How-to guides, worksheets, and strategies and tactics to help you map out your marketing. Plus the odd philosophical musing on the digital world.

Marketing, whether the digital marketing that we focus on or marketing more broadly, is about a whole lot more than sell sheets and social media. As Target Marketing Editor-in-Chief Thorin McGee put it recently, “Marketing starts [with] business strategy.” In other words, if you’ve isolated yourself in some marketing silo that only every once in…MORE >

On all but the smallest of sites, you need to have a good search experience teed up and ready to go. This has as much to do with the help it can give you as for the help it can give your site visitors. Making content easy to find for site visitors has obvious advantages:…MORE >

If you’re not using Analytics on your website, chances are your excuse is that it’s too daunting to wade into all that data. (It can’t be because of cost – Google Analytics is free and it’s sufficient for most small businesses.) Analytics doesn’t have to be daunting, though. There are a few simple metrics worth paying…MORE >

Well, mostly profit … My recent webinar with the fine folks at Biznology is now available as a recording. Mercifully, the video window of me and my bald head is on the small side and the slides are big and easy to read! Time spent auditing your digital marketing might seem like time better spent…MORE >

Auditing your digital marketing is a critical part of ensuring that your marketing remains effective over time. Even the most well researched, meticulously planned, and flawlessly executed digital marketing will fade over time if you don’t adapt it to changing market conditions, competitive landscape, and your own company’s growth. We’ve developed a scorecard that encourages…MORE >

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 >

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 >

Perspective is everything, and the ability to see issues from varied perspectives is a skill not to be underestimated. Put another way, never ask a barber if you need a haircut. Setting aside the economic motivation a barber might have for always saying you need a haircut, a barber, even if honest, is more likely…MORE >

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 >