Rainmaker team says, “Long ago, search engine optimization (SEO) tactics and online marketing went hand in hand. Not so much today. For real. Of course, it seems like a loaded question, doesn’t it? How much SEO does the modern content marketer really need to know? Particularly those just starting out? Well, it’s a serious question. One that The Lede hosts Demian Farnworth and Jerod Morris plan on tackling without simply saying that SEO is dead. Because that’s not true. Halfway through this episode, however, they both realize they are over their heads — and call in the big guns“. How... [...]

Rainmaker team says, “If you’re about to start a content marketing strategy for your business and you’re wondering how to keep showing up consistently, or you’re already struggling with sporadic publishing habits, this episode of Hit Publish is for you. If people tell you that creating content regularly is easy, they’re telling fibs. It’s one of the biggest challenges businesses face when Hitting Publish and host Amy Harrison has got a confession to make … she has struggled with it a lot in the past. Fortunately, this means Amy has a few sneaky tips for helping you out if you’re... [...]

Austin McCraw says, “Ah … the ambience of a blank white computer screen. I am staring at one right now. There are the days when this glow speaks freedom and fresh opportunity and I take it. But then, there are those days, like right now, where the glow feels more like an impenetrable force field. So what do I do when I know I have something to say, but I just can’t get it into words? Should I start scouring the Web to find something interesting to comment on? Or should I just rehash something that I have thought about or written about before? Or, the most tempting, do I just give up... [...]

Isla McKetta says, “A fantastic idea is the heartblood of any content campaign or project. Excitement around an idea is what sustains you through the (sometimes) long slog of creation, and it’s part of what gets your audience to share, share, share. Putting time and energy into a bad idea is a waste of your resources and has the potential to turn your audience off. Plus, if your decision maker sees too many resources invested in too many ideas that fail, you could lose credibility, autonomy, and—worst case scenario—your job. Which all makes coming up with the idea sound kind of... [...]

Baer says, “What are some of the biggest challenges of developing tons of content? “It’s mostly just organization.” That’s what Ali Parmelee, Co-Owner and Brand Strategist atTHINK creative group has to say about content development. And I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s tough enough to organize your own marketing. But what gives Ali some credibility here is that she’s managing her own content development process, and she also helps lots of others manage their marketing, too, through her marketing agency. “We’re a pretty small team here. It’s a matter of keeping everything... [...]

Dave Hochman says, “Even the world’s most effectively led, proactive, and well-organized content team is going to end up dead in the water without continuous quality input from within the organization. Content marketing is sometimes referred to as “brand journalism”; however, if content marketers relied on the (sometimes antagonistic) journalism playbook for getting input every time they reached a dead end, they would almost assuredly find themselves jobless. This article will help content professionals apply journalistic tactics to enable them to get great content from... [...]

Christian Jorg says, “As consumers increasingly crave more meaningful and relevant content amid the deluge of digital information, content curation has given marketers a new way to engage with customers. Curation is by no means new, however. Curators at museums and galleries have long been carefully selecting items for collection and display; DJs have made an art out of mixing music; and festivals have curated films, bands, vendors, and more… Curation is a long-practiced means of helping audiences that may not have the time or expertise on a particular subject to find the best and... [...]

Kelly Kingman says, “In the movie Amadeus, the creatively frustrated composer Antonio Salieri discovers pages of Mozart’s original, handwritten compositions and remarks, with utter anguish: He had simply written down music already finished in his head. Page after page of it — as if he were just taking dictation. When it comes to writing, do any of us know what that feels like? Maybe once in a blue moon we are lucky enough to stumble into a Mozart-esque state of content creation — dropping perfectly formed prose into our blog or ebook without any struggle”. Solve Your Blank-Page... [...]

Tiffany Monhollon says, “Have you ever been so overwhelmed with running your business that you barely have time to do the very minimum when it comes to staying up with what’s new in marketing and managing vendors? Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day that you overlook a critical aspect of marketing — measuring your return on investment (ROI). Here are five signs you might just need a system to track your marketing ROI so you can make sure you’re getting the most out of your investment. 1. You don’t know what matters — or why — on... [...]

Jeffrey Kranz says, “We’d all love to show up first in Google for something. There’s likely at least one golden search term or keyword you’re striving for —and we’ve all heard plenty of different get-to-the-front-page-of-Google formulas. It can get a little dizzying keeping all the approaches straight. But it can be done. If you’re willing to invest some time, resources and brainpower, you can create the top content on any topic. To share exactly how, I made an infographic mapping out not one, but six foolproof, can’t-miss strategies that real-life people (including... [...]