Content Rules for Marketers: Notes from the Master

Yesterday I went to hear Ann Handley, co-author of Content Rules and guru at MarketingProfs, talk about the challenges that marketers face in creating catchy content for websites, blogs, and social media.

I picked up four types of info from Ann: stats, musts, messages, and stories/samples, plus this key point: Blogging is the single best way to create content, but …

Many marketers are afraid to blog and here are the three reasons they cite:

• I don’t know what to say

• It’s difficult for me to find topics to write about.

• I don’t know how to write copy that will excite our clients.

Nevertheless, blogging counts. Consider these stats:

• Companies that blog pull 55% more website visitors

• Companies that blog enjoy 97% more inbound links.

• The best content reflects the “soul of who you are” and that’s true for businesses, too.

So, to push yourself and your organization ahead, understand the following five musts when creating content. The good news? All are familiar terrain to writers (brand journalists), editors, and marketers!

1. Share or Solve. Don’t be shrill and don’t sell.
2. Show, Don’t Tell. Share examples, stories, case studies, charts, graphs, and pictures.
3. Speak Human. Say it simple and straight. Be yourself.
4. Build Momentum. Help readers understand what you want them to do (you are still a marketer, yes?). Go here; tell me this; buy that; click on; share your opinion, etc.
5. Do something unexpected. With all the information out there, you’ll need to break through the clutter, so surprise them.

Messages

1. Let your blog serve as a sales force. Put up no walls and require no registration.

2. Think through your calls to action. What creative ways can you dream up to make something happen?

3. Host your blog and your website on something your organization owns (your own domain or your own Wordpress/Blogger spot. Facebook is owned by Facebook, so don’t site there. Feed in if you want to, but have your own Internet url.

4. Are you that marketer who must "do it all" for your organization? Start small, tap into your own passion, play to your personal strengths, and get help from a pro – even part-time help -- if you need it.

5. If you’re overwhelmed with content development, consider whether or not you can attract outside voices – customers, donors, members, other bloggers – to contribute.

6. Run your blog like a magazine. Explore whether or not there are various staff people in your organization who can contribute. Identify their passion and see if they’re willing to take on a “beat” in your blogazine.

7. Re-imagine content every chance you can. Do you have a large white paper? Break it down into articles. From there, write blogs. Film a video commentary with an expert. Develop some related podcast interviews. Make a slideshow. Feature pieces on your Facebook page. Tweet all of it.

Stories/Examples

• Content Done Right: My Sears Community. Lots of information here related to stuff that Sears sells, but w/o a direct sales message.

• Something Unexpected: Agilent’s “silly video”

• Re-imagining.

- Kinaxis may have a boring topic – supply chain management – but their site features a blog, of course, but also a “community” for learning, laughing, sharing, connecting.

- Openview Labs takes imagination everywhere with a corporate blogging ebook, video, podcasts, articles, and lots more.

The major takeaway?

Before the social media boom, brands relied on third-party ink to build credibility. No more. Today, brands are expected to build credibility by communicating and providing information .. and – in the main – marketers are given this responsibility.

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Hey, I'm a "brand journalist." Who knew?

I'm happy to be myself, but I avoid talking about myself on this blog. Forgive me. I'm a little excited right now. This morning, I attended Ann Handley's seminar dedicated to the notion that Content Rules. This morning I learned a new name for what I do.

I am a "brand journalist."

This is a term Ann threw out during the Q&A, when somebody asked how a small organization can possibly "do it all" -- website, blog, social media, content curation and management, etc. Ann's answer was to hire a "brand journalist." Why? Because this is the person who has the skills specific to the accelerating demand for corporate and nonprofit content.

The specific skills of a brand journalist blend marketing, PR, and journalism and include the following attributes:

1. The ability to analyze and identify the needs of the audience for whom content is created.

2. A skill for writing fresh, authoritative, but also conversational, friendly, and approachable stories.

3. A penchant for show-don't-tell writing that's easy to read and accessible to many reader segments.

4. An understanding of and experience with all the ways to present content: blogging, articles, video, podcasting, slidesharing, etc.

5. Knowing how to "reimagine" content, which means, perceiving how to rethink, recreate, and rewrite current material to meet multiple cross-platform needs.

6. A writing style that builds momentum and can take the reader along to the next step or action.

Several weeks ago, I set up a new blog titled Brands That Share, so Ann's word choice was an exciting moment for me. I heard the new role of brand journalism defined exactly as I have been envisioning it.

My next blog will share other takeaways from this seminar. But, for now, I just need to say it: I'm a brand journalist!

And thank you for listening!

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Brilliant Zinio, Breathtaking Magazines

We may not have direct mail sweepstakes from Publishers' Clearinghouse, but we do have email from digital/interactive publisher Zinio. Last year, I regularly received marketing emails from Zinio and I didn’t mind. Most of the time I deleted, but every now and then I’d open and be amazed what a great marketing tool these “free magazine articles” were.

Last summer, for example, the Zinio Daily Spotlight focused on “Water,” followed by a few thirst-inducing statistics:

• 100 gallons – amount of water the average American uses per day, enough to fill 1,600 glasses
• $600 – amount the average home spends annually on energy to heat water.

