Top of Mind Marketing

CONTENT MARKETING EBOOK 5 Easy Ways to Jumpstart Your Content Marketing Program

T A B L E O F CO N T E N T S 1. About Content Marketing 2. The Role of Keywords: Using Google AdWords 3. Landing Pages and Great Content: A Recipe for Successful SEO 4. 12 Easy Tips For Becoming A Better Writer 5. Is a Subject Line Important? Are You Kidding? It s Everything! 6. 6 Key Skills for Content Marketing Success 7. About

About Content Marketing Janet Peischel, Owner, Top of Mind of Mind Marketing Content marketing is a term that's gained some visibility over the last few years. So what's content marketing all about- - is this just for marketers? Not at all. Content marketing makes marketing accessible to everyone. Chances are you're already using content marketing If you have a website, if you're blogging, using social media, sending a newsletter to your clients, you're already using content marketing. Content marketing may have a print media component, but for the most part, it's about leveraging digital communications. Content marketing is about sharing expertise. No grandstanding. Don't bother listing your product offerings or services because no one's interested. Instead, content marketing is a forum for sharing knowledge that will help people do their jobs. This will, in turn, position you as an industry thought leader. How this works By sharing a blogpost, posting to social media, sharing an article in your monthly newsletter and posting it as fresh new content on your website, you will be increasing your search engine optimization (SEO). The more times your name appears in the online space, the likelier it is that you will show up when people are searching for your services. The big picture: content marketing requires a sustained effort People will start to recognize your name, start to read your content. They'll begin to follow you and look forward to your next post. The next step- - they'll contact you about your services. Content marketing is a seduction. Sharing your knowledge to attract and draw in your audience. It works. It doesn't happen overnight; it requires a sustained effort and commitment, but it works. The goal is conversion Through the course of your postings and articles, your followers will recognize you as an industry expert and want to work with you, which will, in turn, drive profit. While the goal is conversion, content marketing is not about hard- core selling techniques; rather, the emphasis is on education and information- sharing.

1 Using Google AdWords to Identify Keywords They try to make it harder than it is Your keywords are the words that you should be using if you want search engines to find you. They help contribute to your search engine optimization (SEO) the more often you appear in the online space, the more likely it is you will show up when someone searches for your services. But it s not magic. You have to create the building blocks for this to happen. It requires identifying your keywords and keyword phrases and using these in your social media posts, newsletters, blogs and website content along with your name and the name of your company. Doing keyword research is a critical part of every project. I use Google AdWords. This doesn t mean you re going to be doing an ad the value is that it gives you an idea of the value of keywords/phrases. You don t want to be using those keywords/phrases where there is a huge amount of competition. Your sweetspot: those keywords/phrases that are good descriptors of your business where there is low- moderate competition. Using Google AdWords Let s demystify using Google AdWords to develop keyword strategies. If you don t have an account, go to Google and create one. Log in you ll see a question that says, What would you like to do? In the field where it says: products and services, key in likely keywords for your business. Mine would be words like marketing, social media, internet marketing, writer, digital media, etc. Google AdWords is used when people are creating online ads, so it shows what the competition is for these words, which helps drive the price for an ad. Forget about the ad we just want to see what the competition is. Let s do some Google AdWords searches to identify the monthly search results: Internet marketing: 52,720 Social marketing: 101,810 Business marketing: 23,750 Marketing consultant: 15,280 Marketing services: 26,460 but marketing planning is 101,400! Marketing consulting firm: 880 What to do with keyword research findings? From this brief exercise, I learned that there s a lot of competition for social marketing (101,810) and not so much for marketing consulting firm (880). How might I use this information? If I were building a new website, I would give serious thought to creating a standalone landing page for Marketing Consulting Firm. This page would be at least 300 words and use that keyword phrase 6+ times on the page. If I d been thinking about creating pages for Internet Marketing or Social Marketing, I would rethink these words. Use keywords in blogs and social media posts While a very preliminary study, this example gives you an idea of how to search and more important how to use the information from Google AdWords research. You want to be doing more comprehensive research to come up with other words and phrases that might be advantageous to be using in your blog and social media posts as well as on your website. I keep a list of these words handy so I can reference them when I m working on client projects.

