Content Marketing Strategy: The Final Word on Quality Vs. Frequency

More than a month ago, I argued that quantity, or even better, the frequency, doesn’t determine quality. Since then, I’ve been struggling with this question.

As a brand editor, I make daily decisions about the quality and relevancy of an impressive array of texts, podcasts and videos by also considering the brand’s overall story, their prospects and customers, and channels the content is intended for.

Last month, I twisted Joe Pulizzi’s argument, “Everywhere I go, I find marketers who are challenged with creating more content. More blog posts, more eBooks, more videos, more podcasts … more, more, more. … I’m done with more.” I focused on the correlation between ‘more’ and ‘good’.

It didn’t end there. I’ve been bothered by this a lot. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And then last week, I came to the same conclusion as Joe. Quality first, frequency second (depending on high quality content that is ready for publication).

It’s not like this is new, but many brand editors and content marketers are under pressure to post new content as many times per week as possible; research shows that even a modest increase in publishing increases leads.

But last week I made peace with myself; it was probably my d’oh moment: as editor you shouldn’t succumb to pressure to publish more. Your main concern should be the quality – not saying yes because there’s nothing else to post but you’re expected to post something.

I’m not saying I’ve been doing that; I just talked to many content marketers who are responsible for sourcing and even writing original content for their site and that’s exactly the pressure they’ve been feeling lately.

It’s like, damn if you do, damn if you don’t. I strongly believe that you should pay more attention to high quality and relevancy, taking all other factors into account. Great quality makes readers come back.

You may say, “D’oh, Nenad.” Well, it isn’t as obvious as you may think. Many are struggling with this. According to B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends Research Report, for example, producing enough content is the biggest challenge across B2B marketers.

Each one of you have to find what’s best for your case. It’s good to look around and see what worked and what didn’t for others. Just because Content Marketing Institute can publish seven quality posts a week (and they worked hard to get to this point), it doesn’t mean you should “copy” them. Every case is unique.

So, if a day or two or three or even more pass by without publishing new content, you shouldn’t panic, unless you promised too much. Rather post when you have something relevant to say. And say it well.

 

When Bloggers Become Publishers

A year ago I discussed the differences between ‘bloggers’ and ‘journalists’. I wrote: “Choosing a catchy name for your blog doesn’t make you a blogger. Just because you’re writing doesn’t make you a blogger. The audience, your readers make you a blogger. If you’re a columnist or a journalist, it is the publication you write for that brings you your audience.”

In the last twelve months especially, however, we have observed monumental changes on the Internet that may not be as clear to some. Many bloggers have turned into publishers.

So, who are publishers?

Traditionally, a publisher refers to the owner of a media brand or publishing house; she manages the writing, production, and sale of books, newspapers, magazines, etc.

Has the Internet changed this traditional view of the publisher – a media capitalist, to put it bluntly? Do publishers still exist in the world of free information (Is there such a thing as FREE information?) and the technology that is being upgraded daily?

Of course they do! And I don’t mean only traditional publishers who have turned into digital ones.

This post is about true, Internet-born-and-raised publishers. You shouldn’t liken them to bloggers gone pro. Well, not really.

When we say bloggers, we still understand the word in accordance with the old and widely accepted definition of a web log/personal journal. That’s how it all started almost 20 years ago.

Since then, the best of those personal blogs or online diaries have grown into true media brands. Great examples are TechCrunch, Lifehacker, and Engadget.

How or when do bloggers become publishers? In the past year, I’ve observed three common scenarios:

1. When true costs arise

Eventually your readership grows so much that you have to pay someone for hosting the CMS. Indeed, WordPress.com will get you far, but then maybe you’ll want to pay them to be able to customize your site. However you turn it, when you get ‘serious’, your costs increase too.

2. When real revenues start rolling in

When you make a living out of blogging, you’re not just in it for the fun and self-expression alone. Business made you a publisher.

3. Your audience grows noticeably  

For some, the point of change is when you realize you have an audience. This may happen before the previous two scenarios kick in.

I see this happening over and over again: a blog starts as a random collection of ramblings and musings, but with a special, appealing twist that attracts readership. Then slowly, but surely, the blogger starts listening to the crowd; you become aware of them in advance, while working on your next post. I believe this changes your activity from musing to writing.

On the other hand, let’s not forget the brands who set up their own blogs because they have a marketing budget to spend, or they covet ad revenues, or they want to influence the public opinion.

Let me end with a quote from my last year’s post: “In the end, what someone is called is the matter of the industry terminology. It’s more about the relationship between content and consumers. It’s about the quality of the content you are producing and sharing. Not so much about who did it. We’re all publishers. Journalism, social media and blogging mean publishing. It’s about content creation and content sharing. And that’s all it matters.”

