Neil Patel, the founder of Crazyegg and KISSMetrics came to Israel, again. Neil came to lecture about growing a blog. Its a great privilege to hear someone so knowledgeable who is also still approachable and an entertaining lecturer to boot. Lets see if this post can demonstrate what I learned...
3 reasons to why a blog is good for your business.
The first advantage of a blog is the fact that you have control over the content that you publish. even if you allow guest posts on your blog and want other writers to contribute - the last choice is yours. In social media you have no control on how people react to your post or how the discussion will develop. When you have a blog, you can even close the comments option if you feel it does not fit your concept, or monitor the comment posted.
Neil's first tip regarding the content of the blog is that the content should teach! the idea is that people who read your content should get some value form it. If they learn something and can even implement what they learn - then this means your content teaches them things and they get value.
Neil also recommends stretching borderlines and being original and creative. If you have fun when you write and try new things, the results will be interesting and fun to read. If people feel they learned something, had fun doing so and got value, the chance they will convert is higher.
Guess what is the most obvious converting part of the blog?
One of the most important things is a good blog post is the header. Neil writes long posts of 2000 words , so he always ends them with a short summary and used headers in it 3-5 times. Headers help organize the text for your readers and informed them of what;s coming up. 80% of most people skim the headlines first and then decide if to read the actual content. Headlines generate interest, so you need to make them interesting. You want your readers to be curious regarding your content.
Neil's 6 tips for good headlines:
1. Use adjectives and questions to generate interest
2. Use shocking negative words
3. 65 characters is an ideal length for a header, 6 words is good - informative and not too long
4. Use numbers - uneven numbers work better. The bigger the number, the better (but remember the context when you decide on a number).
5. Avoid word play and double meanings, keep it simple and clear
6. make heading suited to the content beneath it
Here are some samples for good headers:
"eyebrows you would kill for, 7 tips to create your eyebrow design"
"5 management mistakes you make, that will kill your business (and how to avoid them)"
"101 ways to save money fr a small business"
"11 worse ways to pitch a VC (and how to fix your pitch)"
"Here is why investors will not give you money (and what to do to change that)"
"21 reasons why no one reads your press releases (and how you can fix this)"
"11 ways to dress like Natalie Portman for under $100".
Your opening paragraph should also invoke curiosity, here is an example.
Headline: "7 SEO mistakes you are probably making"
Opening paragraph: "Have you ever seen a first age ranking on Google search that has no keywords in it? Have you wondered how they do it?"
Headline: "7 ways to generate creative headings for your presentations"
Opening Paragraph: "If your presentation slides do not have interesting headings, people will assume that what you have to say is boring too. in this post you will learn tools that will help you generate interesting headlines for your PPT slides, and you can come back to this formula whenever you want to create a presentation."
3 things to avoid when writing your blog
Avoid over promotion:
People do not like self promotional content. If its too commercial they will not read and you lose credibility. List blogs are a great way to provide information for people that is organised and easy for them to absorb. Put yourself in number 2 of the list. 2 is the magic spot. If you put yourself first, you are being too pushy. If you go for place 3, people might just not read a bout you. so in this case its 2 that is the magic number.
Avoid over protectiveness:
People tend to keep all the best stuff to themselves, but blogging is about sharing your wisdom and knowledge. Its a hard decision to make - where to place your best content. Neil says that if you are just starting out and need the push from blogs that are stronger than yours, you should give them your best content. This means you cannot post it on your blog because you want to avoid double content. Guest posting and using the authority of popular blogs is a great promotional tool for you and you will get good reputation for publishing good content on such platforms. When you are stronger, you can then keep the good stuff for your own blog.
Avoid snobbery:
The web encourages the writing style to be direct and conversational. So write a lt of "you" and "I" in your content. make your readers feel like you are talking to them. Avoid being over-intelligent and keep your language simple. Dumb down your content so that the widest common denominator of people will understand (I should have written: Dumb down your content so that most people reading it will understand what they are reading:-).
Neil's 6 tips for creating a good infographic
An infographic is a visual tool to explain complex ideas, to slice and to simplify them for your audience. Its a great converting tool. Here are Neil's tips on how to best create them.
1. Keep them visual, use images not words to get your ideas across.
2. 5-6 points/ enhancements make an idea infographic - do not make them too short or too long, or the conversion rate goes down.
