I was on a VERY long plane ride to Greece this week, a ride that takes 15 hours from San Francisco, so my husband (who is also in the business) and I started chatting. I was in the process of telling him about a VERY memorable and frightening commercial I saw recently (it IS a long plane ride and yes we do have a life…)

Cut to: A professional woman driving her sedan, on the phone chatting, curling her eyelashes in the rear view mirror, taking notes on her dashboard notepad, maddeningly swerving into other drivers on the road.

She then reaches into the backseat looking for something, while continuing to chat on the phone, swerving and swerving into her horrified fellow commuters.

She then says, “Oh, it’s my exit!!” and as if a young child playing Frogger saw an opening to quickly scamper into the next lane she frantically shoots her sedan across 3 lanes of traffic leaving 5 cars of destruction in her path.

It hit home. I’ve seen it a hundred times in reality.

Did I touch a nerve? A nerve we’ve all experienced? Perhaps some of us have even uttered some “less than pleasing” words to Ms. or Mr. Highway of Destruction?

Who was the advertisement for? You’re not going to believe it, United Healthcare. And it wasn’t for the Destructo Driver, it was for the aftermath of her carelessness.

Bravo, to United Healthcare for capturing the “Fear Factor” in such a quintessential way. We all think we’re great drivers, but what about the other drivers on the road, thank god for health insurance! Do you have a product or service that could benefit from the fear motivator?

Sometimes it’s good to revisit advertising tactics that we may unconsciously forget about. I revisited a book, albeit dated, which made me think about VerticalResponse and how we advertise and thought it might be great to evoke some thoughts for our readers.

Herschell Gordon Lewis, a famed direct marketing copywriter, author of The Art of Writing Copy, wrote about 5 great motivators: Fear, Exclusivity, Guilt, Greed and Ego Gratification. He writes that giving benefits that relate to one or more of these motivators is a required tactic in trying to sell something.

VerticalResponse has one by default. Many businesses need to have unsubscribes managed on their behalf because of federal legislation. They don’t have the time to do it themselves nor do they have the systems in place and want to be in compliance, VerticalResponse to the rescue.

Think about your own business, do you have a piece of software that might save someone’s hard drive from a nasty virus? Does your product protect pillowcases and pillows from millions of dust mites? Does your educational product help a child’s speech pattern?

Look, this isn’t about scaring someone into buying, it’s about getting someone’s attention so that they read your message.

Fear is evoked by a sense of protecting something valuable, so go ahead and grab their attention. THEN focus on the benefits of your product or service, that’s what it’s really all about.

Any good or service that you sell where the product that you have protects one’s business, home, or health and well-being is a good candidate for the “Fear” factor. And by the way, if what you’re selling TRULY accomplishes what you say it does, and you believe in it, It’s not hokey at all.

I’ll be touching on the other motivators so stay tuned.

The post Using the Fear Factor as an Advertising Motivator appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

We talk about copywriting at VR because it’s integral to any marketing. Whether you’re writing an email, website copy, online ad, Twitter Tweet, Facebook post, or blog post, you’re communicating to your audience with words, and therefore copywriting.

There are small words that make a big impact on your copy – and not always a positive one. In my recent blog post, Who Else Wants to Write Better Copy, I discussed cutting clutter and improving copy. And the quickest way is by removing any unnecessary words such as “that” or “to.” Well, here are additional small offenders that crowd your copy – try removing them whenever you can:

1. Some: We have some great products vs. We have great products
2. Great: We have great products to chose from vs. We have products to chose from
3. Many: We have many products vs. We have products
4. Even: They even grew their ROI 20% vs. They grew their ROI 20%
5. Right: Many business are making the switch right now vs. Many businesses are making the switch now
6. Such: It makes such a difference vs. It makes a difference
7. Quite: It’s been quite a hard choice vs. It’s been a hard choice
8. Only: It only takes a minute vs. It takes a minute
9. Got: We have got choices vs. We have choices
10. The: Improving the copy vs. Improving copy
11. Really: They really get the job done vs. They get the job done

These words might be small, but taking them out can make a big impact. Start cutting your copywriting clutter today! Are there additional words you can think of removing from your copy? I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

The post 11 Small Words that Crowd Your Copy appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

International waters… have you dipped your toe in them, not just personally, but for your business? Gaining global customers and/or an international audience is extremely exciting, but doing your homework is vital if you want to adhere, relate to, engage and most importantly, market to this audience appropriately. So what is the biggest deterrent to a global audience? An international content marketing mishap.

Take for example, the highly popular romance-erotic novel, Fifty Shades of Grey. According to Wikipedia, the trilogy has “sold around 20 million copies worldwide… and set the record as the fastest-selling paper back of all time, surpassing the Harry Potter series.” Aside from criticism the book as received due to its content and “clunky prose,” the second biggest complaint: According to Wikipedia, “The book has also been criticized for the author’s use of British idioms which, syntactically, present a disconnect from the would-be American voice of the protagonist, thus adding further strain to the dialogue.” Now this obviously hasn’t affected UK hailing author, E.L. James’ book sales, but as a first-time author, a lack of legitimate character credibility due to a language disconnect can be a big blow for future endeavors.

Something as simple as using American English instead of British English or vice versa, in any form of communication, whether it be an email campaign, social media and/or blog post, etc. can put a dent in your engagement when marketing to people across the pond. Gaining credibility, rapport and trust from your international audience also means having an understanding of their language and culture. As marketers, we need to keep our content top of mind, especially if we want to attract broader audiences. Follow these international content marketing dos and don’ts, and the world will be your marketing oyster:
Do: Know the Language

Understanding the language (and slang) of an international audience you’re marketing to is absolutely vital, whether it be a different form of English (like British vs. American English) or an entirely different language. Translating your messaging, or tweaking it to adhere to your audience will go a long way.

Understanding the style and tone commonly used in another country is also important. Fifth Ring, a global integrated corporate communications company suggests speaking with a local marketer: “Different nations have very diverse business cultures, and the tone of their copy reflects that. Some nations expect a firm, even abrupt style and others are much more gentle and polite. You can research local business customs and styles on your own, but talking to a marketer with local experience is better.”

Don’t: Translate Word for Word

Languages simply cannot be translated word for word, and what may seem legitimate in your own language may not be translated smoothly in another. Here are some prime examples from major companies whose language translations went awry (though some may be rumored as legends):

Coors, the fifth largest brewing company in the world felt the sting of mistranslation when their marketing slogan, “Turn it loose” in Spanish was translated to “Get loose bowels.”

In 1987, Kentucky Fried Chicken opened a restaurant in Beijing, however, their famous slogan, “Finger lickin’ good” was directly translated in Chinese to, “We’ll eat your fingers off!” Mmmm.

Don’t: Use Idioms and/or Colloquialisms

In an article about international copywriting, Fifth Ring states that using idioms or colloquialisms in your copy may not take the cake: “Cultural difference is something to be celebrated, but not when writing international copy. You must stringently remove any colloquialisms. Phrases like ‘at the top of our game’, or ‘on the same page’ for instance… English is full of these everyday phrases that make little sense to a global audience. Imagine how things like this sound when they come out the other side of a software translation solution. You don’t need to be a language expert to spot things like this, just consider the international implication of phrases or idioms very carefully.”

