content marketing strategies

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing Strategy 101 with Julia McCoy

December 31, 2020June 23, 2017 by Rachel Moffett

Do you have a content marketing strategy in place for your brand? If not, it’s time you create one! However, you might be wondering how to get started and that’s where we come in. In this week’s #ContentWritingChat, we talked all about the basics of creating a content marketing strategy of your very own. Keep reading for the recap! #ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing Strategy 101 with Julia McCoy Join us for #ContentWritingChat on Tuesday, June 20th at 10 AM Central Time with our CEO, @JuliaEMcCoy! pic.twitter.com/RGlMdp1ndP — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) June 13, 2017 Our guest host this week was our very own CEO, Julia McCoy. As a content marketing expert herself, it’s no surprise that she had some amazing advice to share with everyone. Q1: What is a content marketing strategy and why is it important for today’s brands? To kick off the chat, we asked everyone to share their own definitions of a content marketing strategy. We also wanted to find out how important they felt it was to have a strategy and why. Check out a few of the responses we received: A1 A content marketing strategy drives the guidelines, creation, execution and tracking of your content marketing. #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) June 20, 2017 A1b A content marketing strategy is absolutely necessary to achieve ROI and make goals happen with your content. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/08Ou9oaKO0 — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) June 20, 2017 As Julia said, a strategy will drive the guidelines, creation, execution, and tracking of your content marketing. She knows it’s necessary if you want to achieve ROI and make goals happen with the content you create. A1) Content Marketing Strategy is crafting a consistent schedule of content to tell your brand’s story to win customers. #ContentWritingChat — Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) June 20, 2017 Kyle feels it’s all about crafting a consistent schedule of content to tell your brand’s story to win over your customers. A1: A CM strategy is an established process for why you’re doing what you’re doing and guidelines for how you’ll do it. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/7YjrYkLvcn — Annaliese Henwood? (@MktgInnovator) June 20, 2017 Annaliese said having a strategy in place gives you an established process for why you’re doing what you do, plus guidelines on how to do it. A1 It’s knowing what to say, how to say it, where and to whom. Having a plan and executing it. #ContentWritingChat — Maria Tereza Dickson (@terezadickson) June 20, 2017 As Maria pointed out, having a strategy is partly about knowing what you want to say, how to say it, where to say it, and who you’re saying it to. These are all essential things to figure out. A1a: It’s your road map from where you are to where you want to be. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/DTkM1mv276 — Jeff Reno(e) ? (@Renoe) June 20, 2017 This is a great way to look at it! Jenn said your strategy is your road map from where you are to where you want to be. It’s important to set goals and create a plan of action to help you get there. Q2: Before you can begin creating content and planning your strategy, what do you need to figure out? Now that you know what a content marketing strategy is, you’re probably feeling ready and inspired to create one of your own. But before you can get started, there are a few essential things you need to figure out. Take a look at these tips: A2 First, figure out what makes you different than everyone else. I’ve defined that as a CDF: https://t.co/UUj8jJWyZP #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/PX9WyheRU0 — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) June 20, 2017 A2 Secondly, focus on discovering your audience with these 4 keys (which I teach upcoming in https://t.co/SWusmMGFiC). #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/cg8zpRBBU6 — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) June 20, 2017 Julia’s first tip is to figure out what makes you different from everyone else. When you know what your Content Differentiation Factor (CDF) is, you can embrace that and stand out from the crowd. (Read her Search Engine Journal article she linked to if you want to learn more!) Next, she encourages you to discover who your audience is. She shares four key tips in the graphic she included with her post. You can learn about this more in-depth in the content course she’s creating. A2: Your ideal audience! What do they need? Where do they hang out? Where do they CONVERT? Need to know that first.#ContentWritingChat https://t.co/zub1Uhj19c — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) June 20, 2017 Sarah knows it’s important to know key information about your audience. Who is your target audience and what do they need? Where do they hang out? What will make them convert? This is all important to figure out so you can create content accordingly. A2: You need to figure out your audience. Learn who they are then you can determine what type of content to create. #contentwritingchat — Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) June 20, 2017 Lexie agrees that it’s crucial to know your audience first. Once you know who they are, you can create the type of content they need in their lives. A2: You need to know why you want to do this. What are your goals? What are you looking to achieve from your content? #ContentWritingChat — Annaliese Henwood? (@MktgInnovator) June 20, 2017 Don’t forget to figure out what your goals are. When you know what you want to achieve, it’s going to dictate the end result of your content. A2) What’s your goal? Brand awareness? Conversions? What is it about your brand that your demo NEEDS to know? #ContentWritingChat — Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) June 20, 2017 Kyle also agrees that it’s important to know what your goals are ahead of time. Are you trying to increase brand awareness or land conversions? Is it something else? Figure that out beforehand so you can create the content that will help you get there. A2: Know what success looks. Benchmarks? Goals? Objectives under goals? Tactics under objectives? #contentwritingchat — ??Jonathan Payne (@SocialGamePlan) June 20, 2017 … Read more

