Case Study: Web Referrals Increase by 50%

Sometimes we forget how effective case studies can be

Rather than just telling your audience what you do, case studies are opportunities to actually demonstrate your ability to effect change, to showcase your expertise, to document how you’ve successfully helped your clients increase revenue.

An audit to understand marketing effectiveness                       

I’ve been working with one client for seven years. When we began working together, I did an audit to understand how they were spending their marketing dollars and how effective that investment was. They had a website and a presence on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter, but posts were sporadic and haphazard. The person who had been writing blogs was neither local nor generating content that was relevant to their Bay Area clients. A monthly newsletter wasn’t showcasing their range of services.

Blogs became the workhorse of their content marketing program

My immediate goal was to improve the quality of their weekly blogs, which became the workhorse of our content marketing program. Well-written blogs accomplish a few things. They provide fresh content for your website and increase your SEO value, helping it rank in search engines. A blog is also an opportunity for you to share your expertise and position yourself as a thought leader. It doesn’t stop there. Your blog can be repurposed in your monthly newsletter. Excerpts can be used in social media posts. Add a link back to your website to drive traffic to your site. 

Increased web referrals by 50%

Over the course of the next year or so, our metrics showed that our steady efforts were paying off. Our website referrals increased by 50%. Since then, we’ve created a brand new website and rewritten the content, but we’ve continued to stick with our quality blogs, social media posts and monthly newsletter. 

Things that I do to help raise SEO value and clickthrough rates

• Create crisp, attention-getting subject lines for blogs and newsletters
• Identify and deploy keywords/phrases liberally throughout all content. 
• Write consistently high-quality content. 

What we’re doing during the coronavirus lockdown

This client has closed down one office, has most of his team working virtually and is expanding to new locations. Staying nimble and making critical business decisions as the economic landscape shifts is not something everyone can do. One thing I’ve always admired about this client is his ability to make decisions. No tortured conversations or looking back with regret. 

We’re also rebranding

We’re developing a new logo, which means new marketing collateral and a new website. In the virtual world that is the new norm—at least for the foreseeable future–we’re rethinking the way we’re perceived in the marketplace and the value we bring to our clients. Like every business owner these days, we’re identifying the pain point. When you break it down, it’s nearly always that simple. What is the problem that we can solve?

Now is the perfect time to work on your marketing! 

Is it time for a new or updated website or an expanded content marketing program? Contact us at Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing experts.

Blog Topics for When the Well Runs Dry

I’m a pretty creative person, so I’m always mulling over new topics for blog posts and other content for my website. But let’s face it. Sometime the well just runs dry. This is the time of year when you’re trying to get the most out of Labor Day weekend, get your kids off to school or take a long-overdue fall vacation. 

One more thing: If you’re not subscribing to newsletters and publications that provide industry updates, start now. This is not only a critical part of your job, it’s the inspiration for endless blog topics. 

Here are some ideas for fun, inventive blog topics when the well runs dry

1. Trends. Look for trending topics on social and comment on these trends. Analyze, agree, disagree and share a relevant experience. 
2. Time travel. Drill down through your post archive. I have something like 300+ blogs. Which posts can you revisit and repurpose, update and/or refresh? Add a new introduction and conclusion to give it a facelift. Evergreen content endures.
3. Share a presentation. Have you given a presentation lately? Turn it into a blog post. Identify the major bullet points, the biggest takeaway and audience reaction. Think about also adding this to SlideShare for additional SEO value. 
4. Presentation/workshop/seminar/event. What have you attended that would make a great post? Profile the speaker and that person’s expertise. Who was the audience and why was this important? Provide a testimonial or quote from the presenter. Link to the presenter’s website. 
5. Showcase a member of your team. Or a colleague, leader, someone in your family or community who’s making a big difference.
6. New applications. Have you discovered a great application that’s ridiculously easy to use, free and saves you time? Share this with everyone you know! I’m delighted with my latest discovery. I’m currently working on newsletters using five different email applications. Besides the old standbys—Constant Comment, MailChimp and Vertical Response–I’m using Square. My client’s using Square for his payment system, so their proprietary newsletter app integrates with this data. It is by far the easiest to use of these five applications. I’m also using MailChimp’s MailerLite, a drag-and-drop-based application that’s very easy to use. 
7. Discuss an issue. How about this? Will Congress regulate big tech? This may happen, but not with this generation of legislators. From The Washington Monthly: “Chuck Schumer, one of the most powerful people in Washington,usesa flip phone. The kind of phone with a tiny screen and real buttons, designed for making actual phone calls, not writing emails. But then, the Senate minority leader rarely emails, he sends about one every four months. In case manufacturers stop making his favorite flip phone, Schumer has stockpiled ten of them.” 
8. Knowledge sharing. Love free stock photo sites. These images are edgy, arty, stunning. Look for Pexels, Unsplash, Nappy.com. A drawback: If you’re looking for photos that are business-specific or with people over the age of 30, keep looking!  

