Jerod Morris on This Old New Business with Jeff Korhan

Jerod Morris chats with Jeff Korhan on This Old New Business about the importance of audience engagement and what an “audience of one” means for content marketers.

In this 37-minute episode, Jerod and Jeff discuss:

• Jerod’s top audience engagement tip
• Understanding your audience
• Why you should trust the fundamentals of audience engagement

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You Are Not Allowed

In this new podcast on Rainmaker FM, you’ll learn how to use one of the most powerful — and counterintuitive — online marketing techniques to increase your online sales.

It is natural for online marketers to do whatever they can to increase the reach of their audience. It makes sense: the larger your audience, the more sales you make, right?

But what if there was a different way to increase your online sales, without trying to appeal to the masses? Sound impossible? Not really.

This new podcast goes in-depth on the insights, ideas, tactics, and strategies that will make a significant impact in your online marketing efforts by focusing on the few rather than the many.

This 7-minute episode provides a glimpse into the power and value of limiting access to your products and services and why you should be very selective in choosing who you sell to.

You’ll learn:

• Why we value some products and services more than others
• Why mass appeal can destroy the value of what you sell
• The traps to avoid when selling your product online

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This Is How You Become a Writer

Stop. I see you, mid-eye-roll. I know you’re aware that you need to write regularly if you want to become a writer.

You might aim to write something every day, even if you don’t publish it anywhere. There’s no substitute for that type of practice. It’s that valuable.

But what do you write about if you don’t have any thoughts to express?

Some of you may now be talking out loud to your web browser to offer a rebuttal to that question, so I’m going to stop you again.

It was a trick question. If you’re a writer, there is always something to write about because of the way you view your experiences in the world.

Writers are fascinated with their experiences.

Today, I’m going to explore the outlook that helps you become a writer and how strong writing enables sharper content marketing.

Why you should write about everything that happens to you

A bee was trapped in my fireplace … Someone cut in line in front of me at the grocery store … I was stuck in rush-hour traffic …

Those are the types of experiences I used to turn into stories when I first started writing. And my writing style still includes relevant anecdotes that support the main message I want to communicate.

But in the early days of my writing journey, there wasn’t always a main message I wanted to communicate. I wasn’t creating content intentionally yet; I just needed to develop my writing voice and get used to typing words on a keyboard on a regular basis.

Even if you’ve never written anything before, that is the first step to take to become a writer.

As a side effect, you’ll strengthen skills that pair well with content marketing.

You’ll discover your brand of effective content

Content with no personality looks like a dictionary entry written by an anonymous person, but content with too much personality can look unprofessional.

Both extremes will damage your content marketing efforts, but it can be helpful to use those extremes to find the middle ground of effective content.

The more you write, the more you’ll be able to recognize the difference between generic content that could have been written by anyone, directionless content, and focused, engaging, goal-oriented content.

Your writing practice builds self-confidence that helps infuse your content with the right type of winning qualities that differentiate it from your competitors.

You’ll appreciate the details that separate remarkable content from dry content

When you embrace the art of carefully crafting your stories, vagueness becomes your enemy. It doesn’t serve you. You’ll crave vivid and sensory words.

Clear and detailed descriptions stamp your content with your unique brand. In order to sculpt those clear and detailed descriptions, you’ll naturally take on the responsibility of editing your writing.

As you write and rewrite, your editing skills will help you recognize and correct common mistakes you make.

You’ll develop the empathy that produces content that connects

Be kind and gentle with yourself when you make writing mistakes. Compassion for yourself will lead to compassion for others that radiates throughout remarkable content.

I used to cringe whenever I read a piece of my writing that was older than six months. I was embarrassed and saw opportunities to make it better — or wished that I didn’t write about the topic because it no longer interested me.

Now I’m not as hard on myself and appreciate the work I produced at that time.

Also, when you write about your experiences — especially experiences that involve other people — you have an opportunity to view situations from a perspective outside of your own mind. Take a moment to see the other person’s point of view.

Responding with empathy benefits content marketers who aim to relate and connect with their audiences.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t write about an experience

Sometimes you’re tired and don’t feel like writing. Sometimes you want to do something else. But you may feel pressure to write anyway.