Bloggers, You Don’t Need to Hire a SEO Expert

Whether you have been running a blog for years or you are planning on starting a new one, one topic has surely come to your attention at least once. And that is the topic of search engine optimization. But the real question arises in what you are to do about it, do you tackle the abstract science by yourself or do you hire a seo expert?

In today’s digital age, abiding by the compounding rules of search engines is becoming more and more daunting – every few months a new update or refresh to Google’s algorithm comes along. Although this may seem like a pain to everyone that owns or operates a website, in reality all the search engines are trying to do is improve their product which therefore increases their user experience.

So, don’t panic whenever you hear news of a new update on the horizon. As long as you are continually focusing on quality the experience of your users, you should not have to worry. One piece of advice is to form a content policy, one that all blog contributors follow. Not only will this help to keep your content uniform, but it will also help to stay focused on your readers. Try asking yourself these four questions:

• What is its purpose?
• Who is your target market?
• Are you helping them out or providing them value?
• Are you reaching to them through the appropriate channels?

Here are a few quick and easy fixes so that you don’t have to hire a SEO expert:

Content

Although search engines pay attention to content, the real incentive to creating valuable content is the benefit of having your readers link to it – whether through the social networks they are engaged in or through blogs or websites that they operate.

Try to put yourself in the reader’s shoes. Approach your content from a different perspective and ask yourself if you would share it if you hadn’t created it. If you are having trouble doing that, ask a friend (ideally someone who didn’t know that you owned the blog) what they think about your site.

Integrity

Don’t give in to the various out-dated SEO strategies that you will find online. Gone are the days when keyword stuffing (both in meta data and in the content itself) is effective. Focusing on a certain topic or keyword for a new blog post is still an effective way to bring in organic traffic, but make sure you are not giving up user experience in the process.

Backend

Although content is king, you do still have to make sure that your blog is accessible to crawlers and bots.

Most modern day CMS platforms are fairly SEO-friendly so most bloggers don’t have to worry here, but you should still do all you can to ensure accessibility. Take full advantage of tools like Google’s Webmaster Tools, broken link checkers, and your robots.txt file.

Also, be sure to do what you can to get and keep search bots on your site. Link around your site and make use of related posts and site indexing tools.

However, don’t make a spider-web of links on your blog; keep things simple and remember to always focus on your content and user experience.

Theme and Host

As a final note, and this is especially for people who are considering creating a new site, make sure that you have a clean and professional looking site on hosting that is speedy and reliable.

Be sure to settle for nothing less than high quality web hosting for your blog. Not only will your readers be happy, but it will have a positive effect on your SEO.

How to Cultivate a Popular Blog That Reaches Its Full Potential

Growing a blog takes a combination of skill, hard work, and – perhaps most importantly – a favorable topic or genre. If you’re an ambitious blogger looking to make an impact, sway influence, and even generate a viable source of income, give yourself a fighting chance by taking care in choosing a topic with potential.

Here are 3 universal tips so that you can cultivate a popular blog:

1. Stay Within Your Wheelhouse

The topic you choose to build your blog around must emanate from your core interests and authority. You don’t need a PhD on the subject – just genuine insight and enthusiasm.

Draw from your range of knowledge, experience, and expertise, confirming that you have the passion to develop consistent content and promote it to the audience at large. It’s good to stretch yourself or take on a challenge, but be sure to know what type of blogger you are and be sure to not stray too far from your comfort zone, if you do it’s only a matter of time until you repel your audience.

For example, take Mario Armando Lavandiera, Jr., aka, Perez Hilton. He took his interest and experience in entertainment and media relations, combined it with a gift for sensational commentary and self-promotion, and parlayed it into one of the most successful celebrity gossip blogs the world has ever known. Not only does the chosen topic for PerezHilton have a historic record for garnering mass interest, but also it’s sustainable, producing new stories, personalities, and angles to hold both the blogger and audience captivated over the long haul.

2. Pick a Winner

When focusing on creating a popular blog, some topics profile better than others. A Google search can provide you with lists, facts, and figures on which blogs generate the most traffic or hold the highest potential for making money, such as finance, entertainment, gadgets, and how-to. These subjects not only have proven to resonate with massive online audiences, but provide extensive opportunities for generating advertising revenues and affiliate relationships.

While sometimes a blog can find solid ground by remaining very focused, serving a dedicated industry or interest group, it’s often wise to take an open-ended approach to draw more diverse traffic, demographics, revenue streams, and partner relationships.