What did these striking statistics come from? I had to find out, so I clicked “read it.” That’s when I learned that all these tips were in the “Green Home Guide” issue of Popular Science. I realized I don’t know much about science, popular or otherwise. I should. Why don’t I?

Zinio did this to me often. In myriad ways, this digital company reminded me of the value and expertise found in magazines, whose editors and writers know oodles about their topic areas. Besides, most any magazine is just plain joyous to look it.

Zinio seems to be marketing differently now. I don't get any more Daily Spotlights or "read it" emails. (Okay, I didn't subscribe to anything, so that's fair enough.) Also, on Zinio's website, I notice that much of their advertising today is aimed at iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and other mobile readers. If digital downloads will save magazines, that’s a good thing, though I, personally, would miss the feel of glossy paper, the vibrant color, and the whoosh scent of a printed magazine.

Meanwhile, it's fun to cruise around Zinio’s website and peek inside contemporary publications like SPIN and T3, if for no other reason than to check the hip graphics and page layouts. It’s even a treat to sift through the titles of magazines still in print.

Long live magazines!

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A Few Things I’ve Done To Manage the Workload

Productivity expert Barbara Hemphill cites an Accenture study that found middle managers spending two hours a day searching for information, half of which turns out to be of no value (and that was three years ago!). Today, I don’t know a single direct marketer -- a single person, actually -- who isn’t overwhelmed.

The following tactics have helped me cope over the last few months:

1. File incoming email to folders. As an editor in the direct marketing field, I need to read every notable industry publication and blog. BUT, I can’t afford the distraction of messages invading my inbox. To cope, I set up filters to hide my mail before I see it. Especially useful has been my “electronic newsletters folder," which contains every e-newsletter, press release, blog or announcement related to the industry. About once a week I spend an hour inside that folder. Estimated time savings: ½-hour per day.

2. Tell laytr.com everything. Laytr.com is a free service from Oslo, Norway, that reminds me of every must-recall detail, large or small, personal or professional. This service says it’s in beta, but I’ve never had any reminder system – human or otherwise -- that is easier or more reliable. Laytr helps keep my inbox clean, too, because I set-up alerts for stuff I need to deal with, but can't right now. Estimated time savings: I can’t even estimate because peace of mind is priceless.

3. Hit delete. No matter how much I filter my email, the SPAM comes. I used to suppress my instinct to delete. No more. Delete, delete, delete. It’s fun. Estimated time savings: 20 minutes/day.

4. Screen all phone calls. Vonage sends me an email that contains an audio file of every incoming phone message. This tells me who's called and why. Estimated time savings: 15 minutes/day.

5. Listen later. Online educational meetings and webinars are great, but they take an hour or two. Most of us can pick up the meat by registering ahead and downloading when a) we’re less busy; b) we’re in the mood to focus; c) we’re ready to take notes. Estimated time savings: 1 hour per week.

6. Contain news consumption to one online daily newspaper. The news summary allows me to scan the planetary zeitgeist first thing in the morning and/or go back later for details. Important headlines arrive as the news occurs. Estimated time savings: ½ hour per day (and YES, I miss reading -- and touching -- the full print newspaper).

7. Respect the 5x8. I have a 5x8 notebook beside my computer where I record everything … to-do, to-call, to-think-about, to-remember, to-follow-up-on, to-be-or-not-to-be. There is no question – ever. When I complete tasks, I check them off the list (very satisfying). I write down phone numbers, names, snippets of phone calls, ideas, concepts, working titles for articles, shopping lists, etc. When I have filled one page, I copy all the incompleted items to a new page and begin again. Estimated time savings: whatever I might have otherwise spent on mental health counseling.

8. Be less social. I’m not tweeting as frequently. I’m blogging fewer times per month. I visit the LinkedIn groups less often, so I cut my group memberships my 25%. My Facebook friends number 20. I did recently reactivate Quora. The information there is selective and intelligent and -- so far, unlike LinkedIn -- nobody is promoting anything. Apparently, such antisocial behavior mirrors a trend that Forrester reports: namely, that social behaviors have reached a plateau. Estimated time savings: 1 hour per day.

I sit in front of a computer most of the day. Your work life may be different. For example, if you’re on the road, I’m sure your smart phone is the essence of your work plan. If you’re moving around your office or plant, you have a different set of challenges. How are you coping?

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Which Digital Tool Will Facebook Annihilate First?

Which will Facebook annihilate first? Email? Websites? Databases? Consider the facts.

Facebook is swallowing up the digital universe, fostering cozy relationships with Yahoo, Bing-aka-Microsoft, Verizon, Skype, MySpace….

Indeed, Facebook may squash websites as we’ve come to know and love them. Have you noticed that many companies now cite their Facebook presence in TV and print ads? All of corporate America is sending customers to Facebook! Even the government is inviting people to face the book (for example, the State of Maryland). How did this happen?

With the advent of Facebook messaging and email addresses early last year, some observers worried that the giant would gobble up our inboxes. Others disagreed. The jury is out, but there’s another potential takeover on the horizon. Facebook just might replace proprietary databases, becoming the largest database in human history.