3. The various points should flow - create a story in your infographic
4. Keep the color scheme simple. (BTW blues convert better on Facebook, because this matches their brand)
5. do not forget to put your URL and logo at the bottom
6. put an embedding code for sharing your infographic when publishing it.
Other things that were discussed were the best time to post blogs (depending on the platform you are sharing in), how to get a guest post chance, monotization and promotion of the blog. Remember that people do not always see the first time you promote your blog on a social media platform, so do not be afraid to repeat the post 3-4 times during the 10 days after posting (then come back to it in 6 months time...fr round no. 2 of new readers). Neil also discussed the posting frequency. Although its best to post more often, if you do not have something really good to post and nothing interesting to say, then do not post!
To sum it all up
So why was it worth buying the ticket to hear Neil Patel lecture this week in Israel?
I learned why a blog is good for my business.
I learned of the importance of headlines and how to create good ones.
I learned what to avoid when writing my blog.
I got great tips for creating infographics.
To top it all off I learned about monotization and promotion.
It was great to hear Neil talk, its obvious he has fun being the marketing hackathon that he is,
I feel secure in recommending his marketing blog "Quicksprout". I am sure I will continue to learn.
Thank you Assaf Einstein for inviting Neil back to Israel.
Showing posts with label content for internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label content for internet. Show all posts
Monday, April 27, 2015
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Colours and what they mean to us in marketing
when creating a marketing campaign, the use of colors can sometimes be the difference between failure and success. Its the special combination and balance in an advert that draws attention but not only that, it guides people to take action in a specific and desired way. In a logo the choice of colors can change the message underlined in it.
But even a more generic view is required. Sight is the major sense in which we relate to the world surrounding us. People who can see get 80% of their information through their eyes, by actually seeing it. What we see is light in various wave lengths - that is, we see colors. Colors are therefor a major tool in the way the human mind learns and communicates. This mans the marketer needs to ask, what effect do certain colors have on people and how this can be harnessed for the sake of marketing. I have put together a short review of the major colors and what they mean to us (in the western world).
Red: The color of fire and energy. Red will always catch you eye and draw your attention. Energy can be positive and friendly but sometimes it bursts out! Red is used to market sports, entertainment but also foods, fashion and cosmetics. If you want your message to be about provocation and buzz Red might be a good color to use, as long as you do not overdo it. Remember that red can sometimes be perceived negatively (we stop at a red light).
Orange: Orange is a lighter version of the energy red. Its still exiting but also a bit milder and even childish, so Orange can radiate confidence. Orange is used to market safety products, products for higher efficiency and children brands. Its a happy and friendly color.
Yellow: Yellow is a very bright color. it radiates positive energy and optimism. Yellow is used to market child care brands but also technology start-ups and innovators.
Green: in today's world green is fore and foremost the representing color for the environment; for recycling and nature. green is all about youth nurturing and growth, green represents the health of the planet and of society. Green is used to market health products, government initiatives and scientific programs.
Blue: Blue is the color of water. Its calm and clean. It enfolds within many mysteries but also encourages trust. Blue is used to market many high-tech products and is very popular in the Internet. Blue is used for business and trade initiatives but is also manifested in the health and medical industry.
Black: signals stability and strength, combined with professionalism and class. Black is always solid and just right. It helps put the message together. Black and grays and slivers are used to market prestigious and traditional brands.
Purple: Purple is the color of wisdom and magic. It represents both knowledge and the mystic, it has a healing property.. Purple delivers a message of creativity and imagination. It is used to market spiritual fields such as astronomy but also health activities that have oriental routes such as yoga and aromatherapy.
Brown: Brown is the color of the earth. it represent for us the ordinary and routine. Its a color of history and tradition, representing a steady and safe conservative way of thought. Large companies with a deep tradition will use this color for their marketing combined with gold. Brown is especially suited to market activities in the mining, construction and finance worlds.
Colors effect people very deeply. But color psychology is just one part in the puzzle of messaging and marketing. However in a fast pace world, in which on had but fractions of seconds to create an impression and interest a potential buyer to read more, color is a major part of the puzzle. Remember that colors are what we see, but even of more importance to marketers is the fact that colors are also the first thing we notice (even if its done unconsciously and automatically).
