Source: dantada at Morguefile What do Amazon, Apple, and Mercedes-Benz have in common? They’re among the world’s most valuable brands. We recognize them by their logo, a tagline, or a jingle. And we stand in line for hours to be among the first to own one of their products. These companies are associated with quality. You […] The post 4 Steps to Build a Better Brand (and Express it in High-Value C...

 Enter to win the ultimate collection of blogging books, including The Business Blog Handbook and other books every blogger needs in their library.  Enter to win the ultimate collection of blogging books, including The Business Blog Handbook and other books every blogger needs in their library. The post Enter the Blogging Book Giveaway to Win 5 Books You Need in Your Collection appeared first on K...

“I don’t have to read any of your writing to know it’s all shit!” via GIPHY This is how one of my writing professors introduced himself on the first day of class. Unfortunately, it’s as true in business writing as it is the classroom—including a lot of the content we see online. Writing well is […] The post How to Instantly Improve Your Writing (7 Rules and 3 Case Studies) appeared first on Kathry...

Through the barrage of endless tweets and Facebook comments, it’s easy to forget that customers are communicating important information to businesses via social media platforms. However, you should be listening to what they’re saying. By analyzing different forms of engagement on social media, such as likes, comments, and shares, you can gain key insights about […] The post 4 Tips for Better Socia...

In 2017, 3.7 billion people worldwide — half the world’s population — used email. By 2021, it’s expected to be 4.1 billion, with more users and each user having multiple email accounts. (Radicati) Bottom line, getting email right is key to better marketing results. There’s just one problem: With every business in every industry trying […] The post Email Personalization: How to Double Clicks with J...

Get all the traffic you want — but if you don’t convert it, your business won’t grow. That being the case, it doesn’t matter what type of business you run, your #1 job is converting visitors into customers and customers into promoters. And that’s especially true for eCommerce. Here’s the thing, though… Conversion rate optimization […] The post CRO Hacks: 46 Tips for Getting Peak eCommerce Results ...

Facebook’s recent algorithm change rocked the marketing world… But it shouldn’t have. Engagement and community have always been important for driving business. And on the social web, they’re your top priorities. The truth is success depends on customer loyalty. If people don’t know, like, and trust you, there’s no reason for them to choose you […] The post Want to Grow Your Business? The #1 Tool t...

We typically think of content as a growth tactic. But what if a business is preparing to sell? Your content marketing strategy is critical to the success of your business—at every stage of growth. Your strategy simply needs to change depending on the outcome you want. If you’re considering selling your business or need to […] The post Content Marketing in an Exit Strategy: How to Plan Ahead for a ...

How do you know in advance whether an agency will do the job and deliver results? When I was searching for my own answers, I came across several posts from people desperate to find out if their SEO agency was legit, but they didn’t know enough about SEO to be able to tell themselves. SEO […] The post SEO Agencies: Are They Worth It? (The Experts Weight In) appeared first on Kathryn Aragon Media.

I know, I know… We’ve been saying video is THE THING for years now. But as content marketing matures, it definitely needs to be part of your content mix. People don’t read as much as they used to. They’re busy. And video can quickly deliver your message in a personal, engaging way. “Engaging” is the […] The post How to Add Video to Your Content Mix (Start with These 7 Types) appeared first on Kath...

Are you getting everything you want from social content? Or is it becoming one big time suck? Social media marketing has become a powerful way to get your business and products in front of a huge audience—but only IF you know how to optimize your social content. To avoid leaving value on the table, you’ve […] The post 5 Ways to Optimize Social Content (& Use It to Drive Growth) appeared first on K...

Search engine optimization (SEO) can work wonders… Your website will climb up search engine rankings in no time. Your site will gain visibility and enjoy direct visitor traffic from people searching for the topics you’re talking about. But you’ll only get these results if you avoid a few common SEO mistakes that optimizers are discovering […] The post 5 SEO Mistakes Killing Your Website Ranking Wi...

A picture is worth 1000 words. It’s true in general, but it’s particularly true in marketing. And for good reason: visual content is far more appealing than plain text. If you’re not quite convinced, have a quick look at the data. Posts on Facebook and Twitter receive over 1.5 times more engagement when they contain […] The post Visual Content: 4 Do’s and 4 Don’ts for Peak Results appeared first o...

Content has always been a strategy of engaging people’s hearts and minds before trying to sell to them. What’s always changing is how we do that. Fortunately, though, there are some foundational strategies that will likely never change. And in this webinar, hosted by SEMrush, Nadya Khoja, Justin Champion, Ross Simmonds, and I talk about […] The post 6 Strategies for Viral and Evergreen Content [We...

