Just a few short years ago we found ourselves at a cross roads in the Digital Marketing field. As a Freelance Writer with a background in the SEO, PPC, and Social Media Management field I was faced with a choice while being led down the path of black hat marketing, and it was one that ate at me until I didn’t have a choice but, to walk away from that position because, my morals, and values were to strong to stay at that company another second longer.

At this stage of 2015 we find ourselves outlining the future of content marketing in a way that it has yet to be mapped out. Each person that you will speak with in your search for a content writer will probably tell you something different, and the reason for this is because, at the end of the day each writer is uniquely themselves. They all have their own style, they all have their own method, and last but, not least they all have a different background where very few of us actually come from the SEO, and Internet Marketing field itself anymore.

When I made the choice to keep doing what it is that I realized that I loved to do, and branch out on my own I knew that I was different than the majority of my local competitors in the sense that I actually came from an SEO background. When I say that it is rare, I truly mean that it is rare, and what I have otherwise come to realize is that my talent is raw, and unique which makes what I am about to say make a lot more sense when you look at the path that is being set in the field for what it truly resembles.

1. Content Marketing Is Becoming Direct, and Personal: Companies all across the world but, Predominantly in the United States are beginning to understand the necessity of quality again. Loyalty, Dedication, Hard Work, and Passion are all being rewarded again after years of what once use to be the fundamentals of a successful person or, company being ignored. Maybe one to many people finally got burned, and said enough is enough but, regardless change is occurring, and the effect that it is having is that it is causing millions of people to start their own businesses with the foundation, and character traits being that of Honesty, Transparency, and Building Relationships again, through good character.

2. Clients Want A Writer Who Isn’t Afraid To Let Them Direct or, At Minimum Be A Part Of The Process: When the process of billions of layoffs and company closures began in the United States back in 2007 / 2008 and going into 2009 that caused financial ruin for billions of people what ended up happening is billions of people who had been loyal, faithful, hardworking, and dependable for however long felt as though they were robbed of a part of themselves. Many lost out in ways that they choose not to talk about, many lost homes, their families, their careers, possessions, etc…and what ended up happening was they were left out. In making the choice to begin their own business they have found themselves in a position where they feel as though they are in control again, and giving that control away is not easy, finding the ability to trust is not easy, and yet there is still a part of them that wants to. Their business, their website, their blog, whatever it is that they are producing or, selling – it is their project, it is their creation, and therefore, unlike their superiors of the past, this creation has become a way of re-gaining the control that they lost once upon a time, and therefore they want to be a part of the process. A good content writer will understand this, not get frustrated over the process, and work with their client to produce quality content that fits their clients goals.

3. Visuals Are Key: In today’s society what we find happening is that visuals are becoming vital. Stock photos are everywhere, and yet hard to find at the same time. A quality content writer will know where to obtain those stock photos legally, and produce you with imaging that will gain the attention of prospective clients.

4. Size Really Does Matter (At Least In This Case): We live in the information age. In a time when people search the web for information, and are more timid of trusting anyone information is how a business proves their credibility in todays online market place regardless of whether you are selling a product or, service. Size matters – Content needs to be reliable, informative, and filled with SEO in order to gain the attention desired but, how does one accomplish that while capturing, and retaining the attention of the client / potential client. Size matters, and a good content writer will know just how to start this process off, and finish it in a way that will lead to the growth of your business.

5. Location, Location, Location (It Isn’t Just For The Real Estate Market Anymore): When I began taking a new approach to this site around May of this year one of the things that I quickly discovered is that my choice to target my Metro Atlanta Freelance Writing base was the best possible choice that I could have made at the time. When I began targeting that base of clients I was suddenly gaining more exposure than ever before, and although I am glad that I did that because, I discovered the latest trend in the freelance writing industry what I realized at the same time was your target audience works the same way. The location of your business is going to begin to matter a lot more than it ever has in the past as people are beginning to support local businesses again in a way that they haven’t done so since the 1950’s.

2015 up until this present day has taught me a lot as I have watched the trends, and learned from them. I know more lessons will come however, in the content writing, and content marketing fields even more changes are in store for the next year, and beyond. These are changes that I definitely look forward to as I enjoy challenge, and enjoy continuing to research, and learn about the growing trends but, I do find myself concerned for those who are seeking out content marketers, and even content writers as change is not easy for many, and if old ways continue to be utilized as these changes occur it will be the clients that suffer.

SEO will not be going away – if you as a prospective client ensure one thing in your hunt for a content writer make sure that it is that whomever you choose has a background in SEO as that is what will benefit you more than any other tactic out there.

]]> https://philippaattwood.wordpress.com/2015/09/30/4/ As a budding author, it is hard to get  your work out there where a good number of people will see i https://philippaattwood.wordpress.com/2015/09/30/4/ Wed, 30 Sep 2015 11:03:27 +0000 As a budding author, it is hard to get  your work out there where a good number of people will see it. I have been writing for and on the online community, Wattpad, for the past three years. I have started a few accounts, with usernames based on my current interests at the time, or a name that I wish to write under. My first account on Wattpad was called ‘philippa_malik’, as at the time I had an interest in One Direction. I am happy to say that my second account was titled under something a little less singular, steering towards something more down to earth. It was my name, P_C_Attwood (displayed on the book covers as ‘P.C.Attwood’). After not being as satisfied with using my own name to promote my works, I decided that it would be a change in the right direction in using an alias, this is when my alias Julianna_Monroe (displayed on the book covers as ‘Julianna Monroe’) was born.

At present point, I do not go by two of these three names. I am using my alias name, ‘Julianna Monroe’, with a brand new account created within the last month of October 2015. This would be my account which I have dedicated and will continue to write short stories, fanfictions (stories created by fans loosely based around a book/movie/play etc.) and full-length books, based around the hit book series and now movie, Fifty Shades of Grey.

