When looking back at the seed stage of their companies, lots of guests on Traction will cite the same regret: "I wish I started content marketing sooner."

Today, we talk to the man who coined the term, Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, an education and training organization serving thousands of customers and millions of readers a year.

Joe's latest book, Content Inc, details how smart entrepreneurs are starting to grow an audience through content first, then unpack a product second. In this episode, you'll also learn...

1. The 6 steps startups can use to grow an audience with content.

2. Why you should consider growing an audience (and, specifically, a subscriber list) before building any product -- even when thinking venture-backed and venture-scale

3. The history of CMI, one of INC's fastest-growing companies (including the pivot Joe had to make that was so obvious, he missed it at first)

4. The biggest mistakes marketers and founders make when doing content marketing.

Follow @JoePulizzi on Twitter and visit contentmarketinginstitute.com to learn more.

And let me know what you think of the show -- tweet me (Jay Acunzo) @jayacunzo.

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