Content Marketing Archives - Page 3 of 4

July 13, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick 3 Comments

What would your tech startup look like with better content?

You’ve seen all of your tech competitors pumping out blog posts, Youtube videos, Instagram Stories, white papers, and all that jazz. Maybe you’ve seen them having success with it. And it’s been enough of a nudge to make you wonder what your software business would look like with better content.

It’s a good question – and the fact that you’re considering it proves your business can use it to grow.

Content marketing is a brilliant way to build relationships with customers. So what would your business look like with better content? — Ask yourself this question.

Blog posts are probably the most ‘permanent’ type of content. You host them on your website, so you’re not beholden to random changes to terms of service on other platforms (mentioning no names, Photobucket). But all of your content can point straight back to your blog.

I’ll warn you now. Blogging doesn’t provide quick fixes or easy answers.

But it does provide you with the following benefits.

Stronger relationships with customers through conversation.
More leads.
Better relationships with search engines.

Ready to get started on that better content?

Spend less on banner ads and more on content.

Remember that content is designed to be shared. And what does sharing your content do?

It gets it out in front of far more people than you can reach on your own.

Put it this way. You put out a new blog post, explaining a cool trick for existing users. Maybe it makes their life easier. It might make common tasks faster to complete. Or perhaps it’s just fun to play with (like the Google Doodle).

Your diehard fans, the ones on your mailing list, or the ones who regularly check your blog, share your post on their social networks. They want everyone to know about this amazing product they already use.

A handful of their friends or colleagues see the post. They’ve never heard of you before – and now they do.

And because they trust their friend/colleague, they’ll pay you a little more attention.

That’s an extra pair of eyes (or more) on your content. It’s a new visitor to your site.

It’s a potential lead. Just from having better content.

You didn’t have to pay for a banner ad that might have disappeared behind an ad blocker. And you didn’t have to spend money on Facebook ads and guess at your audience. That can only be a good thing, right?

If you’re strapped for time or you’re not sure how to write a blog post, grab my handy checklist below.

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Your blog can become a knowledge base for your existing fans

If you sell products, most of your business will come from your existing customers.

Finding new customers is crucial to your success. But what are you providing for those who’ve already bought your product? 61% of consumers are even influenced by custom content!

This is where content can really help. Focusing on better content means you can create a backlog of knowledge base articles. That might mean tutorials, how-to content, product videos, case studies, or even hosting creations made using your solutions.

Your website becomes a destination site for your existing customers. And there’s more chance they’ll share your content if they find it useful.

Besides, you’re giving to people who may not have bought yet. Better content means giving before you receive.

But that content also gives you more of a chance of being found through SEO. Say you post a tutorial about how to boost colours in Photoshop. Someone searches for that – and finds your post.

Your knowledge base of how-to articles becomes both a resource and an advert.

And speaking of SEO…

Google loves websites that update regularly. What’s an easy way to do that? Produce new content. And don’t think that more content means more blog posts.

Instead of articles, you can always go for infographics, videos, or images. Copyblogger included this amazing one over on their blog in 2014.

Just make sure you stick to a focused topic. The more you keep to one niche, the more readers you’ll end up getting. Why? Because they’ll know to come to you to for advice, answers, or entertainment.

More readers, more comments and more shares will be rewarded by Google.

Best of all, it does this around the clock. So better content works in the background.

Better content lets you start a conversation with your potential customers.

Traditional marketing relied on being relentless with the same message. It talked at customers. But with content marketing, you can talk to customers.

Remember that old Confucious saying?

Tell me, I’ll forget. Show me, I’ll remember. Involve me, I’ll understand.

Same applies to your blog. With better content, you can encourage customers to get to know you.

And now you’ve got a better chance of them buying from you because you seem approachable.

Use your content to involve visitors. Videos are great for this. Marketer Sujan Patel experimented with video and now they’re his favourite form of content. Why?

Video … makes it pretty much impossible not to show my personality. My passions, emotions, and vulnerabilities are exposed when I’m on camera, whether I like it or not.

