The armies of Rome were unlike anything their neighbours had. They build an empire – one of the largest in history – on the backs of their soldiers. And what made them so superior to every fighting force in the region?

Sure, they had technology. Roman swords and armour were made well, I imagine.

Useful, but not decisive.

What really made the difference was not what the warriors carried, but who the warriors were.

They had the best training.

They knew how to travel.

And they were the most disciplined.

Romans could crush forces ten times their number. They arrived with strength, kept tight formations and worked in unison.

Vast barbarian hordes rushing at them didn’t stand a chance.

There are lessons in this for any content marketer.

The first is that your “equipment” – your words – doesn’t matter as much as you think. Sure, it’s relevant. After all, a broken sword will only do so much damage. And all things being equal, superior marketing savviness will beat any competition.

But things are rarely equal – and “git gud” isn’t great advice while you’re still learning.

While building your skills, you can focus on the other lessons from history.

Because the second lesson is to know how to (metaphorically) travel. The Romans built an empire from Britain to the Middle East by being able to send troops where they needed. If there was trouble, they could bring the firepower.

And the empire only fell once travelling became difficult.

The marketing lesson is knowing how to deliver your content to your market. A decent piece of writing on their screen beats something amazing they’ll never see.

That means knowing enough SEO to get people to your site. And enough about the platforms they use to get the content to them.

The third lesson is discipline.

Consistent, high volumes of quality content will overwhelm anyone. And not in a “beating them into submission” way. No, people will see you as more than just another expert. Deliver this much value and you’ll always be on their minds.

It doesn’t matter that the value has an ad in it. If people are ready to buy, they’ll buy. If not, they’ll appreciate the content. You’ve added value to their life today.

Just like you did yesterday and will do again tomorrow.

This doesn’t work as well with traditional marketing. I’m not saying it won’t work – it’ll definitely get you sales. But consistently delivering content does more than just sell. It builds your brand and client loyalty. It sets you up as a leader, not a spammer.

And in their minds, all roads lead back to you.