There’s a little flip book of inspirational quotes that sits on my desk (in addition to the piles of files, hand-written notes and haphazard to-do lists) opened to a page that reads, “Content is of great importance, but we must not underestimate the value of style” (Maya Angelou). But as any writer knows,...

There’s a new buzz phrase that’s gaining popularity as content marketing is embraced by both marketers and consumers: the “Content Chasm.”  In fact, Mac McIntosh recently wrote about the Content Chasm as it relates to B2B marketing automation and lead generation.  The term refers to the gap between where...

Tools are funny things. If you’re familiar with the problem you need to fix, and you understand how, when, and why to use each tool, they’re incredibly helpful. They save you time and money and help you do a truly professional-quality job. But if you just want to fill a big toolbox full of shiny new...

Are you trying to sell to the C-level suite? According to the latest survey of senior executives from SiriusDecisions, you’ll want to focus on specific digital content marketing strategies to engage and connect with these busy execs. In short, you’ll want to roll out the “web carpet” not only with the...

The recently released Buyersphere Report 2011 on shifting trends in buyer research behavior is particularly interesting for two reasons: It focuses on European markets, providing an intriguing counterpoint to the many U.S.-based surveys. It surveys the actual behavior (rather than just the opinions)...

What do B2B decision makers and purchase influencers care about?  Reducing risk! They want to make a buying decision that will enhance their careers. They want information that will help them make the best business decision possible – a decision that will result in cost savings and/or increase top line...

Whether you are a content marketing newbie or someone with more experience, you’re bound to have questions. Here are the answers to 50 common ones. Do you have other questions? Share in the comments, and we’ll point you to an answer or ask one of our contributors to write a future post on the topic. Continue...

More than 1,100 North American marketers are spending 26 percent of their budget on content marketing projects, and 51 percent say they plan to increase their spend on content marketing over the next 12 months, according to Content Marketing Institute research. Great, right? Not so fast. IDC research...

The process of identifying what information each of your personas needs throughout the buying process can be time-consuming; but it's not difficult if you follow these steps and use the templates provided to get you started.

You’ve probably used demographics or psychographics to identify and understand your customers and your market. But have you ever thought of using these data to create content? This post shows you how to: Limit the data you collect to extract the best ideas for content for your industry, product or service Identify...

Are you developing buyer personas for your B2B content marketing efforts? A number of CMI contributors have tackled the topic of personas because it’s one of the most important things you can do. Those posts do a great job helping you get started, but today I want to answer some questions I frequently...

Great content marketing starts with one thing: understanding your audience, whether it’s a prospect or customer. Sounds simple in theory, but it can be difficult to collect the important info. Last week, I shared some ideas on how to research your buyers. This week, I want to take it a step further...