That hits the nail on the head. What are you more likely to engage with? A blog post like this one, or a video where you can see and hear the person? Facial expressions are a brilliant way to engage with your audience.

You’re essentially connecting through simply being human.

And yes, I do appreciate the irony of promoting video through a written article!

And it also shows you’re more forward thinking.

Embrace content and show that you’re interested in your customers.

But you can also show them that you’re more forward thinking than competitors.

Because you’re not just clinging to the old outdated model of sitting on high and not involving yourself with anyone.

Content marketing leaders see year-over-year growth in unique site traffic of 7.8x more than content marketing followers.

So show those in your niche how to do content properly. Embrace video or check out Facebook Live. Commission infographics. Get yourself on Youtube.

Be a leader.

Ready to create better content? Drop me an email and we’ll get your blog buzzing.

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What can your blog learn from the Photobucket fiasco?

If you’ve been around the internet for a while then you’ve no doubt heard of Photobucket. Up until a few days ago, the photo-sharing website was much beloved by bloggers everywhere.

Instead of hosting hundreds, if not thousands, of image files on their own servers, bloggers could simply link to the images stored elsewhere.

But on June 29th, Photobucket moved the goal posts and incurred the wrath of the blogosphere, possibly for good.

What was the Photobucket fiasco?

I first learned for Photobucket’s mammoth FU to its users on Friday morning. I’d shared my most recent blog post, my review of the CoSchedule app, to a Facebook group in a promo thread. The group’s owner, the very awesome Martine Ellis, pointed out something weird was up with the images in the post. Specifically, this was showing up instead of my screenshots of the CoSchedule interface.

Photobucket disabled third-party hosting, meaning bloggers lost 1000s of image links overnight. What can you learn from this for your own blog? — Excuse me?

Believe it or not, that’s not the image I’d intended to show in the post.

I visited the website Photobucket mentioned on the image, only to find that they’d changed their terms of service (ToS) pretty much overnight. Third-party hosting was now disabled, meaning none of the hundreds of images I’d linked to now showed up in blog posts.

Given my fiction blog has just under 1000 posts, that’s a lot of links to fix.

Photobucket’s solution was to ask users to pay for the service that had, up until that point, been free. The old paid accounts simply removed the irritating pop-up ads. The new paid accounts reinstated third-party linking…for a cost of $399.

Say whaaaat?!

Yeah. Exactly.

Why is this a problem for bloggers?

Not everyone has oodles of storage space on their web host to store images. Bloggers using WordPress.com suffer from restricted storage limits. So storing images on a third party site and linking back seems a solid solution. Until the third party site revokes your access.

Photobucket’s decision also impacted on forum and eBay users. Thousands of linked images disappeared overnight. As you can imagine, Twitter exploded with furious tweets. Some twitterers complained that they’d take their business elsewhere. That’s a bit problematic if you had a free account as Photobucket likely won’t care if a non-paying customer leaves their service.

But it’s still holding images to ransom unless users cough up the cash. The notion of ‘ransom’ led to my own personal favourite tweet.

Photobucket have a lot of disgruntled users on their hands. Some bloggers spent days fixing links to images on their blog. That’s time that should have been spent writing new content, promoting posts, or responding to comments. You know…being a blogger.

If this is you, how can you fix it?

You could do what I’m doing and download all of your images from Photobucket. I’m uploading some of my images direct to my web host. But I’m putting others on imgbb.com if I think I might want to use them on other blogs.

It’s a much easier website to use than Photobucket and doesn’t come with a gazillion ads. Look at how clean this is.

Best of all, check out the bottom of the screenshot. If I’ve uploaded ten images, I can get the embed codes for all ten images at once. Thank you, awesome website!

It’s not a brilliant fix because it is time-consuming. But short of paying $400 to reinstate the original links, which is not a recommended strategy, there are few other options.

One twitterer pointed out that buying new web space would be cheaper than paying Photobucket. I’m inclined to agree.