5 Explosive Content Marketing Strategies For 2015

December 31, 2020January 7, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Most times in life, it pays to have a plan. Content marketing is a technique that works best when you look before you leap, and having a strategy can help make your content dollars stretch further. However, the act of developing a smart strategy is another game on its own. There is no doubt that content marketing will be big in 2015. To get started on implementing your own routine, here are several content marketing strategies that will help take your content marketing to new levels. Start Your Content Marketing Strategies With an Audit So, no one really likes an audit — completely understandable. Although audits aren’t the most pleasant way to launch a content marketing strategy, they serve as the perfect kick-starter for several reasons: Content audits help you find missing information within your website They help you discover thin content You can analyze keyword density They highlight what’s working for you Overall, you must consider the value that your content brings to the table. As you analyze your current content, ask yourself if your content is educational, relevant, entertaining, or engaging in some way. If your content does not meet at least one standard in those criteria, it might be time for an overhaul. Bring in Content Curation Now that your content audit is out of the way, it’s time to start having a little bit of fun. Curating content is bound to go big in 2015, and it’s easy to see why. To relieve the expectations of churning out high quality content week after week, curating content is a breath of fresh air. The advantages of curating content are many, and if you have yet to include this strategy, you don’t know what you missing. Curating content helps you accomplish: Brand establishment Authority in your niche Relationship building Increased engagement Steady stream of fresh content There are several ways to curate content — by hand or by curating tools like Scoop.it. Even though content appears right before your eyes when you take the route of automation, a human eye is still required to get your curation just right. Discovering What They Want To continue the curating theme, the next step is to determine what your audience wants. You can blog about anything under the sun, but what matters most is to understand the needs of your audience. If you aren’t meeting their needs in one way or another, your content will fall flat every time. So, how exactly do you know what your readers want? To take the mystery out of the equation, you can resort to several sources. Quora is a community-based Q&A website that brings real-life customer questions to light. There are topics on nearly every industry and niche you can think of. Simply searching for your keywords in the search bar can reveal dozens of topic ideas right before your eyes. It might seem like an unlikely source, but Reddit contains a variety of topics in an assortment of industries. One of the advantages of Reddit is that, like Quora, you can browse real conversations from people who are considering your services or products. Not to sound super obvious, but a third option is to ask your audience what they want from you. This is where you can use the power of social media to engage your audience and ask direct questions. You can even start a live Q&A session on Facebook or Twitter to get those ideas flowing. Top-Notch Topics That Get Them Talking Generating new topic ideas can be one of the most challenging aspects of content marketing strategies. The goods news is that ideas aren’t as hard to come by as you think, and there are plenty of sources for inspiration if you know where to look. The first step to finding engaging content ideas is discovering what’s hot and trending in your industry. Check into Google news, industry news websites and magazines, and even network with likeminded people in your niche. Another unique topic technique is to create a topic web; think back to those days in high school when you drew story webs for English class. The trick to this is taking content that already exists on your website, and using the web to branch out into other relevant areas. A little bit of brainstorming can go a long way for getting that light bulb moment. Finally, Hubspot’s blog topic generator is perfect for creating fun blogging ideas. By simply entering three nouns into the generator, Hubspot’s helpful tool can give you several ideas for your blog right on the spot. The 2015 Outlook: Your Content Calendar So, you know what your audience wants. You also know how to generate awesome topic ideas time and time again. The final part to nailing your content strategy for 2015 is by bringing in the almighty content calendar. Content calendars are like your little black book of topic ideas, along with your days to schedule your posts. You can also include precise days and times to post to social media. Sure, you can wing your strategy without a content calendar, but there are so many reasons why having one helps immensely: Content calendars help keep you focused. If you are easily sidetracked or even forgetful, your content calendar can save the day Content calendars can be as detailed or thorough as you want. Using a content calendar can align your core business goals with your content Content calendars can keep you focused on your audience, which helps them stay engaged Content calendars take the guesswork out of your content marketing strategy Believe it or not, 2015 is already in full swing. Getting your content marketing strategies in order can make things for your routine smooth sailing for the rest of the year. Whether you take pieces of these strategies or you dive in head first with all 5, you will be further ahead with your content marketing this year. From content auditing to curating, these simple yet effective strategies will prove their … Read more