It’s a new season. Does your content marketing program need a boost? Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing experts.

Blogging: Still Part of a Smart Marketing Strategy

Marketing experts these days recommend incorporating video into your marketing program for a very good reason. Millennials, the new go-to demographic, love this communication channel. Videos are also an excellent way to increase your Google authority, helping you show up in search engines. Pay-per-Click (PPC) is another hot marketing trend. Google is making a stunning $100M/day from Google Adwords—which means that millions of people around the globe are using PPC to help grow their businesses.

The question inevitably surfaces: Is blogging still necessary?

With the hype around sexier marketing trends like video and PPC, you may be wondering if you still need to be blogging. The answer is a resounding “yes”. Blogging is and will remain an essential strategy for reaching your audience. A few stats from Hubspot:

• You have a 434% higher chance of being ranked highly on search engines if you feature a blog.
• Businesses using blogs as part of their content-marketing mixget 67% more leads than those who don’t.

More reasons to keep writing and posting high-quality blogs to your website

1. Blogging is still the most critical content marketing tactic for 2018. In a recent content marketing survey, 52% of respondents agreed that blogging is their most critical content-marketing tactic, followed by email newsletters (40%), social-media content (40%), then ebooks, in-person events, and webinars. Only 30% of respondents considered video to be vital.
2. Blogging—not video–is the place to provide in-depth information. Long-form content (2,000 words or more) performs systematically well. Forget the trend towards minimalism. To rank well in search engines, a page should be at least 300 words. My rule of thumb: Provide enough information to answer your clients’ questions; frontload information so that the reader is getting the most important information in the first paragraph.
3. People trust blogs. Think of your blog as your very own platform. This is where you can create your online personality. It’s here where you can differentiate yourself.
4. Blogging drives web traffic. I love this one: The SEO industry couldn’t survive without words. Your blog is where your words go. One more thing: Your website’s landing pages should also be at least 300 words. More is great, but 300 words is the target.
5. Blogging spurs inbound links. Companies whoblog receive 97% more links to their website than those who don’t.
6. Effectiveness. An estimated55% of bloggers report that they get positive results from blogging.
7. Blogs have evolved. Today’s readers expect transparent storytelling and great, accessible content. Avoid promotion; provide information that helps people do their jobs. Keep it lively, and don’t be afraid to share your opinions.
8. Your blog works in tandem with social media. Without a blog to promote on social, you’re missing an opportunity to drive high-quality engagement.

Having trouble committing to a blog?

Create an editorial calendar and line up topics a few months in advance. Calendar time each week to write. Don’t be afraid to steal ideas.

Need help with content marketing program? Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and internet marketing specialists.

8 Big Blogging Mistakes You May Be Making

Blogging is tough. Like a potato chip, you can’t do one. One means that you tried blogging and gave up. It was too hard. It makes you look like a quitter. If you can’t sustain a blog, don’t start. I blog every week, then post the blog along with an image to my website, Linkedin page, Blogger and 4 social media sites. It’s a commitment, but if you make it a habit, you can do it.

Your blog becomes the workhorse of your content marketing program

Quality blogs will drive your whole content marketing program. Not only will you be providing fresh content to your website, increasing your SEO value, but you can repurpose that content to your newsletter and use extracts on social media. A blog is a workhorse. Set aside time to work on your blog and own it.

Here are 8 blogging mistakes—reasons why so many people fail. 