Lessons to be learned

The biggest lesson to be learned from all of this is; avoid building your property on someone else’s land. It’s the same as those social media gurus who advise that you build an email list instead of focusing on Facebook Page likes. Or people like me who tell you to run your blog on your own website, instead of using platforms like WordPress.com or Medium.

If any of those platforms go away, so does your following. And it’s unlikely you’d ever get any of those potential customers back. At least with a blog, it’s your space on the internet. You can make backups, design it your way, and pretty much ignore the changing ToS of social media platforms.

Photobucket is still up and running, and users still have access to their images (for now). But if the whole site had gone down, been hacked, or just closed, all of those images would be gone.

Don’t let your business rely on any other company for its online real estate.

Over to you! Have you been affected by the Photobucket fiasco? How are you handling it? Let me know below!

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February 22, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick 2 Comments

How to create 4 types of easy content to grow your blog

You’ve read all of the blog posts. You’ve watched endless webinars. And you’ve probably also joined dozens of email lists, only for their lead magnets to disappear into your Dropbox, never to be seen/read again.

And you know that content marketing is a pretty straightforward way to get your startup in front of new people.

But your content isn’t just a blog. It might sound heretical coming from a content writer. But you don’t just need to rely on the written word. There are other types of easy content that you can use.

I’ve even included a video in this post to explain the value of video as a form of content marketing.

Why? Because you might take in information better through audio. You might prefer to watch facial expressions while you learn.

You have your own learning styles and so do your potential clients and customers.

Including a range of content types is a great way to appeal to them in a way that works for them.

And believe me, I know how difficult it can be to make it work. Blog posts are an obvious choice. You can work on them in parts.

Then you just post them and share them.

You can hide behind your keyboard.

But the world of content marketing is changing. Relying on blog posts isn’t the only weapon you have in your arsenal.

Let’s take a look at 4 types of easy content that can help to grow your blog.

1. Graphics

Few things will get your point across as quickly as a graphic. And you’re lucky because internet users have been trained for years to recognise infographics, photos, and illustrations.

They’re also perfect for sharing on social media. And with 16% of the US population installing ad-blockers, sharing content on social media is often the only way to get it in front of people.

The demand for infographics has increased 800% in the past year. Companies, including startups, want that easily shareable content.

Mind Development & Design prove with this infographic that your blog doesn't need to rely solely on written posts. Let's look at 4 types of easy content that can really help to grow your blog - and find new leads. — © Mind Development & Design

This infographic by Mind Development & Design demonstrates 5 tips to excellent website copy. It distills the content of their listicle and turns it into an easily understandable graphic.

You can always share images and ask followers to suggest a caption. Caption-competitions are a great way to encourage interaction, and you can always offer a prize to the funniest/best/sharpest caption.

And then there’s the shareable quote-based graphic.

Your blog doesn't need to rely solely on written posts. Let's look at 4 types of easy content that can really help to grow your blog - and find new leads. — © LJ Sedgwick

Images and quotes are pretty simple to make. I use Photoshop, but you can use something like Canva if you’re not Photoshop savvy. Even mobile apps like Pixlr let you add text to a photo.Graphics can be difficult to make unless you know what you’re doing. Especially infographics.

But infographics can be difficult to make unless you know what you’re doing. So you either need to hire a freelancer who can make them for you. Or learn how to make them yourself.

2. Video

Video is crucial to your content marketing. It’s even become Sujan Patel’s favourite form of marketing.

And 69% of companies report their video marketing budget is increasing.

As users get more accustomed to Facebook Live, it’s only going to get more popular.

But here’s the thing. Video just about terrifies most people. It taps into that same fear that most people have when they have to stand up in front of a group.

Humans are a social species. But we work best in small groups. Unless we’re a particular personality type, we don’t like standing up and drawing attention to ourselves.

That invites ridicule or disagreement. And few want to rock the boat and risk being pushed out of the group. Putting up a video is like standing up in front of the whole world.