Brand Showcase: Target’s Copywriting Is on Target

June 19, 2024May 15, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Target. That wonderful, mystical land where one can buy shoes, clothes, novelty tees, movies, Legos, and food when they were simply going in to buy a crafty little graduation card. Target is a place that sucks you in, makes you spend every penny to your name, and you never feel like you wasted a dime. How do they do this? How do they bring in thousands of people a day and convince them to buy what they need and more? Copywriting Tips from Target Let’s take this opportunity to look at Target’s various copywriting and marketing campaigns, as well as taking a little journey through the store to see just what makes us spend all our money there. 1. All The Things! First off, Target tries to appeal to a very wide demographic from Millennials to the Greatest Generation, all while “targeting” the latest group of little ones with cute designs. They have something for everyone in their store and they know that’s what brings in the cash. However, their “something for everyone” isn’t dollar store cheap material; most of Target’s merchandise is very good quality. Many of their clothing items and shoes are even designed specifically for Target by many well-known designers around the world. What can a copywriter take away from this point? Offer something for everyone and you will please a wider audience. Take the time to learn your demographics – you may be surprised by just how diverse your potential customer base is. 2. Epic Lighting and Easy To Find Items. Their content marketing goes beyond just their Internet and mail content – it goes into their store design. The store is one that makes every shopper feel chipper, which helps foster the feeling of needing to purchase everything in sight. The lights are bright and the aisles are laid out in an interesting and easy-to-follow pattern. Because of this, we are all ready to purchase everything we see since we can easily go through the store. This is an incredible lesson for copywriting experts and for web designers. While you most likely will not be focusing on a physical shop, you will be focusing on the website people come to. If it is drab and difficult to navigate, people won’t stay for very long. Follow Target’s example and make your site an easy and fun experience for readers. 3. Creating Memorable Advertisements That Last Forever. Target has some of the greatest ad campaigns and many of these campaigns are ones that we will remember for a long time. For example, everyone remembers the Target dog, especially when it came to the Holiday season. Whenever you saw that dog, you thought of Target. Whenever you saw that dog on an item, you bought it. Their latest ad campaign is called “The Everyday Collection” which features photographs that look like high fashion photo shoots but they incorporated the typical everyday items such as laundry detergent, food, and vitamins. It is very much a typical Target ad campaign filled with witty one-liners, all while advertising their product. Every single marketing campaign is incredible; just look at their 2013 back-to-school campaign and their 2013 Holiday season campaign. The lesson copywriters can learn from this is common sense – create content that will be memorable. After you have begun creating memorable, compelling content, you will start seeing some excellent results! 4. Responding to Controversy. Controversy is never too far these days and it seems just about everyone is right in the middle of one. Target isn’t any different. They’ve had their fair share of controversy from the big security breach pre-Heartbleed to the Terry Richardson controversy. Target always takes adequate steps to ensure that these controversies are dealt with properly by not reacting immediately and thinking over the issue. This may not seem like part of a content marketing strategy, but Target always considers how many customers they will lose if they do not carry out appropriate measures. Instead of sweeping these issues under the carpet, Target deals with them in the open. This is a great lesson for every company to learn. Your copywriting can be great, but it can only go so far; having proper responses to any controversy whether large or small will help keep your business afloat. 5. Making Things Fun and Enjoyable For All. Target is the expert at making their content strategy a fun and enjoyable one. Their commercials are always upbeat or silly, their ad campaigns in the local paper always capture your attention, and they’re just plain ole good at creating successful marketing techniques. Many times, they utilize storytelling in their ads and content, which connects with their customers. This shows every copywriter why it is important to actively engage with your client base and make things fun. Create something that is unique to your company and that people will enjoy. In The End… Use Target as inspiration for how to engage with your customer base and how to have fun with your content strategy. Having fun is a huge element in the majority of Target’s marketing campaign and it sure works like a charm! You’ll start seeing excellent results if you follow some of Target’s great copywriting strategies.

