Technical Communication Quarterly Apr 2018 Open Access

The art of selling-without-selling: Understanding the genre ecologies of content marketing

Amanda Wall Meta (United States) ; Clay Spinuzzi The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract

Content marketing involves creating content in genres that readers find useful. These genres individually do not persuade their readers to buy a given product and may not even mention the product or service being marketed. But collectively, they are designed to lead their readers to a purchase decision, that is, they sell without selling. The authors examine how content marketers strategically deploy these ecologies of genres.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2018-04-03
DOI
10.1080/10572252.2018.1425483
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
OA PDF Green
Topics
genre theory
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (5)

  1. Omizo (2024)
    Automating Research in Business and Technical Communication: Large Language Mod…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Mogull (2021)
    Technical content marketing along the technology adoption lifecycle: experience…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  3. Zhang et al. (2020)
    How Large Information Technology Companies Use Twitter: Arrangement of Corporat…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Campbell et al. (2020)
    Hard or Soft Sell? Understanding White Papers as Content Marketing
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  5. Getto et al. (2019)
    “Hey, Such-and-Such on the Internet Has Suggested …”: How to Create Content Mod…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

References (52) · 16 in this index

  1. 10.1080/15332861.2011.558456
     ↗
  2. Albers M. J. (2003)
    Technical Communication
  3. Andersen (2011)
    Component Content Management: Shaping the Discourse through Innovation Diffusio…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Andersen (2014)
    Rhetorical Work in the Age of Content Management: Implications for the Field of…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Bailie R. (2013)
    Content strategy for decision makers: Connecting the dots between business, brand, and benefits
Show all 52 →
  1. 10.1177/1470593106066795
     ↗
  2. 10.1287/isre.1070.0152
     ↗
  3. Barry T. E. (1987)
    Current Issues and Research in Advertising
  4. Bazerman C. (1988)
    Shaping written knowledge
  5. Bazerman C. (1994)
    Genre and the new rhetoric
  6. 10.1057/bm.2010.30
     ↗
  7. Carliner S. (2009)
    Digital literacy for technical communication: 21st century theory and practice
  8. Carter L. (2003)
    Technical Communication
  9. Clark (2007)
    Content Management and the Separation of Presentation and Content
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  10. Corbin J. (2008)
    Basics of qualitative research
  11. Creswell J. W. (2006)
    Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions
  12. Dayton (2006)
    A Hybrid Analytical Framework to Guide Studies of Innovative IT Adoption by Wor…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  13. Devitt A. (1991)
    Textual dynamics of the professions
  14. Dicks S. (2009)
    Digital literacy for technical communication: 21st century theory and practice
  15. 10.1016/j.bushor.2004.10.011
     ↗
  16. Dush (2015)
    When Writing Becomes Content
    College Composition and Communication
  17. 10.1016/j.jbusres.2008.08.010
     ↗
  18. Law J. (2004)
    After method: Mess in social science research
     ↗
  19. Locke C. (2001)
    The cluetrain manifesto: The end of business as usual
  20. Luetjens P. (2007)
    Marketing Week
  21. 10.1017/CBO9781139043120
     ↗
  22. 10.1177/0276146710397369
     ↗
  23. McCarthy et al. (2011)
    Content Management in the Workplace: Community, Context, and a New Way to Organ…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  24. Miles M. B. (1994)
    Qualitative data analysis
  25. 10.1080/00335638409383686
     ↗
  26. 10.1075/pbns.188.11mil
     ↗
  27. Newman N. (2015)
    Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
  28. 10.1017/S0021849904040371
     ↗
  29. Propen et al. (2010)
    Understanding Genre through the Lens of Advocacy: The Rhetorical Work of the Vi…
    Written Communication
  30. Robidoux (2007)
    Rhetorically Structured Content: Developing a Collaborative Single-Sourcing Cur…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  31. Rude (2009)
    Mapping the Research Questions in Technical Communication
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  32. RUSSELL (1997)
    Rethinking Genre in School and Society: An Activity Theory Analysis
    Written Communication
  33. 10.1017/CBO9780511809989.004
     ↗
  34. Sapienza F. (2004)
    Technical Communication
  35. Sapienza (2007)
    A Rhetorical Approach to Single-Sourcing Via Intertextuality
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  36. Shenkan A. G. (2007)
    McKinsey Quarterly
  37. 10.1016/j.bushor.2008.02.002
     ↗
  38. Spinuzzi C. (2003)
    Tracing genres through organizations
     ↗
  39. Spinuzzi (2007)
    Guest Editor's Introduction: Technical Communication in the Age of Distributed Work
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  40. Spinuzzi (2010)
    Secret Sauce and Snake Oil: Writing Monthly Reports in a Highly Contingent Envi…
    Written Communication
  41. Spinuzzi et al. (2015)
    Remaking the Pitch: Reuse Strategies in Entrepreneurs’ Pitch Decks
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  42. 10.1145/344599.344646
     ↗
  43. Stevenson J. C. (2008)
    Business West
  44. 10.1145/953460.953514
     ↗
  45. Swarts (2010)
    Recycled Writing: Assembling Actor Networks From Reusable Content
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  46. Swarts (2011)
    Technological Literacy as Network Building
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  47. 10.1177/0163443708098245
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 34 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Written Communication May 2026
    Genres Fall Apart: Recuperating the Centrifugal in Rhetorical Genre Analysis ↗
    Rebecca Lorimer Leonard; Angela Rounsaville
    rhetorical criticism genre theory multilingual writers literacy studies community literacy
  2. Assessing Writing Apr 2026
    Assessing GenAI-assisted digital multimodal composing: Reconceptualizing a genre-based framework through self-assessment and peer assessment ↗
    Yunan Zhang; Zixuan Li
    genre theory assessment multimodality
  3. Assessing Writing Apr 2026
    Can AI provide useful analytic essay scoring for different genres of writing with elementary grade students? ↗
    Tamara P. Tate; Steve Graham; Abdullah Kaldirim; Omer Faruk Tavsanli
    genre theory
  4. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Mar 2026
    The National Security Strategy as an Object of Business Communication ↗
    Philip W. Hayek
    rhetorical criticism genre theory professional writing
  5. Written Communication Feb 2026
    Exploring the Relationship Between Plan Features and Argument Essay Performance ↗
    Yi Song; Paul Deane; Chen Li
    genre theory argument digital rhetoric