Do: Research the Culture

The world is made up of extremely diverse cultures and that’s what makes it such an amazing place, so for the sake of marketing to another culture, doing your research can save you some serious embarrassment.

American Motors learned this lesson when they attempted to market their mid-sized car, the Matador, in Puerto Rico, but it didn’t go over well. According to Wikipedia, “Matador turns out to have connotations for ‘killer’ on the island where bull-fighting was abolished when the U.S. took control of Puerto Rico.” 

Do: Acknowledge Other Countries’ Holidays & Seasons

When I was living in Ireland, I nearly had a heart attack when Mother’s Day came around in March, and I felt utterly unprepared – That’s because Mother’s Day is celebrated in a completely different month in Ireland and the UK vs. the US. When I was living in Australia, I can’t tell you how many “snowy,” “chilly,” “the weather outside is frightful” promotional emails I deleted from my inbox while I was experiencing 85 degree weather. It’s easy to create a sale or promotion based on a local season or national holiday, but certain holidays, say if you’re American, like Thanksgiving or the 4th of July, just won’t resonate as much with your international audience. Create holiday-centric or seasonal promotions specifically for your customers overseas; the acknowledgement will surely impress.

New Threads, a VerticalResponse customer and upscale clothing boutique in Corte Madera, California shows off their “Viva La France!” pride with a Bastille Day promotion. Even if they aren’t sending to friends specifically in France, celebrating another nation’s holiday stands out from the typical red, white and blue promos.

Do: Adapt Social Media for Different Languages

This tip comes from Erica Swallow in an article she wrote for Mashable titled, 5 Tips for Marketing Online to an International Audience. Social media efforts in multiple languages may require additional time and effort, but it may just pay off.

For Facebook, Swallow suggests approaching two different strategies for global audiences: Create one Facebook page… or many.

“By creating one brand Page, you can target updates by location, demographics and language. This is a good option if you are looking to have one hub for content creation. On the positive side, users will receive targeted updates in their news feeds, and they will still be gathered in one place. The downside is the possibility of confusing users who visit your Page and find updates in multiple languages. This could limit interaction on your Page. Creating multiple regional Pages increases the localization of each Page, but this method requires more time to customize, as various logos and text should be created for each one. You’ll have to figure out the right option for your brand, but considering your strategy before launching is a good start.”

As for Twitter, Swallow suggests creating multiple Twitter accounts, if tweeting in multiple languages: “This minimizes confusion with readers who don’t speak all of the languages you tweet in. Dell’s Direct2Dell corporate blog, for example, has Twitter feeds in English, Norwegian, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish.”

Do: Consider SEO for International Markets

You may not associate search engine optimization with international content marketing, however, using the appropriate language in your SEO efforts can and will increase the likelihood of your business and website being found world-wide. Hubspot has an infographic and informative article outlining the 6 Essential SEO Tips for International Marketing.

As a small business, following these simple dos and don’ts can put you one step, paso, un pas, क़दम or 발자국 closer to expanding markets and a wealth of new customers worldwide.

The post International Content Marketing Dos & Don’ts appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

There’s someone I’d like you to meet! My biggest frenemy in the world: Procrastination. Oh wait, you two have already met? Of course you have, procrastination gets around, am I right? And, when it comes to content marketing, getting involved with procrastination is an intense whirlwind relationship full of stress, guilt and shame. Meanwhile, customers are eagerly awaiting our educational emails, super sales, bangin’ blog posts and shareable social updates. So how can we retain and gain new customers, yet kick that no-good procrastination to the curb? Meet a much better catch: The content marketing calendar.

We know producing quality content is at the core of keeping our customers engaged, buying, liking, talking and subscribing. But oh, how do we find the time! It’s pretty simple if/and when you create a calendar. Organization is power! Build a content marketing calendar and customers will come. Here’s how:

Make decisions
First, decide what type of content you’re going to wow your customers with. Will you  create promotional emails, newsletters, videos, blog posts, Twitter and/or Facebook updates? Write down every type of “content” you want or need to produce, plus how often you’ll publish or send it. This will give you a better understanding of how and when you want to communicate with your audience.

Get cookin’
Determining content type is fine and dandy, but cooking up content topics may cause a slip up with procrastination. Set up weekly, monthly or quarterly editorial brainstorm sessions, whether it’s with yourself or members of your team, and get creative! Do some pre-brainstorm research, create charts, doodle, scope out competitors, feed off each other’s ideas and stir up enough content ideas that’ll hold you over until next time. No one wants to eat a half-cooked cake (or read a frantically whipped up blog post), so don’t leave your brainstorm session until your content calendar is bursting with juicy ideas.

At VerticalResponse, we have quarterly brainstorm sessions for our marketing blog, weekly sessions for the VR Buzz newsletter, and daily ones for our social posts. The longer the content takes to produce (blog post vs. tweet), the earlier you should plan ahead. Once you have your ideas, place them into a content calendar so you don’t forget them.

Shoot: (and set a) goal!
Once you’ve decided on desired content types and ideas, give yourself frequency goals: I will update Twitter twice a day, I will send an email newsletter twice a month, I will write a blog post three times a month, etc. Once you’ve determined your content and frequency goals, it’s time to get crafty and put them into play!

Pick a tool, any tool
Simply put, use whatever’s easiest. At VR, we rely heavily on Google Calendars and Google Docs. A simple Excel sheet or Word doc, even your email calendar (Outlook or iCal) will easily suffice, as well. We’ve also recently discovered a handy project management tool called Basecamp that allows you to create projects, to-do lists and assign them to people. Anything that’s been assigned with a deadline automatically shows up in a calendar – snazzy.

Be a mastermind
Create one mega master calendar featuring all of your content: email campaigns, blog posts, social posts, etc. Once everything’s laid out, analyze. Are any of your emails overlapping? Are you sending too much/too little? Is it possible for you to produce this much content? These are questions that’ll instantly be answered with a master calendar in place. The Content Marketing Institute also suggests to keep the following in mind:

• Track key dates such as events, holidays or other things that may impact which content you want to share and when. If you have an international audience, include holidays in the various countries you serve as well.

• Include a brief overview of all of the content that is planned by content type.

• Looking at all of your key dates and planned topics can give you ideas for topics and help you think about how you can re-purpose content in multiple sources. For instance, if you have a new guide or case study planned, you can plan one or a series of blog posts around that. Or, if you have an event, you can plan to develop an eBook based on the top 30
  takeaways from the event. Seeing the calendar at a glance helps these connections jump out more easily – and helps you remember which dates to avoid.

Once you’ve created a master plan, create mini-calendars per platform – blog, email, social, etc. At VR, we keep track of blog posts and email campaigns in the same Google
Calendar; however, we manage and schedule our social posts elsewhere (VR Social hint, hint).

