us.
Content Marketing Lesson #1: Make it useful and timely
The introduction of this country's new anti-spam legislation (CASL) on July 1 was one of the biggest marketing developments this year. Marketers, business owners and PR professionals-including the Polaris team-were concerned and confused about the pending law.
Everyone wanted to understand the new rules. So I turned to Bill Hearn, Counsel, Davis LLP, a leading legal expert in competition, advertising and marketing law.
In an email exchange, he answered my questions and interpreted the complex rules of this very complicated piece of legislation.
I certainly found his answers helpful, publishing them as a Q&A blog post in February titled What Canadian PR Agencies Should Know About New Anti-Spam Legislation.
As it turns out, other Canadian marketers also found Hearn's answers useful. This post was our most viewed in 2014, with more than 2.5 times as many views as the runner-up post, 5 Storytelling Techniques to Master Before Your Next Presentation. It also attracted the most inbound links.
Content Marketing Lesson #2: Showcase stellar examples
Marketing bloggers sometimes focus too much on what brands are doing wrong. While it's useful to learn from other's mistakes, it's also helpful to learn what others are doing right.
If the social shares on our blog from November and December* are any indication of what engages readers, we should write more posts about content marketing, social media and public relations done well.
Our most shared blog post in November and December was Guitar Center: Content Marketing and Storytelling at Their Best. This post explained how Guitar Center, the largest U.S. retailer of guitars, amplifiers, drums, keyboards and lighting equipment, uses content to help musicians improve their craft while providing undiscovered musical talent the opportunity to achieve success.
* Note: In the fall of 2014, we redesigned our website and changed the content management system. As a result, we "lost" all the social shares of the posts written before the new site launched.
Content Marketing Lesson #3: Guest post and syndicate your content
Guest posting and syndicating your content on other sites are effective ways to attract not only new readers, but new leads as well.
In July, I guest posted on Spin Sucks with an article explaining how Buyer Personas Are Critical for Content Marketing Success and included a call-to-action to download a Buyer Persona Template.
In November, I edited the post, changed the title to Creating a Content Strategy for B2B and B2C Marketing Success and posted it on the Polaris blog where it was subsequently syndicated on Social Media Today and Business2Community.
The guest post and the syndicated posts were the most effective at generating new leads for our business in 2014.
Don't wait until December to evaluate your content
If your website is an important part of marketing your business, don't wait until the end of 2015 to look at your site's metrics. Incorporate a regular evaluation into your schedule so you can immediately capitalize on what's working and minimize the activities that don't help you reach your objectives.
As for the Polaris blog, you'll definitely see more information on adapting to trends in 2015, along with examples of brands getting it right.
You may even find me guest blogging on other marketing blogs around the web.
What lessons did you learn from your best performing content in 2014? Let us know in the comments.