Consider Money Crashers, a personal finance blog dedicated to providing commentary on financially responsible decision-making. It not only appeals to the widest spectrum of human beings on the most basic levels (people care about money), but it’s a natural gateway to an array of subtopics, ranging from careers and money management, to real estate and lifestyle. There’s something for just about everyone to sink their teeth into, plus it creates endless opportunities to collaborate with more subject-specific, high-volume websites in order to drive traffic exponentially.

3. Demonstrate a Unique Perspective

While it is encouraging that there exists an ever-growing pool of potential online users, there are millions of blogs competing for their attention. You can choose a promising topic and have the perfect combination of communication and social media marketing skills, but as it is with so many endeavors, there’s typically a “secret ingredient” to sustainable success. Anyone can simply report facts on well-covered topics and attempt to ride the momentum of trending stories. It’s when you dig deeper personally, cultivating a polished, original voice to extract what’s humorous, humane, or even infuriating in each story, that your perspective comes to the surface and elevates your work.

Whether you’re considering the Huffington Post, TMZ, or Engadget, developing a brand identity is essential, considering everything from the logo and slogan, to a mission statement and style guide. While you want to build your popularity by driving traffic from the most traveled highways and byways on the Web, you need to apply your personal touch to supply content that grabs attention, elicits reaction, and keeps the crowd coming back for more.

Just Do It

Opportunity, recognition, and financial reward await top bloggers who succeed in building a large and sustainable audience. By understanding your strengths, identifying a topic with the potential for growth, and perfecting your niche within it, you can put yourself firmly on a path to accomplishing your goals.

5 Lessons Publishers Can Learn from Musicians

When I was 15, I met a guy at school who eventually became my friend. We had a lot in common, especially in the area of music. One day, I was invited to his home after school. When I walked through the door, his older brother was sitting in a chair in the living room playing the guitar. I was immediately fascinated and wanted to learn how to play. I started visiting frequently on the weekends and started learning to play. I was so obsessed that my parents bought me a guitar and a small practice amp. And so I played, and played, and played. I haven’t stopped since, and that was 27 years ago.

Here are 5 lessons I’ve learned by playing music that can make you a better publisher:

1. Passion
After a year or two of playing, I thought I was getting pretty good. It turned out I thought I was better than I really was.

When a fellow guitarist watched me play he had this to say, “You’re pretty good, but you’re missing something. You gotta feel the music.”

Ah, feel the music. I thought about it and it made sense. It changed everything. A real game changer.

LESSON #1: There’s a difference between being good and being really good. Passion makes the difference. Whether its music or blogging, you will do much better when you really care about it. One of the most passionate bloggers I’ve encountered is Ti Roberts.

2. Technique
Combine passion with technique. Sure, I had plenty of technique. I had learned how to do things with the guitar. Bends, hammer-ons, harmonics, pick harmonics, power chords. You name it. I experimented with it.

LESSON #2: We all can learn technique. How to do stuff.

And sometimes we can get creative and find another way of doing things. Another technique. Another way to blog, or say something different.

Examples of technique can be found on sites, such as: Man Vs. Debt, 2Createawebsite, Think Traffic, Brian Clark, and John Morrow. Which brings us to my next item, being unique.

3. Uniqueness
Another thing I’ve learned from playing music is to be unique. There are a lot of people that play the guitar, but there’s only one person that plays the way you do.

LESSON #3: You have to find what makes you different and expand on it, hone it, and make it your own. Just as there are a lot of publishers blogging about their niche and their experiences. Their life at times.

No two experiences are exactly the same.

No two people are exactly the same.

You have something to say that’s different from the rest? Say it! This is one of the more challenging things about blogging. Will you be unique with every post? No, but your voice will emerge as you write.

4. Art, Creativity, and Value
Music is an art. A work of creativity. Is it always a masterpiece that millions of people listen to in awe? No, not always. But that doesn’t mean that music can’t still be good and enjoyable to listen to.

LESSON #4: Blogging is also an art and creative work. Some bloggers have touched the hearts of others with their experiences. You can feel their words and their pain. A great example is Jon Morrow’s post, “On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas.”

Does this mean you have to write a tear-jerking post, every post? No, but value is the key to success for a publisher. Sometimes it’s not  what you say or how you say it, but how valuable it is. Even if the purpose of your writing is just plain inspiration or motivation. Are you providing value to what you write?

5. Success is Learned and Practiced
No one person knows how to do things without learning. We are not born with the knowledge we need to be successful until we learn it, expand on it, and make it work for us. Success is based on learning the things you need to know to achieve it.