Copywriting for an International Audience

January 1, 2021May 13, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Just so you know, this blog is also subtitled, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Why? Well, it’s hard not to relate the entire topic here in any way to the classic 90s television show, “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” It was such a great show and everybody loved trying to figure out where Ms. Sandiego was. Remember? What many of us didn’t realize with this show is that we were being introduced to different cultures all around the world. We were being taken out of our current setting to learn that there are people different from us. It was a great learning experience as a kid and can now be something you implement in your copywriting and content marketing. The globe is massive and there are thousands of different languages out there, which means if you want to take your business global you are going to have to start writing in different languages. If you are wondering just how to go about doing this, then you are in luck! This blog is going to discuss how to create global content for everyone, as well as how to write in different forms of English (yes, there are different forms!). English Is the Norm for Many English is the standard language in the business world. All you have to do is go onto the Metro in Paris and see universities offering Business English courses to anyone interested in becoming a businessperson. However, approximately 6% of the world cannot speak English well enough to conduct business, according to the Content Marketing Institute. Because of this, many people are left out in the cold and it can even limit their ability to grow further in the business world or any other aspect of an English-speaking world. Many people are attempting to learn English and many children learn English in their schools. Unfortunately, many countries do not have the resources to teach everyone. While English is the norm for many things, don’t rely on the fact that people may be learning how to speak and read English. You need to start considering writing for many cultures and languages. An important note to consider is that the United States and many English-speaking countries are filled with more than just English speakers and we have to reach out to them. Some of the major languages spoken in the United States are Spanish, Chinese, French, Tagalog (Filipino), and Vietnamese. While many of these people can speak English and understand it well, many still would appreciate any content that is written in their own language. Copywriting: Can You Write Content for Different Languages? You can! It doesn’t have to be overwhelming or too difficult. You can actually find many people that are more than willing to help you write content in different languages. The more languages you write your content in, the more customers your business will bring in. We actually write a bi-weekly English blog and a bi-weekly Spanish blog for one company. It is a great experience and gets your product out to more individuals by doing this! Here are a few great tips that will help you write content in multiple languages: 1. Learn What Languages Are Spoken In Your Area. This is the best way to slowly make your content go global. If you don’t write for the locals, you will have a very hard time writing for others in different countries. This is a great opportunity to learn a different language or to find someone to write in a particular language. Never assume that one language is spoken more than another is – your area might shock you. Many assume Spanish is spoken the most, but there are areas where Russian is spoken more or where Chinese or Vietnamese is spoken. Research your area and learn the most prevalent language. If you are having a difficult time finding out which languages are spoken in your area, you can always go to the US Census website and use their interactive language map. 2. Hire Local Writers to Craft Content For You. When we say, “local,” we don’t just mean people from your town, but people who know the language you are planning to use. They will know all the puns, jokes, and alliterations that can be used in that particular language. If you are hiring someone to write content in a different language for local customers, the writer will know what a particular culture sees in the community and what they enjoy. A “local” writer will also be able to write for the search engines and help your site rank on that language’s search engine results page. Having a writer who is fluent in specific languages is the best way to adequately meet any language and copywriting needs your company will have. Put out an ad and start looking for someone to help you craft diverse content for your company. 3. Hire and Consult Local Editors. Every copywriter needs a copy editor to make sure they have met all grammatical rules and haven’t made horrible spelling mistakes. When you have a writer craft content that is in a different language, you will also need to hire an editor who can edit in that language. They will help catch any spelling mistakes that you may not find and will make sure the content makes sense to readers. Copy editors are crucial for your copywriting campaign, no matter what language the content is written in. 4. Look Into How Different Cultures Spend Their Time Online. Each culture spends time on a different site and the amount of time they spend on the Internet varies. This will help you know which social media site to use when you begin your marketing campaign for a particular culture or if Internet marketing will work for that culture. You can find many different sites that will give you information about the culture you want to reach and how they spend their time online. Once you have … Read more

