Editor’s note: A lot of people love checklists and all marketers love valuable content. That’s why we’re bringing back this post from a few years ago.

“Every day, there is more and more to manage and get right and learn.”

Who said that? It’s definitely someone in content marketing, web strategy, or digital communications, right?

Wrong.

It may surprise you that the quote is from Dr. Atul Gawande, who wrote The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. A general surgeon, Atul suggests that applying simple checklists to both complicated and routine medical procedures can affect overall success rates and reduce infection and mortality.

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Songwriters are storytellers. And if you’re a content marketer, you’re also a storyteller. We’re trying to do the same thing – to capture the most elusive thing we can with words: a feeling.

Here are seven songwriting secrets that will help you make your content stronger.

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Ann Handley says writing isn’t hard, middle school is hard.

While I agree middle school is hard, I think writing is challenging. As it’s been said, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter and bleed.”

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Editor’s note: We’ve updated this article with a new version because all marketers love valuable content.

“Every day, there is more and more to manage and get right and learn.”

Who said that? It’s definitely someone in content marketing, web strategy, or digital communications, right?

Wrong.Continue Reading

Today’s health care consumers — baby boomers in particular — are hungry for reliable health content, and more than ever they are using the web to educate themselves. The Pew Research Center reports that nearly 80 percent of internet users go online for answers to health questions.

Perhaps more surprising is the rising role social media plays in consumer health education. According to PwC’s Health Research Institute (HRI), 42 percent of consumers have used social media to access health-related consumer reviews (e.g., specific treatment therapies or physician reviews), and 20 percent have joined a health forum or community seeking health content. Younger consumers in particular tend to trust social media as a credible source of information — 90 percent of individuals age 18 to 24 would engage in health activities or trust health information found via social media.

Consumers also are demanding tools to help them take charge of their own health care decisions. Currently, more than 40,000 health-related apps are marketed to consumers — covering everything from diet counters to smartphone-enabled blood-pressure monitors and glucometers.Continue Reading

As content marketers, we are all looking for formulas that will make our content sing and stand out from the rest. Many of us are practiced at creating content, but can we be sure that it’s valuable and appreciated by our users?Continue Reading

Are you just dying to create your own infographic? Seen five new ones in the past 15 minutes?  Think before you design. There’s a lot to consider about infographics, including purpose, relevancy, and the potential for ROI.

As our web becomes even more image-driven, eye-catching and easy-to-digest content is here to stay. While infographics are a great format for translating data into easily shareable, fun images, you have to have a clear purpose and plan in mind before you start.

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A content marketer has to contend with constant, lightening-fast competing messages. No matter what field you serve, your audience has thousands of other messages competing for their attention and action.

This may feel overwhelming, lead to fatigue, and exhaust you to the point of not trying.

Don’t give up yet. There are five simple rules you can follow to ensure your messages will be the ones that do get through. Most of them concern something so imperceptible that we don’t even think about it: information design.Continue Reading