LESSON #5: There is a basic set of steps to follow and beyond that, be creative.

When I first started playing music, I learned how to use techniques, add passion, and put it into practice. Put it into action. Corbett Barr of Think Traffic has a great post on “21 Quick Actions You Can Do Today to Set Your Blog Up for Massive Success.”

Success is taking the knowledge you gain and doing something with it. Knowledge without action is just knowledge, not success.

Guest Posting from A to Z: What to Look out for Before You Do It

I have two answers for them:

If done right, guest posting can bring so much traffic that it could freeze your web server and make you jump up and down like a kid in a candy store.

If done wrong, it can waste your time and may even lower your confidence in yourself. Next thing you know, you quit, and start looking for the next best thing.

The norm with guest posting works like this:

The profile of the average guest blogger is either a solo freelance writer, or someone hired by a company to write and submit content on their behalf.

Both ways, the approach is similar…

The writer lacks a system of researching for relevant sites. Most guest post authors are randomly selecting sites, looking to land guest posting opportunities for back-links – and because of that, they are caring less about the relevancy of the site.

The right way to guest post for back-links is to actually look up and research related posts and diversify your hyperlinks. Otherwise, Google will catch on to your method and will either penalize your rankings, or they might not even take into account the extra back-links.

This guy’s 6-month experiment proves how guest blogging for inbound links works better than generating direct (referral) traffic, and details the right way of doing it…

The result of the challenge was an increase of 100+ daily visitors from search just 10 days after the challenge, and a total increase of around 60,000 visitors from search just 6 months after the challenge. That works out to be around 2,000 visitors per guest post in 6 months from publication, when the highest I’ve ever gotten from any guest post on a big blog is 1,500 visitors; and these days, I get less than 10% of that from most big blogs.

 Bamidele Onibalusi

How to inspect the top sites, extensively, before writing for them…

It’s painful to have your guest post rejected, or bring little results from your efforts. That’s what happens when you lack a proper system of identifying the right sites.

In order to help YOU overcome these challenges and find relevant blogs to guest post on, I’ve created the largest online acronym you can read next.

Alexa Rank

Alexa ranking is a key factor (but not the most important, nor the only one) when determining if a top blog is worth guest posting for. Their proprietary system ranks sites on the number of visits and page view numbers. It doesn’t reflect the quality of the traffic though.

For example, Google, Facebook and YouTube are the top 3 ranked sites by Alexa.

A site with Alexa ranking of 100 is more popular (and better for you to post on) than one with a 5,000 rank. Major blogs (in most industries) have an Alexa ranking under 25,000.

CopyBlogger for example ranks at 3,580.

ProBlogger, 3,906.

FourHourWorkWeek, 6,831.

FreelanceFolder, 24,879.

Big audience

Major exposure is what all guest authors crave for.

All the large sites out there have their Facebook, Twitter, and RSS numbers show up, publicly. This gives you an estimate of the average audience. Check them out, and make notes.

Comments

What’s the average number of comments per post? This will give you an idea of how active the blog community is, and their particular needs, wants and issues.

Distinct voice

Is the blog you aim for an authority in the field? Does it offer unique views and talk on a specific topic or subject? Not all blogs are niche oriented. Some might blog on freelance writing, SEO or affiliate marketing. Others are more general, and write on all these topics combined.

If you want to stand out, find your niche, and guest post on general sites to attract a wider audience interested in your sub-niche topic.

Ever-green content

Some large and bigger sites are news centered. That means your content needs to cover current topics and seasoned events. If your objective is to create content that gets recurring, long-term traffic, then stick with sites accepting ever-green posts.

Focus on the audience

It’s not easy to understand your audience when it’s not yours. It takes time to read past blog posts and grasp the (recurring and unique) needs, wants and challenges of the people you aim to write for. You have to feel the readers you’re publishing for, otherwise all the other aspects I’ll cover next will not help much.

Guidelines

The guidelines page is the first thing you should be looking at after checking Alexa, comments and audience numbers. Read that page with close attention. Stick to their rules, and you’ll increase your chance to have your post approved and published.

Most bloggers don’t get their post accepted on large sites because they don’t read or overlook the guidelines.

Headline

Before writing your guest post, even before pitching your content ideas, you need to research past articles, and make note of the most appealing headlines. Why do they attract your attention? Which ones make you click? Which ones don’t? Copy-cat the winning model and form your headline writing style. The headline is the actual title for your guest post.

Interlinking

By reading the guidelines page you can see if the publisher allows links pointing to other pages or posts on your web site. This will help strengthening your overall page rank and Google rankings. If not, inspect previous guest posts and notice if the author has embed self-serving links. That’s a sign the site could accept your links, if they’re relevant, useful and complementary to your post.

