Skip to main content
Category

Writing & Content Marketing

Jul 09
Content Marketing Ideas Are Easy To Find If You Look In The Right Place

Content Marketing Ideas Are Easy To Find If You Look In The Right Place

By Writing & Content Marketing

It stuns me each time a businessperson says that they don’t know what to write about. If you’re struggling with content creation, whether for your website, blog post, email or other marketing, ask yourself this question:

Will your potential customers be more likely to buy from you if they are well or poorly informed about your product or service?

If you said “well informed” then you’ve got all the content you’ll ever need. Here’s why – and how to write content that your prospects and customers want to read.

Read More
Jun 23
Storytelling For Business: The Only Difference Between You And The Competition Is Story

Storytelling For Business: The Only Difference Between You And The Competition Is The Story You Tell

By Writing & Content Marketing

You’re a dime a dozen. Most of us are. We sell shoes or haircuts, accounting services or duct cleaning. And so do endless others.

Consumers – us – are bombarded daily, hourly, second-ly by ads and marketing messages. The net result has been to make those ads and messages less and less effective. And when it all starts to sound the same, as inevitably it must, then marketing becomes meaningless.

The question then, becomes, “How do we market ourselves when it’s all just flotsam? When our competitors are just as qualified, just as committed, experienced, knowledgeable, expert? That’s exactly the subject I tackle today and there’s a special offer at the end, so read on to learn more about the power of story and to learn how to tell yours.

Read More
Jun 18
What Is The Place Of Content Curation In Marketing? Part 2

What Is The Place Of Content Curation In Marketing? Part 2

By Writing & Content Marketing

Previously on Web.Search.Social:

I wrote an article called “In Which I Discuss Why Content Curation For Marketing Sucks.”

A bunch of people got pissy.

I debated the issue on Content Warfare TV.

I wrote a followup called “What Is The Place Of Content Curation In Marketing?.”

Here are my final thoughts. (Unless I get fired up again.) They focus on whether content curation is a good tool for building relationships and generating leads. My position is clear: stop wasting your time. Today I wrap it up and share some alternatives that don’t require a 1000-word blog post or a ton of time to create your own.

Read More
Jun 16
What Is The Place Of Content Curation In Marketing? Part 1

What Is The Place Of Content Curation In Marketing? Part 1

By Writing & Content Marketing

I had the privilege of being on Ryan Hanley’s Content Warfare TV to debate founder and CEO of Triberr, Dino Dogan, on the subject of content curation. I took the position that content curation is often misused and may be an unnecessary component of marketing.

I want to share some additional thoughts and provide answers to questions I was asked during the show. I’ve been pretty relentless on this topic and hitting it hard at every opportunity I get. If you’re following “conventional wisdom” and curating third party content as part of your social marketing efforts, this article might just change your mind.

Read More
May 21
Who’s Stealing My Content Now? The Little Guy’s Guide To Dealing With Online Plagiarism.

Who’s Stealing My Content Now? The Little Guy’s Guide To Dealing With Online Plagiarism.

By Writing & Content Marketing

In sixth grade I was more smart than popular, and in an effort to balance those things out I let anyone and everyone copy off my test papers. Alas, I never won any popularity wars but a bunch of other kids did a lot better on English exams than they might have otherwise. Fast forward to today and I’m a lot less generous with my content and a lot less forgiving of those who pilfer it. If you’re like me and you’re aggravated to find your own words pop up online on other people’s sites without a bit of credit to you, don’t fret. Just because people steal your content doesn’t mean you have to put up with it. Here are some tips for finding and apprehending the Bad Guys when it comes to online plagiarism.

Read More
Apr 23
Today's Marketing Lesson: "Get To The Choppa"

Today’s Marketing Lesson: “Get To The Choppa”

By Writing & Content Marketing

A few days ago I wrote an article about content curation that received responses ranging from agreement to outright disgust. Apparently it struck a chord. One of the points I made – that businesses should repurpose and curate from their existing content – seems to have been widely accepted as a good idea. Given that, I wanted to illustrate a good use of curating from existing quality content. And to illustrate that point I’m going to use Arnold Schwarzenegger – the master of creating and reusing quality content.

Read More
Apr 17

Dear Business Owner, Great Content Marketing Requires Great Time Management. [Podcast]

By Writing & Content Marketing

How does a lack of disciplined time management within a company affect its marketing practices? That’s what Mike S. Brooks and I talked about on this episode of the Nuclear Chowder Podcast. In this show, I argue that when small and medium sized businesses do not practice good time management processes the end result is lots of busy time, but not lots of productive time. That has a ripple effect that affects all aspects of the business but most notably the execution of marketing tasks. Read more and listen for tips to help you manage your time – and your marketing – better

Read More
Apr 07
What’s Good Content, How Do You Create It And Who Should You Be Creating It For? [Podcast]

What’s Good Content, How Do You Create It And Who Should You Be Creating It For? [Podcast]

By Writing & Content Marketing

What does it mean to “write quality content”? And even if your content is fantastic, how do you know you’re writing it for the right person? Perhaps most importantly, if you’re running a business, how do you make that content do more than just look pretty on a page and actually bring some customers your way? Those are just a couple of the tough topics that my friend Mike Brooks and I tackle on the landmark 50th episode of his Nuclear Chowder show. It’s my first podcast so let me know what you think, and when you’re done let me know if you have any thoughts to add or questions that are still burning in your mind about how to make content work for you.

Read More
Apr 01
How You Know It’s Time To Find A Different Copywriter

How You Know It’s Time To Find A Different Copywriter

By Writing & Content Marketing

Flaky. Unreliable. Arrogant. Incompetent. Long-winded. Unresponsive. Disheveled. These are just a few words I’ve heard people use to describe copywriters who didn’t live up to expectations. To be fair, most of these words could be used to describe any number of service providers who don’t cut the mustard, but especially creative professionals. Here are some real red flags that you should be able to spot early in the process of choosing a copywriter. If you notice these red flags, do yourself a favor and choose someone else. The aggravation – and the content – likely won’t be worth it.

Read More
Mar 25
Not Blogging For Business? Ask These Questions Before You Lose Another Sale.

Not Blogging For Business? Ask These Questions Before You Lose Another Sale.

By Writing & Content Marketing

I’m always surprised when I peek outside my own little blogging bubble to find out how few other businesses are actually blogging. Within the past month alone I’ve spoken with landscapers, retailers, contractors and other service providers who not only don’t blog for business but don’t think it’s worth it. It’s not always about time or money, either. Plenty of times it’s simply about a lack of perceived value. So for the doubters among us, I’ve compiled this short list of reasons that blogging is not only valuable but necessary if you want your business to succeed.

Read More
Close Menu