But LJ! I hear you cry. Why haven’t you been practising what you preach?

The same reason that you haven’t. Fear.

I don’t mind being on video. After 5 years of teaching teenagers and giving papers at academic conferences, public speaking doesn’t bother me.

But I always worry that people won’t be able to understand my accent. So I stick to the written word where I know I’ll be understood.

That isn’t helping me. It’s hindering me. So expect to see more video content from me soon. Like this video below, explaining the 3 benefits of using video in your content marketing.

3. Podcasts

Perhaps you really don’t like being on camera. But you have no problem in talking to people.

Podcasts could be your chosen form of content. For startups, they’re often an ideal way to talk about your subject and position yourself as an authority.

You can interview others to get their take on your industry and give your own.

And because of the way a lot of people consume content – on smartphones – you’re often talking directly into someone’s ear.

It’s a more passive form of consumption. Potential clients can just listen to you while they’re in the gym, making dinner, or using public transport. It requires less input from them.

It’s probably better for a B2B offer. So if your startup is around email marketing, having a podcast that teaches listeners how to use it effectively will be best aimed at marketing managers in your target niches.

But there’s nothing stopping you from trying podcasts for B2C as well. Just make sure you’re helping your potential customers in some way.

Check out these suggested podcasts for startups and entrepreneurs.

4. Webinars

Before you dismiss me out of hand, how many webinars have you actually attended?

I know they sometimes get a bad rap. I certainly think there’s nothing worse than an hour long webinar that spends 15 minutes giving a bio of the speaker, 15 minutes of actual content, 20 minutes of hard sell, and then 10 minutes of Q&A which tends to descend into ‘this is why you need this product’.

But I’ve definitely bought products off the back of a webinar. I invested in Lacy Bogg’s Content Intelligence Academy following on of her webinars. While the free information in the webinar was amazing, I knew I’d get that little bit more from the program. And I was right.

That’s why they’re among these types of easy content.

So think about how you can partner up with someone to do a webinar.

Let’s go back to the email marketing example. You know you’re not really big enough to compete with Mailchimp or Aweber.

But your offering is very different. Your platform would be ideal for the hospitality industry.

Make contacts in that industry, and see if you can guest on a webinar. Maybe a marketing guru in the industry will host you. Use the kind of content you’d put in a series of blog posts to fuel your content in the webinar.

And because people can ask questions, you get plenty of interaction with potential users. You can answer their specific questions right then and there.

If nothing else, you should be able to add the attendees to your mailing list. So even if they don’t buy from you during the webinar, you can keep in touch and make your offer again in future.

You can also direct them to your blog posts, which will (because you’re a good marketer) have the option for them to share to their own social networks on them.

You don’t have to do them all at once.

I’ve given you 4 types of easy content to help grow your blog. But you absolutely do not need to use them all at once. Pick one and try it out. Try creating shareable quotes or graphics for your social media channels.

And pair them with infographics that you post on your blog.

Keep it up for a month or so. Then review your analytics. Is there an obvious difference?

Or you could try guesting on a few podcasts before you launch your own. Remember that any form of content will need to be created and shared on a regular basis before you’ll really see the difference.

But done right, you will see a difference to your mailing list or your blog. Or hopefully both!

If you’ve enjoyed this post, then why not share it to your own social networks? Or get in touch if you want help coming up with scripts for your video content!

February 1, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick 1 Comment

You’re a startup and you need an awesome blogger. Now what?

You’ve read the articles by the marketing gurus. And now you’re convinced. Your startup needs an awesome blogger.

But where do you get one? What are the steps you need to take to hire one?

It can be pretty daunting. After all, you’re a specialist in your field. You know your work inside and out. You probably feel like you should be writing your content yourself. But you just don’t have the time.

Will you be able to communicate what you do to an outsider?And what do you even need to look for in a blogger?

This post will walk you through a process you can follow when hiring an awesome blogger.

It particularly works well if you want to hire me. But we’ll get to that later.