Landing Pages and Great Content: A Recipe for SEO Success 2 Landing pages and great content. Not exactly sexy topics, but landing pages with good content are what draw people to your website and provide the information that makes them decide to contact you. So what is a landing page? It s any page on which a user lands from another site; a landing page always has its very own url. If you re discussing your services and you put them all on one page, you have a single landing page for services. The url would be something like mysite.com/services. This is not a very good strategy because services is way too broad a topic. A better strategy: create standalone landing pages for each service so that each has its own url this gives each page a chance that search engines will find it. On my site, for example, I have landing pages for my services: top- mindmarketing.com/seo, top- mindmarketing.com/content marketing, etc. In this way, if someone keys in content marketing, I will be competing with the gazillions of other people who are content marketers, but I have better chance of showing up in search engines than if I were just discussing content marketing, as one of many topics, on my Services page. Standalone landing pages for each product/service In general, you want to have standalone landing pages for each product and service, but that s just the beginning. Think about your business, then think about what people would be keying into search engines to find you. This is a very good way to be thinking about identifying landing pages on your site. For my clients I like to use Google Adwords to do keyword research. This doesn t mean you re necessarily going to be doing an ad; rather, for this exercise, we re trying to identify keywords and keyword phrases that are popular that we might want to use not only as landing pages but also incorporate into the content on our sites to attract search engines. Many people underestimate the importance of good web content Not only does good content help your site show up in a search, but it s content that provides the forum to showcase your expertise. As a business owner, people want to know about your background, training and experience. I always recommend providing case studies to demonstrate how you work with your clients. We all want to be recognized as problem- solvers, and real- life scenarios are a great way to highlight your skills. Your website: addressing two audiences search engines and potential clients You need to be playing to search engines so that people will find your site, but once they land on it, there must be something compelling to make them want to stay and learn more and ultimately contact you. Your website says so much about you your ability to write, organize information and exhibit a high level of professionalism. In many cases, it carries the weight of a first introduction and first impression you may only get this one opportunity, so make it count.

12 Easy Tips For Becoming A Better Writer 3 Content marketing blogging, newsletter, website content and social media posts It s great if you re a writer. If not, here are 12 tips for becoming a better writer. With the advent of character limits and Twitter, we ve dummied down, but there are still plenty of people who judge you by your writing. 1. Think about the story you want to tell. Before you even sit down to write, think this through how to begin and how you want it to end. You can flesh out the details, but it helps to have an overview in your mind. 2. Don t overprocess this. Have trouble coming up with blog topics? You re not solving the Middle East crisis. Tell a story. Showcase a client, a product, an employee or colleague. Tell how you helped a client solve a problem. Something funny that happened at work. Think of topics while you re exercising, stuck in traffic, during commercials. 3. If you re writing a blog, this is an informal forum. Talk to your audience in the same way you d be talking to one of your pals over a glass of wine. 4. Don t use a big word if a little one will work just as well. This is about communication, not obfuscation. Never say I will endeavor to attempt when you can say I ll try. 5. You should be creating and targeting a niche which means you ll be excluding some, and this is okay. Everyone is not your audience. 6. There will be those who hate your writing. This is a good thing make it a goal. Not having opinions is boring. 7. Believe it or not, there are rules for grammar. Learn them. There are still people out there who do know the rules and they ll think you re an idiot if you use bad punctuation. 8. Word choice confusion. The use of it s vs its. Affect vs effect. Over vs. more than. These are not interchangeable and using these words correctly sets good writers apart. Learn the difference. 9. Single space at the end of sentences. This really separates the pros from the amateurs. Forget your high- school typing teacher a gazillion years ago. All of publishing uses one single space after a sentence, not two. 10. Use subheads they break up the page, invite the eye to scan and make your blog infinitely more accessible and easier to read. 11. Time is your friend. In this case it s true. When you write something, give it time to percolate. Come back a few preferably 24 hours later and you ll be amazed at how much you can streamline and improve your writing. 12. Be economical. It should always be your goal to make your point in as few words as possible.