Content, both blog posts and social media posts, are key to eCommerce success. They’re hands-down the best way to build engagement and drive traffic. But doing it well… Well, that’s another matter. That’s why this infographic is so helpful. It shares the timeline of social media’s integration with eCommerce, as well as the importance of social […] The post Social Networks as a Gateway to eCommerce...

  Since the dawn of media advertising, consumers have learned to be skeptical of promises made by companies. We’ve all been disappointed in a buy that didn’t live up to the hype, and we’ve learned to protect our expectations and our wallets until a product or service proves worthy. According to a Nielsen “Global Trust […] The post How to Use Customer Reviews to Create Powerful Content that Convert...

There’s been a lot of talk lately about how social media platforms were designed to be addictive. The focus is primarily about how devious that was, how the designers and programmers were out to get us somehow, to take advantage of us. But I disagree. Like us, they simply wanted their creation (their content, if […] The post Is Your Content Addictive? A New Mandate for Better Content appeared firs...

You no doubt saw Mark Zuckerberg’s post last week about the changes he’s making in Facebook. On January 11, he wrote: One of our big focus areas for 2018 is making sure the time we all spend on Facebook is time well spent…. I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping […] The post A New Era of Content Marketing (How to Win the Game Today) appeared first on Kathryn Aragon...

When I edit a piece of content—whether it’s an article, an advanced guide, or a story—I can often transform it from blah to brilliant with just one simple change. What’s my #1 edit, you ask? It’s replacing boring words with words that sing. First: Verbs Writers tend to default to passive voice. Passive voice is […] The post Better Writing, Better Content (Tips to Improve your Writing) appeared fir...

Six years ago, content marketing had captured the imagination of just about every marketer. The promise was intoxicating: traffic and authority for free. There are still a lot of believers. But just as many are losing faith. After years of priming the content pump with all kinds of content, every brand, big and small, is […] The post Does Content Marketing Still Work? (The Quick & Dirty Answer) ap...

Helen Keller wasn’t born blind and deaf. But losing two of her senses at 18 months of age made a huge difference in her ability to grow and thrive. Without sight and sound, she didn’t develop language fluency. So as a toddler, she couldn’t communicate or learn, which left her closed off from the world, […] The post Is Your Content Causing Sensory Deprivation? appeared first on Kathryn Aragon Media...

Nothing happens by chance. Not a holiday party. Not a marketing campaign. And certainly not success. We’ve got just 2 weeks left before the new year kicks in. So NOW is the time to review your goals and decide what you want to achieve in 2018. There’s just one catch. We’re not talking impossible dreams […] The post Your “1 Word” for 2018 (Forget Resolutions! Do This Instead) appeared first on Kath...

Among the many cliched phrases in the online world, “content is king” is one of the most frequently used. But it’s not wrong. Content is paramount to your site’s success—and being original and unique is essential to your content gathering momentum and attracting an audience. If the content on your site isn’t unique, you’ll find […] The post To Be Unique, Or Not To Be Unique? Why Your Content Must ...

As a content creator, I dabble in a lot of different formats, and I try a lot of different tools. It’s rare that I find one I like so much that I stop looking for anything else. But after playing with Venngage, I’ve reached full stop. What Is Venngage? Venngage is a visual content tool […] The post Venngage Review: Amazing Infographics For Non-Designers appeared first on Kathryn Aragon Media.

Believe it or not, your success as a content marketer doesn’t hinge on your writing skill. It’s more about your marketing savvy, your understanding of your target audience and their interests, and how to sell without really selling. It also comes down to the tools you use—apps and resources that save time, give you more […] The post 9 Must-Have Content Marketing Tools for Higher Growth and Convers...

On the Internet everything moves at a breakneck speed. When you fail to keep up, using old memes and references, it dates you. While that might not be a big deal on a personal level, it can be one for your brand. Too many companies are behind the times, leaving customers rolling their eyes with […] The post 10 Tools that Make It Easy to Stay on Top of Today’s Trends appeared first on Kathryn Arago...

Why do we create content? Bottom line, it’s about being seen in a digital world. Through content, we can share our message and solutions so we can attract and keep our best customers. But what good does it do to create content if it’s never seen? Unless we get eyeballs on our content, we won’t […] The post 11 SEO Tips that Can Supercharge Your Traffic in 30 Days appeared first on Kathryn Aragon Me...

“You. Can. Do. This.” For as long as I can remember, these are the words I mutter under my breath when I’m struggling with something that’s hard, slightly out of reach, possibly impossible. Like when I was trying to hammer a fence post into the rock-hard soil to keep the dog from escaping our yard. […] The post How I Quit My Job, Went to Bed, and Became a Successful Writer appeared first on Kathry...