​​​WHAT IS THOUGHT LEADERSHIP MARKETING, ANYWAY? IS IT JUST ABOUT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP WHITE PAPERS?

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In the context of Marketing, Thought Leadership refers to the publishing of in-depth, Longform (usually) written materials (often online, but see below) which authentically share great and original ideas without pushing for instant Sales - that is, the material is professional editorial quality and stands alone in its own right (as Useful, Insightful or Informative), rather than, for example, largely discussing a company's own work or projects (aka, 'company horn-tooting').

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It is a strategy for growing Brand Recognition, Respect, Intellectual Status & Cachet in a way which is more in line with the natural customer journey than is overt advertising or self-referential 'advertorial'. It can be undertaken generically via a company but in my view is most powerful when written (or, usually, ghostwritten) under the name of the CEO, Founder or Key Directors, and especially where these have original insights or an unique charisma or ‘voice’.

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Ultimately, the reasoning behind Thought Leadership Marketing is that people (whether these be direct consumers or the Decision Makers at potential future Client-Firms) learn to trust Brands over time through the fact that they authentically share useful or interesting information without any intention of immediate gain (there is nothing wrong with direct advertising, of course, which certainly has its place in the Marketing Mix, but the latter tends to be more successful once a potential buyer has already become familiar with a company and is on the precipice of a purchase). 

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In addition my honest view is that Thought Leadership Marketing is not for everybody and is not for every company. Smaller companies with easily comprehensible, straightforward values such as customer service and specialist expertise may not in fact benefit from Thought Leadership marketing to the degree that would be required to make it worth their while. For example a plumber or small building firm may do very well without the need for Thought Leadership marketing - since most potential customers / clients feel no need to understand a plumber's stance nor to understand the latest thinking in any given trade (although ultra-specialisations such as sustainable plumbing could certainly do well with this approach.) This is not to say that small companies may not want to undertake good quality Content Marketing (see below for the difference between Thought Leadership and Content Marketing).

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Thought Leadership Marketing however remains the Exemplar Marketing for companies, or CEO's of Companies, who want to grown Brand Prestige on the basis of a Brand or Company Ethos that is driven by more than a Bottom Line and conventional basic service values.

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At SLETL we also take a broader view of what Thought Leadership materials are than many corporate agencies do but agree that it can include:-

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• White Papers, Ideas-Driven E-Books & other in-depth, research-backed publications;

• Long-form in-depth ‘content’ (although I dislike the term) and other online ‘deep-dives’ which are authentic and ideas driven;

• Newsletters, in-house magazines (where these are editorial-quality and scarcely refer to the company itself but rather provide helpful or insightful ideas);

• Quality self-published books if they share ideas rather than merely company projects; full-length books published by conventional publishing houses - these can be especially prestigious but also require especially well thought-through proposals (see also below);

• Videos / podcasts etc. if these are sharing in-depth ideas and especially when tied into a broader Thought Leadership campaign (being editorially trained this is not my area but we might consider this as part of broader Strategy and recommend you seek a multimedia specialist);

• Blog Series – where the blog is both in-depth and meaningful – on this note be aware that Search Engines are now penalising shorter-form content (which they term ‘shallow’ or ‘thin’ content) in favour of deep-dive Long Form material.

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Unlike many agencies we also perceive conventional publishing via existing reputable publishing houses and sector journals as exceptionally powerful forms of Thought Leadership (especially in conjunction with a broader strategy / campaign). Some see these, rather, as 'PR' but for myself they can be central to Thought Leadership (if they are ideas-driven and not merely talking about the company) as well as highly effective and prestigious channels for sharing thought since they are in effect peer-reviewed and retain great cachet. As such we define Thought Leadership Marketing as also including:-

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• Full-length books authored by company CEOs/Directors (usually in collaboration with a ghostwriter) and published through a conventional and respected publishing house. In my view, this is the single most powerful form of Thought Leadership due not only to the pre-existing prestige and credibility, but also the promotional opportunities which follow via interviews, book reviews and the like;

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• Conventional publishing in industry journals, again if the features are driven by concepts rather than talking self-referentially about the company’s work. The only reason I can see why the ideation, writing and placing of conventional editorial features are not included in some agency remits are that it is already being handled separately as ‘PR’ – but this disconnect can undermine the central message which should underlie all Thought Leadership activities, including conventional publication. In fact, repeatedly publishing conventionally in sector journals on the same area of expertise is one of the most obvious and straightforward ways to connect a company in people’s minds to a particular expertise and, for me, is a critical plank of strategy which should be undertaken in conjunction with other avenues such as Reports and White Papers.

