Content & Message

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  Making Your Email Marketing More Effective

  My most recent piece on the Biznology blog gives you 4 tips for getting more out of your email marketing. And while you may think that email marketing is old, boring, and maybe even passé, you couldn’t be more wrong. It’s not the answer for every marketing needs (though what is?), but it’s hard to…MORE >

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  Marketing Truths: You Are Not Your Prospect

  Your website and other digital marketing is only as effective as your message. And your message is only  effective if it speaks to your target audience. If your message is geared toward your needs – rather than your prospects’ – converting traffic to sales is going to be very difficult. If the mismatch is bad enough, attracting traffic…MORE >

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  Making Your Content Marketing More Efficient

  Process matters. Being more efficient isn’t just a convenience; it can be a big part of being more effective. Implement a Strong CRM The most important aspect of an efficient content marketing system is your CRM. If you don’t have a solid accounting of who you’re contacting, what contact you’ve had with them in the…MORE >

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  More Effective Content Marketing Doesn’t Have to Mean Being a Better Writer

  If you can’t string two sentences together, you’re going to have trouble as a marketer, period. Content marketing will be even more challenging. That said, you don’t need to be Shakespeare to create truly effective content marketing. Here are some factors beside the “quality” of your writing that will impact your content marketing’s effectiveness. Links…MORE >

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  Get to Know Your Clients – Through Your Website

  Your website shouldn’t be a one-way conversation, with you pontificating and everyone (anyone?) listening. It should be a conversation. And part of that two-way conversation should be you seeking out ways to interact with your customers, even if you’re in a business where your end consumer isn’t your customer.   I discuss this in my…MORE >

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  Using Content to Nurture Leads

  Target Marketing recently published my “Marketing Schul” piece about using content to nurture leads. As I say in the opening, “The difference between just publishing a blog and content marketing is less about what you create than it is about how you use what you create.” The article also touches on integrating your content marketing…MORE >

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  Creating Content That Encourages Action, Part II

  Last week we walked through general ideas behind creating content that encourages action, since the goal of content marketing should always be to move prospects through their buying process toward a purchase decision. Encouraging prospects to take steps along that journey requires content that provides useful information as they evaluate their options – and provides evidence…MORE >

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  Creating Content That Encourages Action, Part I

  Every piece of content you create as a content marketer must pass through one key filter: what action am I hoping to encourage when a prospect consumes this content? The more precisely and specifically your answer to that question, the more likely your content is to succeed. If your answer is something like, “to raise…MORE >

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  Content Marketing Creation: Getting By with a Little Help From Your Friends

  You don’t have to create material for your content marketing on your own. Not only can you look to those who have gone before you for inspiration, you can actually build your content around their content. For example, as you are researching a topic, you may find an article that outlines the argument you want…MORE >

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  Are All Digital Marketing Channels Mediocre?

  If you look at the data a certain way, you might think that all digital marketing channels are mediocre. The data looks that way because digital marketers typically try a number of channels before finding the small handful that work well for them and their audience. When polled, of course they’re going to rate those…MORE >