I have felt that a lot of readers and members of the public, have been put off by the reputation that this book series has possessed in the past, and only in recent months have eyes been truly opened as to the real intent and meaning of those books. What I aim to achieve by running my newly created account, which is linked to the same name with accounts on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, is to provide all with a new chance to see the story from another perspective.

There is at the moment only one story that I am working on, called ‘Desire’. This is a Fifty Shades of Grey FanFiction, in which we get to see what happens in the days in which the characters of Anastasia and Christian are separated. I have chosen to take this new twist on the story, as many Fifty Shades of Grey FanFictions re-tell the story either with less, and more often than not more raunchy details. What I have chosen to do is fill in the gap from my perspective, what those two characters think, feel and try to do to keep each other from their minds and hearts.

Please feel free to read the on-going story with the use of this link:

Desire – FiftyShadesOfGreyUK

The story at present is set for a bi-weekly update/upload, with followers being kept updated should there be any early uploads or delayed scheduled uploads.

Thank you for taking the time to read my first post, and perhaps my first Fifty Shades of Grey FanFiction, if you have chosen to read it.

Look out for more posts from me in the future, the near future.

Many thanks,

~Philippa Attwood

In today’s Content Marketing world there are so many tips and tricks. We live in a society that is information based therefore, when people come to your website they want to see information that will help them 1) Choose your service or product or 2) Learn how to do it on their own if their finances are tight.

After spending the last several years working in the Internet Marketing including SEO, and PPC Advertising fields what I have come to discover is that everything connects, and you can not have a good content writer in your hands when they do not know or, understand the first thing about SEO or, Keyword research. It takes a combination of all categories to understand what needs to be placed in a companies content for their website or, blog, and therefore it is crucial that whichever content writer that you choose be knowledgeable of SEO, and Keyword research before you hire them.

A Freelance Writer That Knows What They Are Actually Doing Will:

2. Proactively Research – Research is a part of the content writing process that goes highly underestimated, and under performed. Those who do not make an effort to disclose, and inform that research is a heavy part of their service are not worth your time. Although a multi million dollar business may be nowhere in your spectrum what you do want to see in order to be successful is your website or, blog at the top of Google, Bing, and Yahoo where it can be found easily by potential customers, and clients. In today’s market a content writer may be stumbled across, and although they may write a great article, website or, blog post for you if they haven’t realistically loaded it with the right keywords that target your client focus, goals, and overall business in various capacities that website, blog, and article will very likely not be found to the degree that it would need to be in order for you to reach your goals.

3. Keep Records & Ongoing Notes – One of the things that I find myself doing consistently is taking notes. Example #1 – If I am on the phone with a client I constantly have a notepad with me in order to write down the key things that we have discussed during our conversation. It is not abnormal for me to even say the words “Hold on just a minute because, I am taking notes.” This does not bother clients but, in-fact makes them feel much more satisfied because, they know that I am taking this seriously. Great customer service is a choice – do not give them any unnecessary reason not to be, and what you will find is the more effort, and quality that you put into even the very early stages of your business relationship, the more satisfied they will be in the end. Listening is an art. Utilize it – it leads to happy customers. Example #2 – When a client has paid me for my services, and I find myself beginning the research phase I spend what most would consider to be an abnormal amount of time researching the topic at hand. I do this for several reasons but, they all go back to the same principal which is Quality. What I have found over the years is clients are willing to be patient in order to see valuable work that gets them moving closer to their goals – after-all what is a successful business in today’s age without a well written, and informative website?

4. Write In A Conversational Tone With Their Own Unique Voice – Freelance Writers consistently work towards goals themselves, and one of the hardest facets to navigate in their journeys is the art of writing in conversational tone that has a success rate. Passion is the foundation but, success comes through the talent, and the right tone can be the hardest facet to come to terms with, and get a grip of. My suggestion to others is to take their time, and don’t force it. It is also important to note that this is where all of that research comes into play.

4. Stay On Point – Believe it or not it is very easy to lose focus and veer off into a different direction when writing website content, blog posts or, articles. When this happens open another document or, take out your future article / post list and add the idea to the list with any reference material that may be applicable that sparked the thought. This may not be the post for it but, that does not mean that it wouldn’t be a great post for the future.

5. Be Creative & Unique – Boring and Mundane doesn’t get anyone very far today. For as much respect as I have for my very first employer one thing that I was never able to get through his head until it was far to late was that basic does not cut it. In his case he had a website with over 100,000 products listed. I created, and maintained that online catalog for him, I did the marketing for that website, and the reason why his major competitor out beat him time, and time again was because he choose to not compete. His major competitor had Part Numbers, Product Names, Photos, Full Product Descriptions, Compatible models, and stock information just to name a few things while he on the other hand only wanted to list the very basics of the Product Names, and Part Numbers. Do not think for a second that I did not use that compatibility list for my own benefit as I created, and maintained that list for him because, I did. He might have been to stubborn for his own good in some ways but, I wasn’t about to spend 20x the amount of time on that catalog than I needed to. Writing is the same way. The more creative, and unique that content is the more interest that the writings will retain, and continue to gain over time.

6. Make The Opening Sentence Superior – Creating intrigue in a reader is known to be one of the best if not the best way to grab a readers attention. By creating a sense of wonder, and question that is intriguing you are building interest that keeps them interested in continuing forward.

7. Create A Leading Introductory Paragraph – As described above the more that you create interest, wonder, and question the longer those who have come to your website, blog or, landing page with the reading material in question will stay, and remain. By building interest through creative, and unique content you are showing that you know how to catch their attention by providing quality through knowledge which will build their trust in your product or, service at the same time.

8. Keep It Realistic, and Honest – Although fantasy may seem tempting, quality is built on morals, values, and an honest approach that is realistic. Creative Writing, and Unique Content do not have to be based off of fantasy but, can in-fact be based off of reality, and will build more of a realistic trust from potential clients at the same time.