9 Content Strategies to Get Unstuck from a Content Rut

June 19, 2024April 17, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Are you a new business, a mid-size to large business, or any other size business with a stagnant online marketing campaign? Do you feel your online presence is not really going places yet? Let’s talk about how to get you on the road to success! Here are a few ways to stop stagnating and come up with new, fresh material that will make readers love you: 1. Don’t Stop Your Yapping We’ve all heard someone, somewhere say “stop your yapping” but when it comes to content marketing strategies, if you aren’t yapping you’ll start drowning. Talk about your content with other marketers within your company and start sharing ideas. Someone will have at least one idea, but are too scared to share. Opening up a sharing ground will be a great way to begin getting out of the stagnant content marshland and beginning to create new content strategies that will be the bee’s-knees, the cat’s pajamas, and the best darn content out on the Internet. 2. Spot Those Problem Areas Get your magnifying glass out and get ready to find those problem areas in your content. We know you really love what you have published and you just cannot understand why no one is reacting to your wonderfully crafted content. While it may be amazing and well written, if it is not bringing people in, there is a problem and you have to find it to move on. When you begin to correct the problem area and find a new, impactful way to create content, Moz suggests that you create a small list of goals you would like to accomplish. They urge writers and marketers not to spread themselves too thin when creating these goals. If you are trying to juggle twenty semi-important goals instead of, say, five important ones, you will find yourself burning out quickly and the content will continue to be stagnant and not have any sort of impact whatsoever. Once you have found the problem, it is time to make a strategy. 3. Ender Didn’t Beat the Buggers With Luck He beat them with strategy. If you do not know the story of Ender Wiggin, check out Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. In this story, Ender is chosen to be the leader of humanity in a war against an alien race referred to as “buggers.” Ender had to do a lot of strategizing and learning from his mistakes before he finally beat them at their game. This goes for your content. You can’t just whip something up and expect it to go viral in an instant. If you constantly just write or create stuff and throw it out there without a strategy, you will see your content marketing campaign going stagnant and you will watch as your viewers back away with looks of consternation. Do not let that happen! Start working on that strategy and learn from your mistakes. Your mistakes are your best teaching tool. You will learn what needs to change if you are willing to open up your mind to take those mistakes as learning aids and not failures. 4. Everyone’s a Critic The Internet is a lovely place of opportunity, but can turn into a stinking quagmire of criticism quickly. Many people say, “Avoid the comments!” because this is where most of the horrible criticism is but you should not let that bring you down and stop you from producing great content. Just because someone says it is awful does not mean it really is. Take a lesson from some famous, classic authors. One critic of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn said the book was, “No better in tone than the dime novels which flood the Blood-and-Thunder reading population.” Did that stop him from continuing to write his amazing novels? No! So, do not let those comments stop you from promoting your company and producing your content. However, by avoiding the comments section your content will become stale. Within those horrible comments are some real gems of information. You will be able to learn what people like or dislike and can implement that into your new content strategy. Many authors have used negative reviews as a way to grow their writing, hence becoming national bestsellers. 5. You Do Not Have a T.A.R.D.I.S. So stop acting as if you do. If you spend all day in meetings, chat with coworkers over lunch, and work through your mountain of emails every day, you will find your content is beginning to stink like a disgusting swampy pond. Swat those mosquitoes away and start managing your time. No time machine will be here to take you back and, according to the Doctor, you can’t cross your time stream anyway. Business2Community points out that humans tend to be more alert in the morning. Sure, we all may be groggy without our morning cup of coffee but we also do not have a whole days’ worth of worries and to-dos floating around in our brains. We can think much clearer in the morning and, in fact, many people come up with some of their best ideas in the morning. The first thing to do when you get to work is to carve out about 30 to 45 minutes to sit and think. Start brainstorming and you will see that you come up with some pretty epic ideas! 6. Become a Lurker Lurking is creepy when done in real life but it can be very beneficial on the Internet. We aren’t talking about Facebook stalking, rather going to the different social media sites and looking at what is trending or what articles Buzzfeed and Upworthy are currently posting. Apart from Buzzfeed and Upworthy, HubSpot also suggests listening to new TED talks. TED talks are really interesting and provide amazing inspiration on a variety of topics. Gaining web inspiration is an excellent way to learn new information and to begin to spruce up your content marketing. While you’re at it, how about looking for inspiration from your competitors? We know … Read more