Here’s an example of our master calendar (Google Calendar) including emails, blog posts and even ‘splash pages’ we feature on our website:

Here’s an example of the VR Buzz newsletter calendar in Google Docs (as featured above with Ryan Gosling) broken up by quarter, week and audience:

Make deadlines for deadlines
When I worked in advertising, I had to manage and keep track of hundreds of clients and their deadlines. Do you think I ever gave my clients their real deadline? No way José. As much as we love to think people will stick to deadlines, they simply don’t. This is why you need to give others (and yourself!) deadlines for your deadlines. Marking faux deadlines on your content calendars will also keep things perfectly in check… It’ll be our little secret.

Gain an entourage
Just because you created a content calendar doesn’t mean you have to manage it. Is someone in your company super-organized, has great attention to detail (and is a little bit bossy? – hmm, no wonder my director chose me to manage our blog!) Perfect. Put them in charge of managing your content calendars and deadlines, even if it means they’ll be after you. Also know that you don’t need to produce content all by yourself. Recruit a team of writers, or even consider a freelancer. Knowing you have an entourage of content creators will also justify the importance of maintaining a content calendar and adhering to it – more people to count/rely on!

Stick to it
Remember when we set goals? Here’s where we stick to them! Producing content may seem daunting, but think of all that revenue, exciting engagement and possible new prospects you’ll gain once that content is out there! Keeping your goals will be much easier and way more rewarding especially with a concise and organized content calendar. And remember, stay strong – procrastination doesn’t even deserve you.

Have content marketing calendar tips and tactics of your own? Spill it!

• Also, check out our CEO, Janine Popick, as she shows you how to plot out social media and email updates on a calendar for an event: 4 Quick Ways to Make the Most out of Email & Social.

The post Build a Content Marketing Calendar, Customers Will Come appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

When it comes to social media, bigger isn’t always better. Visitors like short, crisp interactions that get straight to the point.

Social media software expert Jeff Bullas recently wrote a compelling article highlighting 5 types of snack-sized content for social media marketing worth considering. Bullas’ list includes:

1. Snack-Sized Blog Posts
Instead of hitting readers over the head with a solid wall of text on your blog, keep to the basics including:

• A good headline
• Enticing introduction
• Tempting sub-titles
• Short paragraphs between 2 and 3 sentences

Most readers use social media management tools to quickly skim through headlines. Keeping things short and basic can make your post stand out.

2. Infographics
Bullas advises that infographics “have the endearing habit of being shared ‘often’ and quickly.” Furthermore, they often mix graphics and text to communicate brand messages in seconds and are easily embedded online. If you want to jump on board with your own, check out our recent post, 5 Free Tools for Creating Killer Infographics.

3. 15-Second Videos
Viddy is widely hailed as the Twitter and Instagram video love child, allowing only 15-second-long video clips on its site. It’s taking off, and could become one of the most powerful social media marketing tools in the years to come.

4. Images
Most studies show that pictures are still the most widely shared items across all social media software programs. Nothing beats a crisp, clear image for social media effectiveness. We’ve got more scoop on that here.

5. Quotes
Bullas is a big believer in the power of quotes, writing, “the audiences on Twitter and Facebook social networks love those inspiring or humorous quotes that help people start or finish the day with a smile on their face or a song in their soul.”

Do you believe that shorter can be sweeter when it comes to social media marketing? How do you use bite-size content to get your message out? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

The post Bite-Sized Social Media Marketing appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

One of my best friends is a dentist who is about to open her own private dental practice. I received a frantic call from her the other day: “I’m building my website, but I have no idea how to write anything for it. Help!”

Writing doesn’t come easily for many people, let alone writing for the Web. Sure, we’ve all plowed through English classes in school and can never forget the ubiquitous five-paragraph essay. Eventually, though, many go on and end up working in jobs and industries that don’t require a lot of writing, like my dentist friend.

But now that almost everyone’s first destination for information is the Web, content – and being able to produce it – is becoming more important, no matter what your industry. And if you’re a small business, having a website with informative, engaging content is crucial to marketing and growing your company.

If you’re in need of a little writing refresher, here are five website copywriting basics to know before you start typing. (Hint: They’re probably not what your English teacher taught you.)

1. Get to the point, stat.

No need for a formal intro paragraph here. If there’s one thing that the Web has conditioned all of us to do well, it’s skimming content for the interesting bits. If you’re trying to write your site’s “about” page, you don’t need to start off describing when and where you were born, unless it’s relevant to your business or why you started it.

One exception to this rule is using that valuable first sentence or paragraph as a creative, catchy “hook,” like a story or question. This can be a great tool to draw readers in, as long as it’s relevant to the rest of the content on the page.

2. Embrace short paragraphs.

In school, we were taught that a paragraph had to have a minimum number of sentences. (Anyone remember that magic number?) Not so in Web writing. A huge block of text is overwhelming for readers, especially on a website. Break it up into digestible paragraphs of around two to five sentences each.

3. A picture is worth a thousand words.

If something you’re trying to describe can be more easily understood with a photo, graphic or video, then use the latter instead. That’s why infographics are so popular these days – people understand visuals a lot quicker and easier than text.

I have another friend who owns a premium denim business called Railcar Fine Goods. Instead of writing about his special type of denim stitching, he posts tons of photos so readers can instantly see it instead of trying to envision it in their heads. (He also hates writing, so this was an easy and effective way to get around it.)

4. Show some personality.

People want to do business with people, so keep that in mind when you’re writing for the Web. Go ahead, use “I” or “we”  – you won’t get into trouble. One of the first things I recommended to my dentist friend was to avoid writing clinically or using words only dentists would understand. Be professional and error-free, of course, but also have a little fun with your copywriting. A distinctive voice and perspective will help differentiate you from your competitors.

5. Consider SEO keywords.

This is unique to website copywriting. Sprinkling high-ranking terms and phrases in headlines and throughout your website helps boost your position on a search results page when someone is searching for that term or phrase. Check out our post “12 Steps to Becoming a Natural at SEO” to learn how to get the most SEO juice out of your content and copy.

Want more copywriting guidance? Check out all of our helpful copywriting/content marketing posts, and/or visit Copyblogger.com, one of our favorite writing resources here at VerticalResponse. It’s got loads of tips on writing for the Web, with new stuff posted every day. The best part? The writers practice what they preach, so their articles are super-easy to read. Happy writing!

The post Writing for the Web (It’s Not What You Learned in English Class) appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

Psst… want to know the key to writing engaging copy for email, social media and the web? We’ve got a cheat sheet.

Now we don’t normally condone “cheating,” but when it comes to writing effective copy for various online marketing channels, like Facebook, email, or a website, we wholeheartedly approve of you using our copywriting cheat sheet infographic. Producing content and promoting it is a top priority for gaining and retaining customers, but not every marketing channel is the same. Your writing should also accommodate each channel and the audience it attracts. But what tone of voice should you use, how many characters do you include, when should you sell, or simply converse? Our cheat sheet answers these questions so that your content is both engaging and effective… And this is one cheat sheet you don’t have to worry about getting caught using. Pass it on!

