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Why Content Marketing is Important to eLearning Companies

Why Content Marketing is Important to eLearning Companies


Why Content Marketing is Important to eLearning Companies

The eLearning industry is one of the most exciting industries at the moment. Anyone can become a master on a particular topic from anywhere at any time.

This convenience is brining the classroom directly to people. It’s a reason why the industry is going to reach $325 billion in five years.

Universities are sharing knowledge online. Businesses use eLearning to train employees. Anyone with any level of expertise can create a course or a podcast to teach people on any topic.

All of these opportunities mean a lot of competition, which is why content marketing is important for eLearning companies.

Keep reading to discover why content marketing needs to be at the top of your list.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is the use of various forms of content to generate leads, website traffic, increase brand awareness and sales for an organization.

There are dozens of forms of content marketing. The most common examples are blog posts, emails, social media, case studies, white papers, podcasts, and videos.

Why Content Marketing Is Important

Now that you know what content marketing is, you want to know whether or not it’s worth the investment. Take a look at these reasons why content marketing is important for your eLearning company.

1. You Give People a Reason to Visit Your Website

Many businesses have static websites. That means that they have very basic information, like a typical 5-page website and that’s it. Your site has more pages because you offer courses and learning opportunities.

The problem with a static website is that it doesn’t give people a reason to keep coming back. Content marketing does fill that gap.

When you have a new course, send out an email. You can also write a blog post about the benefits of e learning to engage readers.

2. Content Marketing Is Cost-Effective

You don’t need to invest a lot of money into content marketing. You do need to invest time to research potential articles, write them, and promote them.

The payoff of content marketing is pretty significant when compared to paid advertising.

3. Content Marketing Is a Soft Sell

When people think of sales, they usually think of a salesperson using high-pressure tactics to close a deal. Buyers don’t trust that method of sales and they don’t like it at all.

When you invest in content marketing, you can slowly build trust with your audience. That audience is reading your content. If they read a couple of articles, they will find your eLearning company credible and trustworthy.

When they trust your company and find it credible, they will invest in learning opportunities on your site.

Content Marketing Is a Must for eLearning Companies

If you’re looking for an affordable way to market your eLearning company, content marketing is it.

Do you know why content marketing is important? Consistent marketing efforts will send more traffic to your site, create trust, and deliver a higher return on investment than other forms of marketing.

Are you ready to get started with content marketing? Check out this site often for a wealth of content marketing tips.

Business

What Is Content Writing for a Security Company? 5 Writing Tips to Know

What Is Content Writing for a Security Company? 5 Writing


What Is Content Writing for a Security Company? 5 Security Writing Tips to Know

With more than 2 million blog posts being written daily, it’s hard to know how to stand out. If you’re still wondering what is content writing versus what is blogging, you need to look at a few sites currently promoting your industry. Writing for a security company means doing research and it should start with learning about how to write content.

Here are five tips to get you started.

1. Headlines Mean a Lot

How many times have you shared an article after just reading the headline? Don’t be ashamed, we’ve all done it.

That’s because in our fast-moving era of scrolling feeds and “hot takes”, there just isn’t enough time to read every article that gives us a strong emotion. Your headlines need to trigger emotions and make readers want to learn more about given topics. 

The desired result of most online content begins with a click. If you can’t get that click, then you can’t get the rest of the results you’re looking for. Take the guesswork out of headlines and just hit the nail on the head whenever possible by going for the reader’s gut.

2. Make Your Hook Sink in

Once you get a click, you then only have a few seconds to attract your reader to learn more. The first sentence needs to be informative but leave them asking more questions. It should either be a strange fact or a question that you propose to answer.

However, it also has to be emotional. Capture their attention and then lead them into the first point. This ensures that they’ll read more. 

End each major section by iterating a clear point and you’ll get them through to the end. This will bring your rankings up in search results, as you get people to spend more and more time on your site.

3. Research Matters

Law enforcement has lots of data all about security issues. If you’re writing about home security, personal security, or cybersecurity, you’ll find no shortage of info.

Use this to your advantage by adding stats and memorable information. It gives your writing credibility and shows that you’re willing to back up your claims. 