5 Tactics for Maximizing the Results of Your Content Campaigns

August 25, 2022March 21, 2014 by Adam Oakley

When it comes to content campaigns for your small business, online website investments, and overall content needs, there are a lot of bases to cover and perfect. This blog is all about helping you do that! So How Are We Going to Help You Maximize Content Campaigns? First, we’ll study different content products that go beyond your foundational web content and blog elements (these you should be doing by default – it shouldn’t take us to remind you!). We will also tie in some top tips from our copywriting brains on how you can create these products best and get the most results from them. 1. Whitepaper: The Future of Content Marketing As you approach your new content marketing strategies, you should consider using whitepapers for your marketing needs. What is a whitepaper? Glad you asked! Whitepapers are used to provide information to all your customers, both current and potential. It provides the reader with information and specifications of products instead of giving them the old razzle dazzle (“razzle dazzle ‘em”). It is professional and all about generating leads for your business, whereas blogs are for an informal, opinion based source about your product or company, Hubspot.com writes. Here are a few tips to consider when writing a whitepaper: Choose a topic people want to learn more about, especially one that is not overdone. By doing this, your company will stand out from the others, and you will find that you will gain more readers just by doing something different from the crowd. People like to read new and innovative topics, take advantage of that and make your topic something people cannot live without! Make sure you are writing knowledgeably, as well as passionately. You many not think a reader will know if you are not knowledgeable in the topic, but trust us when we say, they will. People are smart, and they catch on quick if you are not as well informed as you say. Readers will also know if you are not passionate about your topic because your tone will come across as impassioned and bored, so you absolutely want to stay away from any topic you find boring. One suggestion is to find someone else who may be passionate about your topic, or find someone who can write with passion regardless. Know Whom You Are Writing To. Make sure your topic meets your audience base. You do not want to write how awesome Pixar is if your audience base is committed to DreamWorks Studio! We kid, but you get the idea. You want to stay away from writing something that your audience will not find helpful and informational. Choose a topic close to your product or services. Be You. It is wildly cliché, but seriously, be you when writing your whitepages. We understand gaining inspiration from fellow copywriters as we all gain our inspiration that way, but you need to make it your own. Add your own little tidbits or parallels in a professional, yet unique, manner. 2. Writing an Ebook for Customers Ebooks are another great resource to use when planning your content marketing strategy. Internet2Go estimates that about 103 million Americans have ereaders or tablets. That is a lot of potential customers! Sure, your business isn’t for that whole 103 million, but this shows how important an ebook for is your content strategy. Offering free ebooks is a great way to engage with clients. You can offer this as a free download when customers join your company or as a way to generate new leads. People love getting free stuff, no matter what it is, just take a lesson from Hollywood. When people went to see Star Trek: Into Darkness, some theatres offered a free poster and most people took it because, why not? It was cool looking, but most importantly, it was free. We don’t need that poster, or pen, or key chain, but we will not say no to it either. People will say yes to a free ebook when it is offered. Writing an ebook can be very similar to writing other content, but here are some of our tips on ebook writing to get your brain juices moving: Stick with what you know. It is a pretty simple concept. The more you know about your chosen topic, the more people will believe you to be the authority in your field. Ebooks are the chance to discuss your product in-depth, leaving the specific topics for your blog! Read and Read Some More. When it comes to writing any book, you should always read other books, especially those similar to the one you are writing. It will provide you with inspiration. Do your research! Research is key to every single bit of content writing. If you do not research, your material will fall flat. When it comes time to publish, you can find many places that offer information and help regarding self-publishing and how to circulate your book. Since you are coming from the perspective of writing for your company, and not yourself, you can use tools such as Dropbox to provide an easy access point for customers. Make it into a PDF and have it ready for people to obtain. PDFs are the best way to make sure each tablet and ereader will support your ebook. 3. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words and So Are Infographics! Who doesn’t love a good infographic? We all love those little shareable photos that provide a wealth of information, and usually are adorned with some adorable artwork or pictures. They give us the information we seek on the particular topic we are researching or find interesting. If you want to find out which book to read next, there is an infographic for that! It is much easier to look at an infographic quickly than to wade through a lot of type. Sure, we all love to read blog posts and articles about the topics or products we are interested in, but sometimes we … Read more

