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…
Closing One Chapter, Starting Another 2004 – 2014 were great, but everything has to end It’s a sobering experience when you realize that over the past 16 years you’ve written at least 2000 posts you can put your finger on. I’m guessing if you throw in all the posts I wrote as a professional blogger…
Simple things to kick start your content marketing Doesn’t matter who you are, marketer or not, you’ve heard content marketing is the new best practice for all marketing. Create great content and leads will pour in, sales will increase, and all will be good with the world. There’s more than a touch of hyperbole in…
What Weight Watchers teaches us about motivation I’ve had to keep an eye on my weight since my first (medically supervised) diet at age 13 (13 year olds aren’t supposed to have high blood pressure). My mom (also a nurse) helped my follow a Weight Watchers inspired diet and it worked. Now flash forward a…
Make a plan, define a goal, and measure the results There is a lot to starting off your content marketing program that starts off with throw everything against the wall and see what sticks. When you don’t have insight into what your audience would like, sometimes that’s the only option you have. You try a…