Knowing you need an awesome blogger is one thing. Knowing how to find one is something else entirely! This guide will walk you through the process. — Hire an awesome blogger today.

First of all, you need to decide what your project actually is.

Does your website even have a blog? If not, then you’ll need one.

Most bloggers won’t be in the business of setting them up. I can. And I’m more than happy to provide an audit of your existing blog too.

Either way, you need to work out how many posts you actually need. A single post isn’t really going to cut it. That’s not how content marketing works.

But you might not want to commit to a year’s worth of posts until you’ve seen results. So will you only want a month’s worth of posts? How many posts will you want per week?

Take it from me, you don’t need daily posts. Once a week is fine while you’re establishing your blog.

Next, look for a content writer that specialises in your area.

Why your area? You’re a startup. You want someone who knows tech – and they really need to understand marketing.

So as much as you might just want any writer, trust me. You want a specialist.

You could always advertise on Twitter. Search for #blogger or #contentwriter in the search bar. If you want someone local, you can filter that way too.

Maybe LinkedIn will be more helpful. It’s a great business resource and it’s often easy to check out a potential writer’s portfolio.

And then there’s always Google.

However you come across the blogger, check out their website. Read their samples. Look at their blog. Much as you’re doing now. If you don’t like their style, move onto the next blogger.

Get in touch with your potential awesome blogger and outline what it is that you want. Ask to book a consultation call where you can discuss your needs. The blogger needs to know your ideal post length, type of content, where it needs to be shared, etc.

Make sure you ask them for their rates up front. If they quote a higher price than you’re willing to pay, don’t try to haggle. It’s not a good way to start a business relationship.

I offer a retainer package that offers rolling monthly payment. You can cancel at any time during the first month, but you’ll still get all four posts for that month since you paid upfront.

Devise an editorial calendar with your blogger.

This might not sound necessary if you only want a month’s worth of posts. You might wonder why you need a calendar for four posts while you see if they gain any traction.

Trust me, it’ll make life easier in the long run. I won’t go into the benefits of editorial calendars as that’s another post for another time. But both you and the client will enjoy a much happier relationship with a calendar in place.

It does also mean that if your or the blogger decide you’re not a good fit, you can share the calendar with a new blogger.

Decide on a metric that you’ll follow to see if blogging improves your business

Traffic is a good one. Make sure you set up Google Analytics on your website beforehand to truly get the benefit.

You could also use social shares. If you use functions like CoSchedule or SumoMe, this is easier to track.

One way or another, you’ll need to measure the success of the blogging. It’s difficult to gauge on the back of a month’s worth of content. But if you can see even a 50% increase in traffic then you know you’re onto something.

If you choose to hire me, I’ll also share the content on my own social media channels. It makes sense!

Now you need to come up with ideas for content

You may already have ideas. If so, then send them to the blogger. This will be helpful in the early days while you get to know each other.

If you’re completely stuck for topics, that’s okay. Give your awesome blogger an idea of what you’re looking for.

Then let them brainstorm topic ideas around your niche and your needs. You might need to have an interview to discuss these things. I meet prospective clients if they’re local or I do Skype if they’re not.

Review the topic ideas and see which ones resonate with you. I’ll always provide a justification for any topic ideas I propose. This comes back to that editorial calendar I mentioned earlier – and I always make sure SEO plays a part.

Let the blogger create the first post

Don’t prod them while they do this. Otherwise, they’ll think you don’t trust their ability.

Set a realistic deadline. Then sit back and relax! Your first post will be on its way shortly.

Review the first post

Does it fit what you want? Bloggers will be happy to make any amendments, though you might be content to make smaller ones yourself. If you want to work with the blogger again, it’s a good idea to share what you changed. That’s how they’ll learn your house style.

You can decide if you want the blogger to have access to your blog to upload the content directly. Or you may prefer to do it yourself. Discuss with the blogger if you need images to go with the post.

If your awesome blogger will be sourcing images, check they’re free of copyright restrictions first.

And finally, rinse and repeat with your awesome blogger!