9. Close With A Punch – Although many say that ending with a sales pitch is the only way to go more realistic studies place the product or service in question in a friendly tone, and feel as though it speaks for itself given the information provided above. Based on my 12 years of experience – this exact method is the one that I have found works best as well. Sometimes it is all about trial and error depending on your target audience but, hitting already interested clients with a hard sales pitch tends to turn people off more, than making them act. Friendly conversation with a little persuasion however, pushes them further into your direction where you will reap the benefits more realistically.

10. Walk Away, and Then Come Back To Edit – Once the content for your website, blog or, article is finished in the rough draft portion what I have personally learned to do is walk away, get your mind away from it, and then come back, and begin to re-read, and edit as you go along. Walking away clears your mind, it enables you to re-focus, and de-clutters your mind in order to re-focus on the edits that will need to be made with a clear head.

Although every website, article, and blog post that needs to be written is unique, and different (hopefully it isn’t being stolen through other source) the fundamentals all remain the same, and can benefit the blog, website or, publisher in various ways.

With 12+ years in the industry at this point, creative freelance writing isn’t just my passion but, it is what I do, and I enjoy having the opportunity to assist others with their projects. If you have happened to come across this while searching for an Atlanta Freelance Writer or, a Freelance Writer that assists clients all over the US then please feel free to check out my portfolio page, and pricing page for more information.

You may already do content marketing for your brand; perhaps it’s something you’ve been doing for a long time now. Still, it never hurts to be reminded of the fundamentals—the basic dos and don’ts that will keep your content marketing efficient, effective, and ever on track.

The ten rules we have compiled here are basic, but foundational: You won’t have a good content strategy without them, and you won’t get results. And because these rules are so basic, we can say that they really are rules, more or less etched into stone. We doubt you will find many exceptions to these ten precepts.

So, with no further adieu… our stone tablets of content marketing:

1. Thou shalt esteem quality over all else. Don’t commit idolatry with SEO gimmicks or fall into the heresy of content marketing “short cuts.” Everything you do should be in service of quality, first and foremost—content that is well-written, polished, organized, and value-adding. Sacrificing quality is content marketing’s cardinal sin.
2. Thou shalt serve thy customer, for all thy days. Selfishness is another unforgivable offense. If you want your content marketing to be effective, you have to develop it in service to your customers and your audience, first and foremost; help, provide value, or simply entertain. By putting your customers first you will be, in effect, putting your brand first, as well.
3. Thou shalt sell without selling. There’s nothing wrong with casting your products and services in the best possible light, of course—but content marketing is not about the hard sell. It’s about building relationships and trust over time. Don’t exasperate your audience by going into “sell” mode all the time; instead, entice them to your brand by offering free guidance and value.
4. Thou shalt not market without a strategy. Hopefully, you have a marketing plan that you’re working from, or at the very least a written expression of your company mission, values, and goals. Make these documents your marketing Bible, and use them to guide you forward at all times.
5. Thou shalt post new content regularly. If you’re not there, your customers won’t be, either. Feed the content monster and ensure brand visibility. Post new stuff regularly and consistently.
6. Thou shalt write like a human, not like a corporation. People like doing business with other people, not with faceless corporate entities—so make sure you humanize your brand with a unique voice, with humor, with compassion, and more.
7.  Thou shalt not overdo it. Don’t spread yourself too think by attempting to post 10 times daily to a dozen different social platforms; be judicious and practical, and don’t bite off more than you can chew.
8. Thou shalt not rush it. Content marketing is about building relationships—and that takes time. Don’t expect to see huge results overnight.
9. Thou shalt review thy content marketing plan on a monthly basis. Audit your content and your strategy to make sure that you’re making an impact, and tweak/revise as needed.
10. Thou shalt not forsake data. If you’re not tracking your results and measuring your profess, you have no idea whether you’re advancing toward your goals.

Follow these content marketing commandments and they will surely lead to some sublime reward; neglect them and there could be hell to pay.

For more guidance, contact Grammar Chic at www.grammarchic.net or 803-831-7444.

You take a shower, slap together some lunch and kick back with your third cup of coffee before powering up the old work box (laptop or desktop, whichever way you’re inclined). You set up your documents, emails and daily to do list and begin your face-off with the glaring screen.

“I’ll just see what’s going on in Facebook, Twitter and Instagram” you say as you convince yourself this will offer the inspiration you need to make your words sing. An hour later you flip back to that blank word document and punch in a few words: title done. You’ve just remembered you have invoices to chase.

After sending a few you owe me emails to your clients, you’re satisfied your money has been sufficiently chased and you can focus on the task at hand. No distractions. Then the postman delivers some junk mail, plus a few bills. You scan the bills without reading them and study the new pizza menu with an eagle eye, “I might give this place a try at the weekend” you think as you stuff the menu in the kitchen drawer, “that’s made me hungry.”

You grab a snack and put some music on to get those creative juice flowing; after washing the dishes you turn a bit pale as it’s suddenly dawned on you that it’s nearly 4 pm and you’ve barely done any work. You rush your words like a slurring drunk as you try your very best to churn an article before you go out to meet your mates. Some parts are cohesive but there’s still a lot of editing and research to do. You’ll get it finished tomorrow but you’ll have to push your other projects back a day or two and email your clients something like sorry, there’s been a delay, something’s come up. Not good.

Still, you did something today. Yeah, at least you did something, probably more than some people do. You’re going out for beers with your pals, so you slip on your shoes, cobble together some spare change and head out; you’ll worry about the work in the morning.

As idyllic as freelancing sounds, it can be difficult to stay focused, or motivated, when running your own schedule. It’s easy to put things off or get distracted when working from home, but there are things you can do to make it easier. To help, over the coming months, I’ll be running a mini-series called the potholes of freelancing to offer advice on the day to day running of a one man/woman show. It will cover areas such as:

•         Setting up a productive home office (big or small)
•         Organisational tools
•         Creating a flexible routine you’re likely to stick to
•         Mixing things up and managing expectations

The first episode is coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, check out 4 brain foods to help boost your creativity.