Great info graphics on this subject are:
Color in culture
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/colours-in-cultures/?utm_source=CMblog&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=InfographicsforDesign
The color emotion guide:
http://thelogocompany.net/blog/infographics/psychology-color-logo-design/?utm_source=CMblog&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=InfographicsforDesign
Colours ofthe web
http://www.colourlovers.com/business/blog/2010/09/15/the-most-powerful-colors-in-the-world?utm_source=CMblog&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=InfographicsforDesign
But even a more generic view is required. Sight is the major sense in which we relate to the world surrounding us. People who can see get 80% of their information through their eyes, by actually seeing it. What we see is light in various wave lengths - that is, we see colors. Colors are therefor a major tool in the way the human mind learns and communicates. This mans the marketer needs to ask, what effect do certain colors have on people and how this can be harnessed for the sake of marketing. I have put together a short review of the major colors and what they mean to us (in the western world).
Red: The color of fire and energy. Red will always catch you eye and draw your attention. Energy can be positive and friendly but sometimes it bursts out! Red is used to market sports, entertainment but also foods, fashion and cosmetics. If you want your message to be about provocation and buzz Red might be a good color to use, as long as you do not overdo it. Remember that red can sometimes be perceived negatively (we stop at a red light).
Orange: Orange is a lighter version of the energy red. Its still exiting but also a bit milder and even childish, so Orange can radiate confidence. Orange is used to market safety products, products for higher efficiency and children brands. Its a happy and friendly color.
Yellow: Yellow is a very bright color. it radiates positive energy and optimism. Yellow is used to market child care brands but also technology start-ups and innovators.
Green: in today's world green is fore and foremost the representing color for the environment; for recycling and nature. green is all about youth nurturing and growth, green represents the health of the planet and of society. Green is used to market health products, government initiatives and scientific programs.
Blue: Blue is the color of water. Its calm and clean. It enfolds within many mysteries but also encourages trust. Blue is used to market many high-tech products and is very popular in the Internet. Blue is used for business and trade initiatives but is also manifested in the health and medical industry.
Black: signals stability and strength, combined with professionalism and class. Black is always solid and just right. It helps put the message together. Black and grays and slivers are used to market prestigious and traditional brands.
Purple: Purple is the color of wisdom and magic. It represents both knowledge and the mystic, it has a healing property.. Purple delivers a message of creativity and imagination. It is used to market spiritual fields such as astronomy but also health activities that have oriental routes such as yoga and aromatherapy.
Brown: Brown is the color of the earth. it represent for us the ordinary and routine. Its a color of history and tradition, representing a steady and safe conservative way of thought. Large companies with a deep tradition will use this color for their marketing combined with gold. Brown is especially suited to market activities in the mining, construction and finance worlds.
Colors effect people very deeply. But color psychology is just one part in the puzzle of messaging and marketing. However in a fast pace world, in which on had but fractions of seconds to create an impression and interest a potential buyer to read more, color is a major part of the puzzle. Remember that colors are what we see, but even of more importance to marketers is the fact that colors are also the first thing we notice (even if its done unconsciously and automatically).
Great info graphics on this subject are:
Color in culture
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/colours-in-cultures/?utm_source=CMblog&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=InfographicsforDesign
The color emotion guide:
http://thelogocompany.net/blog/infographics/psychology-color-logo-design/?utm_source=CMblog&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=InfographicsforDesign
Colours ofthe web
http://www.colourlovers.com/business/blog/2010/09/15/the-most-powerful-colors-in-the-world?utm_source=CMblog&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=InfographicsforDesign
Monday, January 27, 2014
How to Get the Gold out of Social Media?
I recently attended a Facebook marketing seminar and one of the things the presenter said was that the real money is not in the social media but needs to be dug out of there.
so Data Mining has a whole new meaning now. Mine the gold out of Facebook and other social media networks means that you need to get people who surf in these networks to click on a link that gets them out of the social media and into your marketing funnel - a link to a landing page or your website, depends on how you structure your marketing efforts.
But which social network would give your business the best results? There are a few issues to consider before making this choice:
The first instinct is to day - maximum exposure. but then over time we have learned that in order to get good conversion rates, is you can focus on your public, then quality is better than quantity. The internet gives you the ability to focus on your true public. social media networks like Facebook and linked in are able to cut through the masses and sort out those people who care really interested in your information.