Publish the post. Make sure you share it on your own social channels. If you have an email list (and if you don’t, you really should), send it out to your existing audience.

Then let the blogger get started on the next post in the bundle.

Remember to share posts periodically throughout the week. At the end of the week, review the metric you chose to measure the success.

That way, you’ll be able to decide if you want to keep your awesome blogger around.

Like the sound of this and wondering if we’d be a good fit?

Then it sounds like you need my Tremendous Time Saver package. Click here to find out more and secure your spot.

I’m standing by!

January 25, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick Leave a Comment

How do you justify the price of a good blogger?

More people than ever before enter the world of business. With nothing more than an idea and a simple product, they’re living their lives according to their own terms.

And that can be you. It should be you. But there’s something missing.

How do you get that product or service in front of fresh eyes?

You’ve been reading blogs for a while now. And you know that blogs themselves are a brilliant way to find leads, nurture relationships, and reward customers.

60% of marketers even state blogging is a high priority in their marketing strategy.

But maybe blogging feels like nails on a chalk board to you. Writing isn’t your thing.

And even if you can write about your topic, can you devote the time to it? Or learn how to write in the language of blogs?

So you decide to hire someone else to do it. Sure, you could go to Upwork. Join in the race to the bottom in the search for some content – any content.

Or you could go looking for a blogger. Maybe you’ll advertise for one.

But they don’t come cheap. The good ones don’t work for free.

So, among all of the other demands on your finances, how do you justify the price of a good blogger?

You already have a lot of demands on your time - and finances. You can't pursue them all. So just how do you justify the price of a good blogger? — How do you justify the price of a good blogger?

It frees up your time to do what you do well

You’re an expert in what you do. That’s why you set up your own business. Or founded a startup.

So your time could be worth £200 an hour, or more, if you offer services. And even if you don’t charge hourly rates, chances are that your time is worth a great deal.

Why would you take on blogging yourself when your time is so valuable? It takes me up to 2 hours to research, write, edit and format a blog post. And I don’t charge £200 an hour.

Ask yourself – what could you be doing in those 2 hours instead?

So if your time is worth more than a blogger will charge, it doesn’t take a genius to work out the maths.

Because you’re not paying a blogger for content. You’re paying them for more time for yourself.

Do you really want to learn how to do yet another thing you’re not interested in?

You probably already know how much time goes into marketing. Maybe you’ve already dipped your toe into using banner ads. Perhaps you’ve spent time learning how to make social media graphics.

But blogging is a different ball game entirely. It’s not just about knowing your topic, or the latest research.

It’s about presenting those to your readers. If you’re not used to blogging, it can seem really daunting.

But you can justify the price of a good blogger by handing the task over to them. Let them do what they do best – blogging.

Ask yourself – do you really have time to learn something else you’re just not interested in? Wouldn’t it be easier to just hand it over to a specialist?

And remember, bloggers can be multi-skilled. Look at the Canva blog. It’s a design school to help improve the abilities of its users.

So you can find a blogger that can create product-specific tutorials for your blog. You’re reading an article by one such blogger right now!

Blogging is an easy way to create relationships

I’ve talked before about what your business would look like with better content. Blogs are a great way to provide value beyond what your services offers.

So you can create relationships with potential customers and nurture those with existing customers.

And it’s all on autopilot. After all, someone can get answers from your blog even when you’re offline.

Look at Evernote as an example. Their blog doesn’t focus on company news. It provides value to users.

Visitors can learn about productivity, goal setting, and staying organised. All topics that support Evernote’s core service.

Remember that companies that blog generate 67% more leads than those who don’t. That’s because customers and clients come to recognise – and value – your brand with regular exposure.

So ask yourself do you want to be in the 67% – or the 33%?

Hopefully by now you’re starting to see that blogging as a marketing strategy is worth it. But your time is also valuable – so you need to ask yourself…

Can you now justify the price of a good blogger?

If so, then drop me an email. I’m here to help you knock your blog out of the park.