Images: Beth and Alisha Funkhouser via Flickr

To read more on this topic, click here

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Verizon Marketing communications Inc. (VZ) Commences LTE Wi-fi Traffic Supervision

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Verizon roll-outs personal LTE multilevel using QoS differentiation with regard to organization apps, IoT

Verizon Marketing communications (NYSE: VZ) announced a fresh providing with regard to businesses and federal people that enables the crooks to prioritize unique organization and Web regarding Points software. Verizon stated it’s the initial Oughout. Ersus. company to deliver this sort of quality-of-service differentiation. Verizon stated the perfect solution is, named Non-public Multilevel Traffic Supervision, might be a subscription-based providing accessible simply to Verizon Non-public Multilevel shoppers. The revolutionary traffic supervision option could be included with pick out Verizon Non-public Multilevel LTE devices to get a month-to-month cost each end user, based on the support degree selection determined, the buying price of which usually Verizon wouldn’t discover. The actual support levels include a “mission critical” traffic supervision type, which usually Verizon stated is great for software for example online video media and Voice-over-IP. A person can attempt to prioritize online video media devices or maybe VoIP above electronic mails or maybe lower-priority M2M traffic. The actual solutions include things like: High quality & Enhanced:  This are going to be available to almost all Verizon Non-public Multilevel shoppers and permits shoppers in order to spend servings of their LTE network, within effects with the determined ongoing, with regard to transmitting quest essential software. General public Security:  This might be a higher-tier support providing solely available to general public security shoppers, which include urgent situation solutions or maybe other initial responders, which will get the top transmission goal to enable essential devices to realize his or her vacation spot speedily. Verizon stated that the personal multilevel providing acts as being a foundation with regard to IoT software and “mobile first” software. The actual support will continue to work above Verizon’s wifi multilevel in addition to the world wide personal IP wireline multilevel, all of which will furthermore combine using foriegn service providers by using Verizon Protected Fog up Interconnect. Verizon stated that the personal multilevel will give you any protected end-to-end setting with regard to handling request efficiency and advanced enterprise-grade methods. Facts travelling in the personal multilevel will not likely need personal personal multilevel (VPN) protocols, Carlos Benavides, relate representative regarding product supervision on Verizon, told Computerworld. Benavides stated he or she believes personal multilevel may mainly provide to back up Web regarding Points buildouts. Because a lot of IoT software will not demand a great deal of control strength, certainly not requiring any VPN with the personal multilevel may be an advantage, he or she stated. “Private multilevel supervision is usually many required within busy conditions, ” Benavides told Computerworld. “Customers could have some regarding LTE intended for quest essential apps plus the relax of their apps could be routed in the accessible LTE rate. ” “The value idea regarding Verizon’s most up-to-date providing with regard to companies is pretty remarkable, ” Present Evaluation analyzer Kathryn Weldon stated. “Since the particular development regarding 4G LTE wifi networks, we never have viewed anything in this way which allows shoppers in order to prioritize his or her small business essential software above classes regarding support from their cellular phones. Additionally, the particular smooth integration regarding Verizon’s personal wifi multilevel with the company’s world wide IP personal wireline multilevel extends the particular organization into a wifi setting, providing significant rewards with regard to leveraging the online world regarding Points and other ability to move pursuits. ” Intended for more: – discover this specific Verizon release- discover this Computerworld article- discover this specific Mild Looking at document Linked posts: Completely new LTE standard with regard to Web regarding Points becomes force from 3GPPVerizon finds programs using wise energy-as-a-service platformVerizon squads using Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Juniper and Nokia about SDN pushVerizon’s Shammo: Web regarding Points, OTT online video media may generate upcoming expansion

If you own a health care website, you might want to invest for Search Engine Optimization to be more visible from your potential patients online. Having website is not enough. You need to optimize it with the help of SEO expert.

Hire SEO Expert

Here are some tips:

1. Quality Content. Personally, I love reading testimonies online related to my health issue. So back when I am planning to put dental braces, I looked for personal testimonies online. I was really curious with the whole process of being a metal mouth :D . I am delighted with their successful stories. Your target market is just like me, someone who is curious about their health care. Putting quality content to your site will help your potential patients reach you. People also love to learn tips on how to stay healthy. Try to include informative articles and don’t forget to add your keywords there!
   

   Hire SEO Expert

2. Off Page Optimization

A. Get out of the box. Explore communities related to your field such as health care forums. There, you can reply, add topics, and engage to people that could also enhance your expertise. You can even engage to potential patients there, you just need to redirect them into your page using off page optimization – backlinks! When you are posting in forums you can put signature under your posts that contains link to your site which can be crawled by search engine crawlers.

B. Participating in Q&As also add to your off page optimization. There you can easily answer questions and add links resources.

C. Blogging. Write interesting blogs related to health care. And attract more readers.

Don’t bother to stress yourself, because we can offer our affordable SEO service to help your health care website achieve.

Hire SEO Expert

If you’re like me, you probably can’t count how many times you’ve visited a business website, or read an advertisement in the newspaper, that is so poorly written it makes you laugh – or cringe.

But what I struggle with most is when a business or a website is so inconsistent in how they speak to their target market, they drive away the very people they’re trying to attract. The problem? They’re not using the right tone of voice.

Brand Tone of Voice

Brand tone of voice: sounds intimidating, but it’s one of the most valuable tools your business has. If you’ve got a fantastic product, a unique niche market, or a much-needed service to offer, none of it means a thing if you’re not attracting the right people.

Tone of voice is about how your brand speaks to your target market: are you honest and engaging? Professional or academic? Chatty and informal? Are your words clear about your intentions? Or are they confusing?

Have a look at your own website or blog now. Does your tone of voice change significantly between pages? Are you addressing the reader informally on one page, and distantly on another?

Over at Brand Quarterly, Nick Parker has written about some impressive new research from the UK’s Behavioural Insights team about the value of a brand tone of voice that is consistent and thoughtfully constructed and applied.

