Brian Clark says, “Authority Rainmaker: Copyblogger’s live training event that provides an integrated online marketing strategy combined with the best ways to implement it. Plus great parties and networking. When: May 13-15, 2015. Who: Daniel Pink, Sally Hogshead, Henry Rollins, Danny Sullivan, Ann Handley, Chris Brogan, Bernadette Jiwa, Michael King, Joanna Lord, Joe Pulizzi, Sonia Simone, Jerod Morris, Sean D’Souza, Scott Brinker, Pamela Wilson, Brian Clark (hey, that’s me!) … plus a few more we’ll be announcing soon”. Last Week: Authority Rainmaker Pricing Goes Up This... [...]

Arnie Kuenn says, “Over the past few years, content marketing has come a long way. The term “content marketing” is becoming a part of the vernacular in marketing departments across the world. It’s no longer thought of as a trend, but as a verifiable opportunity to drive revenue. In fact, businesses spent more than $118 billion on content marketing last year alone. But what is the future of content marketing in 2015 and beyond? Increased Strategic Adoption With more than 85 percent adoption among B2B marketers, content marketing is certainly becoming more widely accepted among businesses... [...]

Entrepreneur team says, “For many good reasons, blogging is likely the heart of your content marketing strategy. Recent industry statistics are astounding: 77 percent of Internet users read blogs, 52 percent of consumers make purchasing decisions after reading a blog’s advice, and 57 percent of marketers have acquired new customers via their blogs. With so much of the focus on how to create compelling blog content, other effective methods for getting out your messages are often overshadowed. Whether you have reached a stalemate in traffic numbers or you’re ready to take your website to... [...]

Erin Hogg says, “Starting from the ground up with a content marketing strategy is no simple undertaking. Add in a tight budget and a marketing team of one, and the challenges continue to mount. Learn how the sole marketer at DB Squared, a business finance company, implemented an inbound marketing approach to generate new leads and brand awareness. Through optimizing site content for search and creating pieces aimed at specific buyer personas, DB Squared lifted its site pageviews 415% and unique users to the site by 310%”. Content Marketing: 415% lift in pageviews via inbound strategy MarketingSherpa  [...]

Sonia Simone says, “However you may feel about New Year’s resolutions, January just seems to bring on the desire for fresh starts. This month, the Copyblogger editorial team is tackling something we’ve had our eye on for awhile — a content audit. Now I don’t know about you, but that word audit doesn’t really inspire me. In fact, the feeling it engenders is something more like phobia, or at least dread. (If you have a friendlier term than audit, come swing by LinkedIn and make your suggestion — I’m all ears. Maybe a content makeover. Or a content cleanse. Hm, definitely needs... [...]

Demian Farnworth says, “Big data. Content. Growth hacking. Pivot. Engagement. A few words and phrases that make us want to stick a fork in our eye each time we hear them. Or stick a fork in the eye of the person using the words. We all hate buzzwords, but it’s hard to get away from them. A phrase sticks and soon a parade that rivals Macy’s is trailing behind it. That popularity begets even more popularity, and, well after the phrase has worn out its original meaning, everyone is using the damn word. Thing is: behind each buzzword is a meaningful truth. And quite possibly, a trend worth... [...]

TYB team says, “There is no way the importance of a strong content marketing strategy can be overstated. While the web continues to grow, change and adapt to new technology, content is the only thing that has remained equally important. Information will always be sought after, entertainment will always be crucial, and content can provide both. More than that, content is versatile and as adaptive as the Internet itself. Just look at recent innovations that have become popular within the last couple of years, such as Vine and Google Hangouts on Air. One allows you to create mini clips strung together... [...]

Jodi Harris says, “I know what you’re thinking: “How can it already be 2015? I wanted some time to plan, but I’m still trying to catch up with all the industry advances, changes, and opportunities that came rocketing at me in 2014.”  I’m sure most of us can commiserate – no matter what we’ve accomplished in the past year, our industry changes so fast that it’s hard not to feel like there’s something we missed or could have done better. The good news is that there’s always time to up your game when it comes to content marketing, and we have a stable of experts who... [...]

Joe Pulizzi says, “In this week’s episode, Robert and I look into our crystal balls to foretell the future of content marketing in 2015. Our prognostications include some non-traditional channels, an all-hands approach to content marketing, and demonstrating its value to C-level executives. In addition, we discuss why the decade-old medium of podcasting is finally taking off and the controversy surrounding Facebook’s automated “Year in Review” feature. Rants and raves include an IKEA holiday commercial and controversial Christmas tweets from Neil deGrasse Tyson. We wrap up the show... [...]

Jonathan Blank says, “As we flip the calendar from 2014 to 2015, you probably have an increased budget for content marketing. Well, at least 58% of us have a higher budget according to theContent Marketing Institute. Job well done in making the business case. Now we have to get to know our customers better to get an adequate return on that budget. Why must we get to know our customers better than we did in 2014? The most basic difference between content marketing and traditional advertising is an acute focus on our customers’ needs. Obviously, we have to find an overlap between our customers’... [...]