atkinson advisor

Next time you create online content, try making the content more “-able.” Ideally, any online content should be findable, readable, understandable, actionable, and shareable.

Ahava Leibtag from the AHA Media Group explains each of the five elements and provides a handy checklist that you can print.

www.contentmarketinginstitute.com

Content marketing is a hot topic in marketing circles, especially with B2B companies. The Content Marketing Institute is the best destination online for information, insights, reports, and resources about content marketing. We read the CMI blog at least once a week and use the website to find great case studies.

By David Meerman Scott

Sixteen years ago websites started out as “brochureware,” static sites that were merely online versions of sales catalogs and annual reports. They’ve since evolved into what Scott calls a “real-time marketing (and sales) machine.”

Scott’s latest manifesto is a 13-page free download that explains how and why companies can use the information that web visitors give them to follow up on leads quickly.

That’s important because prospects and customers expect answers to their queries almost immediately. When they fill out a form on a website to request information, the company that sends a reply within 5 minutes instead of 2-3 days stands a much better chance of winning that sale.

To take advantage of the real-time nature of the web, companies need two things: a way to capture prospect information on their website (webinar registration, eNewsletter subscription, survey, etc.) and an automated way to distribute that information internally to a salesperson who can follow up. Scott gives an example of a wedding photography company that features different offers, then prioritizes leads and funnels them to the appropriate person.

The key is testing—come up with a few different offers of your own and see what gets the most response.

The fear of content – more precisely the fear of a lack of content – stifles most blogs before they launch or grounds them soon after.

Sonia Simone is an expert blogger who writes for copyblogger.com and her personal blog. Here is a content mix that she suggests in her Internet Marketing for Smart People series.

• Tips: 50 – 60%
• Weighty, cerebral content: 10 -15%
• Entertainment/personality: 10 -15%
• References to other blogger’s content:  5 -15%
• Selling what you do:  5%

Simone’s recommendations are an excellent starting point and help to demystify blog content.  Not everything has to be weighty and groundbreaking. In fact, tips are the most useful.

It’s a good practice to share content from other bloggers. It generates link traffic and positions you as a resource for readers.

Personality is important but must be balanced. Readers want to understand the people with whom they are doing business. Personality creates that connection.

In 1998, Harry Potter creator J. K. Rowling was a single mother on welfare. Today, her net worth is more than $1 billion – making her richer than the Queen of England.

Rowling’s secret to success is content – she owned an idea that other people wanted to be part of. Other mainstream content mavens include Oprah ($1.5 billion) and Martha Stewart ($6oo+ million).

Becoming a content provider is not only easier but also more important in today’s increasingly connected, wired world. Anyone with a laptop and a broadband connection can start a global conversation (and sometimes a revolution). Here’s how to become a content provider:

• Create a core idea. Writers talk about finding their “voice” – something about which they are both passionate and curious. Everybody has a core belief or idea. Finding your own voice means translating that core idea into words that you can share with others.
• Find and attract people who share your beliefs. You don’t have to change people’s minds. It’s easier (literally and technologically) to find people with common views and attract them into your conversation. You can attract similarly minded people by publishing frequently on your website; sending emails to friends and peers; participating in social networking sites; writing a blog; and reading and responding on other blogs.
• Be consistent and persistent. Every meaningful conversation has a tipping point. You have to be consistent in your content and patient enough for the audience to develop. Keep in mind that, at the start of her career, J. K. Rowling was rejected by almost every publishing house in London.