Jargon

Pay close attention to how the audience of the blog you aim to write for is talking. Inspect past approved guest posts.

Is the language clean and common? Is the author using any industry specific lingo? Give thought to these little details, otherwise your content might not sound right, or it might not express the right meaning.

Example: if you want to write on blogging related topics, then you have to understand and master the specific terminology (e.g. WP dashboard, plugins, php code, widgets, etc.)

Keywords

Keyword research is the oxygen of your guest post. Target the right, relevant key terms and you stand a chance of getting more traffic from your guest posts. Inspect previous guest posts, and notice if the authors bold and italicize their keywords. That’s a sign of “on-page” optimization. It plays a significant role in search engine ranking, along with other factors like back-links, and co-occurrence.

Luv

You’ve probably already noticed some big sites managing their comments using a plugin called CommentLuv. This is an advantage for both the publisher and its readers, as more people will want to comment if they’re given the “keyword insertion” and “latest post featuring” benefits.

Metrics

Open Site Explorer is a useful tool I use to compare the number and quality of any blog’s backlinks and top pages. It helps analyze the web site you want to write for, and find their top popular content.

Other similar tools I like: Topsy and Tweetreach. They provide you with Twitter insights (referrals, tweets, re-tweets, etc.) into your posts as well as into other people’s content.

All these tools will help you identify the high “authority” sites worth guest posting to. This doesn’t mean you have to base your selection criteria on such metrics alone.

Numbers

Without a concrete strategy, guest posting would be another method of getting traffic that may or not work. Your mission is to estimate the average number of monthly sites you need to guest post for in order to reach your goals (Google rankings, traffic numbers, leads, sales, etc.)

Nobody knows this better than you. You know your numbers, if you reverse engineer your marketing and funnel system. Tracking conversions with Google Analytics or Clicky plays a key role here.

Objective

What’s your monthly quota?

You might need 10 back-links, if you solely guest post for search engine rankings. You might need 100 leads if you are into the mortgage industry. Or, you might need to drive 50 sales if you have your own product, (or add 20 members to your monthly recurring program.) Based on your needs, you’ll be able to define a clear objective, and then work your way up to achieving the numbers and conversions.

Once again, analytics tools are essential. You’ll know precisely which blog brings the most traffic compared with the best visitors that generate sales, leads or whatever. It also gives you the keywords people type in to find you on the search engines, and other insightful data. True gold nuggets!

Page Rank

I prefer to look up for blogs with a page rank of minimum 3. This doesn’t mean I’ll completely neglect the rest. However, when you’re starting to guest post for top sites, it’s good to aim for page rank 3+ sites, and at the same time, take into account all the other metrics and issues covered herein.

NOTE: a high PR blog doesn’t necessarily mean that the site receives high traffic, unless their Alexa ranking is low at the same time.

Quantcast

Quantcast is a comprehensive analytics service, giving you free access into other people’s site metrics including visitor, traffic stats, and demographics.

Armed with this info, you will know how to better write for a particular site and its audience. Never skip this site when writing for top blogs.

Relevancy

Look out for the relation between the audience (their wants, needs, and challenges) and your expertise. Your content should fill in the gap between the two.

Leo, co-founder of BufferApp knew what their Twitter tool was capable of, and how its features and advantages can benefit a wide range of audiences, not just Twitter users, or Twitter related blogs. No wonder his guest posting efforts brought the company 100k customers within a year.

Always look out for the “relevancy” factor when guest posting for big blogs. You’ll be able to find sites which are not related to your niche, but quite relevant to your ideas, products, services or tools.

With this approach, you can see correlations between sites that have nothing to do with each other altogether. Like, fitness and business, Yoga and blogging, or technology and dog training.

Skills

How skilled and knowledgeable is the audience you’ll be talking to?

Based on your previous research, you’ll be able to determine the average skills and knowledge level: beginner, intermediary or advanced. And you’ll be writing accordingly.

Example: if you wanted to write for MenWithPens, you will not share basic insights with an advanced audience, understand?

Time

By reading each blog’s (guest posting) guidelines page and noticing the average guest post length, you’ll be able to estimate the average time it’ll take you to research and write your guest post. Doing so, you can prepare in advance, and not get caught on stressful deadlines or juggle with multiple posts a day.

I prefer to write one post a day, maximum two, in order to produce quality, and meaty content.

Updates

How often is the blog publishing new content? Big blogs usually come up with at least one post a week, if not two. Some larger blogs publish daily. There are pro and cons to both models. You could also target those big blogs that haven’t posted in weeks (for various reasons) and propose some content ideas.