The post Copywriting Cheat Sheet: How to Write for Email, Social and the Web appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

You know the feeling. You’re staring at a blinking cursor on a blank screen, trying to figure out how to get your website visitors excited about your product or service. It sounds easy. After all, who knows your product better than you do? But most of us were never taught this kind of writing in school, and effective website copywriting is a much different animal than an essay on why Romeo and Juliet were doomed from the start!

To help you get started, or to give your current copy an update, keep these principles in mind:

Know your audience

Ask yourself, who is visiting my site, why are they visiting, and what actions do I want them to take?

All of your website copy should be written with these answers in mind. Target your message for your specific audience and give them the information they need. Include a very specific call-to-action. This is what you want them to do, and will depend on your goal. It could be filling out a lead form, making a purchase, signing up to volunteer, etc.  Here are some examples:

• Sign up for our mailing list
• Donate $25 to our cause today
• Add to cart

Extra credit if your website “knows” where people are coming from, and can direct them to a targeted landing page. If I have a bakery business, someone searching for “wedding cakes” will need very different information than someone searching for “cookies near 94105.”

Less is more

To turn more visitors into buyers, avoid the temptation to over-communicate. Often we’re so proud of our product or service that we want to go on and on about it, but remember that your visitor likely has a few key pieces of information they’re looking for. Find out what these are, and put them right in front of the reader. Your goal here is to give your visitor relevant information quickly.

Being too wordy or specific makes it difficult for visitors to zero in on the info they want, and can distract them from their “mission.”  Consider using bullets to make your key points, and use links so readers can easily find more in-depth information if they want it.

Say you’re looking for a new washing machine, would you rather be greeted with this:

Or this:

Style counts

Your writing style is an important aspect of how people perceive your company or product, so make sure the tone matches your other communications, and is appropriate for your product type.

If you sell medical supplies, “Try a free sample of X” may be a more appropriate choice than “Check out our new stuff!” However, if you sell surfboards, “Check out our new stuff!” might suit your readers.

Bonus section for overachievers:

Making a sale shouldn’t be your only goal!

Obviously you’re in business to sell things and make money, no argument there. Much of your web copy should be devoted to achieving this goal. But, don’t forget about creating engagement with your web visitors. Building a relationship with people before they’re customers puts your biz top of mind when they decide they need a product or service like yours.

If you’re a regular reader of the VerticalResponse Marketing Blog (and you are, right?), you’re probably thinking, “But shouldn’t I use social media to build relationships? What does this have to do with effective web copy?” Good question! You should absolutely use social media to help build relationships, but don’t forget about the web. Part of your website copy should be devoted to positioning yourself as an expert in your field, or a good source of information and providing helpful information so people recommend you to others and keep coming back to your site.

For example, if you’re an accountant, people may visit your site to get answers to common tax questions. You could devote a section of your web copy to a “common questions” page with brief answers and links to deeper resources. Your goal is to capture lead information so you can market your tax preparation services at a later date.

If this seems counter intuitive, check out our recent blog post, Stop Selling, Start Helping, to see why it makes sense.

What changes will you make to incorporate these website copywriting tips?

The post How to Write Effective Website Copy appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

Content marketing seems to be all the rage right now, right? But as it turns out, businesses have been using content to give customer-value for over a hundred years. Here’s a great example: In 1904, Jell-O door-to-door salesmen would give out their cookbook for free. Jell-O’s sales rose like crazy in just a few years. True story.

© 2013, VR Marketing Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

The post Content Your Customers Actually Care About appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

Working as a content marketing director, my team and I are responsible for the creation, editing, publishing and optimization of dozens of pieces of content each week. We strive to create relevant, meaningful and ultimately useful information for our readers. But, we live in the world of the internet, and no matter how beneficial our content may be, if no one sees it, it doesn’t matter. So, how do we optimize our content for search, but create content for people? The secret is not as hard as it might sound.

Write for Humans, Not Search

You don’t set out to create content for search engines, of course. You create content that helps, answers questions and provides utility. And, if you’re doing that, keep at it. If you’ve been creating content with the sole purpose of getting search engine optimization (SEO) juice, you need to rethink it and flip your intention on its head. Create your content for your customers and prospects first and foremost. Then, optimize it for the search engines.

Keywords for the Win

Keywords are your ticket to creating content for both people and search engines, and they’re an important component to any piece of content. By using keywords that people frequently search, you help search engines direct readers your way. The fine art of using keywords though, is finding the balance of using them in a natural way so they come across effortlessly and aren’t included to entice search. Keywords should merely be a part of the content and occur a few times within it.

We often get asked if there’s a “secret formula” for keyword density, or how often you should use a keyword within your content. Of course, it depends based on the length of your piece, but a good rule of thumb is about every 100 words, or so (disclaimer: This can vary and is not a hard and fast rule). If you have a 500 word blog post, try to use your keyword in the following key places:

• Title
• URL
• Meta description
• Photo name and description (if you have imagery)
• Intro paragraph, in the body of your post once or twice and in the last paragraph.

Above all else, content should rein supreme, so if using a keyword will disrupt your content, don’t use it.

Content Rules 
When it comes to search engines, content still rules. Another way to give yours a boost is by including phrases that are related to your keywords. Search engines don’t just look for keywords, they also crawl your content for both keywords and phrases that are relevant to a specific keyword – this has a jargony name called latent semantic indexing which sounds a whole lot more complicated than it really is. For example, if you own a dog bakery and your keyword is “dog cakes,” some other related terms might be dog birthday cake, dog cake recipe, dog cake mix, etc. If a search engine sees these related terms within your content, it should rank your site over sites with just keyword optimized content. You can use Google Keyword Tool to research and find related terms.

So the big secret to optimizing your content for people and search? Create kick butt content that’s relevant and useful to people. Use your keyword prowess to help the search engines find your killer content and the people will come. The more people who come, the more the authority you build with search engines, and everything will be well in the world of content and SEO.

How do you optimize your content for people and search? Share your favorite secrets and tips!

© 2013, VR Marketing Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

The post The Secret to Content Optimization for People and Search appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

When Google released two major algorithm updates coined Penguin and Panda SEO as we know it changed in a big way. As page rankings changed overnight it left many of us wondering – what can be done to stay on top with search rankings?

Was your site affected by the Penguin and Panda updates? If you answered yes, read on for a few fast tips on how you can create SEO goodness for your site.

1. Target a wider range of keywords. We used to focus on a specific set of keywords and optimize the heck out of them. Now having keywords that are over-optimized can bite you in the butt and cause your rankings to plummet. We must focus on a wider range of keywords that are likely to convert. There are many keyword research tools out there to aid in your efforts including the Google Keyword Tool. Check out this helpful post by our friends at Copywriter to learn more about the importance of keyword research for SEO.

2. Create Killer Content. 2013 will be the Year of Content and we began to see an increased focus on it in 2012. We must create compelling content that people want to read, share and consume. Put time into the strategy behind your content before you begin producing anything. What are you trying to accomplish? Who is your audience? What keywords should you include in your content? What conversations are happening on social about your topic?