And then there are the photographs. As this Public Radio International article noted, “Some believe Facebook is now the largest photo collection in the world.”

Millions seem immune to privacy invasion, as we learn to shrug off the published sharing of more and more personal information among several hundred of our very best friends in the whole wide world.

Various Facebook advances do cause brief flurries of outrage and speculation when they launch. The recent disclosure that Facebook was giving developers access to users’ addresses and mobile phone numbers caused a brouhaha. But apparently this vital part of the lives of over 500 million subscribers has, somehow, become too powerful to stop or even control.

So why write about it? Because "eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty." And because, so far, I have the right to say I don't like it.

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p.s. A side note: I use Google Chrome to surf. When I attempted to check the latest subscriber statistics, the very anti-Google Facebook wouldn’t allow me to access the site. I was told “You are using an incompatible web browser. Sorry, we're not cool enough to support your browser. Please keep it real with one of the following browsers: Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Internet Explorer.” Smirky sons of a gun, aren't they?

Direct Mail Copywriting 101. A Dozen Tips from Top Experts

Some would argue that significantly successful copywriters are born not made. I suppose you could say the same thing for long-distance runners or sculptors. The talent is there, but the perfecting is in the practice.

Still, the rest of us can learn from these classic tactics employed by some of direct mail’s best, which have stood the test of time:

1. Know your audience. How To Write A More Effective Technical Brochure. Bob Bly

2. When writing headlines, go straight to the heart of the matter, without any attempt at cleverness. How To Write Headlines That Work. Brian Clark, Copyblogger.

3. Never “create” – know the product to the core and combine the details in new ways. Eugene Schwartz’s 8 Rules of Great Copywriting. Eugene Schwartz

4. Your reader matters most. 100 Great Copywriting Ideas from Leading Companies Around the World. Andy Maslen.

5. Tell A story. Great copywriters are great storytellers. Miguel Alvarez y Mena Brito

6. The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife. Wiki Quote. David Ogilvy

7. Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read. WikiQuotes. Leo Burnett

8. Think strategically and objectively. Experiment. Meet the Masters. Martin Baier

9. People buy benefits, not features. Bob Stone’s 30 timeless Direct Marketing Principles. Bob Stone.

10. Intelligent redundancy has selling power. ProCopyTips. Dean Rieck

11. “Copywriter, you are Peter Pan, and what you’re selling is Tinker Bell. And unless that reader believes… Tinker Bell will drop dead." Copywriter magazine. Herschell Gordon Lewis.

12. “Now I spend hours on headlines—days if necessary.” Target Marketing. John Caples

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Direct Mail Means Never Having To Say You’re Sorry

Major League Baseball umpire Jim Joyce and Detroit Tiger’s pitcher Armando Galarraga both know that, no matter how sincere, an apology only goes so far.

Maybe that was on the mind of Neil Berman when he wrote about “Our Love Affair With Apology Emails” for a November Email Insider post.

Emailers are forgetting attachments, posting the wrong links, fudging numbers and statistics, sending to the “wrong Nancy,” delaying their response, suffering “server” issues, and generally embarrassing themselves. The preferred solution appears to be sending a blushing follow-up that only serves to draw unwanted attention to the initial error.

Loren McDonald addressed the apologetic trend back in April when she posted an article on Keys To An Effective Email Correction Process. “Mistake emails are simply a fact of life for digital marketers,” Loren said. “The question isn't if, but when, how often, how severe, and ‘How will you respond?’”

Wow.

I’ve no doubt that “I’m sorry” are two effective header words, particularly when delivered instantly, for free. I mean, who isn’t going to open an email full of slobbering servility. Still, I couldn’t help wondering how long a snail mail marketer would survive a similar trail of error. That’s when I realized that – unlike email – direct mail almost never has occasion to apologize.

How come?

1. A Barrier To Junk Entry. Mail that doesn’t work costs the sender dearly in dollars wasted, so mistakes can lead to termination (and I don’t mean that in a good way).

2. Quality-control Infusion. While direct mail goofs and typos can creep in (some of them quite deadly), direct mail materials pass through many hands and many stages of proofreading. (Note, the pressman himself is often proofreading.)

3. People Plus Machines. Direct mail insertions (“attachments,” in email parlance) are mechanized by regularly calibrated machines. If the direct mail package calls for lift notes, response cards, brochures, or BREs, chances are high that the attachments will be “in there.” On the other hand, email appears to eat its attachments (and often).

4. A Multi-Staged Dance. Direct mail campaigns encompass a series of steps, each requiring considerable finesse: planning, offer development, budgeting, approval, scheduling, targeting, creative, list analysis and procurement, production, mailing, testing, retesting, fulfillment, etc. Each sequence weeds out the unfit. Note: In all fairness – though not yet there -- email marketing is moving to the same sort of complex, integrated online campaign. Yea!

Admittedly, the direct mail “oops!” is not unheard of. Dan Kennedy, writing for Glazer-Kennedy’s Insiders Circle, disclosed a couple of very interesting direct mail boos-boos. In both situations, direct mailers turned a sorry situation into hot returns, proving, once again, that results are the measure.