Is Content Marketing a Trend?

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I start today’s post off with another question:  Is content marketing a trend?

My answer:  No.

“Content Marketing” is the latest marketing buzz word that is being thrown around amongst marketers, entrepreneurs and digital strategists.  According to Wikipedia, “Content marketing is any marketing format that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers.”  In today’s digital landscape, this is being done through the use of infographics, white papers, social media, ebooks, blogs, etc.  Wikipedia goes on to say, “Content marketing is focused not on selling, but on simply communicating with customers and prospects.”

Because of the recent explosion of content across digital mediums and platforms; it may feel that content marketing is a trend or fad that has just cropped up.  However, I would argue that content marketing strategies have existed for a long time in traditional marketing mediums.  In print, companies have distributed helpful literature in the form of pamphlets, leaflets and guides.  The literature did not directly sell anything to the consumer, but was helpful information.  It also kept the company top of mind for that consumer when they needed the services offered by that company.  In media, we have seen public service announcements that provided helpful information to the public and were sponsored by enterprises.

Technology has helped to change the marketing landscape and a traditional marketing strategy has now made the leap into the digital age.  So no, content marketing is not a trend.  It has just been repurposed to work in an ever changing, fast moving, and digital world.

Content Marketing: Is Blogging Dead?

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I have seen the question come up of whether or not blogging is dead fairly often recently.  For many, blogging is a part of their content marketing strategy.  For most that are using content marketing as a strategy, blogging is the only method that they are employing.  Blogging has been around for a long time, but in my opinion, only started becoming “popular” and the “thing to do” within the last five years or so.

I believe that it has become the popular thing to do for many reasons:

• The successful careers that have been launched by popular bloggers like Perez Hilton, Bryan Boy and many others.

• The potential to earn passive income/revenue from ads on a blog.

• The SEO benefits that bring traffic and new potential clients/customers to a business.

• The relatively low cost and ease to implement and maintain a blog.

Add to this an increased desire for many to become entrepreneurs or the next big thing, and we have seen an explosion of blogs and bloggers.  Everyone has one.

So, do I think blogging is dead? No, I don’t.

While I feel that the blogosphere and internet are saturated with blogs, I feel that it has turned into a trend that will die.  Wait, didn’t you just say that blogging is not dead?  Yes, that is what I said and believe.  It is the trend itself that I believe will die.  When the next big marketing concept hits, everyone will clamor to jump on that trend and many blogs will be forgotten and will die.  What will remain, will be blogs that were never about just pushing out content for the sake of pushing out content.  What will remain and continue to thrive, will be blogs that were in it because they loved to produce whatever content they were producing, they were passionate about it and believed it was worth while to publish.

A Call for Guest Blog Submissions

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Last week I announced that I was challenging myself to write [almost] daily blog posts.  I plan to write and post on the blog Monday – Friday and continue to keep the weekends free from work.  Part of my plan to keep up an almost daily blogging schedule is to also open the blog up to guest submissions.

This is something that I have thought about doing for a while.  I think it would be nice to hear a voice on the blog and for readers to gain insight from someone other than myself.  While my personal marketing strategy has made me a bit of a narcissist (it cannot be helped with that sort of marketing strategy), I am not so naïve as to believe that reader’s can only gain insight on topics related to marketing and design from myself.  It is for this reason that I have decided to open the blog up to guest post opportunities.

If you are interested in submitting to the blog, fill out the form below or click here (same form), to submit your content for review.  The blog’s focus is on marketing and design.  Marketing topics may range from content marketing to social media marketing and everything in between.  Design topics that I am looking for are in the areas of graphic design, illustration, web design, user interface design, etc.  I am looking for design topics as they relate to marketing materials (print, digital, etc.).

I would like to note that a submission of a post, does not guarantee publishing.  I will review submitted posts for relevancy to the topics that I am looking for and for grammar.  If I think it is a good fit, I will contact you to let you know and give you a publishing date.  If I have any questions or requested edits, I will contact you as well.  Please make sure to include an author’s bio and up to two (2) links to your site, social media, etc.

 

Why You Should Blog | Freelance Graphic Design Blog

Setting a Schedule & Plan to Execute a Daily Blogging Goal

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My to-do listLast week I announced here that I had set a goal of [almost] daily blogging.  So, my first challenge is to figure out how to make that an attainable goal for myself and for me that means planning and scheduling.  I already use a daily to-do list that I make at the end of every workday for the following day’s tasks to be completed.  It’s a bit of an old school tactic in that it is an actual handwritten list that is posted next to my desk.

My first step is to place “daily blog” as the first item on my to-do list each day.  When I sit down at my desk each morning to get ready to work, instead of checking my email first, I will write a blog post.  At least this is the plan.

Step two in my plan, is to continue with my old schedule for writing blog posts.  Although I try to keep a strict no weekend work policy to keep a healthy work/life balance, there is one exception to this rule.  I dedicate one weekend a month to write blog posts.  Since I was only publishing four posts a month on average (for every Friday of that upcoming month), it was not too time consuming to write.  I usually split this up into two on Saturday and two on Sunday.  I am going to keep this in place with the hope that it may put me ahead or give me a small reserve for days when I have writer’s block or nothing that I feel is of value to say.

My third step is to continue jotting post ideas in a running Evernote note.  I use Evernote to jot down ideas that come to me in the middle of the night, when I am out and about, or while I am working.  I have an open running note called “Blog Post Ideas,” where I put ideas that pop into my mind for something to write about.  This has been helpful when I sit down to write, because I can just see what topics I have previously come up with and write about them.  It eliminates the step of trying to figure out what to write about.

