Try this fast and easy 6-step process for creating engaging and compelling blog posts. This sustainable process can yield enough content for a full-length article that can be repurposed for later use, providing even more content.

It’s no secret that Hollywood is known for telling some of the world’s greatest stories. Of course, it’s easy for Hollywood to tell great stories — it has a “secret storytelling sauce.” But Hollywood doesn’t have to be the only one with the formula for telling great stories. Continue reading

Out of 42 different content marketing tactics, the CMI Content Marketing Playbook and CMI community ranked testimonials as one of the top 10 tactics. Testimonials can definitely give your content that extra boost — and credibility —your audience is looking for. But here’s the thing: Receiving testimonials after a project is complete is easy enough. But how do you receive testimonials when your content isn’t published yet? Your content is ready to go. It’s proofed, designed and looking sharp. And, hey, the landing page is looking nifty, too. What’s missing? Some testimonials to tip the scales in your favor. Continue reading

The problem: How do you write content-rich eNewsletters without spending endless hours creating them? The solution: Develop a repeatable process. The word count of your eNewsletter doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have a good template and a process you can quickly implement  eNewsletter after eNewsletter. Continue reading

If you’ve never worked with a graphic designer before, you might wonder where to start. Let’s say you’re repurposing your existing articles into an e-book. And let’s also say you’re thinking of having a custom graphic design. Some obvious questions pop up: Will a graphic designer guide you through the unfamiliar world of design? At what point in the content development process should you talk to the designer? How can you tell if you and your designer are a good match before you work together? Continue reading

Has this ever happened to you? You run around looking for your car keys. You could’ve sworn you just saw them right there on the counter. But now they’re gone. Then you hear that familiar jingle. You slide your hand into your pocket. Tada! Your keys were right under your nose the whole time. Continue reading

If you’re publishing content these days, you’re, um, a publisher. And publishers use professional proofreaders to review and correct copy. So as a publisher, you could benefit from having a professional proofreader. For instance, you may need help editing for logic, structure or flow. Or your copy may need simple proofreading for grammar, spelling or punctuation mistakes. Continue reading

It used to drive me bonkers. I’d interview someone for a project. 10% of the interview ended up in the project. 90% never even saw the light of day.   And you know what made matters even worse? That 90% was valuable and useful content. Continue reading

Think all video interviews go smoothly? Think again. If interviews are part of your plan to capture exceptional, engaging video content, you’re counting on someone else to give you what you want. And that can be risky. What’s the biggest challenge in any video interview? Capturing content that is interesting, entertaining and believable. Not everyone is comfortable in front of a video camera.Continue reading

It goes by many names. A marketing video. A branding documentary. A corporate video. Call it what you will, every once in a while, I’ll bump into one of these short videos and I’ll be amazed at what I’m watching.Continue reading

Did you ever play with invisible ink as a kid? If you did, you probably thought invisible ink was pretty cool stuff. You’d write a secret message on a piece of paper with a “special” pen. Of course, no one could see the words. The words were, um, invisible. But, hey, hold that invisible ink under an ultraviolet light and, “Voila!” The words magically appeared. Your invisible words became visible. The ultraviolet light “decoded” your words. What does this “decoding” stuff have to do with content marketing? When creating content, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll need to talk to someone for background information or to appear in a final production. Maybe you’ll have a phone call. Maybe you’ll interview someone through video. Listening to information is one thing– remembering it accurately is quite another. Hmm, remembering it word for word? How is that possible? Ta da! Transcripts to the rescue! Transcripts are like a “decoder.” Transcripts turn your “invisible” spoken words (from your...

Hey, I’m no mechanic. But here’s one thing I know for sure. A car has hundreds of moving parts and even I know that a tune-up helps it run better. I’m no webmaster, either. But web content can have a lot of “moving parts,” too. That’s why your content needs a tune-up – so it can run at peak performance.Continue reading