Back From the Future: Content Marketing in 2014

January 1, 2021December 28, 2013 by Adam Oakley

Over twenty-something million pieces of content are shared every single day on the Internet, so there is no doubt that content is truly King and content marketing is its most trusted advisor. When it comes to creating web content, more is not always essentially better. You need to know that creating QUALITY content is way more important. Good Content Marketing is Vital to Building your Business Since the dawn of the Internet, content marketing (also known as article marketing) has been one of the most vital tools used by companies for Internet marketing. Many individuals use web content to tell their stories and reach out to as many people as they possibly can, thereby changing lives one post at a time. There are those who believe that imagery will overshadow content, but these people are dead wrong. Website content will become even more vital in the future. Harnessing the sheer power of words is important for creating long-term success for any company with an established Internet presence. The Truth about Content Marketing Unlike a good number of marketing efforts used by online marketers, content marketing is not mainly about driving sales (although that is DEFINITELY going to happen with quality content marketing). It is important that you understand that the first, and major, goal of all web content is to build relationships with clients, customers, or readers. For example, posting exclusive information on top social media platforms will help followers feel totally connected to your brand. You can take that step further by simply following up and directly interacting with readers through the site’s comment section. This will make your readers feel like you are giving them special one-on-one attention – this will require major commitment on your part. Having a good quality website or blog content will make readers want to visit your site again, and share the content with the people they know. When building relationships with your readers or clients/customers, it is vital to make use of different kinds of quality content so that potential customers can interact with your brand on a regular basis. It is of the utmost importance for every company or individual with an online presence to build SEO pages that focus on people over keywords and rankings. The 5 Most Popular Types of Content Marketing A couple of the most vital trends in content marketing involve technologies and tools, which were not even in existence a few years ago. One of the smartest things business owners need to do is to make sure that they keep abreast of the most recent types of web content, and then utilize them correctly to woo potential customers. Here are the 5 most common types of content marketing: 1. Blog Posts – Business blogs are becoming more and more popular and are a requirement for any business to become successful on the Internet. 2. Electronic mail (email) Newsletters – Clients expect to get top quality content from businesses they are doing business with. Delivering valuable information about the brand via email is an effective way to meet clients’ expectations. Please Note: It is important to send quality written, error-free, email newsletters. Poorly written content just screams “unprofessional.” 3. Video – Video is a cool way to communicate with your target audience. 4. Podcasts – The great thing about podcasts is that it offers companies the opportunity to speak to their clients or customers in a more personal way than an impersonal advertising medium. 5. Social Media – Facebook posts, Tweets, Google+ updates, and other social media platforms are a wonderful way to interact with target audiences. You can utilize TrendsMap in order to know what is trending on Twitter within your city or in other top cities in the country. These social media platforms allow for a two-way interaction between your business and your customers, which is a really great way to develop strong relationships. Providing Value to Target Audiences The biggest trend to expect in 2014 and beyond when it comes to every type of content marketing is the value of the content created. A few years ago, it was possible to write total nonsense, publish it online, and get away with it. Currently, more and more people want to get great value for the time that they invest in reading online content. In other words, people do not have the time or the patience to read content that they consider absolute “garbage.” As a business or website owner, it is your responsibility to find out what questions your target audiences need answered. Take advantage of the top content marketing tips in order to create content that is engaging. Then use content marketing to provide the answers to their questions or offer solutions to their problems. This could be as easy as providing information about the best coupon code websites for highly coveted products or services. Providing target audiences with the information that they need is exactly what content marketing is about. When content marketing is done properly, you can count on creating a customer or client base that is not just loyal, but also assists your business with word of mouth advertising. There is no doubt that this is THE most effective and powerful type of marketing, so business owners will need to develop and implement a valuable web content marketing strategy for the future. Amazing Content Marketing Information You Should Know for 2014 It’s no secret that content marketing is here to stay. In fact, 93 percent of B2B marketers use content marketing. A large number of marketers also have plans to increase their budget for content marketing in 2014. Nonetheless, there are still some challenges faced by many marketers as they struggle to generate interesting, quality, and engaging content. Many buyers become irritated when they see content that they consider just self-serving, unashamedly promotional, and not filled with valuable information. In addition to this, a considerable amount of marketers say that … Read more