If you don’t have time to read the entire article (which I highly recommend), one of the key insights Parker notes from the new research is that often it’s the apparently insignificant changes – a few words here, a few there – that significantly impact a brand’s sales.

Parker says: “We so often believe that big or complex problems need big and expensive solutions. The idea that tweaking a sentence or two here and there can make such a dramatic difference hardly ever occurs to people.”

The Benefits

Does your business have a budget, marketing plan, business goals and more? If you don’t have a brand tone of voice manuscript to go with it, then your business is lacking a critical tool, and it will destabilise your potential success.

Creating a tone of voice that will be evident through every piece of text, every word, your business produces, means you’re now presenting your business with consistency and clarity.

You no longer sound uncertain, or insecure, or temperamental – you sound reliable, and open, and effective.

As shown in the article above, a brand’s tone of voice can generate so many unexpected and positive results for a business – and all through a relatively simple, affordable solution.

Strong writing stands for a strong business. And it doesn’t have to be dramatic. It just has to be thoughtful, well-crafted, and sincere. Developing a brand tone of voice is an easy way to make your business stand out from the crowd.

Are you a small business owner struggling to develop a brand tone of voice? Is your website inconsistent and vague? Contact me today and we can work to create a website that makes your business look professional, engaged and alert.

Should I use a script? It’s one of the most common questions The Showrunner hosts Jerod Morris and Jonny Nastor get from aspiring first-time Showrunners.

In this week’s episode, they analyze when it’s right to use a script … and when it’s not.

But they start with a fun question that was posed in their Showrunner Course forum … based on a dream someone had: if your house was being flooded, and you could only save what you could carry, what items would you grab?

Jerod and Jonny share what happened in the dream and what their answers are. And they’d love to know yours. Tweet them to: @ShowrunnerFM, @JerodMorris, @JonNastor.

Then they hop into script talk and discuss the following:

• Which formats work with scripts, and which ones do not
• The long-term drawbacks to using scripts
• Why it’s perfectly fine to use scripts when you’re first starting out (Jerod and Jonny did!) … but why your goal should be weaning yourself off needing scripts before too long
• What they mean when they say “use scripts as a tool, not a crutch”
• How Jerod and Jonny still make use of scripts to this day
• Why writing is an important preparation tool before you record, even if you’re not scripting exactly what you’re going to say

About the author

Rainmaker.FM

Rainmaker.FM is the premier digital marketing and sales podcast network. Get on-demand digital business and marketing advice from experts, whenever and wherever you want it.

The post To Script or Not to Script (That Is the Question) appeared first on Copyblogger.

It’s no secret that Brian Clark is not a fan of Facebook when it comes to so-called “social media marketing.” He’s even less of a fan of those who think of it as a “website substitute.”

That said, Facebook groups are popular for their apparent ease of use. But is it a good idea to build a valuable business community on someone else’s property?

Today on Unemployable with Brian Clark, Brian will tackle that issue based on a listener question.

Plus, Brian answers another question about the credible use of affiliate offers as both a revenue source and valuable market research, and discusses an online/offline hybrid marketing strategy for real estate agents.

Listen to Unemployable with Brian Clark …

About the author

Rainmaker.FM

Rainmaker.FM is the premier digital marketing and sales podcast network. Get on-demand digital business and marketing advice from experts, whenever and wherever you want it.

The post The Tyranny of Facebook appeared first on Copyblogger.

This is the third part of The Mainframe’s series on membership sites.

Hosts Tony Clark and Chris Garrett define the key parts and decisions involved in getting started with building a membership site that works.

In this episode:

• How memberships are built, starting with the minimum components you need in place in order to get started
• Which membership options could have a far bigger impact than you might think
• What you should automate in order to make your life easier while managing a membership program

About the author

Rainmaker.FM

Rainmaker.FM is the premier digital marketing and sales podcast network. Get on-demand digital business and marketing advice from experts, whenever and wherever you want it.

The post The Minimum Viable Membership-Based Business appeared first on Copyblogger.

Demian Farnworth and Jerod Morris join The Missing Link for some real-time fun and expertise about content syndication on LinkedIn.

Sean Jackson and Mica Gadhia welcome two of their favorite people from Rainmaker Digital (formerly Copyblogger Media), Demian Farnworth and Jerod Morris. These excellent writers and content marketers share the ins and outs of content syndication and some real-time tricks of the trade to getting it done right on LinkedIn.

Learn from their experiences and definitely check out Gregory Ciotti’s 30-day experience going from 0 – 255,262 article views on LinkedIn; it’s amazing information you can read, understand, and learn from right now.

Join them to learn best practices for content syndication and how you’ll want to up your game right now.

Listen in to understand:

• Why consistency is so important
• What you can learn from Gregory Ciotti (incredible)
• The advantages of short articles
• Why you want to say a big Yes to re-syndication
• More expert writing tips
• One little-known trick for writing catchy headlines

About the author

Rainmaker.FM

Rainmaker.FM is the premier digital marketing and sales podcast network. Get on-demand digital business and marketing advice from experts, whenever and wherever you want it.

The post So, Jesus and Wolverine Login to LinkedIn appeared first on Copyblogger.

Let’s do a little thought experiment for a minute.

Imagine a life without The Awl, The Huffington Post, the New York Times, Drudge Report, The Onion, The Toast, The Verge, or Vox.

Without Brain Pickings, Slate, FiveThirtyEight, Pitchfork, The Paris Review, Mental Floss, Vice, xoJane, ProPublica, Quartz, Marc and Angel, or Grantland.

You get the idea; I want you to imagine a life without your favorite online publications. A digital content ghost town. Got it?

Now my question for you is this: would your life be better or worse without these publications?

And be honest …

It’s a question you have to answer since a future without these publications is quite possible. Let me explain.

What’s going to kill your favorite publication?

Some are calling it a mere “reckoning,” while others like Nilay Patel at The Verge think, “It is going to be a bloodbath of independent media.”

