Getting A Product Content Into Shape [OBSRV] Sticky situations

Businesses which really need content might not be in the best shape or look great!

If you are a freelancer or new to content marketing (and searching for a job), you will meet lots of different people. The world of content marketing covers an infinite number of domain areas and technical capabilities. Many of the people looking to hire you are looking to solve a problem. It could be a strategic problem like the image or impression the company projects. Some will need technical or business writing. Some will need convincing writing on a regular basis, not always blogs or social media. In general, the people who really need you will have a problem or will be in what we call "bad shape". Essentially you are the lawyer solving a sticky criminal situation or a physician dealing with a nasty infection. All domain experts solve real problems at times. The problems are not always nice. They are also not always solved for the people who have "taken care of themselves". Sick people usually are not the healthy athletes, diet eating, medicine taking, non-smokin' & drinkin' kind. So what, that's life. The people who really need you may not have their business in best shape. Yet these are the people you need to help. Don't complain, don't make faces or roll your eyes, do the job, do it well and get it over. Make the world a little better, it may make a difference to someone.   

Writing Strategies for Distracted Readers [SKIL] Traditional marketing approach

This famous "Man in the chair" advertisement from McGraw-Hill illustrate the problem salesman face

In the last post, the issue of distracted readers was introduced. It's not an idea which we talk about when writers and editors gather together. Most writers want to believe in their ability to get attention no matter what the situation. Yet in business, we need to be realistic (and effective.) It is simply a fact, not all readers are going to be paying full attention all the time. So what do we do to "make them read"? (or listen, watch?) Sounds like a line from an evil character in a bad B movie... Not really. It may seem silly to want to "make" anyone do anything on the internet. But we can still try to help more readers understand something.

Content Marketing In Demand [KNWLG] The next PPC, UI/UX, or HTML/CSS?

Michelangelo's Daniel with an early "content marketing" depiction... are we reliving history?

To find demand for Content Marketing, start talking with business and technical professionals. From ones who simply need a web site to support their marketing efforts, to ones building highly technical product and want to leave their content completely up to a marketing writer. Content Marketing is getting attention. Not too long ago focus was on social media, especially Facebook and Twitter. Just before social media a trend of blogging was all the rage. Before blogging, we saw simply a pleasing graphic design or informative product site in demand. Somewhere in parallel there were corporate trends in e-commerce (eBay, Amazon) and SEO/PPC (Google, AdWords) with strong emphasis on massive content writing and link building. Somewhere along the way there are less predominant phases of interest in affiliate marketing and advertising (especially in niche products). All these internet marketing trends rely on writing effective texts. Some need more quantity and some need more convincing or alluring copyrighting. But until recently, content played a minor role in the business of internet marketing. The position of the lowly writer, editor and copy optimizer seems to be changing for the better.

Definition [KNWLG]: What is Content Marketing? How does Content Marketing fit your business?

Gartner's Hype Cycle, Where is Content Marketing now?

Content Marketing is a new field in the world of internet marketing. As a new term, most domain experts in related fields, seem to think differently on what it means. The term itself, reflects the technical social media site owners. Social media sites essentially give us a framework to connect and contribute content. Their view is: if we build a friendly and easy to use "frame", the "content" will be "contributed" by the users. Facebook is an excellent example, the structure is provided by the site, the content is user contributed. Content Marketing does not rely on user contributed content. The method uses writing, graphics, video and linking (or quotes) to influence readers to take action. Content Marketing methods usually provide information and show examples of how products are used. Sites like Amazon are a great example where publishers and manufacturers create extensive amount of information on products. Amazon has been so successful using this technique, many people consider the site as a reliable source of information. In many product categories, not only books (i.e. electronics, photo equipment, white goods), the site has more information than even the original manufacturer's sites. Also, with deep product information in a product category, comparison shopping is easier then in almost any other site. 

Digital Content Marketing: It's Only Starting

Inside peek into the world of internet shops

Tony Hsieh's book about his experience at Zappos and a few meetings the last month came together somehow. Until now, it seems like the term "content marketing" and the idea of writing specific articles to influence buyers, was simply an extension of traditional marketing. Some see content marketing as an extension of other form of digital marketing: advertising, newsletters, affiliate, and SEO (plus other formats). But a few comments from marketing managers and Hsieh's book show a slightly different picture. The digital age plus changes in buying behavior are making content marketing not only useful but actually critical. Yet, most traditional marketers and new digital marketers seem unclear on the differences between content marketing is and  other forms of marketing. 

First about the Zappos book, the title is a hint to what to expect from Hsieh. In short, Hsieh took over Zappos CEO position to put the company into a strong position. His efforts were focused on, you guessed it: making the employees and the customers happy. Eventually the company, selling shoes (compared to Amazon selling books), was sold to Amazon for over a billion dollars. At the time, it was Amazon's largest acquisition. The Zappos story illustrate how Hseih clearly understood how a traditional business (selling shoes) needed to do certain things a little differently on the web. What is interesting about the Zappos story is how even recent history in the digital age is useful in trying to predict future developments. Essentially, the Zappos story comes from the "we can sell anything on the internet" that we sold in 'brick and mortar' shops era. The era was also called the dot-com bubble (or euphemistically dot-bomb / the internet bubble). Like most ideas in technology, what was good to do was also good to overdo. But it's nice to see that in all the cacophony of the early internet days, someone kept his head on his shoulders, and feet on the ground and built a real business. So kudos to Tony Hsieh.

User Contributed Content: Great for Marketers and Publishers

Focusing on a subject and letting users contribute: a great formula for marketers (c) 2011

Does every company need a dynamic digital communication channel? Is a blog, wiki, Facebook page, or Twitter stream crucial for business success? For many businesses, the marketing manager's answer is “definitely, absolutely”. Yet, it seems like for many other businesses, it's not that certain. Before you jump into a knee jerk reaction, and blurt out an quick answer, look around and examine your position. Two indicators are useful in answering these questions. The first is a survey of executives, marketers, and business professionals. Ask people you know and dig a little deeper than just a yes or no answers. See if you can get a marketing manager to explain how they use digital communication channels. The second method to determine the potential of digital communication is a survey of company web sites, blogs, and other digital channels. In any product or service category, we find companies which use and benefit from digital communication. We also find companies with superior products and services which lag behind the use of digital communication. In some cases, we can actually estimate [guess] the affect of more invested digital communication, or true professional execution. Fortunately, some work is clearly useful as examples. In many examples we can see good ideas and good use of digital communication.

Are 7 Thousand Clicks Enough To Sell?

Marketers for over a century developed creative techniques to lure sales  from potential buyers. LL Bean catalog is a great example of sophisticated sales techniques. 

The blog is slowly taking shape. I started out with the introduction of 7 Thousand Clicks. Then I added a few book posts just to get going and grease the skids. The new blogger design seems like a simplification and upgrade to the one from two years ago. That's good news for me. Now for the subject at hand. If you were given 7 Thousand clicks, would you be able to sell product? tell a story? or influence someone to "vote" or "contribute" to your cause? The question came up recently with an old client. He was frustrated with insufficient sales from his blog I wrote. He was also frustrated that the early burst in activity a few months ago, which fizzled out recently. Today's blogs, social media sites, traditional sites and newsletters are expected to replace advertising. If not bringing in ready buyers with money in their hands, at least starting the buying process (funnel). Yet a buying process, even for a simple IT service needs more then just interesting blog articles and a list of features.