In July of 1715, a fleet of Spanish ships left Havana, Cuba, heavy-laden with New World treasure from Central and South America to transport to Spain. It would be used to repay debts to other nations after The War of Spanish Succession (Queen Anne’s War). They carried

Gold

Silver

Emeralds

More specifically, words you hear but might not know exactly what to imagine (click the links, if you’re curious):

2, 4, and 8 Escudos

Pieces of Eight

Muzo mine emeralds

But, as we’re reminded today, nature had other plans.

A hurricane wrecked the ships against the reefs along the east coast of Florida, in a 40-ish mile area we know today as the Treasure Coast.

Over time, the remains were buried, the historic level resting on a limestone pan under five to ten feet + of sand.

I’ve worked as a deckhand and diver on modern day salvage operations, searching for these rare bits of history.

It’s a seasonal pursuit, only really viable during summer, when west winds create calm waters close to shore and create good visibility.

We anchor salvage boats in 3 places, lower galvanized aluminum elbows under the inboard motor props, and use the engine to dig holes in the sand, exposing limestone and allowing us to take a metal detector down and locate treasures.

But you’re not here to learn about treasure salvage.

Or history.

You want to know how your content (newsletter, social post, videos, blogs, etc.) can actually impact growth.

Imagine that finding treasure = growth.

If it was easy to do, anyone with a snorkel set could go on a free-for-all and be rich.

But it’s not.

It’s buried.

Under 10 feet of sand.

You have to be willing to go deep to achieve it.

You need insights on where to look and a solid strategy (aka, research and customer interviews that help you truly understand where to find them).

You need tools and funding to dig that deep (investing in subject matter expertise and strategic distribution).

You need the right conditions (what scenarios foster successfully capturing attention and building a strong relationship with your audience?).

And you need to go back day after day to make progress (1-hit content wonders aren’t a thing. Trust-building is. It requires consistent quality.).

Content-led growth relies on going deep on topics that truly matter to your audience, becoming your buyer’s trusted resource, and clearly tying that to what you sell and why they need it.

You won’t hit treasure creating fluff.

Here’s hoping you find some actionable gold in this week’s curated links.

Ashley Guttuso