We started using Scribe recently and are loving it for research before we write our blog posts. We can enter a keyword and see how popular, as well as how competitive it is. We can also see things like what conversations may already be happening around the subject on social media. We find this helpful to position our content in a fresh way, as well as ensure we are going after relevant keywords.

Think about the different types of content you can create. Go beyond the expected blog posts and whitepapers or guides. Create a great webinar. Got some great stats? Share them in an infographic. Think how you can create one piece of content and chunk out unique portions of it via different channels from your blog to social media. Target quality vs. quantity.

There you have two easy ways you can start create some quick SEO goodness. We found this killer, easy-to-understand infographic from Fuzz One that we thought illustrated these points (and many more) well.

What changes will you make to generate SEO-goodness for your site?

© 2012, VR Marketing Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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If someone asked which of the five senses were most important to you, would smell be in the top three? Probably not! Smell is one of the most powerful and important senses, yet somehow gets overlooked. But what does it have to do with email marketing? One could argue that content or design are the most important components of your email, however, it’s your subject line, that takes the cake!

Now, before you turn your nose up at the concept, think about this: Have you ever smelled freshly baked cookies, and went searching for the source? You may have walked into a local bakery (opened an email), spotted the goods (read content/design) and happily made a purchase (converted/clicked/signed up)? None of this would’ve happened without that enticing smell (your subject line). Piquing your audience’s interest from the get-go is essential for any email – so let’s make sure your subject line is potent (in a good way)! Try these various techniques to concoct the best smelling aka open-inducing subject line:

• Short vs. Long – Old rule of thumb indicated a subject line should remain short (50 characters or less) due to the way it appeared in the inbox. Nowadays, many senders are pushing the limits and including more context and info in their subject lines. Just look at the flash sale sites. They included lots of brand names to capture your interest. If you’ve got lots of interesting news, don’t be afraid to state it. A short subject line however, has its way of standing out. Sometimes less is more and it’s good to mix up your subject lines to keep your readers hooked.

• Symbols – Hearts and stars that have been decorating inboxes as of late are unique, but may or may not be a good fit for your biz. If your target audience is B2B, a heart may not resonate.

• Personalization – Seeing one’s name in a subject line is certainly eye-catching but this tactic is also used quite often, and may not affect your audience. It also has a way of seeming a bit “Big Brother-ish,” which may put off your readers. Test it to gauge if this works for your readers.

• Geographical Location – Including your recipient’s location in the subject line may resonate if you have a locals only offer or something exclusive or newsworthy in their area.

• % Sign + Free – A percentage sign, or the word free indicates a deal/sale – if that’s what your recipients want and expect, then give it to ‘em. Chris Brogan sends out a specific sales related email once a month or so and includes the words “selly-sell” in the subject line so you know immediately that it’s that type of a message and can choose to read it or delete it.

• Sense of Urgency – Including a sense of urgency is a powerful way to ignite action – however, some people don’t open their email until days after it’s been received so ensure you allow enough time for them to redeem the offer, or you can always extend it if you have a low take rate.

• Exclamation Marks! – Exclamation marks get a bum rap because they’re overused. If your news is worth touting, then have fun, but just use one, otherwise, hold your horses!

• Asking a Question – Asking a question has been proven to evoke more engagement on social media  “…they generate 92% higher comment rates than non-question posts,” according to Buddy Media – Test this theory out in your email subject lines too.

• ALL CAPS – All caps used to be a surefire way to land you in the spam folder, and while it may capture attention, it also indicates yelling – something you don’t want to do to your readers.

• Description vs. Benefit – Do you describe what’s inside your email or tell people what they’ll get out of it? Both are beneficial – see which works best!

• Fear – Instilling fear into the mind of a customer seems silly, but if used in the right way, can be mighty powerful. Example: “20 Million Dollar Homes Burned to the Ground” vs. “Protect Your Home from Wild Fires” – The first fear-inducing subject line resulted in 65% more leads according to a case study on Which Test Won.

• How to – Everyone yearns to learn, but the words “how to” have generated debate, as they seem to be so overused… yet still remain effective! Your content should be used to teach, educate, inform and help your readers so how-tos are one of the best ways to do that.

By testing some of these tactics you’ll be on your way to a sweet smelling subject line.  Which of these interest-piquing subject line tactics work best for you?

© 2013, VR Marketing Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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In the movie Jerry Maguire, Jerry expressed his love in a long-winded speech to Dorothy and her reply was the simple phrase: “You had me at hello.” Your subject line can do the very same thing for your email marketing and leave your readers swooning.

Your readers’ inboxes are a crowded place these days and with all that competition, you’ve got to up your ante to stand out. If you’re sending email on a regular basis to subscribers that have opted-in and want to hear from you, you’re off to a good start. But you’ve got to hook ‘em with attention getting subject lines, so you can reel them into the content of your email. Here are five subject line types and real-life examples to guide you on your way to success.

1. Humor: Use a little humor, something a bit cheeky or nostalgic in your subject lines to engage your readers. Take for example this subject line from retailer Tory Burch that plays on the name of a popular band, Jane’s Addiction: “Jeans Addiction: Our New Denim Collection.” 

2. Call to Action: This type of subject line has a clear, “do this” message. Our example comes from MZ Wallace with their simple, “Vote to Win.” In just three words they tell you exactly what they want you to do. It also piques your curiosity getting you to open the message to read all about what you could win.

3. Personalization: Placing a reader’s name or other information about him or her in the subject line can be either open-inducing or, it could get you a quick click into the trash bin depending how you use it. In this example, social media network, LinkedIn treads lightly by including my first name to make me feel “special,” indicating this information is just for me, “Top News for Kim: Google Latitude to be retired August 9.”

4. Exclusivity/Offer: With the recent changes at Gmail, promotional emails now get filtered into a special tab in a user’s inbox, but otherwise your promotional emails need to stand out. Try out different subject lines that state free shipping, a percentage off, a dollar amount off or other offer language to see what resonates most with your subscribers the most. Our example is from Piperlime, a division of retail giant, Gap Inc. Piperlime entices their subscribers with bargain basement language of, “Extra 25% ALL SALE. New styles just added.” They even went for all caps in the “all sale” language. If you do this, do so sparingly as it’s the online equivalent of screaming and that’s never pleasant.

5. How-to: By providing helpful and useful content to your subscribers, you provide them a great service and benefit. That’s what makes how-to content so compelling. Birdy Botanicals, a natural skin care company based in San Francisco, nails it with their subject line for eating right tips, “A Key to Great Skin – Easy Tips for Adding Superfoods to Your Diet.”

Get more subject line tips in our free Savvy Subject Line Writing for Success guide.

Do you have your reader’s at “hello”? How will you use these subject line ideas to keep them hooked on your content?

© 2013, VR Marketing Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

The post You Had Me at Hello – 5 Types of Subject Lines to Engage Your Audience appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

© 2013, VR Marketing Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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We’re smack-dab in the golden age of content marketing. Everywhere you look, there’s a webinar/podcast/blog post telling you to jump on the bandwagon and produce engaging, relevant content and your business will boom.

