7 Ways to Tell if Your B2B Technology Content Is Trying Too Hard
I recently attended a movie, and the theatre showed a commercial for a new smartphone. The ad featured the phone’s developers (or at least actors playing developers) talking about one of the phone’s new features. I can’t recall what the feature was, but my friend commented that it was something only a developer would care […]
Is It Time to Kill the List Post?
One of my friends recently posted this on Facebook: Dear Internet, I am really getting tired of roundups and top ## lists. What happened to good content and well-written copy? Personally, I am going to try and not click on any roundups or top ## lists for at least a month. It’s like a diet, […]
5 Keys for Creating a Call to Action that Boosts B2B Conversions
The strength of your calls to action directly impacts your conversions. However, many B2B marketers treat the call to action like an afterthought. They may devote hours – or even days – to developing a piece of content only to spend just a few minutes writing its call to action. One of the biggest mistakes […]
How to Say You’re the Best Without Boring Your Customers
If you’re like many of today’s savvy B2B marketers, you probably spend a lot of time creating educational content for your customers – such as blog posts, videos and e-books. However, there comes a time when you must move beyond giving out advice to talk about your company. This can include anything from your “About […]
How to Promote Your White Papers
If you’ve been following along with my No More Boring White Papers! e-course, then you know how much time and thought goes into developing a compelling white paper. That’s why you want to make sure you get your white paper in front of as many qualified leads as possible. Unfortunately, waiting for customers to stumble […]
20 Places to Find Credible Research, Data and Statistics for Your Next White Paper
One of the most time-consuming parts of writing a B2B white paper, report, e-book or blog post is conducting background research and finding credible sources to quote. While you may rely on Google for your day-to-day searches, you’ll want to get past the paid advertisements and unsubstantiated claims in this stage of your research. That’s […]
How to Draw Readers into Your White Paper
One of my clients believes that most B2B marketers just “throw shit against the wall” and hope that it sticks. This may keep you busy, but it won’t bring you great results. When you’re putting a ton of time and effort into creating a white paper, you don’t want to throw random content out there […]
How to Interview Subject Matter Experts for Your White Papers and Other B2B Marketing Content
Obtaining quotes and facts from subject matter experts is a crucial part of writing an authoritative white paper. I like to conduct interviews as early as possible in the white paper writing process, as it can be hard for subject matter experts to find room in their schedules to talk to you. When you’re writing […]
How to Write a Creative Brief for Your White Papers, Reports or Ebooks
Before you develop a white paper or other major piece of content, you need a creative brief that outlines your objectives and sets you on the right track. Although many organizations have a standard creative brief, they may not have one containing all of the questions that you must answer to create an effective white […]
How to Write B2B Email Subject Lines that Get Your Messages Opened
Email subject lines are often an afterthought. After preparing your email’s content, you might only have a few seconds to dash off a quick subject line and send out your email. However, since the best B2B customers often come from in-house email lists, you should spend more time crafting subject lines that get readers to […]
How to Build Credibility with B2B Technology Buyers
I recently attended a Spiceworks event where a panel of IT buyers told a room of technology marketers exactly what they like and don’t like about IT marketing. One of the most surprising things the panelists said is that all marketing content – even customer testimonials and case studies – can’t be trusted, as it’s filtered […]
Will Your B2B Website Matter in Two Years?
With the rise of social networks, earned media (e.g. social shares and positive online reviews) is becoming more valuable in the eyes of customers. Because many customers now base their buying decisions on social proof, the chat questioned whether paid media (e.g. ads) and owned media (e.g. your website) are still valuable marketing tactics. In two years, will your corporate website still be important?
The 5 Best B2B Email Marketing Articles That You Might Have Missed
I share a lot of great B2B marketing content with my social networks. However, much of this content gets lost in my fast-moving streams. That’s why I’ve decided to round up some of my favourite articles (this time on the subject of email marketing) and share them with you below. Without further ado, here they […]
5 Reasons Why You Should Add Ebooks to Your B2B Marketing Mix
Last week, I ran an article on white paper best practices. Although white papers can be powerful tools for attracting B2B leads, especially if you sell technology products or services, sometimes you may not want to work within a traditional white paper format. This can be because: You want to do something more fun and less […]
The 4 Things You Must Include in Your White Papers to Engage, Persuade and Convert Leads
One of my freelance projects involves finding interesting technology resources and recommending them on a client’s blog. I read a lot of technology white papers and often pass over quite a few duds before I find one that is valuable enough to share. The main reason that I will refuse to promote a technology company’s white […]
The 5 Biggest B2B Case Study Mistakes
According to the B2B Content Marketing 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends-North America Report, 71% of B2B marketers are using case studies as part of their content marketing strategy. This is because case studies can be a powerful tool that educates prospects on how to solve their challenges while proving that your services are valuable. However, many B2B marketers make mistakes that diminish the value of their case studies and turn what can be a compelling story into just another sales pitch that nobody wants to read. Here are the five biggest case study mistakes …
Boost Your Content Marketing ROI With These 5 Discovery Tips
“This article was originally published by the Content Marketing Institute.” Ask 10 marketers what “content discovery” is, and you’ll most likely get 10 different answers. With all this variation, it can be hard to determine if content discovery is just a buzzword or something that can add significant ROI to your marketing. Content discovery has […]
3 Marketing Fails That Can Hurt Your B2B Technology Brand
I had a bit of a letdown this week. A few of my friends and I belong to a product-of-the-month club (I won’t name the company, but it has to do with style and fashion). Every month, we receive a package with a handcrafted surprise inside and then sing the company’s praises on social media. […]
How to Drive Customers to Your B2B Content: Lessons from the Juicer Guy
Over the holidays, I bought myself a gift – a juicer. For me, deciding on the right kitchen appliance involves more research than I care to admit. I probably spent more time picking a juicer than I did picking a university! I spent hours on the Internet, comparing models and brands and figuring out which […]
The 2012 Best of the Fresh Marketing Blog
Before we look ahead to 2013, I wanted to take a look back at the blog posts that have generated the most interest on the Fresh Marketing Blog in 2012. And without further ado, here they are: 1. 7 Keys to a Successful Retweet This article explains the basics of how to retweet and shows […]