Is a Subject Line Important? Are You Kidding? It s Everything! 4 I was finishing up a client s newsletter and it was time to identify a subject line. I generally suggest subject lines, providing several choices which I think will be effective, always hoping I ll initiate a brain- storming session that collectively we ll have an epiphany. Never happens. This client asked me if a subject line is really important. Are you kidding? It s everything! A subject line is the difference between someone s opening your newsletter... or not Depending on the size of your contact list, you could be reaching hundreds/thousands of people or virtually none. And then there s the viral factor think about someone s loving what you ve written and forwarding it on to a friend or colleague. So yes, while you may have killed yourself putting together an award- winning newsletter that s well- designed, lively, full of great information and terrific graphics, without a compelling subject line, it s not going to reach your audience. It s always harder to write a little than a lot The subject line has to be smart, attention- getting, relevant and in good taste, though there s room for being a little bit edgy. The real challenge is the character limitation it has to be crisp and succinct, ideally in the 50- character range. A reality check: After you write your subject line, come back after it s had time to percolate and ask yourself if you d be tempted to open this newsletter if it hit your inbox. If not, back to work. Here are some other tips for writing effective subject lines: 1. Forget cute and clever. A clear subject line gets 541% more clicks than one that s clever. 2. Words to avoid. These tend to get routed directly to Spam and Trash folders words like Free, Reminder, Urgent, Save $, etc. 3. Character Limitations. Remember that 60% of users these days are pulling up your email on digital devices. Long subject lines can get cut off, so limit yourself to 25-30 characters. If you re using a call to action, insert this at the beginning of the subject line. 4. Personalization. Are you addressing a particular audience? If so, call out this audience in your subject line. People love to be recognized.

6 Key Skills for Content Marketing Success 5 If you re producing social media posts, a blog, newsletter and websites content, you re engaging in content marketing, Somewhere along the line, there s an expectation that we all have become superb writers and savvy marketers. Frankly, this is a stretch even for those of us with strong marketing backgrounds and years of experience, content marketing requires significant expertise. Here are 6 key skills for content marketing success. You need: 1. To be an old- fashioned gumshoe with the analytical mind of a scientist. You need to search out and identify trends, then research and analyze their long- term consequences. 2. To be a copywriter. Sorry. If you can t write, content marketing is going to be a struggle. This is an acquired skill but you can learn to write or hire a content marketing expert (this is something does for our clients we love to write!) 3. The eye of a graphic designer. You don t need to win design awards, but laying out a page with visual cues good spacing, strategic headings, subheads, bullets and images increases the chances that your audience will pause long enough to read what you have written and want to come back for more. 4. The leadership skills of a coach. Never forget that you are positioning yourself as an industry expert. With every blog, newsletter and social media post, you have an opportunity to share your expertise. Make it count. 5. The ability to create community. This is what it s all about. All of a sudden, you find yourself gaining traction. You run into people who tell you how much they loved your last newsletter and they start commenting on your blogposts. Remember that it s not content that s king anymore it s conversation. You want to be stimulating a dialog. 6. The stamina of a marathon runner, because you will need it. Unfortunately, content marketing is not about instant gratification; rather, it takes a long time to build a following. You may think that your newsletter or blogposts are falling into a big black hole, but you d be surprised how many people look forward to reading your latest posts. Then people begin to reach out because they need your help. We call this conversion. Don t give up. Content marketing works.

About Janet Peischel and Janet Peischel spent more than 30 years working in corporate marketing environments. She wrote and managed proposals for Price Waterhouse s consulting division and worked in Corporate Communications at investment banking firm Robertson Stephens during the dotcom years. She managed a CRM software rollout at Fremont Bank, was a VP in tech marketing at Bank of America and a marketing manager at San Francisco law firm, Littler, before launching in 2009. What sets us apart? We re first and foremost writers. It s always our goal to make our clients sound like the industry experts they are. A big part of our job is integration making sure that all client communication channels are branded and connected. You should be reaching your audience with a consistent message and voice. A holistic approach to content marketing Ours is a holistic approach; we make content work for us, and it starts with a blog. Blogposts can be repurposed to your monthly newsletter, posted to Linkedin to reach a whole new marketing channel, and excerpts can be posted to social media. By consistently hitting the online space with fresh, quality content, you re steadily increasing your SEO value and positioning yourself as an industry thought leader. This is what content marketing is all about. Search Engine Optimization/SEO web content We hear this all of the time: I ve spent a fortune on my website and I ve never gotten a single client from it. We re content marketing experts, and we develop website content that is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)- savvy because we think you should be getting some return on your investment. Think about your business, then take an objective look at your website. If there is a disparity between where your business is today and the business that you describe on your website, it s time to update the content on your site, make it more SEO- savvy, turning it into a lead- generation tool for your business. Call us at for a complimentary consultation, 510.292.1843, jpeischel@top- mindmarketing.com One final thought... Google s latest changes to their algorithms: This time you need to take them seriously. If your site s not optimized for mobile that means phones it s time for an upgrade. Your site will not show up in search engines, and the reality? It may be time for a new site. Websites have a shelf life. Let s talk! Does your site reflect your business current model? Are the products and services represented on your site still relevant? Are the navigation and design clumsy?