I support regular habits that promote productivity, but I like to view those habits with flexibility. It’s okay if you don’t do something you intended to do on a certain day or at a certain time.

That self-confidence I talked about above will also help you overcome stress, anxiety, and feeling overwhelmed because you’ll be confident that you can handle the work you need to do. You’ll feel capable, and you’ll know your writing task will get done well at the right time, even if it’s not when you originally planned to do your work.

Surrender to the evolution

The topics that interest you when you first start writing will change.

Sometimes your evolution will be gradual, and other times you’ll change directions abruptly because you’ll want to experiment with something new.

As you evolve as a person and a writer, you’ll become more selective about your content topics, but your refined palate and discerning taste will only ripen once you commit to writing.

Viewing experiences as potential stories is one way you can get started.

Work with life

Your writing is art; it’s supposed to be indulgent. I give you permission to dissect your existence.

When you feel good about yourself and the choices you make in your life, your confidence will spill over into your content, which puts you in a better position to attract the right audience for your products or services.

Do your experiences influence your writing and content marketing materials? How do you determine what is worth writing about?

Share in the comments below.

Learn how to connect with content

Want to learn more about how you can use content marketing to grow relationships with the audience you’d like to attract to your business?

Then claim your free My Copyblogger membership! You’ll get instant access to a treasure chest of proven content marketing training.

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The Best of The Writer Files: Volume One

Before kicking off the next season of the show, we wanted to share with you some highlights from our previous seasons.

I don’t want to shortchange the most recent interviews with inspiring guests including Jay McInerney (’80s defining author of Bright Lights, Big City), Stephanie Danler (the bestselling author of Sweetbitter), the co-founder of Wired magazine Kevin Kelly, or How Neuroscientist Michael Grybko Defined Writer’s Block for us.

But I do want to dig into the archives with you and pull out a few of my favorites from a handful of the other 40 authors The Writer Files has cross-examined to learn how they keep the ink flowing, the cursor moving, and avoid writer’s block.

You’ll find links to these shows in the show notes on Rainmaker FM, and past episodes are easy to find in the archives of your favorite podcast app, in iTunes, or at WriterFiles.fm.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, click subscribe in iTunes to automatically see new interviews.

In this “Best of” Volume One, we’ll hear from a handful of past guests, including:

• Advice columnist and critic Heather Havrilesky on social media and managed procrastination
• NYTimes Bestselling Author of The Martian Andy Weir on productivity vs. laziness
• Bestselling debut novelist Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney on beating fear and procrastination
• Bestselling thriller author Mark Dawson on how to publish more than a million words in a year
• Bestselling author Ann Handley on the only reason to write a book

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Marinate in the Problem Space, with Chris Lema

My guest today is a daily blogger, public speaker, and product strategist.

Over the last twenty-five years, he has been leading teams of people, mostly through telling stories and motivating companies to bring products to market.

He’s been the founder, CTO, and advisor to numerous companies, and he loves to marinate in what he refers to as the problem space.

Now, let’s hack …

Chris Lema.

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Feed the Content Monster with the Help of a Closed-Circle Content Loop

If there is one thing search engines love more than anything, it is fresh content — and algorithms continue to get better at finding and ranking it by the minute.

But what content marketer has enough time to dedicate to feeding the content monster all day, every day?

To keep up with search engines and still preserve your time, you have to create a closed-circle content loop for your content marketing strategy. Let’s look at how to do that.

What is a closed-circle content loop?

A closed-circle content loop is an inbound content system that focuses on both the atomization of brand-new content and the repurposing of old content.

By generating many different types of new content while also recycling old content in new and relevant ways, you can ensure that your brand always has a body of fresh work to feed to search engines.

Using this two-pronged approach, you effectively close the gap in your content strategy (hence the name) and answer the struggle all content marketers face every day: so much work to create and not enough hours in the day to make it happen!

Create a variety of brand-new content

While text content like articles and blog posts may be your content strategy’s bread and butter, feeding the content monster means adding a little more spice to your recipe. Podcasts, presentations, infographics, photos, ebooks, and videos are all important for generating a diverse content offering and boosting your SEO.

But content creation is a necessary ongoing investment. Creating all those pieces takes up time and money, whether you’re doing the work yourself or hiring a writer to do it for you.

Enter atomization.

