And finally, we arrive at our final A. Last, and decidedly not least, we have our friend:

Acceleration

You know those dreams you have where you're giving a TED talk? Where you're giving the keynote at that conference of 50,000? Where you've sold out an arena, tens of thousands of loyal fans hanging off your every glowing utterance? (Just me?)

That's Acceleration.

Okay, maybe that's too much to expect in the beginning. But that's the idea. After you've built a strong base of authority in your field, people will like the way you think. People who like the way you think will want to work with you. They'll recruit you onto projects. You'll be asked to guest-write. You'll get freelance requests. You might end up starting a business with your mate from way back when.

You’ve laid the groundwork. You’ve done a ton of heavy lifting. Now it’s the universe’s turn to throw you some serendipity.

Simply organically, by way of things, you’ll run into more people who are doing things you find interesting, or who need your help. With all this authority and good will you’ve built up, you’ll be nimble, ready to dive in and work for or with them.

1. Make it easy to find you. Make sure your site is decked out with opportunities to interact with you: to sign up for your newsletter, to download your free materials, to contact you directly. This will help people get to you. People will want to recruit your thoughts on projects. There are always interesting people doing interesting things - in areas outside yours. While brilliant in other areas, they'll be clueless in the very field you're an expert. Connect with a few of those people, and you’ll continue to accelerate. Bird by bird. You don't have to be a worldbeater.

2. Keep a CRM. It doesn't need to be high tech. It could be a humble Excel sheet on a crusty old Macbook. It could be as big and shiny as Salesforce. Whatever it may be, however it might look, here’s the bottom line: Keep in touch with the people who have contacted you. And with the people you've contacted. These people have shown themselves to be potential supporters of your career. Continue to serve them. Keep in touch and let serendipity work for you.

3. Volunteer. Now is a great time to mention the power of volunteering for a nonprofit or community organization. If you so desire, it's a great chance to meet high-level people in their element. I simply like to meet a ton of new people. As a storyteller, I know nearly everyone has a really, really interesting story, and they're happy to share it when you ask good questions and listen. This makes my life more rich and my stories better. And it's an easy way to contribute to a good cause. It’s just fun.

Stay open, stay hungry, and use this skill you've honed to better humankind! You'll see it coming back around. Your work will get noticed, and your opportunities will accelerate. Once all the other A's have been put in place, this is where you're likely to go.

That's it! These are the 7 A's of Content Marketing. Shout out to Brian Clark and Sonia Simone for tipping me off to these.

Now go! Earn their attention. Be authentic. Serve your audience. Show off your authority. Stir up some action. Remain agile. And accelerate into your most charmed and blissful dreams!