Marketing should not be a one-time spend to get a one-time result. If you think of it as an investment instead, today’s “spend” can continue to pay off years from now. Here’s how to focus on the two most important investments you can make in your business.
Episode 100: I Am Not Special
When you set out to create something, do it to create a resource. Then it doesn’t matter if organic growth is slow. You’ll be creating a reusable business asset: That’s content strategy in a nutshell. Episode 100 of this podcast is dedicated to you and your next big milestone. I am not special: You can do it too!
I Am Tired of Seeing Creatives Fail
It’s a shame when you see great art go unnoticed. I got sick of seeing creatives fail, so I wanted to do something about it. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how and why I created a comprehensive online course to help writers, musicians, and visual artists.
Marketing Automation: A Case Example
Marketing automation sounds robotic and impersonal. In fact, it can be a more welcoming and personal way to nurture a lead into a customer, by focusing on THEIR specific needs and interests. You have a much better chance at making a connection, while lightening your workload as well.
Consistency in Content Strategy
Consistency is one of the best ways to earn trust. So in your content strategy, a “toe in the water” approach isn’t going to cut it. You simply have to commit to being consistent. That means that you’re going to have to love the process – not just the results. Are you up for that?
Be In It for the Long Game
If your business depends on having an audience, you have to stand back a little and let it evolve naturally. You have fight your own impatience, get comfortable with not having control, learn to relish the indirect benefits, and ultimately, play the long game.
How Do You Measure Trust?
Rather than looking solely at traditional business metrics, what if we made decisions based on earning trust instead? Episode 95 is about the limitations of ROI in trying to measure your content marketing efforts, and how to focus instead on getting to the Threshold of Trust.
The Service Disposition
Generosity works. When you serve, you earn the right to serve again. Over time, you earn enough trust to ask for the sale. This used to be hard to scale, but not anymore. It starts with a genuine desire to help, and as I’ve learned – what you get in return might surprise you.
Business Isn’t “Just Business”
Movies often portray success in business as a cut-throat, relentless climb to the top. Someone has to lose in order for you to win. That’s just not the case anymore, if it was ever true at all. Here’s what the principles of content marketing taught me about today’s business world.
What Content Strategy Teaches You About Business
Introducing a new 16-part series about counterintuitive business lessons that I’ve learned from my mentors and the mistakes I’ve made. It turns out that the same nuances that work in running a good content strategy also work in running a business as well.
How a Mini-Series Can Help Your Content Strategy
I often produce little mini-series within this podcast. This structured way of writing is how I prefer to work, because it keeps me on track. It’s good for my audience too – and I have the data to back that up. So, would this method work for you? Let’s take a look.
Picking Better Models for Your Business
In building your business, are you always feeling behind? Like you can never live up to the countless stories of success? Maybe it’s time to stop setting impossible standards. Here’s one small change in perspective that can shorten your goal horizon.
How to Make Your Content More Shareable
Time for a gut check. You’re producing content, you’re sharing on social. But stop and ask yourself as objectively as you can: Is your content good enough that YOU would share it (if it wasn’t your own)? Let’s look at why and how people share, so that it can inform your content strategy.
The Social Media Strategy Series: Wrap-Up
Social media for business is more than just Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. In the season finale of “Marketing Without the Marketing,” I give a top-level blueprint of a cohesive social media strategy that maximizes impact and efficiency.
Know Your Customer: Using Data-Driven Marketing
Data-driven marketing is becoming a must-have, even for small businesses. Here’s a brief case study of the Starbucks Star Rewards Program – and how to apply the lessons to your own business.
LinkedIn Pulse for Business: Baseline Strategies for Personal Branding
While LinkedIn Pulse is a low-commitment way to get started with blogging for business, you really need a strategy to get the most out of it. Here are two distinct game plans for you to consider: Which one is worth the time investment?
You Only Have to Tell Me One Lie
In your marketing, does what you say about yourself match what your customers say about you? If it doesn’t, you may have a trust problem – and you may not get a second chance to repair the damage.
Periscope for Business: Using Live Video as a Marketing Strategy
Have you tried using Periscope for business – or any other live video app? There are a lot of advantages for brands, and companies are getting really creative with it. Let’s have a look at whether or not live video will be a good strategy for you and your business.
Facebook Groups for Business: A New Approach to Marketing
With organic reach down to 9% or lower, Facebook has become purely a pay-to-play platform for businesses. Facebook Groups are the exception, and may be one of the most powerful marketing tools available. Here’s my strategy for how to build and nurture an audience of super-fans.
Twitter Ads for Business: An Underrated Marketing Strategy
Social media is a great starting point to drive awareness of your business, but let’s face it – there’s a ton of noise out there. One strategy that can help: Twitter Ads. If you haven’t tried ads yet as a part of your content strategy, here’s a quick guide to getting started.