Remember when the Internet was new and referred to as “The World Wide Web?” You saw the “AOL Keyword” hovering in the corner of most TV ads, and brochure sites were popping up left and right.

As marketers quickly recognized the limitless marketing power of this amazing new channel, specialty marketing disciplines grew and buzz words emerged en mass.

As the magnitude of the Internet grew, the number of online marketing specialties grew as well. Functions began to pair up into logical sub categories of related or coordinated specialties.  It became more difficult to be a “general online marketer,” and many marketers gravitated toward more specific online marketing specialities.

So now we have Inbound Marketing. While not a new concept, its growing appeal among businesses is impressive.

Side note: the term is believed to have been coined by Brian Halligan, CEO of  HubSpot and author of the book Inbound Marketing.

What is Inbound Marketing?

Wiki defines inbound marketing as getting found by customers, as opposed to interruptive advertising.

Whereas an outbound marketer pushes messages out (via advertising, purchased email lists, trade shows, cold calling, etc.) hoping it will attract the attention of the desired customer.

Why is Inbound marketing important?

It creates quality leads – prospective customers who want to to find you. A deliciously self-targeted, highly qualified prospect!

It’s also cost effective – the smart use of tools and time is much less than the price tag of most traditional outbound advertising. While not intended to replace outbound marketing, it’s strategic role in the mix is growing.

Who is it best for?

While it can have a role for companies of all sizes, it is particularly attractive to small to medium-sized businesses who cannot compete head-on with larger authority sites with the scale to well-target their outbound marketing efforts.

But if you’re not an Amazon or eBay, it’s time to get creative and use more inbound marketing as part of your mix.

How does it work?

This is the best part. It’s simple! There are three key components:

1. Build an optimized website with a blog
2. Create quality content that your prospective customers want
3. Take that content to where they are through social channels

With any strategy, there is a mix of art and perseverance to success.  But if you build a smart site, create quality stuff your customers wants to read, and take it to where they are hanging out, you will find you have built both relationships AND referrals.

As marketers are becoming publishers, the ongoing need for content is becoming more and more prevalent. Not only is there a need for more content, it has to be of value to your target reader. Talk about pressure!

But some good news here – not all content has to be original. You can organize other’s content in a way that adds value to your readers. And it’s a win-win for those who create the original content too.

I enjoyed today’s webinar by Curata entitled Feeding the Content Beast. Great info from Pawan Deshpande (@TweetsFromPawan) and Rick Burnes (@rickburnes)!

If you were not able to attend, fear not – in true content curation fashion, I tweeted it it for you. Here are my notes in 140 characters or less snippets:

First, What is Content Curation and why is it smart?

• So many channels, so little time to generate quality content!
• How often should you create new content? How often DO you? Over 43% at least once/day!
• Why is content important? It’s the first step in attracting visitors to your website, then to leads, then sales.
• Inbound marketing centers around valuable content.
• Companies that blog rank higher in search engines, have more indexed pages, and lots more website visitors. Yea!
• The marketer is becoming the publisher. It’s become expected. Whether blogs, podcasts, videos, etc.
• Use an editorial calendar for content marketing!
• The content beast has a high metabolism (good one!)
• What keeps you from generating content? Time is a key culprit! Being disciplined can help.
• Blogging more than once per week makes a big difference in customer acquisition. Weekly is the MINIMUM!
• Content Curation = find, groups, organizes and share the best and most relevant content on a specific topic online.
• Organizing content adds value.
• Benefits of content curation: increased traffic/subscribers at a lower cost.

As promised – 10 tips to feed the content beast!

1. Get into the content mindset. Look for the opportunities!
2. Tweetable Facts! Build a blog post of tweetable facts with links to tweet.
3. Don’t try to be Hemmingway. Be realistic. Aim for being useful to your target audience. It’s not art!
4. Conduct a poll or survey. It’s a two-fer content trick – ask for info, then post the results. Smart!
5. Share the load. One person can’t do it all – enlist others to pitch in. Appeal to blogger’s competitive nature.
6. Create a guest blog post. Goes both ways. It’s a win-win content/link. Love SEO!
7. Reuse your best old content. Chances are, readers didn’t see your best content the first time.
8. Conduct an Interview. Can be done via email – great way to get a fresh perspective, and SEO win/win.
9. Test your Content. Compare the content you’re producing and don’t assume.
10. Create an Infographic. And not just the cool kids are doing it. Long and far reach, make it embed-able.

