We’ve heard the phrase “content is king” a thousand and one different times. Of course we agree, but in the digital world, the royal family is made up of more than just great content. Assuming content is king, who, or rather what, takes the place as his loyal queen?

In other words, in addition to valuable and qualified content, what else do you need to build your online empire? You need a sphere of influence. You must build a network of qualified readers, social fans, and third party blogs to share your content.

See, you can have the greatest content in the world, but if no one’s reading or sharing it, you’ll completely miss out. If we were to take that phrase, and add our own spin, we’d definitely say content is king, but distribution is queen.

If you don’t have scheduled distribution plans when launching new content, you definitely won’t experience the maximum engagement or return.

Think of it this way. Your content is the what, while distribution is the how and where.

Keeping all that in mind, here are some great content distribution ideas.

Social media is an absolute must.

If you’re not promoting your unique content via social media, you’re just crazy. Social media offers both free and paid distribution solutions. We’re huge fans of Facebook PPC, and love promoting our most popular pieces via this platform.

Fire out a weekly newsletter to your mailing list. 

A weekly newsletter is essential. Keep it simple, don’t overload the template with graphics or too much fluff. In this weekly newsletter, include links to your most popular content.

Send personalized emails to top industry leaders with content recommendations.

In addition to your weekly newsletter, compose a selection of personalized emails to top industry leaders. Is there a small business blogger who loves your content? Draft up a quick “Thought you’d enjoy this!” message, with an attached link. Keep those personal connections solid, and you’ll see a great return when it comes to content engagement.

Content is, and always will be king – in our humble opinion. But, without his queen, all efforts will be a complete waste.