When you take one big piece of new content and repurpose it in a variety of ways, you’ll cut down on the time and cost of creating fresh work.

Say you own a construction consulting business. You could create an in-depth 10-page ebook to teach customers how to renovate a master bathroom. That ebook can also work as an infographic, a series of “quick tip” social media posts, a video series on YouTube, and more.

By publishing in a variety of formats, one piece of content can multiply into many fresh avenues to connect with your customers. And that means fresh content for search engines.

Recycle old content

Unfortunately, nothing stays fresh forever — all types of food (even Twinkies!) have expiration dates. To feed the content monster, you’ll have to continuously revisit your old work.

Create a content calendar that resembles the table of contents for a book or user guide. Decide when each piece of content will become outdated and in need of a reset, and mark it on the calendar.

By keeping track of your publication dates, you’ll be able to recycle content many times over using the same atomization strategy you use for new work.

5 hacks for creating fresh content

These tips will help you create more effective content for your closed-circle content loop.

1. Focus on quality and quantity

Many experts have weighed in over the years about whether quality or quantity matters more for content marketing.

I’m here to tell you, when it comes to your SEO, the answer is actually both. If you want to see real results in search engines, you’ll need to post quality content in higher volumes. For a small business, this usually means creating something fresh once a week or every other week.

2. Pay attention to your title and keywords

Sure, you’re creating fresh content for search engines, but so is everyone else. In such a saturated market, sometimes your title is the only tool you have to attract readers to click on a results page. Make it count.

Keywords can help. From your title to your body text to your captions and video descriptions, all of your content needs to contain the right keywords for SEO to make sure you are found by the right people in the first place.

3. Curate as well as create

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and that goes for content inspiration as well. SEO-savvy content marketers undoubtedly have a list of fellow influencers and websites that they trust for insider knowledge. Use it!

Most of your content will be created from scratch, but you can also create original work that is inspired by your favorite work online.

Did another business in your industry release an annual report jam-packed with awesome research? Consider writing an article that highlights the best pieces of data and add your personal insights to what that data means for businesses.

4. Invite your community to join you

If you want variety, get different writers. Boost the amount of content you’re churning out by inviting your community to become guest contributors.

Your biggest advocates will gladly create content in exchange for exposure. Plus, user-generated work creates a fresh dynamic for your brand and encourages other fans to engage with your company.

5. Measure, measure, measure

Don’t waste time on content that doesn’t convert. Track everything you publish, and note the pieces your customers clearly respond to.

Knowing what your audience wants to read or watch online will help you create new content in the future that speaks to their needs, and it will make sure you don’t waste time repurposing and recycling content that doesn’t actually work.

Feed the content monster

Content is the heart of your online lead generation efforts. Its impact on SEO is crucial to the success of your website, and ultimately, your business.

But creating enough fresh content to satisfy search engines can be tedious and time-consuming, especially for smaller businesses with limited resources. As a content marketer, you need to know time-saving content generation tactics and hacks that will feed your content monster, helping you boost your rankings fast and well.

By using a two-pronged, closed-circle content loop strategy, you’ll make the most of your content creation efforts and ensure that nothing you write (or design or record or film) ever goes to waste.

Editor’s note: This article is an excerpt from John’s latest book SEO for Growth: The Ultimate Guide for Marketers, Web Designers & Entrepreneurs.

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How to Handle Demographic and Psychographic Segmentation (without Looking Like an Idiot)

A common newbie marketing mistake is trying to talk to everyone. There are all kinds of buzzwords around speaking to a specific audience — segmentation, demographics, psychographics, generational marketing. Today Sonia talks about a few pitfalls and best practices.

Last week the New York Times ran a funny little piece about the Baby Boomers being The Next Hot Market to sell to. It sparked some thoughts on how (and why) we divide our markets into segments, the perils of trying to speak to everyone with the same message, and some of the dangerous curves on the road to segmentation.

In this 20-minute episode, Sonia Simone talks about:

• Using broad terms like “Boomer” and “Millennial” when those groups are incredibly diverse
• A few examples of dumb things marketers say about the millennials
• Demographics vs. psychographics
• The fascinating world of recommendation algorithms
• How to gather psychographic information when you don’t have a massive budget
• The dangerous can of worms segmentation can open, and how to handle it

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