Google Authorship in 2014: A MUST For All Website Owners

January 1, 2021December 26, 2013 by Adam Oakley

Social Media Today marks Google authorship as the new Yellow Pages. You remember how important it was to list your company in the Yellow Pages of the phone book. It was no secret the who’s who were right there, and getting yourself in those pages meant big things. Today we use a “cyber book” over the phone book, and getting yourself into the new Yellow Pages is a MUST for all website owners. Why Google Authorship Will Be a Must for Your Content Strategy “Google authorship [is] a highly effective way of connecting and promoting content on search result pages,” says Social Media Today. It’s a free service. It’s easy to set-up. It links you to your content, which builds your online authorship dynamically. According to Forbes, CopyPress recently released a survey in which 65 percent of surveyed marketers said that Google authorship “was indeed part of their Content Marketing strategy for the year.” Recent changes in Google’s search and SEO algorithms have rolled out the red carpet for authorship in 2014. Based on current research and trends, we predict it will be a MUST for your content strategies. Authorship Gets You Noticed The Oxford Dictionary defines authorship as “the fact or position of someone’s having written a book or other written work.” For centuries, society has recognized the importance of authorship. Every book, magazine article, and newspaper column published has held a byline, clearly displaying authorship. Writers the world over have worked tirelessly, pouring every ounce of drive and passion they have into achieving an official byline, a symbol of their hard work making them a published and recognized author. Society recognizes the importance of authorship and protects it through laws against plagiarism. Google authorship holds to the same honorable and timeless principles. For content creators everywhere, authorship is the official cyber-print byline, and it comes with vital marketing benefits: Authority Recognition Visibility Influence Clicks Conversions SEO is taking a hard turn into the importance of all of these benefits. Google’s algorithms, the ones that seek out new content and the best content, are about to become bloodhounds on the scent of quality. Your content will need to be impeccable – well written, well formatted, free of grammatical and spelling errors, current, relevant, and fresh. We’re talking about the creation of something as intricate and tiresome as the articles and books of the past that went to hard press. Why wouldn’t you want a cyber-byline on such bled over work? Did we mention Google authorship is free and easy to set-up? It’s time to take an in-depth look at this service and how to use it: Why You Need Google Authorship Recognition, how important is it to you? It’s a fairly accurate assumption that most of us would say recognition is very important. We want credit for our accomplishments. We want an audience to see our abilities. We want prospective businesses, employers, and customers to recognize our current talent and potential. Google authorship can make this happen. You see, Google hands you the ability to link. Let’s say you’re a writer for SearchEngineLand.com, a WordPress.com blog, and your personal blog (using whatever software you’ve chosen, most of which provide an automatic author biography page link to the author of each post). With a properly set up authorship, you can link all three of these back to your Google Plus account. As a result, your visual face will display beside this content when seen on a Google SERP (search engine results page). For a more technical look at the process, check out Rick DeJarnette’s Definitive Guide to Google Authorship Markup. He’ll help you understand the technical lingo behind linking, and he walks you through some of the mistakes he made while learning how to best set up authorship. Successful linking is by far the hardest aspect to master. SEO Advantages We’ve brushed on authorship going hand-in-hand with search engine optimization. But let’s take a moment to list the exact optimization advantages resulting from Google authorship: Search results with pictures. Results that catch the eye more quickly and have a higher tendency of being clicked. Credible links. The creation of more credible links that result in more readers and more click through rates (CTRs). In fact, Google authorship can increase CTRs by 30 to 150 percent. Branding you name & face. By attaching your name and face to your content, you literally brand yourself to readers. You establish a higher level of confidence and trust. As a result, engagement between authors and readers increases. How to Get Started with Google Authorship Now that you understand the basic Google authorship concept, let’s talk about how easy to use it is. You can set it up in two super simple steps: First, create a Google Plus profile. Be sure to upload a high quality headshot and fill in at least the basic profile information (such as hometown, current location, etc.). Second, visit plus.google.com/authorship, sign-up using your e-mail address and verify your e-mail address. It really is that simple. You can launch authorship in a matter of 5 minutes, or less. Once you’re up and running, you’ll have access to analytics for your content, the ability to distinguish and validate your content, the opportunity to gain Google+ followers and the capability to guide readers to you content all across the web. Once you’ve set your authorship up, glitches can still happen. Janet Driscoll Miller, a SEO marketer, provides a fantastic authorship troubleshooting guide should you experience an unexpected or baffling hiccup. The Key to Authorship The golden nugget of Google authorship is your headshot. The profile photo you upload is going to become a seal, proudly displayed by every piece of content you author. Therefore, it’s important to use a photo that clearly represents you. You produce quality, right? Then your headshot best reflects your commitment to value and hold to the standards of your content quality. On the web and in today’s marketing world, … Read more