While these are great ideas, you’ll have a better shot at getting them implemented if you take the time to plan out your content. Check out this post on How To Build An Editorial Calendar in 3 Simple Steps!

One final note, when sharing other’s content, be ethical. Share a title, snippet and thumbnail and refer reader to original publication. For more information about content curation, visit www.GetCurata.com!

Happy Blogging!

When did you write your last blog post? If you hung your head and sighed a bit, you’re not alone.

There are many reasons why intentions to write new content on a regular basis can get sidelined. Writer’s block, procrastination, and other priorities can easily distract from a content marketing plan.

An editorial calendar is a must for those who are using content as part of their marketing strategy.  Not only does it help with the hardest part: what to write about, it ensures that the messaging is in line with the business plan, and serves as a pesky reminder to give it priority.

Sort of a strategic kick in the pants, if you will.

But how do you build an editorial calendar? It’s really quite simple – just three easy steps:

1. Call-to-action: What do you want them to do?

Look ahead one month. What action would you like your readers to take within the next 30 days? Sign up for your email list? Follow you on Twitter? Comment on your blog? Buy your service or widget? Attend an event? Tell a friend?

2. Calendar: What’s going on?

With your desired call-to-action in mind, make a broad list of events that are scheduled to occur over the next 30 days. Holidays, programs, advertising schedule, programs, specials/sales, etc.

3. Brainstorm: What value can you provide?

Armed with your call-to-action and list of upcoming events, sit down and brainstorm a list of potential topics that would interest your readers. From there, fine tune your topic ideas into headline drafts to be more specific.

Now that you have a list of content ideas, assign responsibility and due dates and stick to it. If you are the only author, it may be as simple as a pop up reminder on your calendar. Or, if you have the luxury of an editorial team, a monthly meeting with formal assignments may be in order.

And finally, don’t forget to look back to see how you did each month. Review your metrics from the previous month to see which content worked best and why. From there, you will continually learn what works best.

So move past any guilt you have about past infrequent writing, and make it happen for this next month. Your readers are waiting!

One thing I enjoy about blogging is that you’re never done – and there are always ways to improve on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Busy bloggers sometimes get so caught up in their message that they forget that there is an audience behind that screen. It’s easy to lose focus of reader perspective after awhile.

I had the pleasure of spending a day with a large agency in NYC last week, as well as spending a day with some very successful bloggers, and came away with 10 things I feel I can improve on (in random order):

1. Write better headlines – “how to’s”, insider perspective, time saving solutions, and lists. Improves Google love as well.
2. Map out traffic patterns from all your ports of entry to your content hub (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tumblr, etc) – make sure you understand them and that you are sending the right traffic in the right direction.
3. Be more mindful of reader’s needs – what are the emotional benefits? Use the words “because” and “you” to help readers relate to your message.
4. Respond to comments on your posts. Email key readers thanking them for their comments. They’ll appreciate it, and likely return.
5. Give before you receive – comment, retweet, etc. This is true in blogging, and in life. Pay it forward!
6. Be more specific vs broad in your posts. Make it tangible and digestible in snack-size portions.
7. Don’t assume that readers already know something, even if you’ve stated it before. Most readers have NOT read all your posts-to-date.
8. Write in shorter paragraphs, use sub-heads, relevant visuals and bullets.
9. Giveaways work, but use in moderation and keep it fun and simple.
10. If you’re a smaller/newer blogger, interview larger bloggers, create lists of bloggers who inspire you, etc.

It’s easy to get complacent, busy or too close to what you are doing to be most effective. Every now and then, take a step back, put yourself in your readers’ shoes and look at your past posts objectively.

Good can always be greater.