Well, it’s not quite that simple. In this race to produce content, my team and I sometimes find ourselves asking: Are we all creating the same stuff? And if so, how do you make yours engaging and unique, and get it found?

Be Engaging

It goes without saying that any and all content that you’re creating should be done with a single person in mind: your customer. If your goals are to create three blog posts a week, two guides per month and an e-book for the quarter, you may want to zoom out and think about the “why” behind all that effort. Do you really need to do so much? You might be better off creating a few really relevant pieces of content that your prospects and customers will love and share. This way, you get more bang out of your content marketing efforts. It’s not about how much you produce; it’s about how much your customers engage with it, share it and get it seen by more and more people.

Be Unique

So, how do you do that with all the content out there? Be unique. Easier said than done, you say? Not necessarily.

Take our content team at VerticalResponse. They write about three times a week for our blog and also create guides, infographics and a bunch of other stuff. But they try to approach things from the angle of our customers. What are things our customers care about and struggle with, and how can we create content that answers those questions or meets those needs? How can we do it in a new and different way that hasn’t been done a gazillion times by every other marketing service in our space?

The team created a copywriting “cheat sheet” infographic to help folks learn how to effectively communicate across lots of different channels. The layout was eye-catching and it got shared all over the place, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest. So, think about how you can take something and communicate it in a way that is uniquely positioned for your customer base.

Another example: A customer of ours, Sally Waters, owner of Birdy Botanicals, creates all-natural skincare products. She’s got a fun blog and recently did a post about Bike to Work Day. She really honed in on her female demographic by titling her article, “Bike to Work Without Becoming a Hot Mess: Tips on How to Stay Cute on Your Two-Wheeled Commute.” Even though lots of people were already writing about Bike to Work Day, she positioned her content perfectly and keyed in on obstacles that her customers would face–how not to become a hot mess while riding a bike to work!

Get Found

With all the effort you put into creating unique content that engages your readers, you need to make sure your content gets found. And if you’re producing good, relevant information, then you’ll make it easy for search engines to index you. But, you can also syndicate your content on sites that have high authority to really turn up the volume. We’ve been syndicating our content to sites like Business2Community and AllTop that get tons of readers. They give us source credit and a link so folks know it’s ours. We also guest blog for sites like the one you’re reading, as well as sites that have a similar customer base to ours. These efforts help establish our thought leadership and get us in front of new and diverse audiences that may never have heard of us. It gets us found.

So, how can you use your content to engage, be unique and get found? I’d love to hear what you’re doing with your content in the comments.

This article by VerticalResponse CEO and founder Janine Popick originally appeared on Inc.com.

© 2013, VR Marketing Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

The post Get Your Content to Stand Out from the Crowd appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

We live in an ultra fast-paced world. Sending texts, IMs, and e-mails from our smartphones has become commonplace. But with all this speed, are we sacrificing quality business communications? Let’s look at a few examples.

After a phone conversation with a potential new partner, I agreed to connect the person with our internal contact. We got an e-mail from their contact and here’s an excerpt: “I lead of strategic alliances group and think there are some really interesting opportunities work together.”

Now, I’m not trying to be the grammar police here. Far from it. But what I’m trying to point out is that when you’re trying to cultivate a new business partnership with someone, you may want to slow down just enough to give your note a quick read-through before you hit send. Step away from the e-mail for a minute or two, then go back with a fresh set of eyes and read every single word one more time.

Here’s another cringe-worthy example of an e-mail subject line I got some time ago, but I’ve kept it in my inbox as a reminder that trying to be cheeky or funny can go too far: “Go South for VD–Fares from $9* each way!” Looks like they went south with their subject line. If you ever question yourself whether something is acceptable or not, it’s probably not. Better yet, do a gut-check and ask some of your co-workers if you are unsure.

Ready for another? Check out this example of an industry invitation to a conference (I’ve covered company details to protect the identity, which clearly fell victim to a copy and paste from Word error.

There’s an easy way not to fall victim to this: Just don’t copy and paste from a Word document directly into your e-mail. Instead, copy and paste your text into a simple text editor that strips out any extra formatting. Many content publishing tools out there (including e-mail service providers) will add erroneous characters that will make your message look like gobbledygook. Not cool.

Here’s one of my favorites, because the sender made a mistake in his first email, but immediately addressed it with humor and a dose of humility.

Here is the first e-mail excerpt with the error:

If you have a blog, web show or podcast and have been asking yourself that question: “How the heck do I make money from this in a really cool way that is sleazy?” this is going to be for you.

Then almost immediately I got another e-mail with this message:

“Whoops worst typo ever in the last email I just sent.

Wow that was classic. This is what happens when caffeine wears off.

Here is the sentence I wrote in the last email:

“If you have a blog, web show or podcast and have been asking yourself that question: “How the heck do I make money from this in a really cool way that is sleazy?” this is going to be for you.” Of course, what I meant was…

“If you have a blog, web show or podcast and have been asking yourself that question: “How the heck do I make money from this in a really cool way that is non-sleazy?” this is going to be for you.

Sigh. Not to use a hash tag in an email but…. #holycrapwhatatypoIneedtogotobedsotomorrowIdontdosomethinglikethat.

  D

What a great way to handle a mistake and leave your readers still loving you.

Have you made a business communication error and how did you handle it? Share in the comments.

© 2013, VR Marketing Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

The post Email Bloopers: Read This Before You Hit ‘Send’ appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

When it comes to copywriting and your business, you may have put a lot of thought into how you describe your product or service on your website or in ads, but have you considered how your copywriting impacts your user experience (aka UX)? Something as seemingly simple as the words you use can have a dramatic impact on how a visitor interacts with your site. In fact, Jeff Gothelf, author and UX guru, wrote in a post, The Secret Weapon of UX: Copywriting, that in the midst of a copywriting experiment, he found “just by changing words” on a website, he saw “an increase of paid sign-ups of nearly 30%.” Just by changing some words! “This was just one little experiment but if the power of words and copywriting can affect conversion dynamics so significantly, think about what words can do for progressing customers through a workflow and getting them to complete their tasks,” Gothelf says. “Copywriting is the secret weapon of UX.”

So what should you keep in mind when writing copy for your website? Here are five tips:

1) Identify your audience
Like many things in marketing, you need to start by knowing your target audience. Who are your website visitors, and why are they on your site? Are they looking for information? Making a purchase? Logging into an account? Most likely, you’ll have more than one type of visitor, so make sure the copy on your home page is relevant to who you’re trying to reach.

Google Analytics is a great way to know how people are interacting with your site. From which pages they visit, which keywords they searched to get there, to how long they stay, Google Analytics provides you tons of information. Check out our Beginner’s Guide to Google Analytics to help you get started.

2) Write simply and persuasively
No one wants to reach for a dictionary while reading your website. According to a Harvard study, the average adult in the United States reads between the 8th and 9th grade level, so write simply, clearly and in a natural way. Clarify when needed, use terms your visitors are familiar with, and avoid abbreviations, acronyms and jargon. Also, use Microcopy. What is it? According to Joshua Porter on the interface and product design blog Bokardo, “Microcopy is small yet powerful copy. It’s fast, light, and deadly. It’s a short sentence, a phrase, a few words. A single word. It’s the small copy that has the biggest impact. Don’t judge it on its size…judge it on its effectiveness.” Here’s an example given from his blog:

3) Pay attention to information flow
Does the order you present information make sense on your site? Having to jump around and hunt for information can result in a frustrating user experience.

