Building an association between you and idea is as simple as, well, ideas. You just have to put them down.

In the fall of 2008, Black Cow’s Garland Pollard decided he wanted to launch a publication on branding as an extension of his small branding blog. He wanted a publication that wrote about brands that he liked, in his fashion. Fast forward 10 months, and his BrandlandUSA.com has become an indispensable read to those who pay attention to classic brands not only in the U.S., but around the world, with 10,000 unique users a month.

His lesson can be applied to companies. If you are a car dealer, you can build your own news site around the sort of cars you sell. If you are a resort, you can build a local guidebook to promote the sights around your hotel. A sewing store can build a site relating to sewing technique. It’s called content marketing, and it will increasingly separate the companies that have customers, and the companies that don’t.

The key? Give people information they can’t find anywhere else.

Email Chief Content Editor Garland Pollard for insight and ideas. Or call him at (703) 745-8602.