Facebook is able to collect many tidbits of information about the combination of interests of its users, so you can really use its campaigning tool to find exactly who you want to approach with your messages. Placing an advert in the news-feed itself guarantees that it is seen also in mobile smart phones and tablets. these are the viewing platforms of the future and will become increasingly important to your business.
Linked in enables membership in targeted groups and you can use their campaigning tools to reach those groups.
Focusing your efforts is also important. It is very difficult to spread the work in all the various social networks. yo have to be efficient and select the network that is best targeted to your specific audience. Facebook has gotten its users used to commercial content, while twitter and linked in are characterized by a public that is more sensitive to marketing. You have to also think about the type of product and which way to present it will be the most efficient. If you have lots of interesting pictures, you might consider Instagram or Pinterest (e.g these are great platforms for internal designers). If its video, then YouTube is the most powerful channel out there today, and yes, ?I do regard YouTube as a social media network!
Focusing your message also means that you need to repeat it often. setting up an automatic system of adverts and links is part of getting good results. Frequency should not be too often, but you should be exposed again and again to your potential clients. Twitter has the "retweet" system, which enables messages to be repeated again and again in the network.
Focusing means also thinking locally. Local networks may be more powerful in certain markets, so if you want to penetrate them, looking for the strongest local social media or forum is the best solution, and it usually means posting in the local language as well. Professional forums and magazines could prove to be the best communities in which to reach your audience online.
The trick to an efficient and focused campaign is efficient presence. this means that you choose the best two social media networks that are most suited to your product and marketing strategy (see above in focusing), and you remain active in those networks, putting all your efforts into them. In other networks, where you only need to be present (active low scale), will only serve as background to repeating your postings from active networks and linking into your funnel.
Being active means to engage: Put most of your content into the active social network. Take part in discussions, follow group members, respond to posts and create interesting content. Post your own adverts in these networks, pulling readers out of the social media network and into your landing page in order to provide the reader a more elaborated experience with your specialized marketing content. Invest your dollars in campaigning in the social media network you have selected to be active in.
Being present means links to the active social media or to existing content on the website, with no special effort at new content or paid campaigns.
Selecting the main network to be active in is not so simple anymore. Social media has become a popular and accepted means of communication and not only for the young. If you have never worked with social media before, it is advised to test all the networks in the first month and then select the ones to be active in based on results and achievements of the test campaign. the internet offers great measuring tools that can dig up data on your campaigns into the finest details.
Flexibility is key: One network is hot today and cold the next. If in the past Facebook catered to the young and restless, it is today becoming a mainstream family network and young users go to the smart phone apps Like "Whats app" and Insatgram. Twitter was all about news when it started, and now no celebrity who respects themselves will be caught without the ability to "tweet" about every step they take. Being aware if these trends and the changing nature of each of the social media networks is key to launching a successful campaign. Using the measurement tools available to day and monitoring achievements will help you maximize your campaign results. watch your campaigns as they develop and steer them in the right direction, making changes as you learn along the way.
Remember that social media marketing is supposed to serve your product and business. Do not create content jsut for the sake of creating content. Do not purchase "likes" just so you can have thousands of irrelevant people looking at your posts. Make your posts focused to your clientele and give them links into your marketing funnel for maximum results. Dig the gold out of social media, do not stay behind to wallow in the river's mud...
so Data Mining has a whole new meaning now. Mine the gold out of Facebook and other social media networks means that you need to get people who surf in these networks to click on a link that gets them out of the social media and into your marketing funnel - a link to a landing page or your website, depends on how you structure your marketing efforts.
But which social network would give your business the best results? There are a few issues to consider before making this choice:
The first instinct is to day - maximum exposure. but then over time we have learned that in order to get good conversion rates, is you can focus on your public, then quality is better than quantity. The internet gives you the ability to focus on your true public. social media networks like Facebook and linked in are able to cut through the masses and sort out those people who care really interested in your information.
Facebook is able to collect many tidbits of information about the combination of interests of its users, so you can really use its campaigning tool to find exactly who you want to approach with your messages. Placing an advert in the news-feed itself guarantees that it is seen also in mobile smart phones and tablets. these are the viewing platforms of the future and will become increasingly important to your business.
