Matt Cooper says, “There was a time, not so long ago, when a blog or news site’s comments section was considered a boon to Internet dialogue – a way for the “people formerly known as the audience” to break past the media gatekeepers and create meaningful discussion on an issue or topic. Comments were a new evolution of the traditional letters to the editor appearing in newspapers for more than a century. No single arbiter of taste would decide which letters appeared in the paper and which were thrown to the waste bin. But if you’ve been following the goings-on in the media and... [...]

Rainmaker team says, “If you’re actively creating content, you’ve probably noticed that “waiting for inspiration” doesn’t tend to work all that well. In this episode of Confessions of a Pink-Haired Marketer, host Sonia Simone goes through her workflow for content creation. This works for blog posts, podcast or video scripts, infographics, SlideShares, or really any piece of strategic content you’ll want to create“. 7 Straightforward Steps to Superior Blog Posts and Podcasts ‘Copyblogger’ Blog  [...]

Richard Marriott says, “Nobody could have predicted the incredible impact that YouTube would have on the world ten years ago. Former PayPal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim discovered the niche platform in which people could access video clips of the most random events, and no one has come close to matching the huge popularity of it since. Currently, YouTube is the third most-visited site on the internet, and the second biggest search engine on the web, with over 40m brand-related videos uploaded daily. With this in mind, there has been a rise in the new influencer on the... [...]

Barry Feldman says, “Blogging remains the cornerstone of most content marketing efforts. According to HubSpot, marketers who have prioritized blogging are 13 times more likely to enjoy positive ROI. The data presented by HubSpot also claims B2B companies that blog produce 67 percent more leads than those that don’t. According to Demand Metric, 59 percent of B2B marketers consider blogs the most valuable channel. So, Orbit Media Studios co-founder Andy Crestodina thinks the mega-population of the content creation nation stands to gain interesting insights by examining how their blogging... [...]

ReadWrite team says, “Though the concept of blogging has been around for years, blogging continues to grow in popularity. Personal bloggers, businesses, and marketers launch new blogs every day to express their ideas and build their audience. But not everyone who wants to start a blog knows how. That’s where StartBloggingOnline comes in. Owner Mike Wallagher has helped launch more than 9,500 blogs with his free blogging guide since introducing the site in March 2013. He’d already been blogging since 2009. The StartBloggingOnline beginner’s guide will teach you the same tips and tricks... [...]

Alex Bashinsky says, “Let’s face it. Your primary purpose in writing blog posts is not to capture Facebook “likes” or get ranked. You’re writing a blog for strategic business purposes. You want the content to achieve something. You want to increase your conversions – to put a direct value on the time invested in blogging. Writing blog posts for conversions requires an approach subtly different than writing to provide fun or to educate. Consider the following path to boost your blog ROI: Planning phase Structuring your business blog posts for conversions begins before you put pen... [...]

Walter Chen says, “”Free” is the most awesome price of all. “Free” gets you started when you have nothing. “Free” took me from 0 to the first 1,000,000 visitors to my blog. “Free” is also the price that most people gravitate to when they are first starting out. But, the trouble is, most of those people also think that you have sign up for some big, expensive service once your audience numbers get serious. Nope. You don’t have any excuses, because free web services and products available today are so good that you can easily use them... [...]

Dave Schneider says, “While the old adage, “You get what you pay for,” usually rings true, sometimes what you can get for free is pretty good. Luckily, many people sympathize with bloggers who don’t have the investment to buy tools to help improve their effort. They have created some awesome free tools that can take your blog to the next level Here are eight that rank high on my list: 1. Quicksprout’s content analysis Many people associate Quicksprout with Neil Patel, a powerhouse content creator. But it also is an awesome content analysis tool. You put in a URL and the analysis will... [...]

Roger C. Parker says, “The series approach to blogging, as I described in How to Turn 1 Idea Into 2 Months of Content Marketing (and More),offers an easy approach to help you plan, create, and repurpose blog posts into future content. Among the benefits of a series approach: Immediate – It removes the guesswork of choosing what to write each week. It also provides an opportunity to go deeper into topics to share more information while building market anticipation for future blog posts. Long term – It makes it easier to keep your blogging on schedule. You create content equity for... [...]

Jami Oetting says, “The difference? It lies in the details. In an age where enormous amounts of content are being created every single day, it’s imperative that agencies and their clients’ brands are consistently experimenting with new ways to stand out. Luckily, there are a ton of simple ways to amplify your content with very little effort — from simple plugins to eye-grabbing headlines to images. To provide you with some direction, here are 16 simple ways to drive more engagement and traffic to your clients’ blog by leveraging different tools, platforms, and mediums. 16... [...]