Lack of process is the kryptonite to any content marketing strategy I’ve seen it happen time and time again. People develop a great content strategy then nothing seems to work out. They’re not achieving their goals and the whole effort starts to lose steam. The whole content strategy they spent so much time on fails….
This is how I’ve approached SEO for over a decade. No matter what Google does with its algorithms, the content I write ranks. I follow Matt Cutts’ advice from WordCamp 2009 (when he still worked at Google): Write descriptive headlines Use headings to separate sections and highlight big points Use descriptive link text (ie never/rarely…
In the decade plus I’ve been doing content marketing for startups, SMBs, and enterprises, there’s one sure thing that will derail any content marketing effort: not having established production, approval, and publishing processes. Without processes and plans, as people get busy with other things, content marketing becomes an “oh yeah we should post something, but…
Life gets in the way. My goal, as I ramp up my content marketing and freelance writing business, was to post here everyday. Following the example of Mark Evans and others, I wanted to post something interesting and insightful each day. Something to get people thinking. But I haven’t posted everyday. Not even close. Funny…
I’m working on a content creation engine program for SaaS companies. As I’ve been gathering my thoughts on what makes a great content engine, I’ve hit on five things you need to know first BEFORE you start publishing. Who are you writing for? Who is your audience? What are the personas? What topics do those…
It’s hard to write for clients if you’re always in your own head. But, not just your head, but your voice. The voice in your head that’s speaking while you’re writing. For a long time I only had one voice. You got Tris or you got nothing. It didn’t work so well. Sure, it worked…
It’s been misattributed to Ernest Hemingway for years, but “write drunk, edit sober” holds a lot more truth than you’d first think. Here’s why. While, yes, there is some evidence a couple drinks help creativity, let’s think more practically. Think about “write drunk” as when you’re in the zone, and words, ideas, and connections are…
What’s your favorite way to build a content calendar? I go between Asana and Trello myself, but more importantly, does your content calendar have everything you need to power a content marketing creation engine? All content calendars need: Title/Subject where the piece is in the process who is doing the writing who is approving when…
Ever feel like you generate a lot of great content ideas, even have great writers cranking out smart words, but never seem to get anything published? I was thinking about this while answering Jordan Behan’s post on content blockers. Way too often great content is lost when people can’t push it through the editing ->…
When you have a great app or SaaS product, one of the hardest things to do is just explain it. You know your app the best. You know it inside and out. Every detail. Every button. Well, at least you think you know it all. The fact is you’re too close to your app. You…