Make it obvious what information your visitor will get if they click a link by using very clear language. For example, if I click a button to get more specific information about your scented candles, I might expect to see information about your selection, ingredients, price, how to buy, or maybe some customer testimonials. I wouldn’t expect to find a page that includes your assortment of soaps and lotions. Ask yourself, “If a visitor clicks my action button to get to another page, does the information on the next page logically follow?”

4) Make Call-to-Action buttons clear
Speaking of buttons, the text you use on them can impact your click through rate. Be as specific as possible about what action you want the person to take and what they can expect if they click.

For example, the following buttons, “Buy Now” and “Get a Quote” are both pretty specific and let the visitor know what to expect when they click.

But,

isn’t a very informative button, and doesn’t give your visitor a very good idea of where they’ll “land.” (An exception is if there is a very well defined sequence of information your potential customers expect to see, for example, “next” takes you from step 3 to step 4).

Don’t be tempted to be vague to get more clicks – You’ll likely annoy your visitors. It’s easy to create buttons (try our free tool), so there’s really no reason to use a one-size-fits-all approach.

5) Test, test and test again

Have people in your target demographic read the copy you’ve written? Make sure they read it in context- What makes sense in a Word document might not be as clear when seen on your website mixed in with colors, images, navigation, etc. Ask them to perform a few basic tasks like finding your price list or store location. Also ask them to summarize the text on a page. If they can give you a quick and accurate summary without having to re-read or use their “back” button, your copywriting is doing its job in enhancing the user experience.

What tips and tactics do you use to ensure good a good user experience for your website visitors?

© 2013, VR Marketing Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

The post 5 Copywriting Tips to Enhance User Experience appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

Content marketing is one of the best ways to engage and connect with your prospects and customers by giving them useful information. But how can you juggle running your business and creating and sharing useful content? Good news! There are plenty of free and low cost tools out there to help you not only manage, but succeed. Read on as we share some of our faves from getting ideas to creating, sharing and optimizing.

Get Ideas

• Quora – Quora is super useful in that it’s a question-and-answer social media site/community, entirely made up of questions people have on a variety of topics. Search and follow topics that relate to your business, and discover what people are asking; You can then create content around these topics.  Cost: Free
• Twitter – The popular social network is perfect for looking for content ideas as you can search for popular topics, or look at the Trends feature on the left side of the page, to see what’s peaking around the world or region. Also search hashtags (#) that are relevant to your industry or business to find what may interest your readers. Cost: Free
• Pinterest – You can use Pinterest to organize your content ideas onto boards and search for ideas to inspire your own marketing. We use Pinterest often to discover infographics, which are chock full of statistics and useful information on a variety of topics – excellent starting points for a post. If you don’t want everyone to see what you’re pinning, use secret boards to manage and curate, or even invite co-workers or employees to collaborate on secret boards. Cost: Free

Organize


• Google Calendar – Google has created lots of nifty tools for businesses, and this is a really useful one. Google Calendar lets you plan out when you’re going to share content, what the content is and even who’s responsible for it. We use this tool for a variety of purposes, including the management of our blog posts. And you can share the calendar with anyone who needs access. Cost: Free
• Evernote – This is an app that allows you to organize just about anything, including storing documents. You can create notes, upload docs, save photos or even record your thoughts or ideas, and it’s all in one place. Plus, you can access and sync to it from any device, computer, tablet or mobile. Keep track of your content ideas, calendar or collaborate with others on your projects. Cost: Free and paid options.

Create

• Ebyline – Ebyline is a tool/service that helps publishers, or businesses find, hire, and manage freelance writers. They’ve got over 1,900 freelancers for hire, so if you’re short on time or knowledge and simply need another hand, Ebyline has you covered. Writers can create blog posts, guides, or any other content you need. You’ll need to create a brief outline of the project, include the deadline and the fee you will pay. You’ll receive responses from interested writers and you can accept or decline them as appropriate. Cost: Free and paid options
•  Storify  – This tool lets you use info from social networks to build content. You simply add a headline, then drag and drop status updates, photos or videos to complete the story you’re creating. Plus, they make it easy to notify anyone quoted in your story, to help your content get shared. Cost: Free and paid options

Optimize

• Scribe – A handy content marketing WordPress plugin from Copyblogger Media, Scribe helps you with content, search and social. Before you start writing, use Scribe to do a keyword search to see what keyword terms are most popular, as well as how competitive they are. Scribe allows you to optimize your content for sharing. This is useful to see what conversations are happening around topics you’re creating content for, and ensure that it’s shareable. The optimize and connect features help you build your site authority and Google PageRank, and connects you with other sites that have authority so you can establish relationships with them. Cost: Ranges from $27-$97 per month based on plan.
  
• Yoast- For you bloggers out there, this is another easy-to-use WordPress plugin that helps your content get found by search engines. Even if you aren’t quite up on the SEO lingo, Yoast will tell you exactly what the terms mean and what you need to do. In just a few seconds you can fill in fields and get an analysis on your content and any changes that need to be made to make it more optimized and SEO-friendly. Cost: Free

Share

• Slideshare – Often overlooked, Slideshare is an effective place to share PowerPoint (or another program) presentations with anyone who’s interested. Much like any social network, you create an account for your business and then upload your decks. Besides presentations, because not everyone does them, you can also share documents, PDFs, videos or webinars. You can use it drive traffic to your website or blog, and it’s a fantastic way to share your knowledge.  Cost: Free
•  PRWeb – PRWeb may not be the first thing you think of when wanting to share content, but they’ve got reach. They’ll share your content with 30,000 journalists, 250,000 opt-in news subscribers and with the 3 million monthly visitors on PRWeb.com. If you have news to share about your business or organization they’ll walk you through a couple of steps to create a good write up and then share it for you.  Cost: Starts at $99 per release.
• Social Networks –  It goes without saying, but social networks are an excellent place to share your content. From Facebook, to Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, StumbleUpon and others. No matter what you’ve created or curated, you can share it with your followers to get more interest and traffic to your business. Cost: Free

There you have some super useful content marketing tools, all at a price even a small biz can swing. Do you have to use all these tools? Of course not! Just use the ones that make sense for your business, or your needs. If you’re just starting out, get your feet wet by using Quora, Google Calendar and then sharing your content on your social networks. As you get more experience, try out some of the other tools and see how they make creating content easier or give you a fresh approach. My favorite tool in this list? Yoast. I love the challenge of getting the content optimizer results to green – meaning my blog post is at its peak optimization.

This is just a small slice of the many tools available and everyone undoubtedly has their favorites, share in the comments the tools you can’t live without for your content marketing.

© 2013, VR Marketing Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

The post 11 Smart Content Marketing Tools for Every Budget appeared first on VR Marketing Blog.