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• Any endeavour which shares company’s Intellectual Property or Innovation (in a way that doesn’t damage profits or give away secrets, obviously!) is also by definition Thought Leadership in my view.

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IS THOUGHT LEADERSHIP MARKETING THE SAME AS ONLINE CONTENT?

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Yes and no. Today, Thought Leadership Marketing is distinguished from 'Content' by its length, its depth and also by its professional editorial quality, that is, whether it is published conventionally or self-published, it ought to be of a quality high enough for conventional publication. It ought, too, not to be talking about the company itself but rather putting forth interesting, useful or leading-edge thought and ideas for the sake of it.

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Now, when the concept of Content Marketing first 'appeared', the quality was assumed to be high. The difficulty is that as the overall quality of the material published online by companies declined and became increasingly superficial (and this will only become more prevalent as Chat GPT et al begin to be used indiscriminately), the word 'Content' - as it referred to written material at least - began to take on something of a negative connotation, so that what we now call Thought Leadership Marketing is in a sense Content Marketing as it was originally intended.

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Certainly there are exceptions: there are still many talented Content creators but I'd argue that the best of it today is in video, image and podcast formats and largely for B2C, whereas those producing high-end, in-depth written Content would now be referred to rather as 'doing Thought Leadership marketing' (see also below: Are We Already Doing Thought Leadership?).

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If you want to read more about the differences between Thought Leadership Marketing and Content Marketing you might also be interested in my most recent blog post here and if you're interested in our thoughts on the use of AI in Thought Leadership Marketing you might want to read or download our short White Paper here.

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ARE WE ALREADY DOING THOUGHT LEADERSHIP?

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If you or your company are already writing and publishing Long Format and ideas-driven features or materials, then yes. However, if you are really only talking about your own work or projects, then that is not Thought Leadership, rather it is conventional self-promotion / PR. If what you are saying is not fundamentally helping people irrespective of a Future Potential Sale, then it may be many things and it may boost your Stats - but it is not Thought Leadership.

 

If your features / long-form Posts are providing genuine ideas to readers whom you don’t expect to purchase from you immediately, however, then yes, you are certainly already undertaking Thought Leadership. The questions then become:

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• Is it working? In what way is it working? You can only know this if you're clear on the Goals you are trying to achieve.

• Is it being undertaken strategically or ad hoc? Who is your intended readership and why?

• Is there a central message underlying all avenues? Is there something important you want to say? Is you material helping to support your ethical stance, for example, or is it primarily intended to be a useful Resource for future/potential clients?

• Is it allowing you to stand out from the crowd? Is it compelling to readers or simply yet more adequate but rather dry corporate material that can scarcely be distinguished from that of your competition? Do people remember it after they have read it? Is it engaging them?

• How well does it reflect you, your Company, your voice and what makes you unique?

• Will it still stand out in a couple of years’ time when AI use becomes more prevalent and near-anyone can 'do' pseudo-Thought-Leadership?

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IS THOUGHT LEADERSHIP NECESSARY? IT SOUNDS COSTLY WITH NO INSTANT GAINS

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Of course, no specific marketing technique is necessary as such … and you are quite right: there are few instant gains. If you are Desperately Seeking Sales (to paraphrase) then Thought Leadership may not help you in the next Financial Quarter, possibly nor even in the next two. But you have a 1-Year Business Development Plan and a 5-Year Growth Plan. Planning a long-haul Thought Leadership Strategy is no different.

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In B2B (and complex or costly B2C) clients / customers don’t usually become so overnight or because of a single ad, unless of course there happens coincidentally to be a perfect fit between what you are offering and what they need at that very moment in time. And the more expensive the purchase, the longer it may take to build trust. For really Big Ticket services, clients / customers tend to approach only after associating (over time) a company, individual or brand with a solid reputation for expertise. As such, Thought Leadership mirrors the natural Customer Journey. If it doesn’t work overnight, that’s largely because Clients don’t usually trust overnight. But that's no reason not to undertake a critical Marketing endeavour, and I'm often astounded when people balk at waiting for results whilst similarly throwing resources at very short-form 'content' (by which I mean Social Media such as X – formerly Twitter) and the gathering and peacocking of engagement stats thereof which, whilst being rather instantaneous and feel-good, rarely produce a real ROI for B2B firms. 

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By contrast, I’ve watched companies regularly publish in-depth features sharing expertise (and in conventional industry journals – so no cost at all other than that of the writer) and quietly build a reputation in the areas on which they focus - and also, equally quietly, continue to win Contracts in those areas over and over again. To those who are too impatient for this strategy, all this Contract-winning may look like a miracle or mere coincidence. So you might also want to consider the cost associated with NOT doing effective Thought Leadership over time.