The fourth step will be to open my blog up to guest submissions.  This is something that I had been thinking about doing for a while.  I was planning to do this for 2014, but why put off for tomorrow, what you can do today?  While I do not expect to have a lot of submissions, I figure any that I do receive will help to take some of the pressure off of myself.

By putting together a plan and a schedule for doing things, I feel less anxious about this undertaking.  It makes me feel warm, snuggly and safe.  My next goal will be to conquer the self-defeating thoughts that are attempting to attach my psyche about this goal!

Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2013 Tech Deals for Small Businesses

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Ah, it’s that magical time of year that we all look forward to…DEALS!  As a small business owner, I am always looking for ways to save money.  For me, keeping my overhead as low as possible and using technology are two of the most important aspects of my business.  With Black Friday and Cyber Monday approaching, I have been keeping an eye out for deals and steals to help me nab resources, equipment and anything else that I feel is an actual “need” for my business.  I figured there may be others trying to do the same thing; so I decided to create a running list of what I find for me to refer back to and for you guys as well.

If you know of a useful tech related deal that I may have missed, feel free to leave it in the comments and I will do my best to get it added to this list!

HostGator

**UPDATED** I received an email from HostGator this week announcing, “we will be offering our best discounts of the year all weekend!” from 11/29 – 12/02.  The deal will be as follows:

host-gator-cyber-monday

  • The whole Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend will be 60% OFF Hosting (Starting at $1.98/month) and $4.50 domains.
  • We will be running limited time flash sales each day for 75% OFF Hosting (Starting at only $1.24/month) and $1.95 domains. Check the site regularly to catch one!
  • The discount applies to all new hosting packages – including Shared, Reseller, VPS and Dedicated servers!
  • Domain discounts will be for .COM/NET/ORG/INFO/BIZ

And… We’re kicking off Black Friday in style with a 1 hour flash sale for 75% OFF Hosting (starting at only $1.24/m) and $1.95 domains. This will run from 12 AM central to 1AM Central, November 29th.

 

Amazon

Amazon is advertising a section of their site completely dedicated to Black Friday deals on computers and accessories.  Kindle Fire HD’s will be $50 off on Cyber Monday (12/02/13) ONLY!

kindle-fire-cyber-monday

Kashoo | Cloud Accounting

If you have an account with Kashoo, they are offering a $50 Amazon or iTunes gift card if you upgrade to an annual plan for their Cyber Monday deal.  Invitation code to get the deal is:  cyber13

CyberMonday_kashoo

App Sumo

**UPDATED**  App Sumo is a deal site that I have gotten some great deals from in the past for my business.  Last year’s deal was pretty sweet, and I anticipate that this year’s would be as well.  So, here it is:

  • Brand NEW Creative Market Black Friday Bundle: Hundreds of themes, icons, fonts and graphics worth over $1200 – only $39
  • Hittail: Drive your website targeted and free organic search traffic – only $49
  • Themify: 40 beautiful customizable themes for your WordPress sites – only $39
  • Copy Hackers: Learn how to write copy that drives sales, improves conversion rates, and is actually fun to read – only $39
  • Prey: Track your computer in case it’s ever stolen – only $39
  • Crazy Egg: Free lifetime of Crazy Egg to know where your visitors are clicking on your website – Free!

appsumo-black-friday

 

These deals will be good for 24 hours only on Friday 11/29/13, starting at 12:00am CST.

 

Best Buy

Quoted directly from Best Buy’s site:  “There’s no place like Best Buy for incredible Cyber Monday savings — and the Best Buy deals for Cyber Monday 2013 will blow you away. Our Cyber Monday 2013 sales event on December 2 will offer you an amazing list of hot products on sale, only online at BestBuy.com”

 

Hyper

I received this info in my inbox just this morning (Thursday) from the PR staff at Hyper.  HYPER is a consumer electronics brand by Sanho Corporation. Headquartered in Fremont, California, Sanho designs, manufactures and markets IT accessories with a focus on Apple accessories, portable power and storage. Sanho is committed to developing cutting edge products with a dedicated focus on performance, quality, value and service, with sales and marketing office in the U.S. in Silicon Valley, California, production facilities near Shanghai, China, and R&D teams in both countries.

Hyper will have sales of up to 50% off of items across their entire site.  Items marked down include battery packs for Apple laptops, storage devices, HDMI cables and Apple accessories.

hyper-black-friday

 

HitTail (formerly YouSendIt.com)

Upgrade your account to the unlimited storage plan and receive 40% off of the regular subscription price.

hightail-black-friday

 

iThemes

From now (Friday) until Monday, December 2 at 11:59 pm CST, Save 50% off of the WordPress Web Designer’s Toolkit.  Use coupon code:  TOOLKIT50.  The toolkit includes 200+ themes, 30+ plugins, 500+ hours of training and access to their WordPress Developer Course.

ithemes-black-friday

Organic Themes

Use coupon code:  THNKSGVG13 to save 20% off of any theme purchase from Organic Themes.  Sale begins on Black Friday (11/29/13) and lasts through Cyber Monday (12/02/13).

 

organic-themes-black-friday

 

123RF Stock Photos

Purchase a 12 month subscription plan on Cyber Monday, December 2, 2013, and receive an extra 3 months FREE!

123rf-cyber-monday

 

Tripit Pro

I love Tripit and use it to organize all of the information for my trips.  On Cyber Monday, you can gift a Tripit subscription for just $39/year with coupon code MAGICMONDAY.

tripit-cyber-monday

 

Solid Stock Photos

Solid Stock is offering 3 bundles for Cyber Monday that will save you 25%, 30% or 35% on Solid Stock Cash, the currency used to purchase stock photography from the site.

solid-stock-cyber-monday

 

 

Full Disclosure:  Some links included in this post may be affiliate links that earn me a small commission.