We’ve all heard the expression, “don’t sweat the small stuff”, right? It’s strategic advice reminding us not to get diverted by inconsequential activity. The great thing about content marketing is, sometimes, the small things can produce big results. A large part of marketing includes reading and keeping...

Remember when Hamlet said, “The play’s the thing…?” He had just come to the realization that he could use his ingenious content (his play) to gauge the reaction of his audience (King Claudius) in order to determine if the king was guilty of murder. For the most part you’re not likely using your content...

The whole idea of ”targeting” is an odd practice. As marketers we spend so much time and effort, trying to narrow down who our customers are into an age range, a gender, a geographical location, a household income, that type of thing. Then we end up calling it a target, and wringing our hands about just...

I’m really excited to announce the launch of the Content Marketing Institute (CMI). The idea of CMI is simple – while there are a lot of great blogs, books and experts out there in and around content marketing, there are still so many questions. How do I develop a content marketing strategy? How...

A blog post is like a miniskirt. It has to be short enough to be interesting, but long enough to cover the subject. courtesy of my friend Henry

Many businesses jump right on the business blog bandwagon without hesitation. There’s always plenty to say about products and services. But unless you’ve been paying keen attention to content marketing trends, you may find it’s harder than you expect to consistently write compelling...

You have developed a content marketing strategy and assembled your subject-matter experts to provide whip-smart analysis and compelling story-telling. But how will you package your content for delivery to prospects & clients?Continue reading

Did you ever see or hear about something and think, “well, that just makes too much sense.” I have. A few things come to mind for me. Al Pacino in The Godfather. Cool weather in San Francisco (every time I’m there at least). LeBron James as a Cleveland Cavalier. Orange shirts. That’s also the reaction...

I delivered a presentation yesterday at the Minnesota Magazine and Publishers Association (MMPA) about how publishers can leverage social media channels to grow their online footprint (and revolutionize their business).  Below is the presentation, but here are a few key takeaways. Social media is not...

This Ogilvy post reminded me that content without true innovation doesn’t do much for your business. A few months ago at the Online Marketing Summit national conference (where, by the way, I’ll be doing content marketing workshops in 22 cities), one marketer stood up and said: How do I differentiate...

I’ve been all over the world over the past year talking with marketers about their content projects.  In most companies, there is a focus on big content. What’s big content you say? Big content means large content projects such as custom magazines, lengthy newsletters, virtual events, large...

Age of Conversation is back.  Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton have again rounded up over 170 marketing experts to take a deep dive (or 171 quick dives) into the changing nature of social media, branding and marketing (of course, content marketing is included as well). The first two versions of AOC have...