A common misconception in content marketing has to do with the idea of storytelling. "Story" is a concept that has been part of societies for thousands of years. It probably trades on the idea that stories are generally more memorable than didactic instruction, so...
It’s not often that we discuss Internet safety in the marketing world, strictly speaking. But since I teach and live by the axiom that everything is marketing, I think there’s an important connection that should not be missed, and my experience working in IT and Internet security-related roles allows for a unique experience and perspective.
It’s a misnomer that, in order to have success and a huge pipeline of leads, you need to excel at sales. The reality is that many small business owners hate the idea of selling, ultimately, because they have the wrong idea of it! No worries—I’ve been there too! And...
In a recent post, legal technology blogger Kevin O'Keefe had much to say about sharing others' work. (Admittedly, this post is pretty meta.) An early adopter, advocate, and authority in the blogging space, Kevin's words are more than useful---they are golden. And,...
The primary way that most gain new business is through referrals and that's probably just something that is not going to change. It really just depends on how people are finding you over time. It may be such that your digital marketing efforts are outweighing many of...
Everything is marketing. This is one of those things that I say and repeat often because it’s easy to remember and it’s so true. Everything is marketing—and when I say everything, I mean literally everything. One of the things that people often don’t think about and...
You are probably making marketing a lot more difficult than you should be. When it comes to getting the message of your business out there, there are lots of guru’s, there are lots of folks giving advice. Many of those people have earned the right to share that...
So I was recently reading a book written by Ken Segall. Ken is a copywriter and a marketer, best known for his work with Steve jobs and the ad company that Apple worked with during those crucial years of recovery. Recall that Apple turned around from a failing company...
We're continuing a sketch of content marketing here on the blog, and this time, I think it'd be helpful to discuss why content is such an effective way to market. What is Content? Content is information that is produced with education in mind. That is---it is not...
In a recent conversation I was having with a client, the issue of content marketing came up. He wondered about the effectiveness of content marketing, being that his organization is in the extremely rare position of having about 90% market saturation in their niche....
At NorthMac we strongly believe that blogging remains one of the strongest forms of content marketing. At the time of this writing, search engines are still more likely to arrive at a relevant blog post of yours than almost any other content medium, such as a video or...
Small business ownership is tough. As the new year approaches, it can be hard to see the forest for the trees. Established small business owners are trying to close out bookkeeping operations for the year, plan ahead for next year, and make key decisions regarding the...
We live in a world that is driven by two things—the ideas people dream and the content they create around them. If you’ll reflect on that statement for some time, I believe you will find it to be absolutely true. I’ve certainly found it to be true, which is why much...
Last week, we examined the idea of building authority your own brand by using someone’s content. We saw that this is perfectly legitimate, and in the post, I briefly suggested four ways you could possibly begin doing this. This week, I’d like to explore each of those...
We write a lot on this blog about building authority as a vital marketing tactic. But let's be honest--there are only so many hours in the day, and sometimes, it can be hard to meet deadlines and grind out new content (I am not immune, seeing as how I am delivering...
Most business owners begin doing what they do out of a deep love or passion for the work. But as I’ve written here, it eventually sets in that your business’ continued growth relies solely on you. And, as I’ve written here, this is especially difficult for those who...
Many of us have used technology to radically change and transform the way we do business. If we were to really take inventory of our lives, however, I bet we'd find that many of us are cheating ourselves. What I mean by that is that the technology we have available to...
From time to time, we search out Facebook Groups for questions and invite questions from readers of the Blog. A Facebook questioner recently asked, "How do you advertise your small business if you have little to no startup money?" This is a great question, and one...
