Content Marketing

In this guide, I lay out the steps to create your own content marketing strategy. Broken down into these clear activities, it's a manageable process for any small business. Essentially, you start by setting a goal. Then, you create an offer and implement it with a content marketing mindset. Want to create a perfect strategy? Follow the 7 steps below. 1. Set Your Lead Generation Goal You probably have a general goal of generating leads through a content marketing strategy. A specific number will help you track the success of your campaign. Also, tracking can reveal opportunities to improve your [...]

One of my favorite writing events, National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO), divides participants into two groups: planners and pantsers. The planners map out all of their writing for the whole month weeks in advance. The pantsers sit down on day one and stare at the blank page — waiting for ideas. These two groups remind me of my retail clients. Some plan out their campaigns months in advance. Others are searching for ideas days before they want to boost sales. No matter which group you fall into, the list below offers inspiration. Each of these marketing campaigns focus on a [...]

The old methods just don’t work. In the past, customers were grouped by age. Then, generalizations about their values and habits were extracted for the whole group. Marketers have been trying to target these young adults for several years. One thing is clear. We can’t generalize for this age group. Instead, we must track the individual behavior of this game-changing generation — customer by customer. That's the trick for marketing to millennials. Marketing to Millennials Young adults wield great influence and buying power. First, they have matured as the older millennials are now in their early thirties. They have reached [...]

Open rates vary by industry. Engagement varies by organization. But, effectiveness starts with understanding what makes an eBlast worth your time.

The biggest benefit of digital marketing is that it is build around this information search behavior.

Salt. It’s one of those objects whose presence you simply assume (even though it’s slowly disappearing from restaurants). You probably picture it in a salt shaker which you refill from a little blue canister. However, that little canister didn’t exist until a brilliant businessman filled a market problem complete with an eye-catching tutorial. He had a solid strategy to attract new business. Before 1911, salt came in large barrels that often hardened from moisture. Then, Joy Morton developed a free-running salt that he put in a paper cylinder with an aluminum spout. His cute slogan, “When it rains, it pours” accompanied a pleasant [...]

There’s a sucker born every minute.

Consider every marketing email a chance to break up a “rainy day.”

Whenever someone asks me for free marketing advice, I give them a shortlist of things to do. Most of them are highly administrative — which I think surprises people. While I believe in creativity and inspiration, you won’t have time to do that if you can’t delegate some of the day-to-day branding tasks. The best thing you can do for your brand? Getting organized in 2021.  Develop Your Brand Guide Whether you’ve been in business for year or just started out, you need to make sure you have a brand guide. It doesn’t have to be robust. In fact, most [...]