Every now and then I get asked what my favorite WordPress Plugins are. It’s a moving target, but here are some must-have plugins that I recommend:

1. Askimet – a must have to manage spam
2. Google Analyticator – works with google analytics
3. Chartbeat – used with the Chartbeat service that tracks live site traffic (set up at chartbeat.com – about $10/month for up to 5 domains)
4. Comment Luv – great for encouraging a blogger community
5. Contact Form 7 – good contact form plugin
6. Display Widget – to decide which widgets you want displayed on which pages
7. Category Order – to change the order your categories are displayed in
8. WordPress-Facebook-Like by Todd Williams – there are many, I like this one the best
9. Tweetmeme Button – a no-brainer!
10. Twitter Widget Pro – my favorite for showing tweets in a widget
11. Linkwithin – shows images of related posts at bottom of post (before you click on the individual post). To get this, go to linkwithin.com then upload the zip file
12. Yet Another Related Posts Plugin – good choice if your posts don’t all have images. Is more sensitive to truly related content, but only shows if you click on the specific post.

What would you add to the list?

It’s tempting to write about what is on your mind at a given moment. But that’s not a relevant blog, that’s a diary.

Re-read the last blog post you wrote. Was it relevant? A relevant blog post contains three key elements:

1)  It does something for your reader, such as:

• Inspire imagination
• Convey empathy
• Show “how-to”
• Provoke thought
• Entertain
• Tease

2)  It contains a call-to-action, such as:

• Sign up for an email newsletter
• Buy an eBook
• Click on an affiliate link
• Leave a comment
• Subscribe to an RSS feed
• Refer the post to others

3)   And finally, it conveys your enthusiasm and unique perspective of your subject matter. There are a lot of blogs on most every possible subject. What makes yours unique and interesting to read?

Bottom line – channel your passion in a manner that is relevant to your target reader and achieves your objective.

So how did I do? Are you inspired? Did I provoke thought?

I hope so. Oh, and while you’re here, please subscribe to our RSS feed to keep up on tips for extending your brand online. And if you have any specific questions, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me.

Thanks, and have a great day!

I’m surprised how many blogs I see where the posts are written by “Admin”.  I had no idea that was such a popular name!

If you’re blogging to gain readers and build relationships, perhaps you should consider using your real name and stop hiding behind this anonymous title.

If you use WordPress, it’s simple.  Just go to “Users” and edit your profile.   You cannot change your username (which is “admin”) but you can add a nick name, then select it under the “Display name publicly as” drop down box.

Go ahead, be real!

There are two types of bloggers…those who write what they want to, and those who write what their target readers want to read.

There are two simple but critical lessons in that statement.

1. If you write for everyone, you will reach no one.
2. If your topic doesn’t address your target readers’ specific need, they won’t read it.

Take a step back and follow these three easy steps to find EFFECTIVE topics for your content marketing:

Step 1: Start with a clearly defined target audience. Not just who you currently reach, but who you want to reach. Keep it narrow enough so you can illustrate to your readers that you truly understand their needs.

Step 2: Then brainstorm a list of problems or concerns that your target market likely has.

Step 3: Next to each problem, list topic ideas that will help them solve those problems.

It’s a simple paradigm shift, but one that many bloggers and content developers forget. Just because you want to talk about something doesn’t mean that it will solve a problem for your target reader. If you stray off topic too often, then you dilute the value of your own brand.

When inspiration for a great topic strikes, start writing feverishly.  Ramble on as long as you like.

But when the time comes to create your blog post, step back and break it into chapters, or mini-topics.  A short blog post about a narrow topic fares much better than an epic length fully-inclusive post.  Especially if you want someone to actually read it.

Perhaps that is why I’m such a fan of Seth’s blog.  I can absorb his message in a spare minute without missing a step in my daily agenda.

Bonus – you’ll have enough fodder to fill a topical blog series, and you can link between your mini-posts for a bit more SEO love.

Whether you have an existing business you’d like to promote online, or are starting an online-only venture, it is very easy to get caught up in the minutia of technical tools, “expert” opinions and general online jargon that can pull you away from the simple big picture of online marketing.

Technology is a channel.  Period.

Before you get caught up in having the latest Twitter application, WordPress blog theme, creating a Squidoo lense, joining friendfeed, figuring out how to Digg, and so forth…step back…take a deep breath…and do one thing at a time.

Building an online presence doesn’t happen overnight.  There is a natural evolution of building an online reputation with staying power.  With a strong foundation and persistent momentum, you’ll get where you need to go, one step at a time.