1. Setting an unrealistic publishing schedule. There are actually people who promise themselves they’re going to blog 3-4x/week or more. Forget it—this is a recipe for failure. If you can do one blog/week, you’re doing really well. Cut yourself some slack and try two blogs/month. You’ll soon find this is an aggressive goal.
2. Not using headers to break up text. This one kills me. When I see a big 6-inch block of text on my computer screen, there’s no way I’m going to tackle this. It’s a fortress. Break it up into manageable bites. Use subheads that guide the reader through the copy. Use bullet points to further delineate key points. Seduce your reader.
3. Using “Click Here“ in links instead of real keywords. The days of “check out our new website” and “click here” are over. Audiences have gotten a lot more sophisticated, and by using your keywords and inserting a link instead, you’re getting a lot more SEO bang for your buck.
4. Not Answering Your Comments. When someone takes the time to comment, you owe him/her a response. Remember that you’re doing this to build relationships.
5. Not Using Images. Big mistake. You may be an inspired writer, but the stats tell us that the average visitor will read just 20% of your content. The use of really good images that are relevant to your topic not only enhance your blog but draw in your audience. An estimated 67% of users say that images are more important than descriptions when making a purchase—and the whole purpose of your blogging is to grow your audience and get new clients, right?
6. Not Adding Social Media Sharing Options. I see this all the time. Time to integrate your messaging across all of your marketing channels. Make sure your website, social media sites, newsletter, business card and any other print collateral are all branded, integrated and connected. We’re looking for consistency of messaging.
7. Not Using Analytics. Do you know which posts your readers liked best? Do you understand how people are finding your information—what sites they’re coming from and if they’re clicking through your site? If you haven’t installed Google Analytics on your site, do it. Start using this to see what kinds of posts are getting the most attention. (Your comments will also be an indicator.) If you find that you’re getting a lot of response to one topic, you may—or may not—want to write more blogs on that topic and really promote them. Build a niche.
8. Not Showing Recent/Popular Posts. New visitors are often curious, so give them something to look at! If you’re clever about displaying your blogs, they’ll stick around to see what else you’re writing about. If there are places on your site to call attention to your blogs, by all means leverage them, such as a homepage banner with a title and a link to the blog. Many of the new website designs have tiles and other callout areas where you can post an image along with a message and a link—these are great places to showcase your blogs. On my site’s blogpage, in the righthand column there is also a list of my last eight blogs with their links.

Are you struggling with your blog or your whole content marketing program? We’d love to help you! Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing experts.

Better Bullet Points for Enhanced Content Marketing

I’ve been preaching for years about the importance of using visual keys to making your blogs,
articles and other messaging more accessible.

You only have a few seconds to seduce your audience

You need to give then a reason to keep reading. When people look at a paragraph that’s taking
up six inches of their computer screens, there’s little chance of their reading this. But if you break it into smaller, more manageable information bites, make good use of clever, attention-getting subheads that provide a window into what they’re going to learn, it becomes accessible. By using bullet points whenever possible, you’re making your content even more approachable.

Strategic bullet points keep people reading

Something to keep in mind: People scan content to decide if they want to keep reading, but it’s also a way to justify not reading. There are a few different kinds of bullet points; used properly, they can significantly enhance your content.

1. External fascinations. Usually found in sales copy for information products and membership sites, functioning like headlines that prompt a purchase or other action. Also known as blind bullets, they hint at the content of a product or service and create curiosity without revealing the actual substance. These are generally slick, promotional bullet points about a product

2. Internal fascinations. Pretty much identical to external, except they’re designed to persuade people to continue reading the content they’re currently reading. These are the teasers. For example: By reading this article you’ll learn:

• 3 counterintuitive activities that will improve your business
• How to turn your process into a product you can sell

3. Bullet chunking. Extracting bullets out of compound sentences helps you drive home a point while also increasing the usability of your content. Attention spans are short; make it easy for your readers. Maintain parallel construction for your bullet points. An example:

• Fascinating bullet points are great for:
• Drawing people back into the copy they skimmed
• Prompting the download of a free offer
• Causing the click of a link

4. Authority bullets. Use these to recite data, providing support for your argument. Authority bullets bolster the credibility of your content and your level of authority as a subject matter expert. Try to turn dry, factual information into interesting reading, if possible. An example:

• Don’t believe me when I say reading is an uncommon activity? Check these facts:
• 58% of the U.S. adult population never reads another book after high school
• 42% of college graduates never read another book
• 80% of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year

5. Cliffhanger bullets. Tease and foreshadow what’s coming up next or in the near future. Entice your readers to read next week’s blog by using a few cliffhanger bullets to let them know what they can expect.

Are you ready to outsource your content marketing program? Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. We’re content marketing experts.