I’m one of those know-it-all people you love to hate. I’ve felt (up until recently) that there was little I needed to learn in the world of content marketing. After all, I’ve been in the industry for 15 years! But I’ve learned to set my ego aside in this matter, and as a result, I feel like I’ve achieved what I’d like to call the entrepreneur edge.
What’s the secret?
I know there are people who detest resolutions because they think they’re unattainable and pointless, but I’ve been creating New Year’s business resolutions and personal ones for so long, they’ve become a habit. No, I don’t always achieve them, but setting them for the coming year helps me align my mind with where I want to go.
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.