Visuals

Are the top blogs you aim writing for embedding infographics, illustrations, cartoons or videos within their content? You’ll have a higher chance to get your guest post accepted if you can produce or obtain the rights of such within your own content.

I’m not talking about the “standard” type of graphics such as photos and snapshots. Most, if not all major blogs are already using these elements to add the extra touch to their content. The visuals I referred to are the next element that most blogs are missing.

Wow

The best guest authors are individuals who are always on the look out for not just sharing information, but inspiring and arousing an audience through their content. Did you ever think to use comics and cartoons within your posts? The advantages are multiple: you’ll stand out, motivate readers and stir audiences.

What we can do is check out TheOatMeal and other similar sites for inspiration. Then work with an artist to create custom cartoons and comics that features your link. You’ll also benefit from additional traffic and brand exposure. Using “ready-made” cartoons or comics won’t have this advantage.

Xerox

Even the top blogs in the industry will sometimes cover the same subjects or copy what their competitors are writing about. You’ll stand a higher chance to have your guest post more than welcomed when coming up with new angles and unexpected ideas.

Find the “relevancy” factor!

For example you could inject (relevant) stories and anecdotes within your guest post, and add that personal flavor. Or, make (viable) connections with two unrelated topics.

Yin-Yang

Chinese philosophy teaches us the interconnection and interdependence of contrary forces like female and male, dark and light, cold and hot, etc.

Look out for the Yin-Yang elements on the blogs which you’re targeting. Read the latest guest posts.

Are there any elements left out? Are there any explanations not fully covered?

Did an author talk only on the pros of a subject? Did the blog not cover all of them?

You can take charge, and bring new elements or explanations through a new guest post. That’s your advantage, go for it!

Zone

What happens when you get out of your comfort zone?

You feel anxious, and probably insecure, right?

You don’t feel confident when having to write on a topic which you’re not that knowledgeable about, right?

You don’t feel at ease when having to think about how to connect two unrelated topics and create new meanings.

You don’t feel good when you have to take an extra step and enhance your content.

We’re used to staying within our comfort zone. The same with everybody else! That’s why they’ll not get different or remarkable results.

Want to succeed with guest posting? Get out of your comfort zone. There’s no other option. You have to up your thinking, writing and research skills all together.

This is the most important yet hardest advice to implement. Start with this one first, I’d say.

No more excuses! These ideas will help you to identify the right blogs and guest post for results.

“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.”

Zig Ziglar

 

Great Content Needs Awesome Design and Vice Versa

Yes, we all come back to sites that have great content that is relevant to us; it is either helpful, interesting, funny or “all of the above”.

We’re also visual beings. Once someone told me that we’re actually going back to where we started. For a long time in human history, we were visual beings; in the 19th Century texts, especially in newspapers, became dominant. Today, with the new media, with the easier way to take pics, record videos, draw infographics etc., the images are again becoming more and more significant.

We’re charmed by beautiful things. That’s why we are attracted to beautiful design.

That’s why I think the quote: “People don’t come to your website to look at your logo or navigation, they are there for your content,” is partially right. Yes, content matters. A lot. Without valuable content, your site can be the most beautiful in the world, it still wouldn’t matter much. 

On the other hand, great content deserves and needs awesome design to highlight that great content.

Basically, content and design are like a happy, loving couple; you must not see them as separate entities, rather they complete each other.

Develop them together.

That’s why it’s so important that a designer and the editor/author are partners!

Effective Content Strategy Guided by The SAVE Framework

Harvard Business Review magazine published an article on the SAVE framework. It is a shift from the traditional 4 P’s marketing model. The authors claim that in today’s B2B world, the classic model (emphasizing product, place, price, and promotion) isn’t necessarily irrelevant, they just “need to be  reinterpreted to serve B2B marketers.”

Publishing and content marketing are a perfect example of this framework. According to the authors, “the SAVE framework is the centerpiece of a new solution-selling strategy.”

The SAVE framework fits like a glove to your publishing strategy. To attract your prospects/customers, to retain them, to make your content valuable and sharable, you should follow the SAVE framework. Many of you already do it, though not calling it as such.

Many others are still looking for the model that would work best for you, for the model that would help you draw a successful, effective and long-term content strategy. I believe that the SAVE framework can help you tremendously.

What is the SAVE framework? The emphasis from the 4 P’s model is shifted from “products to Solutions, place to Access, price to Value, and promotion to Education”.  In short, SAVE.

Here’s how the SAVE can guide your content strategy:

Instead of product, focus on Solution.
The SAVE framework says, “Define offerings by the needs they meet, not by their features, functions, or technological superiority”.