The issue at hand? The rapid adoption of ad blocking software.

This parochial issue became a national — even international — one when Apple announced this summer that for their iOS 9 update “app developers will be able to create ad blocking software for Safari’s mobile browser.”

And, at the time I wrote this article, the number one downloaded app was for ad blocking.

But could ad blocking software really sink the publishing ship? Let’s look at some numbers.

According to an often-quoted Adobe and PageFair study, ad blocking software is estimated to cost publishers $22 billion in revenue during 2015.

But the startling stats don’t end there:

• 198-million active ad blocking users around the world
• Ad blocking grew by 41 percent in the last 12 months
• In the U.S., that number grew to 48 percent (45-million active users) in the 12 months leading up to June 2015
• In the UK, that number grew to 82 percent (12-million active users) in the 12 months leading up to June 2015

In other words, it’s only going to get worse.

I guess if I was a publisher and my revenue model was dependent upon ads, those numbers might keep me up at night and keep me near a bottle of Wild Turkey and Tums by day.

Particularly since the mobile market trend is on a ferocious upward swing. On MondayNote, Frédéric Filloux wrote:

The second trend is the rise of mobile surfing that accounts for half of pageviews in mature markets. And, in emerging countries, users leapfrog desktops and access the web en masse through mobile.

And I think it’s safe to say this growing group of mobile users will use ad blockers.

The problem with online ads

But why such a backlash against ads? Ads really aren’t that bad, are they? And isn’t there an implicit contract between publishers and readers that says you can view free content if you tolerate these ads?

That seems to be the case. On the New York Times, Farhad Manjoo writes, “Some publishers and advertisers say ad blocking violates the implicit contract that girds the Internet — the idea that in return for free content, we all tolerate a constant barrage of ads.”

But it’s not really that simple because ads disrupt the user experience.

Here’s something you must understand about the current nature of online ads: They are obtrusive, drain your device’s battery when transferring data, and significantly slow down page loads.

Let me show you what I see when using an ad blocking tool called Ghostery.

This is from programmer and writer Marco Arment:

As you can see, there is just one piece of ad software sitting on the site.

This is from The Awl:

There are 29 different types of ad software working behind the scenes on The Awl.

Finally, let’s look at the New York Times:

Forty-three different ones here — and the page continued to load after I snapped that shot.

This shouldn’t surprise us, Jean-Louis Gassée says on MondayNote:

You can’t blame the browser, it’s the way the system has evolved in the Web advertising race to the bottom. Back when physical newspapers were still vital, advertising space was limited and thus prices were well-behaved and constant. No such thing on the Web, where the ‘ad inventory’ tends to infinity. As a result, prices fall, sites need more ads to stay afloat, and they must consent to exploitative practices.

Here’s the funny thing: the current online ad model is based upon interruption. In fact, we’ve come full circle.

Instead of commercials interrupting our favorite television shows and telemarketers calling us during dinner time, videos expand and automatically start playing without warning and products we viewed just minutes ago are stalking us everywhere.

It’s like the advertising industry needs another lesson in permission marketing. Haven’t we learned anything? Clearly not.

If advertising is going to co-exist with readers and publishers, then at least, as John Gruber of Daring Fireball wrote, “Advertising should have minimal effect on page load times and device battery life. Advertising should be respectful of the user’s time, attention, and battery life. The industry has gluttonously gone the other way.”

Now, some publishers have fought back by refusing to allow people who are using ad blockers to see their content. It’s been reported that The Washington Post has been directing users to either disable ad blockers or sign up for a subscription newsletter to access their content.

Others like The Atlantic and NFL display a banner that says some variation of: “We noticed that you’ve got ad blockers enabled. Please be aware that our site is best experienced with ad blockers turned off.”

As if turning on ad blocking software was a mistake. No. It was intentional.

We don’t need better ads — we need a better model

What’s interesting in this discussion is how people are suggesting that this will be good for publishers and advertisers because they’ll have to come up with better ads — ads that don’t interrupt our experiences and bloat our machines.

The sad thing about this is the small, limited thinking behind it.

Here’s Jeff Jarvis taking pro-ad-blocking journalist Charles Arthur to task on Twitter:

You see it when Nilay Patel says, “But taking money and attention away from the web means that the pace of web innovation will slow to a crawl.”

Or, as he says in another article, “That’s a recipe for stagnation, and stagnation is what we have. It’s leading powerful players like Apple and Facebook to create ersatz copies of the web inside their walled gardens, when what we really need is a more powerful, more robust web.”

But we don’t need better ads. We need a better revenue model. And we don’t have to wait long for these models to appear. They already exist.

Let’s explore five possibilities.

1. Subscriptions

Probably the most common revenue model after selling ads is selling subscriptions. Readers pay you a fee to consume your content.

Ben Thompson does it with Stratechery and Matter did it through a Kickstarter campaign/subscription model (before they were bought out by Medium).

But this model has its own problems.

According to this Reuters report, Casey Johnson reported in The Awl, “despite the rise of paywalls over the last few years, only eleven percent of respondents in the US and six percent in the UK say that they have paid for online news in any capacity.”

For instance, you see the influence this type of behavior has had on our favorite bloggers. The ones who are hanging up their cleats because selling ads or the subscription model are not paying the bills.

Figuring out how to monetize a popular blog seems to be the perennial challenge, doesn’t it? How do you make a living from a popular blog?

Dooce, Gigaom, and the food blogger The Amateur Gourmet had to close their doors or focus on more lucrative ventures.

2. Native ads

Native advertising is paid content that matches a publication’s editorial standards while meeting the audience’s expectations.

Furthermore, a native ad can’t be blocked. That’s because it’s viewed as content. It shows up in the publishers stream, typically labeled “sponsored content.”

But a native ad doesn’t eat up your battery life or slow down page load speed.

It’s a normal-sized file. And, if done well, it blends in with the rest of the publication’s content. With native ads, advertisers are back to having to entice readers to consume their content.