Using email marketing and social media allows you to not only provide valuable information to prospective customers, but to showcase who you are and what your business is all about.

Sharing a compelling story through those platforms is a memorable and extremely powerful content marketing strategy, especially for prospective customers.

“Narratives are meaningful, remarkable storylines that enable people to easily understand who you are and share why you matter. A good narrative conveys your business purpose, perspective and personality, which needs to be very specific to you,” says Chris Berger of Berger Brands, which provides brand marketing, PR and business development strategy and services to organizations such as This American Life and Public Radio International. “The secret lies in finding your spark and then fanning it into a fire across everything you do.”

Your business’ narrative may be rooted in a founder’s vision. The trick is in distilling what may be a very complex business to its core element. By stripping down a complicated business model or strategy to its very essence, you can find a concept that people can easily relate to or understand.

“You have to find that thread that can be extended across communications and across your business strategy,” Berger says, which allows your vision and purpose to be easily accessible to your clients and prospective clients. Further, it also allows for a consistent and streamlined experience for your readers and prospects.

While that essence — the purpose or vision for your company — is merely a starting point that can be built upon, or evolve with the market, “there’s always a creation story that customers and the market like to hear that helps you understand who you are and why you matter,” he adds. If your target audience resonates with this narrative and message, your brand becomes more memorable.

One example of relating content to the story can be found in the Grammy award winning singer/songwriter Justin Vernon and his band/moniker Bon Iver. “Whenever somebody shares his first album with friends, they say, ‘He wrote it in a cabin in Northern Wisconsin after a breakup,’ and it’s just this beautiful, simple creation story that I think we can all relate to,” Berger says. The story is also tied to the content itself — both the feel of the music and the lyrical content.

Tom’s Shoes, the company that donates a pair of shoes to an impoverished child with every purchase, is a great example of how sharing its story of how it started can make the organization form a stronger bond with its customers. Blake Mycoskie started the company after he did some volunteer work in Buenos Aires and saw children running through the streets barefoot. After he learned of the widespread problem in developing countries, he decided to create shoes similar to those worn by Argentinian polo players and the ones he started wearing after time spent in Argentina.

Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS. Photo courtesy of Tom’s Shoes

Narratives can be particularly effective if you create a tool specifically to solve a persistent problem. That is how Nathan Kontny came up with Draft, a web-based collaboration tool that allows his wife to edit his work without overwriting his master copy.

Branching out from an industry in which you have some expertise can also create a compelling brand story. VerticalResponse was founded by Janine Popick, an industry veteran looking to revolutionize email marketing with products that were more affordable and easier to use than other options on the market.

If you’re struggling to find your business’ narrative, buried somewhere in your companies’ vision, spend some time mulling over some of the questions below.

1. If you peel back what your business hopes to accomplish, what is it about what you do that makes you excited to get up in the morning or put in extra time to make your company successful? What is it beyond the goal of making a profit that compels you to do what you do?
2. How does this tie into the purpose of your customers? “The trick is getting at the heart of your business purpose and where your customer motivation intersects, because it can’t be all about you,” Berger warns.
3. Which aspect of your business is one that people should pay attention to or care about? How would you explain this in a way that’s stripped of jargon or buzzwords?
4. How do you differentiate yourself from similar brands? In which ways is your purpose or vision unique?
5. How can you weave other people into your narrative? How can you engage customers, partners or even industry experts in the story about your brand?

Once you’ve spent some time contemplating your deepest motivation behind your business and have established a narrative, make sure to use it to streamline all of your communications and tie it into your social media marketing efforts. Having an overarching purpose provides a sense of focus for your content strategy.

What’s the story or narrative behind your company or brand? Spill it!

This post contributed by guest author, Yael Grauer. Grauer is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer and editor. Find her online at Yaelwrites.com.

© 2013, VR Marketing Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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While writing blogs, newsletters, social posts and other content, keeping a consistent style across all platforms and writers is a must-do. Making sure that readers understand what you’ve written, as well as familiarizing them with the voice and tone coming from your company is important for brand awareness and content marketing strategies. A style guide keeps you and/or your entire team on point, especially on nitty gritty details such as how you describe your products or speak with customers.

In the world of journalism, print or online, copy editors use stylebooks as a sort of bible to provide consistency for readers. Most publications choose a standard manual and add internal style preferences to the mix. Two of the best-known guides are the Associated Press Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style. They cover stylistic choices, such as how to handle particularly tricky pieces of grammar. They also have a dictionary of sorts where a writer can look up a particular term and see how to use it consistently. For instance, the word ‘e-book’ can also be written ‘ebook’ or ‘eBook’ depending on which style guide is used.

Tracy Gold, a writer, editor and content strategist, works with clients on creating online publications from scratch, including developing the style of those publications. She says the greatest value in style guides is the efficiency they add to the publishing process.

“Creating a style guide makes it much easier to bring a new writer or editor on board. Instead of sitting down and explaining everything in the style guide — and likely forgetting half of it — you can just send them the document. That seriously cuts down on editing time later,” Gold says.

Choosing the base for your style guide is a necessary first step, unless you’re willing to recreate the work of another guide from scratch. Gold relies first and foremost on the AP Stylebook for stylistic decisions. She says, “I use AP and refer to (its) online stylebook whenever I’m in doubt. My subscription is worth every penny.” Most style guides are available both in print and as digital subscriptions. A print copy of the AP Stylebook is less than $15 on Amazon, while a digital subscription runs $26 per year. The Chicago Manual of Style is more of an investment, costing around $40 in print and $35 for a digital subscription. Specialized industry style guides tend to go up from there.

Using the AP Stylebook as a bedrock, Gold then creates a detailed internal style guide for each client.

“I start with a brief overview of branding and tone. What’s the voice we’re going for? Then it drills down to details, such as whether we’re calling customers ‘clients,’ ‘customers,’ or ‘partners.’ I treat the style guide as a living document and fill it in as I learn more about the client. You can’t always think of every pet peeve or preference in an initial interview. For example, if I discover that the client prefers the word ‘offer’ to ‘deal’ while going back and forth on a blog post, I’ll add that to the style guide.”

It’s crucial that a style guide be easily accessible to anyone working on a given project — both as a reference guide and to streamline updates. Gold notes, “I either keep the style guide as a Google document, or as a Word document in a shared Dropbox folder, depending on the client’s preference. That way everyone has access to the most recent version. Normally, I’m the enforcer of the style guide, because I edit everything before it goes live. It’s great to have the style guide to point to when I’m asking a writer to make a change.”

Once a guide is in place, you will need to find someone to act as what Gold describes as the ‘enforcer.’ While most writers will stick to the assigned style guide, there will be occasional slip-ups and typos. Luckily, having a style guide in place can quicken the editing process and minimize an editor’s or enforcer’s need to go back and forth with a writer.

What style guide do you use? Have you created one for your company? Tell us about it.

This post was contributed by guest author Thursday Bram. Bram has written for CNET, GigaOm, Lifehack and a variety of other sites. She can be found at thursdaybram.com.

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