Therefore, your content strategy must be customer-centric. Ask yourself:

• Who are your prospects/customers?
• What are their main pain points?
• How can you help them live/work better?

Through helpful and relevant content help them learn the benefits of your products and services.

Instead of place, focus on Access.
The SAVE framework says, “Develop an integrated cross-channel presence that considers customers’ entire purchasing journey”.

I’ll twist this a bit and say this is about knowing where your prospects/customers hang out and what exactly they’re doing there. Your brand should be accessible there. This is basically a question of the content distribution.

Access is about the integration of all channels and tools available to you that are relevant to your prospects/customers. You should know what channels you’re present on (Facebook, blog, popup store, Twitter, Pinterest, printed magazine, email newsletter, etc.) and why. How is each channel used by your prospects/customers, at what point of their purchase journey they play a role and what that role is?

For example, what are you trying to accomplish by your presence on Facebook or with a blog, etc.? And what kind of content and engagement should you expect on each and every channel you use?

Instead of price, focus on Value.
The SAVE framework says, “Articulate the benefits relative to price, rather than stressing how price relates to production costs, profit margins, or competitor’s prices”.

Your prospects/customers need to sense that your content is valuable to them. According to Sharon Tanton, valuable content is:

• Helpful – It makes a difference, it answers a genuine question.
• Entertaining – Provokes a reaction. Smile, laugh, or think – people respond to it and want to share it.
• Authentic – Genuine and original. Written from the heart, it tells a story that people understand and respond to.
• Relevant–  It is rooted firmly in the client’s world, it makes perfect sense.
• Timely – it is sent out at the right time, it hits the audience when they are most receptive.

Instead of promotion, focus on Education.
The SAVE framework says, “Provide information relevant to customers’ specific needs at each point in the purchase cycle, rather than relying on advertising, PR…”

According to Marcus Sheridan, content marketing is about educating your prospects/customers, “We’re just teachers.”

Therefore, do just that. Answer your prospects/customers’ questions. As Marcus likes to say, if they ask, you answer. Ask everyone in your company who is in contact with your customers (in the calling center, the sales department, the lost & found department, etc.) to write down any questions your prospects/customers may have, no matter how insignificant they may be.

All in all, help them live/work better.

Creating Your First Business Model Prototype: 3 Major Tips

A business model is a system that explains how somebody captures, creates and delivers value. A busines model canvas is a tool that allows you to describe, design, challenge, invent, and pivot your business model. For more on on business model canvas watch this video.

And now to the story of Alexander Osterwalder. Alex is from Switzerland, one of the best countries in the world when it comes to inventions, often topping the world in comparison to most countries. Alexander was a PhD student, who wrote a blog about the subject of his thesis titled Business Model Ontology.

After his successful thesis defense, he quit blogging for a while. In the meantime he was doing workshops on designing business models. He was challenged by his students to write a book on the subject. His mentor argued that to prove his thesis he should invent a business model for book publishing. So that is exactly what he did.

How his book publishing business model came about

First, Osterwalder and his mentor prototyped eight different business models. Anyone can do it.

Then Alexander decided to re-launch his blog, where he announced that he will start writing a book within the next six months. In the meantime, he invited his readers to co-author his book. For a fee. Why the fee? He wanted serious writers that would help create a book that he would be proud of. Not just another business textbook.

After a few calculations, he estimated that he would need a budget of roughly €250,000. To get this he used a progressive pricing model where in the the first few months before he began writing, he would only charge a fee of $24 to become a co-author. It increased from there and during the final week of writing the fee was $250. Yes, $250.

The budget was there. Writing could start. With more than 400 co-authors. The rest is history.

SOURCE: BUSINESS MODEL GENERATION BOOK.

Here are 3 major tips for generating your first business model prototype:

1. Don’t do it alone
Find a partner or two. You’ll need somebody who is more analytical, rational with some experience in finance, if possible. The other partner should be somebody who is good at synthesising, somebody who is good at seeing the big picture and is experienced with trusting their intuition. She should be responsible more for the right side of canvas, for the Channels, Customer Segments, Customer Relationships, and very importantly Revenue Streams. Your analytical partner should be more oriented towards Key Resources, Key Activities, Key Partners and to Cost Structure of your business model prototypes. Your main role in prototyping your business models is to define and pivot around your Value Proposition. You should also be the timekeeper of your prototyping party.

2. Set up a time limit
Don’t spend too much time on every single prototype. It is very important that you have at least six, if possible up to nine business model prototypes. It is a very good measure if you spend only 18 minutes or less on one business model prototype. To come into the mood to prototype business models start with a game called Crazy Cow.

