Without a content process your content strategy will fail

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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. … Read more

Stop Overthinking SEO

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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 … Read more

Announcing the Content Marketing Production Engine Program

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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 … Read more

Coming Soon: Content Marketing Production Engine

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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 … Read more

Let writers write, then edit

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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 … Read more

Creating a Great-and useful-Content Calendar

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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 … Read more