In fact, the demand for native advertising has grown so much, a lot of publishers have actually opened up in-house agencies to create these ads and fulfill the demand.

But native advertising also tends to require more resources to create, so it may be out of reach for smaller publications.

To learn more about native advertising opportunities, work your way through this list of resources:

• Copyblogger’s 2014 State of Native Advertising Report
• 5 Ways to Rankle an Old-School Journalist
• 12 Examples of Native Ads (And Why They Work)
• The 14 Keys to Writing Advertorials That Sell
• Is Native Advertising Even Profitable for Brands?
• Is Native Advertising Ethical? (It Depends On Who You Ask)
• Don’t Waste Your Time with Native Advertising

3. Affiliate sales

Next in line is affiliate marketing, one of the most reliable ways to earn an income online.

Maria Popova keeps the beloved Brain Pickings afloat through affiliate marketing. If done right, affiliate marketing is a tough model to beat.

The problem is, there’s a lot of bad (and unethical) advice out there on how to approach it, so here are three resources to help you get started:

• 5 Tips for Affiliate Marketing Beginners
• Affiliate Programs: Why You Should Build a “Second Audience” for Your Business
• Building Your Evergreen Sales Machine

4. Membership sites

Next is the membership site as revenue model. It’s really more than just a private club; it’s an experience.

And the experience that any smart marketer must create is powered by content, first and foremost, because that’s what people are looking for. But what they really crave is something much deeper and meaningful.

That’s exactly why membership truly has its privileges — for both you and your prospects, customers, and clients.

Here are three podcast episodes that will help you understand membership sites and what you need to build one:

• Why You Need a Membership Site
• The Key Types of Membership Sites for Building Your Digital Business
• Why Every Great Website is a Membership Site

5. Build a business around it

Finally, build a business around your publication. That’s what we’ve done here at Rainmaker Digital with the Copyblogger blog.

The content you read here on the blog comes from salaries paid through the sales of our own products — not ads.

And the types of products and services you can create are endless. You could:

• Build software your audience needs.
• Turn your content into books.
• Create training courses to help your audience meet their goals.
• Become a consultant.

The writer still runs the show

Ad blocking isn’t going to end great writing.

Sure, some publications will fail to adapt and sadly die.

But as journalist Charles Arthur noted, “Good journalism, and worthwhile sites, will survive. Or good journalists will.”

In other words, the writer still runs the show. But if you run a publication and want it to thrive, you are going to have to find a way to monetize it without ads.

Explore the different monetization ideas in this article, and then join the discussion on LinkedIn …

About the author

Demian Farnworth

Demian Farnworth is Chief Content Writer for Rainmaker Digital. Subscribe to his podcast Rough Draft. 

The post Why the Ad Blocking Panic Shouldn’t Scare Smart Publishers appeared first on Copyblogger.

Speaker, coach, and author Matthew Kimberley of How to Get a Grip talks with Youpreneur.FM host Chris Ducker about selling, marketing, and the critical importance of speaking your audience’s language.

Why do so many small business owners struggle with sales? Chris invited his good friend and fellow Brit Matthew Kimberley to share his thoughts on the subject in today’s podcast.

Matthew is a masterful salesman, a renowned author of the self-help book How to Get a Grip, and the head of the Book Yourself Solid coaches training program.

On this show, Matthew shares his candid and often hilarious anecdotes on how to be more confident when making a sales pitch (and why it matters), two ways to build your sales muscle, and whether sales people are born or made.

There’s a lot of deep and beneficial insights from Matthew and Chris in this episode of The Youpreneur.FM Podcast, so sit back, grab your favorite beverage, and listen in!

Essential Learning Points From This Episode:

• Why we must understand our audience
• When do people need to be told what to do?
• Where do 90 percent of business problems stem from?
• Why repetition is so important to being great at sales
• What is Kimberley’s kid’s kidney concept, and how does it help sales?
• Much, much more!

About the author

Rainmaker.FM

Rainmaker.FM is the premier digital marketing and sales podcast network. Get on-demand digital business and marketing advice from experts, whenever and wherever you want it.

The post Why (and How) Selling Ourselves Makes a Difference, with Matthew Kimberley appeared first on Copyblogger.

Creating a remarkable experience for an audience starts with authenticity, which should never be confused with transparency.

In this week’s episode of The Lede, Jerod Morris and Demian Farnworth (Hey! They’re back together again!) tackle the topic of authenticity to give you a better understanding of how to create an authentic connection with your audience, no matter what type of content you’re creating.

Jerod has discussed authenticity a lot in relation to podcasts. He wanted to hear Demian’s thoughts on how developing an authentic connection may differ depending on the medium.

Among the topics discussed:

• Why authenticity is one of the essential elements of a remarkable audience experience
• How authenticity differs (or does it?) between audio and written content
• What Erika Napoletano taught Demian about being authentic
• Why Erika’s version of authenticity and your version are surely different

About the author

Rainmaker.FM

Rainmaker.FM is the premier digital marketing and sales podcast network. Get on-demand digital business and marketing advice from experts, whenever and wherever you want it.

The post Revisiting Authenticity: What It Is, What It’s Not, and Why It Matters appeared first on Copyblogger.

Today’s guest on Hack the Entrepreneur is the Founder, Publisher, and CEO of Momtrends.com. She left her role as an executive at Ralph Lauren to launch the Momtrends blog in 2007.

Momtrends has grown massively since then and is now a boutique media brand, which provides moms with the latest news on all things trendy and cool. It has an ever-growing mom community with more than 150,000 visitors to the site and its social media channels each month.

On top of this (and with the help of her team), she has created a successful events business that connects top-tier brands with influential bloggers, and she has hosted nearly 100 events so far.

Now, let’s hack …

Nicole Feliciano.

