Kerry O’Shea Gorgone says, “As an attorney, I regularly get asked legal questions by my friends. Of particular concern among marketers and PR professionals are copyright and fair use, because those concepts apply to content marketing strategy. I get asked some variation of the same 10 questions on a regular basis, so I’m going to answer them here. 1. Can I use someone else’s content (text, image, video, music) on my website if I give them credit? Not unless they’ve given you written permission to use their material, OR you’re willing to spend the money to present... [...]

Eddie Shleyner says, “In Chicago, there’s a famous restaurant called Alinea. It’s one of only a handful of restaurants in America that have earned the coveted 3-star Michelin rating, making it one of the best restaurants in the world. But if you ask people who’ve dined there what makes it unique, most will tell you that, somehow, it’s not just the food. Alinea is an experience. The food, artistic and delicious as it is, wouldn’t garner its full effect if each course (there are about 20 in all) didn’t arrive just in time, perfectly ordered, with each dish complementing the one... [...]

Beth Hayden says, “I have fallen in love with a travel website. It’s called CheeseWeb, and it’s a blog dedicated to “slow travel.” Slow travel is staying in one place for longer periods of time while you’re on the road and having full experiences in each place you stay. When I stumbled upon it, the incredible photos and gorgeous design of the site made my mouth water. As an armchair traveler, it has now become one of my favorite travel sites. One of the reasons why the site appealed to me during my first visit was CheeseWeb’s amazing “Start Here” page. The page told me: –... [...]

Jeff Rajeck says, “There are an overwhelming amount of tips and tricks to help you become a better online copywriter. To help you organise these tips into a useful ‘writers toolbox’, we have covered two high-level best practices in previous posts: 1. Use short words, short sentences, and signpost your writing. (link) 2. Outline for your audience, write for yourself. (link) If you follow these rules, your writing will be easy-to-read, clear, and coherent. Your writing will also be well-structured yet capture some of your unique, personal voice which keeps readers interested. Additionally,... [...]

Demian Farnworth says, “Do me a favor, dear content marketer. Type this phrase into Google: “You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One).” I’ll wait. Okay, did you do it? What is the top result? It should be the product page for Jeff Goins’s ebook on Amazon. In fact, the first entry should be the Kindle version and the second entry should be the paperback version — both on Amazon. The third entry should be the author’s own product page dedicated to this book. So, here’s a question for you: Why do you think Amazon has the top result and not the author’s own product page? Got... [...]

Brian Clarke says, “I once asked the Copyblogger community to name their biggest writing challenges. From the many responses, a pattern developed: – How to get started – How to cut the fluff – How to finish These three issues are really symptoms of the same painful problem, which boils down to not clearly understanding what you’re trying to accomplish with your writing. Don’t worry … it’s a fairly common ailment”. The 5-Step Process that Solves 3 Painful Writing Problems Copyblogger  [...]

Demian Farnworth says, “Cornerstone content is vital for both seasoned bloggers and anyone launching a brand-new website because it can help you accomplish many of your content marketing goals. Goals like: – Getting links to your website – Finding new readers – Attracting subscribers – Ranking in search engines for competitive keywords – Highlighting archived material – But what exactly is cornerstone content? “. Cornerstone Content Defined in 60 Seconds Copyblogger  [...]

Pamela Wilson says, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could take your life experiences and turn them into a business? Sonia Thompson has done just that. She’s combined her time in corporate America with her love for small business to create a place where small business owners can learn the mindset and techniques they need to master running their businesses successfully. And she’s working to incorporate her personal passions, like speaking Spanish and living abroad, into her future offerings. Sonia’s story is this month’s Hero’s Journey feature. We’re tapping the collective wisdom... [...]

Sonia Simone says, “Are your readers doing what you want them to do? Are they registering for your free membership site, downloading your ebook, or signing up for your email newsletter? If not, you need to learn a master craftsman’s copywriting secret. This technique acts like a remote control to get your readers to take action. Press this “magic button” and you’ll see your results improve dramatically. The secret, masters-only technique to compelling your readers to act is to”. How to Be a Copywriting Genius: The Brilliantly Sneaky Trick You Must Learn Copyblogger  [...]

Jack Simpson says, “Anyone can be a writer these days. All you need is a computer with an internet connection and a tenner to spend on a domain name. The problem is: anyone can be a writer these days. But digital writing requires a unique approach that caters for the way people read online, i.e. through scanning the page for information that is relevant to them. In this post I’m going to cover 10 common online copywriting mistakes I come across regularly when reading content. 1. Bad headlines Headlines are hard. It can take a relatively long time to come up with what is essentially just... [...]