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At the end of the day it’s truly a judgment call as to which marketing activities you feel are most ultimately useful in relation to how you want yourself and your company to be perceived long-term.

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Finally it's worth noting that the purpose of Thought Leadership marketing is not always or only future sales at all - I have read of at least one company (not a personal client of mine, merely a good example) who were financially very successful but, for some reason, were not being taken seriously within their industry. Ultimately the CEO wrote a book and, successfully received, the company finally gained the credibility it deserved. Here, the intention was Cachet. In addition for ethical or cause-driven companies Advocacy can also be a critical purpose - this is discussed at length in our forthcoming Guide. So it's always worth looking clearly at your end Goal before deciding whether a particular avenue is right for you or not.

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​​​WHY ARE FEES SO WILDLY VARIABLE IN THE WORLDS OF THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, CONTENT, WRITING, GHOSTWRITING AND EDITORIAL?

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The simplest answer is also the most obvious: as with everything in life, one gets what one pays for.

 

Nonetheless the question is understandable for the simple reason that unlike professions such as accountancy, or solicitors, say, there are no agreed 'ballpark figures' for writers, largely because there is no formal accreditation around the writing and editorial professions as such.

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At the highest level, I have personally known of elite writers charging 6 figures for ghostwriting a full-length book, whilst a brief scan of the internet reveals that at the lowest level (which I suggest you avoid if quality is important to you), amateur writers are willing to produce lengthy texts for disturbingly low fees. When it comes to the latter, you must ask yourself about the levels of trust involved: if a full-length manuscript takes half a year on average to write, and somebody is willing to undertake this for less than, say, £20,000 (and that should really be the lower end), do you trust their expertise? In addition writers charging such low fees frequently have no experience within the actual publishing world, which can be critical to getting longform texts right for the end readership (especially full-length books) and therefore to achieving your intended business goals.

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At SLETL we lie at the higher (though certainly not highest) end of the scale due to our extensive experience and expertise, which includes our understanding of the conventional London publishing world as well as the worlds of online Thought Leadership, Marketing and PR. We have nonetheless gone to great lengths to carefully design some 'Entryway' Packages for those who are only just starting out on the journey.

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A word of warning: be wary of writers charging ‘per word’. For a professional and highly experienced writer ‘per word’ is nonsensical since it cannot capture the complex skill involved (e.g. in structuring a text, or engaging a reader, or capturing a CEO's voice) any more than a plumber would logically charge ‘per pipe’. Nor does an architect charge ‘per brick’ or some such arbitrary unit. The fees of architects relate to the years of training; similarly, the fees of professional writers relate to the years of experience and expertise. As such charging 'per word' it is often an indicator of inexperience or superficiality.

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The bottom line then is that while fees will of course vary dependent on experience (as well as individuals' personal decisions about where to position themselves in the market), abnormally low figures are a red flag for quality and expertise: if you feel very budget-conscious or reluctant to pay professional level fees, Thought Leadership marketing may not be the right strategic move for your company at this time (video driven Content might be a more economical starting point).

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​​​DO I NEED TO HAVE A STRONG IDEA BEFORE I TALK TO A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AGENCY?

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It depends. Certainly it tends to help but only because it will involve more meetings at the outset when the ideas are very scattered, which in turn can slow down the process and/or unnecessarily increase costs. That being said, working with Clients at the very outset when ideas are unformed and helping them to clarify their thoughts happens to be a speciality for Susan and something she enjoys.

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Still, it's a rare CEO, Founder or Director indeed who isn't full of interesting and innovative ideas (do people without ideas found companies? Rarely!), nor are there too many companies where there is truly nothing original about their ethos or working methods that cannot be teased out into a substantial concept. Usually the problem is, rather, one of:

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1. Lack of articulation. The thoughts and ideas are there - almost inherent - but not quite fully articulated verbally.

2. What Knowledge Managers call Tacit Knowledge. The company is doing things differently and innovatively but nobody has realised! They haven’t articulated even to themselves that they think differently. Interestingly, once these are articulated into an idea that can be discussed without direct reference to the company itself there is sometimes a further bonus, with entirely new Service Offerings also being created.

3. TOO MANY - rather than not enough - IDEAS! This is perhaps the most common scenario and something we are more than adept at resolving!

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In a nutshell, though, you probably want to be an ‘Ideas Person’ or you simply won’t enjoy the process of creating Thought Leadership material. If that’s the case, delegating to your Marketing Team and having them work with a more corporate agency may be an option. It likely won't be as unique but it still has benefits, and working with us simply won't suit you if you’re not genuinely passionate about 'talking ideas'.

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