Linked in enables membership in targeted groups and you can use their campaigning tools to reach those groups.
Focusing your efforts is also important. It is very difficult to spread the work in all the various social networks. yo have to be efficient and select the network that is best targeted to your specific audience. Facebook has gotten its users used to commercial content, while twitter and linked in are characterized by a public that is more sensitive to marketing. You have to also think about the type of product and which way to present it will be the most efficient. If you have lots of interesting pictures, you might consider Instagram or Pinterest (e.g these are great platforms for internal designers). If its video, then YouTube is the most powerful channel out there today, and yes, ?I do regard YouTube as a social media network!
Focusing your message also means that you need to repeat it often. setting up an automatic system of adverts and links is part of getting good results. Frequency should not be too often, but you should be exposed again and again to your potential clients. Twitter has the "retweet" system, which enables messages to be repeated again and again in the network.
Focusing means also thinking locally. Local networks may be more powerful in certain markets, so if you want to penetrate them, looking for the strongest local social media or forum is the best solution, and it usually means posting in the local language as well. Professional forums and magazines could prove to be the best communities in which to reach your audience online.
The trick to an efficient and focused campaign is efficient presence. this means that you choose the best two social media networks that are most suited to your product and marketing strategy (see above in focusing), and you remain active in those networks, putting all your efforts into them. In other networks, where you only need to be present (active low scale), will only serve as background to repeating your postings from active networks and linking into your funnel.
Being active means to engage: Put most of your content into the active social network. Take part in discussions, follow group members, respond to posts and create interesting content. Post your own adverts in these networks, pulling readers out of the social media network and into your landing page in order to provide the reader a more elaborated experience with your specialized marketing content. Invest your dollars in campaigning in the social media network you have selected to be active in.
Being present means links to the active social media or to existing content on the website, with no special effort at new content or paid campaigns.
Selecting the main network to be active in is not so simple anymore. Social media has become a popular and accepted means of communication and not only for the young. If you have never worked with social media before, it is advised to test all the networks in the first month and then select the ones to be active in based on results and achievements of the test campaign. the internet offers great measuring tools that can dig up data on your campaigns into the finest details.
Flexibility is key: One network is hot today and cold the next. If in the past Facebook catered to the young and restless, it is today becoming a mainstream family network and young users go to the smart phone apps Like "Whats app" and Insatgram. Twitter was all about news when it started, and now no celebrity who respects themselves will be caught without the ability to "tweet" about every step they take. Being aware if these trends and the changing nature of each of the social media networks is key to launching a successful campaign. Using the measurement tools available to day and monitoring achievements will help you maximize your campaign results. watch your campaigns as they develop and steer them in the right direction, making changes as you learn along the way.
Remember that social media marketing is supposed to serve your product and business. Do not create content jsut for the sake of creating content. Do not purchase "likes" just so you can have thousands of irrelevant people looking at your posts. Make your posts focused to your clientele and give them links into your marketing funnel for maximum results. Dig the gold out of social media, do not stay behind to wallow in the river's mud...
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Who is the Content Guru?
Who am I? why is this blog here?
I am the content guru! in 2003 I found myself in one of those crossroads of life.
The result is that I decided to change my profession (I was no longer interested in designing seamless underwear...) and so I started writing about everything ever since. I have been writing web content and growing along with the filed of web marketing. what used to be an esoteric side kick is now a full blown market, that calls for high quality content among the many mediocre writings and digital scribbles of the masses. After 10 years of writing for others, I have decided to share my experience and to also start posting for myself. Content about anything and everything is what you will find here - all written be moi! No automatic generators! So feel free to read and enjoy. and if you would like me to write up some web content for you, feel free to ask...
I am the content guru! in 2003 I found myself in one of those crossroads of life.
The result is that I decided to change my profession (I was no longer interested in designing seamless underwear...) and so I started writing about everything ever since. I have been writing web content and growing along with the filed of web marketing. what used to be an esoteric side kick is now a full blown market, that calls for high quality content among the many mediocre writings and digital scribbles of the masses. After 10 years of writing for others, I have decided to share my experience and to also start posting for myself. Content about anything and everything is what you will find here - all written be moi! No automatic generators! So feel free to read and enjoy. and if you would like me to write up some web content for you, feel free to ask...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)