8. Prepare to Evaluate

You’re following your plan. How do you know whether you’re making progress? Evaluate whether your content is getting results, while keeping the right perspective on data. Let data inform, not distract from, your content decisions.

DO NOT MISTAKE DATA FOR SOLUTIONS, IDEAS, INSIGHTS, OR STRATEGIES.

—Gerald Zaltman and Lindsay Zaltman, consumer researchers

Today, a hiker can assess her progress on a climb using all kinds of data. She can learn her direction, elevation, distance traveled, the temperature, changes in barometric pressure, and much more from small but sophisticated gadgets. The question is not whether the hiker has data available but which data is most useful to her when she’s on her journey. For example, elevation ...

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