This was originally published on AllBusiness.
I have proudly been an entrepreneur for 13 years. Longer, if you count my short-lived gift basket business in college. I thought I’d always be one, and that I’d never take a JOB job.
But that’s exactly what I’ve done.
And I couldn’t be happier. Here’s why I traded being my own boss for a 9-to-5:
For me, creating thought leadership content comes naturally. It is, after all, what I do for a living. And it’s my best marketing tool, so I write for sites like AllBusiness and Forbes to make sure my name is out there, showing what I know about content marketing, as well as what I can do with it.
But if you’re like a lot of business owners or marketing execs, creating your own thought leadership content might be at the very bottom of a very long list of priorities…if it’s there at all. That, my friend, is a mistake.
Originally published on AllBusiness.
I hate how grown-up we’ve all gotten in the world of business. We put on these professional personas and end up taking the human factor out of doing business. And yet, we understand we have to make human connections to sell.
It’s a conundrum.
Recently, I was visiting the Team page of a company called Nav. Rather than having the typical stiff suit-and-tie employee headshots, each staffer is superimposed into a funny photo, often as a character from a popular movie. So it appears like Inigo Montoya, Speed Racer, Frodo, and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer work at the company. Fun!
I love this example of how brands are humanizing themselves rather than hiding behind a wall of corporate stuffiness.
Let’s get back to being humans who work for companies, shall we?
Originally published on AllBusiness.
Would you believe I’ve written thousands of articles over the past decade? Each time I write a new article, I have to find a way to make the subject fresh again. I want to ensure that my readers find what I write useful and informative, so I use the following strategies to build credibility with my content. Feel free to use these tips to boost the credibility of your blog content and see if you attract more blog visitors!
I wanted to find a statistic about using statistics in your content marketing, but couldn’t find one! Until proven otherwise, your content is conjecture. It’s your opinion. That’s why adding statistics and research to your blog articles can help you validate your point of view.
Let’s say I’m writing an article arguing that content marketing can be more effective than any other type of marketing or advertising. That’s just my opinion at this point, but my reader wants proof:
One of the most challenging parts of building a business is assembling an effective identity and brand for your company. What should your logo look like? What will be your colors, fonts, and graphics? What will be your slogan?
For people who are better as business managers and creators of products, this can be an overwhelming task. It’s not the kind of thing that you learn in culinary school or during your time as a journeyman heating and cooling professional. And trying to develop it at the same time that you are perfecting your product, shopping for business supplies, and hiring employees can be too much.
That’s where franchising can make all the difference. When you become a franchisee, you already have a pre-built marketing image. Your brand is already widely known, so you won’t have to spend your valuable advertising dollar to explain who you are or what you do. That frees you up to work on the day-to-day necessities of your brand new enterprise, all the while letting an established firm promote and identify your products and services.
Being known as a thought leader in your industry has many perks. First, it opens the door to new opportunities for you, whether that’s to speak at a well-known conference or get referrals for people you might want to work with. It can drive traffic to your website. And it’s also a fantastic way to attract new business.
For me as a business writer, my thought leadership efforts (specifically in guest blogging) are what attracts about 70% of my new clientele.
You have more knowledge of your subject matter than you probably realize. There are people out there who need your knowledge, and by sharing it, you instantly become a thought leader they trust and want to connect to.
Here are seven strategies for owning your experience.
One of the top questions I get asked by prospective clients is: how long should a blog post be?
It’s a fair question and one that will never have a concrete answer, simply because content marketing experts keep changing their mind as marketing trends change.
Neil Patel, who tends to set the bar for the content marketing industry, currently says content between 1,500 and over 2,000 words (depending on the industry) hits the mark.
Yoast, makers of my favorite WordPress plugin Yoast SEO, say it’s got to be over 1,000 to rank in search results.
The Write Practices says if you want more social media shares, make the post 600-1,500 words.
You can spend an hour going down the rabbit hole to see what others think about how long a blog post should be.
But you’re here because you want to know what I think, right?
I’ve been attending local networking events as long as I’ve run my content marketing agency (so, 13 years). I’m aware that trying to sell yourself isn’t the general concept behind effective business networking, that it’s better to build relationships over time rather than “machine-gunning” your business card to everyone in the room. And believe me: I’ve seen people do that, and it never goes well.
But it surprised the heck out of me to get advice about networking from none other than my mother recently. I was complaining to her that work had been slow this summer, and she suggested I try out her “Mamma Networking Theory.”
This post - How to Bring New Life and Innovation Into Your Business - was originally published on StartUpNation
Perhaps you’re struggling to find new customers, or you’re feeling stagnant in your startup. Maybe you’re having difficulty competing with others in your industry. Whatever the case, you feel the need to breathe new life into your business. Shake things up a little! Here’s how to bring new life and innovation back into the business you so painstakingly built from the ground up.
Though I’ve focused a lot in my marketing career on helping B2B businesses that weren’t local to me in San Diego, I’m starting to work more with companies in my area, including my own creative workshop brand. As I work to drive attendance of events, I’ve found that Instagram is a great resource to introduce the brand to more people in San Diego. It’s a learning process for me, but as I learn, I want to share a few things I’ve learned that should help you with marketing your local business on Instagram.
A few weeks ago, I attended a travel blogging meetup where Katie Dillon, of La Jolla Mom, shared insider tips on how to improve blog SEO and get revenue from a blog. While I have a travel blog, it’s nowhere near ready to be a money-maker, but I wanted to apply the tips to The Marketing Eggspert blog here.
Here’s what I’m working on.
This business post was originally published on AllBusiness.com.
If you’ve read any of my articles, you know that they are often inspired by my life. My current inspiration (if you can call it that) is dating. I just ended something because my instinct saw red flags. In the past, I’ve ignored these to my detriment, so I’m pretty proud to be seeing them before I get hurt.
But your gut doesn’t just tell you about potential “creepazoids.” It can tell you a lot about your business . . . if you’re willing to listen.