Content & Message

• 

  Your Marketing Needs to Answer the Questions Your Prospects Are Asking

  “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” One of the traps I find myself fighting hard to keep from falling into – over and over – is allowing the urgent to push aside the important. Nowhere is this more difficult to counteract (for me) than the inbox. Responding immediately…MORE >

• 

  Be Human in Your Marketing

  B2B marketing continues to evolve from the stuffy, inward-facing efforts of yesteryear to the more modern approach that puts the client front and center. Along with that change comes a change in voice, too. Less formal, more friendly and much more cognizant of the idea that any buying and selling that happens, even in a…MORE >

• 

  Your Website’s About Us Pages Matter More Than You Think

  There is real digital marketing value to a well-constructed About Us page on your website. Too often, though, marketers pay short shrift to the impact this content can have. I’ve written in the past about errors and lost opportunities related to the About Us page(s) on your website. So I was excited to see an article…MORE >

• 

  Tailoring Your Content Marketing To Prospects at Every Stage of the Buying Cycle

  It’s a cliché to talk about the marketing mistake of asking for your prospect’s hand in marriage on your first date. And most of us don’t make that mistake anymore, if we ever did. That doesn’t mean we as content marketers aren’t sometimes guilty of diving too deep, too fast. And often our prospects aren’t…MORE >

• 

  Digital Marketing – Connect the Dots Between Your Content and Your Prospects’ Problem

  If you don’t make it easy for your prospects to understand how your solution can solve their problem, you won’t even make the long list. In fact, Hinge Marketing found in a recent study of professional services firms that  “87% of buyers will actually rule out a service provider before even talking with them.” How…MORE >

• 

  Creating Marketing Content: How Less Time and Effort Can Yield Better Results

  More isn’t always better. One case in point: the effort you put into creating content for your content marketing programs. I’m not suggesting that you slack off and publish second-rate content. I’m suggesting that a little strategic thought can reduce the effort required to produce really great content. Kind of like taking the time to…MORE >

• 

  The Difference Between B2B Marketing and b2B Marketing

  No, that’s not a typo; it’s a change in emphasis. There’s no way not to put your business first in the B2B equation – your business is selling to the prospect’s business. So, while we can’t switch order of the Bs –who’d notice anyway – we can draw attention to the fact that b2B marketing should…MORE >

• 

  Digital Marketing and the Importance of Perspective

  One of the things I’m most fond of saying (besides, “Why, yes. I’d love another drink.”) is this: Your prospects don’t care about you. Your prospects don’t even care about what you do. Your prospects care about what you can do for them. There are a lot of ways that ignoring this truth can hurt…MORE >

• 

  How Content Can Help Sales and Marketing Work Together

  That’s the dream, isn’t it? Every marketer has visions of their marketing team and the sales team running toward one another in a sunny field with joyous music swelling as they close in on a smiling embrace. OK, maybe you don’t take the dream that far, but most of us certainly dream of better coordination…MORE >

• 

  Back to Basics: Making Content Marketing Work

  Content marketing is nothing new, and it’s not a new concept to most marketers, but it is still worth looking at some content marketing basics to remind ourselves of how and why content marketing works, and how we can be more effective in our own efforts. Here a brief “Content Marketing 101” refresher. Publish Don’t…MORE >