Tag: Content Marketing

Landing Page Design

A landing page is a key part of a business’ online marketing arsenal. It is an expertly designed web page that serves to engage the user into following through a conversion funnel.

How should it work? The user looks for something specific and their search brings them to the business’ landing page. The page then provides the exact information that the user is looking for, and goes on further to engage the user towards lead generation.

Not all landing pages are created equal. So what elements then, make a landing page great?

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Content strategy can be the difference between a stale, rarely updated blog swept in the corner of your website and a powerhouse that drives targeted traffic to your doorstep. Content strategy is what fundamentally makes content marketing possible--and extremely relevant to SMBs. If you have a blog on your website--and you should--and a few hours to dedicate to content strategy, you have everything at your fingertips to start driving the traffic you want and building a solid conversation with your audience.

But we know--content strategy can seem daunting, like a buzzword only applicable to large corporate organizations with manpower to spare. Fortunately, the web had leveled the playing field a great deal when it comes to content development and the ability to get it to your audience. In fact, SMBs generally see a higher ROI from their content strategy than large organizations simply because, when executed properly, it's an excellent method to getting found. That's what content strategy comes down to: making the most of your existing structure (you've already invested in a website) and making sure that your message reaches the right people in the most desirable way.

Content strategy doesn't have to be time-consuming or tedious, although you can easily find more detail and data than you could ever hope to apply, as with any marketing research. But we've been in the content strategy trenches and have outlined below a no-nonsense 9-step guide to getting your content strategy done and applied to your online presence.

So put on your marketing and analysis hats and let's get started.

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Poorly informed writing is like a car held together with duct tape--you can push it until you get tired, but you're not going anywhere.

Knowing what you're writing about is an essential tool to writing well for any type of writing; even for a professional writer, writing without knowledge about your topic isn't writing--it's typing. Especially important when writing for the web, it's critical to allow a reasonable amount of time for research. You wouldn't start a speech in front of thousands of potential clients without knowing well what you intend to say--and you shouldn't approach content marketing (or any writing, really) any other way.

But effective content marketing--the kind that's worth your time, effort and investment--requires much more than basic knowledge of your topic. I'm talking research--lean, mean, sleeves-rolled-up research. Here's why it's worth the time and investment.

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We've all seen zombie copy--it's what lurks around the dark corners of even well-meaning websites. Copy they thought no one would read. Copy that was filled with over-used keywords and spicy catchphrases shoved into a faux-professional skin. Copy that, despite their best efforts, wasn't quite human.

It's usually the result of an attempt at content marketing via SEO, probably shrugged off because "no one reads that stuff anyway." It might even look good to other zombies, had they functional eyes and brains. But the problem is that mindless, impersonal, senseless copy drives away your mindful, wallet-watching customers.

And those are the ones that matter.

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