Rainmaker team says, “Picture this. You have a publishing deadline looming. And you are fresh out of ideas. Your audience, one you’ve built on the back of a predictable publishing schedule, is expecting an article tomorrow morning. What will you do?Fortunately, The Lede hosts Jerod Morris and Demian Farnworth have an answer for you. One that they regularly practice, and one that is explained in a recent Whiteboard Friday video by Rand Fishkin.And you’ll be surprised how simple it is to implement, too.Plus, they’ve got more content marketing news and advice to share in this episode... [...]

Selena Blue says, ““I think content is becoming the forefront for any ecommerce or digital strategy,” Andy Wang, Digital Brand Marketing Manager, World Kitchen, said.The struggle, though, can come in creating that content. In 2014, 45% of B2C marketers reported “producing enough content” as a top challenge, according to the B2C Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends – North America report. And that’s just creating it. Moreover, 51% of marketers struggled with “producing the kind of content that engages.”How can marketers meet the content amount demands while... [...]

Chris Ebbs says, “As of Q2 2015, there is still no convincing evidence that social shares affect Google rankings.You might want to read that again. Be it tweets, re-tweets, Facebook shares, or Google+ posts, there is just no solid evidence that they affect improvements in ranking positions.In recent years there’s been a big shift in the SEO industry. Search agencies and others are pushing the merits of content marketing as an activity that can help drive SEO success.Among the inevitable increase in content, something being widely misunderstood and purposely misrepresented by some... [...]

Rainmaker team says, “How do you write about what you do so that it: a) sells the value of what you do, b) doesn’t sound over the top, and c) doesn’t sound like everyone else?Introducing the four-step copywriting technique known as: “Butterfly Moments” …Writing powerful, evocative, and compelling copy doesn’t have to be an elusive skill known only to a select few.In just a few simple steps, you can create content that describes what you do in a way that makes your customer say “tell me more!”“.How to Use ‘Butterfly Moments’ in Your Content to Captivate Customers‘Copyblogger’... [...]

Brian Watson says, “Earlier this year, based on my work at Adobe and my career, I wrote Is Time Really the Problem? Break the Bottlenecks in Content Production to challenge readers to discover and address the real hurdle in their content production cycle.One particular reader’s comment ended up challenging me. It came from Michael Aldea, a small-business owner: “Fantastic post … so, what happens when you look at your systems and find out YOU are the bottleneck. For smaller companies like mine, creating content is a matter of sheer workload spread over just a few. Any suggestions for... [...]

Michele Linn says, “Do you know exactly who you are creating content for and why? What does your brand stand for and why do you publish?Does everyone in your organization know why?If you – and everybody in your company – can answer yes, congratulations! You have one of the key components you need to be successful at content marketing. You also are in the minority of content marketers.If you are like most marketers – and their teams – you don’t clearly understand the who and the why for your content and your brand. Not only does this provide a lackluster and inconsistent experience... [...]

Brian Clarke says, “In the 1920s, Schlitz beer went from fifth in the market to a tie for first. All because a sharp copywriter named Claude Hopkins highlighted their water purification process in an advertisement.Never mind that all beer companies used the same process. No one had told thatstory before.Advertisers became more astute after that point, which led to the development of the unique selling proposition by a guy named Rosser Reeves. This was the beneficial feature of a product or service that the competition would not — or could not — offer“.Content Marketing: A Truly... [...]

Mike Canarelli says, “Infographics are out, and white papers are in.Only time will tell if white papers become the same kind of ubiquitous fad, but here’s what we know for sure: when done correctly, white papers can build credibility, offer solutions, provide smart analysis, and illustrate product benefits. They also hold the added benefit of appearing objective.Two years ago, 57 percent of business-to-business marketers considered white papers effective marketing tools.Today, more than two-thirds of all marketers—68 percent—use white papers as a marketing tactic, making them an... [...]

Michele Linn says, “While I am far from an expert in intelligent content, many things about its concepts make sense to me, and I was looking for a project where I could apply its principles.  Enter our content marketing examples, which was something we used to collect in a very ad hoc way. Now we are much more systematic with how we collect and reuse our examples. Not only does this save time on our end, but we can provide better output for our audience as well.But let me take a step back and first share what prompted us to move to an intelligent content process.Our non-intelligent wayWe... [...]

Matt Cooper says, “Name any of the most highly regarded data visualizations offered in the last half decade and there’s no doubt the most stunning examples involved intricate design and elaborate storytelling.Take The New Yorker’s wonderfulInequality and New York’s Subwayinteractive graphic as an example:You can toggle through each subway line and hover over each stop to see the neighborhood’s median household income and compare it to the incomes along the other stops on that line“.How to Craft Visual Content for a Mobile AudienceContent Marketing Institute [...]