Here are some basic rules for Crazy Cow (adpated by Danny Beckett Jr.):

• Instruct your partners that you will sketch out three different business models using a cow.
• Ask them to first define some characteristics of a cow (produces milk, eats all day, makes a mooing sound, etc.).
• Tell them to use these traits to come up with an innovative business model based on a cow.
• You have only three minutes for one business model prototype.
• Sketch three different business model prototypes of a crazy cow.
• Have a good laugh before your start prototyping your business models.

3. Never write on the business model canvas
There is no such thing as a perfect business model. It doesn’t exist. Therefore do not write on the Business Model Canvas. Use post-it notes or even better stattys pads.

When you’re done with prototyping one business model, document it. Take pictures, share it with your customers and partners, try to find out what would work and what wouldn’t.

And if your prototype doesn’t work, don’t worry. It happens. As long as you realize that if failed and are able to move on (hopefully without too much expense) and learn from the experience.

You should develop the circle: —Prototype—Fail—Learn—. The secret lies in how fast you are capable of turning this cycle around. Good luck.

3 Tips to Effectively Leverage Online Media Monitoring to Improve Your Business

Media monitoring provides clients with copies of media content, which is of specific interest to them. I could joke and say that the Internet has shifted a relatively settled media trot to a gallop and that increasingly important social media have added another dimension to the speed of the dissemination of information – voice of the people. It can indeed be ruthless to brands, products and services, but it’s a fact which you can’t ignore no more.

Consistent media monitoring – of all communication channels – outlines a real public image of your brand, it provides new insights into the activities of your competitors and into the challenges that await you in the struggle for customers.

Indeed, media monitoring is so much more than just a daily review of articles about your brand. If you’re using it for just checking what the media (especially mass media) reported about you and counting the number of clips, then you’re not doing much. Those times have passed.

Here are 3 ways to effectively leverage online media monitoring to improve your brand:

1. To better understand your customers’ pain points

A few days ago, I met with a financial company. They told me right away, “We don’t know why we need media monitoring; we are hardly mentioned in the media.”

After only a few minutes, we jointly came to the conclusion that the company truly isn’t present much in the mass media; they, however, spend a lot of time monitoring financial behavioral trends. “Our goal is to educate the market, to let prospects know what our services mean and what they can gain by becoming our clients,” they said. So why not keep track of media content on this topic?

By monitoring the media (traditional and online/social), they will explore the market, find potential clients and obtain necessary data on what people really need when it comes to financial advice, what their most common pain points are. Armed with the data, the company will know how to address clients more effectively, detect niches that can be utilized, and find the arguments to improve the sales of their services.

2. To improve your business

Media content is rich with information about you and your products/services, which you may not be aware of. You may not even realize that your users/clients/buyers/readers are affected by them or find them important. Listening to communication on social media, records on forums, industry blogs, reading user reviews, equips you with information that can be your point of reference, for you to become stronger and better.

Imagine a bakery that runs out of buns by 5 pm every day. This is a seemingly insignificant detail, but since this has been going on for a few weeks, customers start complaining. In the past, people would write letters, maybe ask to see the manager. Now they post their comments on a forum, Facebook, or simply tweet about it.

The bakery can do two things – ignore online chatter or do something about it. Was the estimate of how much the bakery can sell wrong? Would it be a good idea to bake a different type of bread in smaller amounts and increase the number of baked buns?

The mirror that media content shows you can be merciless. But if you know how to utilize it, you can act appropriately and improve your business. Are you capable of enough self-reflection to chew over processes, review procedures and change something within the organization?

3. To improve your products/services

A pool of information from social media can help find new ways to improve your products/services. Moreover, it can be a great source of information not only for marketing and PR departments, but also for other departments, such as product development, sales, etc.

People talk about their lives online, not only (or even not mainly) about brands. They discuss with others what they use, what they experience and how happy they are with available solutions.

For example, what side effects are caused by individual drugs? What conclusions can young mothers list when testing different means for eliminating seizures in infants, what works and what doesn’t? How helpful is a call center agent when a client complains about the Internet connection? Can a bank teller answer financial questions satisfactorily?

I like the idea of the development departments looking at their users’ comments and fish for their own personalized adaptations of many products they use. I am often surprised how detailed the user experiences are, how they can find new ways to adapt products to their needs – their solutions are a great feedback how to upgrade your products and services.

Media monitoring is so much more than just a list of mentions of your brand in the media. If you can effectively put the clippings to good use, strategically, they will help you adapt your activites in order to further your business.