Top Marketing Blogs This Week: How To Write A USP, Business Mistakes To Avoid And More

Time for another wrapup of the some of the best, most inspiring, helpful or interesting blogs this week. Some of these will get you thinking and some will get you busy taking action. When you’re done reading, let me know which were your favorites. And I’m always on the lookout for a great blog so if you have one – or know someone who does – please share it with me so I can add it to my reading list!

Social Brand Humanization: Transparency Vs Authenticity

Written by Pam Moore

There’s a good chance you already know Pam. She’s everywhere online and hosts one of the best Twitter chats with some of the best people you’ll meet. But if you missed this post, it’s crucial that you read it. The fate of your brand depends on it! With so much talk about “being authentic” online, there is vast confusion as to what this means. Hint: it does not mean sharing your every thought and every dinner photo, unfiltered and unedited. Pam makes a fantastic point about being authentic without taking a “spew it all out” approach. I suggest you read it, then bookmark it and read it again like a habit, just to remind yourself what maintaining real relationships and a real business is about.

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Six Business Mistakes You Should Never Make Twice

Written by Steve Olenski 

Making mistakes is a good thing, right? We live, we learn, we do it better the next time. For the most part, we embrace our failures as part of the growth process. Might want to rethink that after reading this post. Steve points out six mistakes that could be business-ending or at least skew things so badly that it could be a long while before you can undo them. So while it’s true that we learn from our mistakes, there are just some that we could do without. Everyone’s got one of those boy-I-wish-I-had-never-done-that stories and if you’re lucky, you lived to repent another day. Better yet, take a lesson from Steve and step around these pitfalls.

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8 Step Blueprint To Choosing A Unique Selling Proposition

Written by Barry Overstreet 

You’ve been told to develop your USP and to define what differentiates you from the competition. I’ll bet you actual money that you’ve gotten plenty of general advice about what a USP is and which companies have a “killer” USP. But if you’re like me, all that stuff makes you go “Yeah! Totally! On it!… Now what?” Barry has the “now what”. I’ll prepare you now: if you’re feeling motivated he’s got nine – yes, nine – posts that precede this one, all with great advice for thinking about your USP. And this one wraps it all up with some very nice “do this now” actions you can take to start putting yours together. I love a good action item, so if you’re working on your USP or think it can be better, check out Barry’s post and make your way through all of them if you’ve got a relaxed day of Saturday reading ahead of you.

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Should Links Open in a New Window?

Written by Ben Barden 

After disguising a ten-post series as one, I thought this would be the perfect follow up. It’s short, to the point and asks a question that has plagued websites since… well, since the beginning of websites. I know people who insist that every link on their site has to open in a new window. Personally, that drives me nuts. I also know people who refuse to have any link on their site open in a new window. That also drives me nuts, especially when that link is on the main navigation and I end up on a completely different site. Ben shares his link-opening policy and then shares the opinions of other respected website owners. You can’t hear a question like this and not answer. Check out Ben’s post and share your opinion. Did it change after reading the post?

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10 Email Marketing Campaign Tips To Skyrocket Commissions

Written by Dan Sumner 

Since we just talked about keeping the snooze out of your email newsletter this week, this post seemed like a great addition. Email marketing can be a powerful lead-and-sales generator, assuming you’re not putting your subscribers to sleep or training them to ignore you. Dan gives some great, actionable tips here. My favorite is his second point, which talks about creating a campaign rather than sending each email as a one-off. If the word “campaign” sounds scary, think of it as “more than one email that promotes a product or service as part of a series.” That dovetails perfectly into Dan’s seventh point, which you’ll just have to read for yourself. Pick one and commit to trying it out on your very next email.

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And that’s a wrap! Do you have a favorite here? I’d love to know which posts you enjoy most!