Content Marketing Today

If you get it right, your buyers will read and respond. If you get it wrong, your target customers will dump your e-mails.

In a great series of e-mail related posts on his Conversion Rate blog, Brett Gilbertson reminds us that unless we pay attention to design details, we may be wasting the money we're spending on our e-mail campaigns.

As with so many aspects of life and of business, it's often the little things that make a big difference. So it is with making sure that your e-mail preview pane does not dissuade your recipients from opening your e-mail.  Conversely, if you get it right, you can will persuade them to open your e-mail and pay attention to what you have to say. 

I was holding my breath until I saw that Brett selected our eNewsletter on the right as one of the good guys.

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Here's a website from Bolen Partners that really walks the walk when it comes to content marketing.

One of the things I love about the web is discovering great websites that are built by very small companies. I get really excited when they embrace key concepts of content marketing. Bob Leonard's BolenComm.com is a perfect example. In the upper right hand corner of the site he says how his company will help you succeed: "Bolen partners with you to enable your sales force. We help your sales stars shine." In this and so many other ways, Bob's site really makes it easier for visitors and prospects to buy from him. That's what content marketing is all about. Read More

Online content and design reinforces the dramatic changes at this Madison, Wisconsin stalwart.

Shopping malls, like the rest of us, are getting older.  As they age, they often lose the charm and appeal that drew millions of visitors to them over decades.  In the case of the Hilldale Mall, they have been able to transform their shopping venue from a relatively small and visibly aging property into a much trendier youth magnet.

Their new website is a terrific example of how an online presence can enhance other marketing efforts--all aimed at transforming the Hilldale Mall from tired to trendy.

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Yes, you can also learn from marketers who get it wrong. Let them make the mistakes so you don't have to. Here are 5 standout examples of content marketing that went awry. The sad irony is that in each case we are dealing with companies with solid products and services who may well do a good job in terms of their traditional marketing. But in the all important arena of content marketing, but they are almost completely ineffective. Learn what not to do by avoiding what they have done.

1. Who Cares If Grant Thornton is Passionate about the Business of Accounting?

They registered a slogan that’s all about them. It has nothing to do with how they benefit their clients.

If you watch any business-oriented TV, you’ve probably seen the Grant Thornton commercials. They’ve spent millions to tell the world that they have ‘a passion for the business of accounting.’ Are they suggesting that their fellow accounting firms lack a passion for the business of accounting? That seems unlikely. In fact, their slogan has essentially no customer value because it’s all about Grant Thornton. Apparently, they aren’t passionate about content marketing. Couldn’t They Have Been Passionate about the Success of their Clients? Click here to learn from their mistakes. Read More

For small to medium-sized businesses, it's essential to provide great content before wandering onto  social mediopolis venues like FaceBook and Twitter

A powerfully pithy post on the Conversion Rate blog alerted me to some must-read content by web usability guru, Jacob Nielsen. 

According blogger, Brett Gilbertson, online marketing success is all about mastering the basics of providing relevant and accessible content. Done right that will lead to great conversion rates and growing sales. He quotes Nielsen,

“Instead of adding Facebook-like features that let users “bite” other users and turn them into zombies, the B2B site would get more sales by offering clear prices, good product photos, detailed specs, convincing whitepapers, an easily navigable information architecture, and an email newsletter.”

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But we can still learn lessons from this content marketing misfire.

I recently received a marketing email via CMPTechDirect (a service of CMP Media) from one of their advertisers. That's part of the price I pay to receive occasionally useful stuff from technology vendors.

CMP Media is a highly respected technology publishing company.  In fact, I spent more than eight great years working there.  So I enjoy staying current via their regular eNewsletters and even via information from tech vendors.  So far so good. But Trend Micro's obnoxious approach put me off completely.

Definitely don't use their sneaky, untargeted, competition-trashing approach.  Do just the opposite.  Here are the 4 things not to emulate:

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Here are the most popular posts since the launch of Content Marketing Today in August 2007. See what you may have missed--and what thousands of marketers have learned over the past 5 months. You'll find everything from great newsletters to bad websites... great custom magazines for reluctant buyers... the 7 deadliest content marketing sins... 6 lessons to learn from a shopping mall...using content marketing to speed sales growth curve. Read on for a great refresher course in content marketing. Read More

Constant Contact really walks the walk when it comes to e-mail marketing.

Although the newly public company, Constant Contact, surely has a budget that most of us would envy, the strength of their eNewsletter has to do with its content and clean design.

We can all afford to replicate the style and sophistication of their eNewsletter, even if we are small business executives with micro-budgets. After all, we are the folks that this company targets.

Their software?  Inexpensive. Their advice?  Priceless.  Here's what you can learn from their eNewsletter, Hints & Tips E-mail Marketing:

 

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If you think of Microsoft as just a technology company, you haven't been paying attention to their skill in content marketing.

We all know that Microsoft dominates the world of computer software.  If you're a small business person, you may also know that they provide great content online--everything from useful templates and how to use to webcast that help you do a better job of running your business. 

You may not know that in Canada they have created a wonderful online publication, Microsoft Home Magazine.  This is a superb example of identifying target audience.  In this case, they are delivering a rich blend of information to folks who love to use technology to achieve a home life that's rich and enjoyable.  We examine what they're doing so you can apply similar content marketing techniques to your online efforts.

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They are blowing their chance to retain me as a customer.

Don't get me wrong.  I love XM radio. What I love most is being able to listen to music and information channels that I really enjoy.  Conversely, I don't have to listen to anything I hate.  That's why satellite radio is such a threat to old-fashioned radio. 

However, since there are other musical choices, XM needs to remind me why I should listen more regularly than I do.  Their eNewsletter could be the perfect retention vehicle, but it's not.  Here's what they doing wrong.

They have forgotten all the lessons they learned when they created the satellite service.  It's obvious from the eNewsletter that I'm receiving a copy that is identical to what all the rest of their millions of subscribers receive. 

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