In this 35-minute episode of Hack the Entrepreneur, host Jon Nastor and Nicole Feliciano discuss:

• The pros of being a connector of people
• Packaging things in a way that’s unique to your brand
• Knowing what you’re not good at and letting better people handle it
• Failing quickly, picking yourself up, and working harder the next time

About the author

Rainmaker.FM

Rainmaker.FM is the premier digital marketing and sales podcast network. Get on-demand digital business and marketing advice from experts, whenever and wherever you want it.

The post The Extraordinary Value of Sharing and Being a Connector appeared first on Copyblogger.

Back in 2004, the heat was on for me and my little marketing and design studio.

In those days, I was a single mom with a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old, and I desperately needed my business to produce.

And by that, I mean produce profit. I needed money, honey — to support my family, run my household, and build my business.

I knew it was time to ramp up my efforts. My business was successful, but it was time to take it to another level.

Around that time, I started hearing about mastermind groups.

And now, when I look back, I recognize that joining a mastermind group profoundly changed my business for the better, especially because of one specific exercise these groups do.

That’s what I’m going to share today. Because earlier this month, we began doing something similar inside one of our communities at Rainmaker Digital.

Mastermind groups around every corner

You know that thing that happens when you’re interested in something and all of the sudden you start seeing mentions of it everywhere?

It’s called frequency illusion, and that’s what happened to me with mastermind groups. Everywhere I looked, I saw mentions of them.

But every mastermind group I found met in person, either early in the morning or later in the evening. And those were both times of the day when I had to be on Mom Duty. Attending a meeting outside the home wasn’t an option.

And yet, I was convinced that a mastermind group was what I needed. I knew I would benefit from the experience and viewpoints of other business owners, and it would help me position my business where it needed to be.

So, I continued to search and finally found a “virtual” mastermind group that met by phone. I applied, was accepted, and prepared myself for our first meeting.

Group therapy for my business?

I was a little nervous going into the first meeting. Was it going to be like a confessional? More like group therapy? Would I feel comfortable talking to these strangers about my business?

Every scenario I imagined had some level of discomfort baked in.

At the start of the meeting, the group leader explained that we would take turns sitting in the “hot seat” talking about our businesses.

We’d start by reporting successes — what had gone well in the past month. Then we’d move to sharing our biggest challenges — what we needed help with. The group would listen and contribute ideas to help the person in the hot seat.

Here’s where I was wrong

This is embarrassing to admit, but here’s what I thought:

“When it’s someone else’s turn, I’ll listen politely, provide the best feedback I can, and count the minutes until it’s my turn. And when it’s my turn, I’ll get a lot out of sharing my successes and challenges, and hearing the feedback from the group. The real value will come from taking my turn in the hot seat.”

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I learned a lesson that day and relearned it every single time we met as a group.

All the different businesses that exist in the world share many common problems.

When I look back on my mastermind meetings, I got as much or more from listening to other business owners talk about their triumphs and tragedies as I did when I shared my own.

Here’s what happened:

• The mindset tips shared with the chiropractor? I was able to use them to improve my own mindset.
• The negotiation techniques offered to the professional organizer? I used those the next time I needed to negotiate something.
• The website advice that went out to the voice coach? It made me look at my own site in a new light.

The funny thing about calling your time in the spotlight a “hot seat” is that the name is only partly accurate.

Instead of feeling like you’re under interrogation, you feel like you’re being warmly embraced by a community of professionals who support and encourage your efforts.

Maybe they should be called “warm seats.”

New: Authority Business Coaching calls

Last month, we began offering Authority Business Coaching calls inside our private site for advanced content marketing training.

We’ve brought a taste of this “warm seat” style of education to Authority, and the results so far have been pretty amazing.

The main challenge our first guest brought to the session was a need to improve cash flow in his business.

Here’s what we heard from our webinar attendees:

Money is so hard! And talking about it is even harder. This conversation is great.

And this:

I absolutely relate to this conversation. This is a great session.

And from the person sitting in the hot seat? Here’s what he said after it was over:

The session reinforced my ideas about what needs to happen, but it also gave me a sense of direction and more clarity. I feel a bit overwhelmed at times, and the coaching call left me with a sense of ‘I can do this.’

As a member, I think it is a highly appealing format for a show. It helps build a sense of community, while at the same time having a chance to be informative and valuable. All of us are in different stages of growth and success, but the problems we face are very similar.

Exactly. The problems we face are very similar.

And you’ll find that you can learn a tremendous amount by listening and sharing with people who own businesses that are quite different from yours.

About the author

Pamela Wilson

Pamela Wilson is Executive Vice President of Educational Content at Rainmaker Digital. Follow her on Twitter, see her Copyblogger images on Instagram, and find more from her at BigBrandSystem.com.

The post Why a Hot Seat Is Shockingly Good for Business appeared first on Copyblogger.

Author and Fast Company Editor Joe Berkowitz stopped by The Writer Files this week. His latest, a humor book titled You Blew It!: An Awkward Look at the Many Ways in Which You’ve Already Ruined Your Life, lands this October. He took a break from his busy schedule to rap with host Kelton Reid about how he survives the harried life of a big city journalist.

In addition to his work for Fast Company, Joe’s writing has been featured in The Awl, Salon, The Village Voice, Vulture, RollingStone.com, GQ.com, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and many others.

For a writer who works on breakneck deadlines, and almost never gets a break from the writing life, he has some pretty solid advice for keeping the cursor moving.

Join Kelton and Joe for this two-part interview.

In Part One of the file, host Kelton Reid and Joe Berkowitz discuss:

• How a bad breakup can boost your productivity
• When to throw out the rule “All Killer, No Filler”
• How to build your writing endurance
• Don Draper’s advice for beating writer’s block
• How making lists can help your head
• The magical power of 4:00 a.m. dementia

About the author

Rainmaker.FM

Rainmaker.FM is the premier digital marketing and sales podcast network. Get on-demand digital business and marketing advice from experts, whenever and wherever you want it.

The post How Joe Berkowitz (Journalist and Fast Company Editor) Writes: Part One appeared first on Copyblogger.