Make sure to link back to the content that you use. This is just part of building a good rapport with other websites but also gives your readers the ability to learn even more.

4. Optimize Everything

Search engine optimization is vital to survival online. If you want to ensure that you get to the top of search results, your content needs to contain lots of short paragraphs that are snackable.

It also has to include your most important keywords as many times as possible. Keep it easy to read, well organized and use reputable links.

5. Don’t Forget to Edit

In the world of editing and especially online content, nothing is sacred. Don’t be afraid to toss out some great ideas for the sake of brevity. If they’re good, turn them into another post.

Check out docurex.com for more ideas on keeping it short.

Still Wondering “What Is Content Writing”?

If you’re wondering what is content writing and how it should be different than anything else you write, try looking at other sites and blogs. There are some great security websites out there to help you learn more.

For an example of great security writing, keep browsing our blog.

Business

Why Is Content Marketing Hogging the Attention? Here’s the Future of Print Advertising

Why Is Content Marketing Hogging the Attention? Here's the Future


Why Is Content Marketing Hogging the Attention? Here’s the Future of Print Advertising

In 2011, the number of smartphones in the US surpassed the number of people. More people are looking at their phones than reading print. Is the future of print ad campaigns dead and gone? 

If you own and operate a business, you’re always thinking about the future of advertising and marketing. You need to be able to keep up with the times if you expect to succeed in the business world. 

You may notice people these days talking a lot about digital marketing, SEO, and social media marketing. 

While these will likely continue to be important, what about print marketing? Continue reading about print advertising and find out if it still has a future. 

Print Advertising Isn’t Dead!

Here’s a spoiler: print marketing will remain alive so long as there remains a physical customer presence. Many experts will tell you print marketing still holds incredible value alongside your digital marketing campaign. 

Even with the advent of computers, mobile phones, tablets, and virtual reality, even young people have an affinity for paper. 

The Permanent Nature of Print  

Digital content is fleeting. When you design your digital marketing campaign, you need to think about constant updates to your internet content. 

This is true for your blog and various social media platforms. 

Print on paper carries an inherent feel of permanence. In a digital world, it can feel like information comes and goes with a moment’s notice. 

Think about ancient collections of books. With proper care, print has the potential to last forever. 

While this is true of the digital, digital information is quickly lost beneath mountains of information. 

Entice Customers to an Online Experience 

So far as we can tell, the best way to think about print advertising is as a complement to your digital brand. For example, you might consider getting customized stickers with your social media links printed across it. 

You can use your print ads to encourage potential customers to interact with your brand on an online platform. 

Will Print Disappear Forever? 

Of course, there is an anxiety about the future of print as a medium. Books, magazines, and newspapers face a certain uncertainty. 

It follows print advertising may soon lose traction. 

Soon, our augmented realities may overlay our present physicality. Print may soon disappear from the collective memory of humanity. 

Sound a bit like a science fiction dystopia? Already, we are seeing digital information integrate with reality in real time. 

The future of technology and its implications are still vague. One thing is certain, though. The future of print and print marketing is uncertain. 

Live in the Present 

Although the future of print and marketing are uncertain, you and your business should continue to live in the present. For now, print advertising remains a valuable asset in your marketing campaign. 

Print can be a great complement to your digital marketing campaign as you build your brand. 

Always stay up to date on the business world and find out what works and what doesn’t. To find more advice on marketing and business, visit our marketing section. 

 

Business

7 Promotional Tactics to Market Your Content Like a Pro

7 Promotional Tactics to Market Your Content Like a Pro


7 Promotional Tactics to Market Your Content Like a Pro

Did you know that 77 percent of American adults go online every day? And, of that 77 percent, 26 percent spend almost all of their day online.

Americans are plugged in more often than not — that means you have a lot of opportunities to share content with them and market your business’s products and services. 

To generate more leads and see conversions from your content marketing efforts, you need to make sure you’re using the right promotional approach.

Read on to learn about some effective promotional tactics that will help you market your content and spread the word about your business.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is a marketing approach that involves creating a variety of online content (blog posts, social media posts, videos, etc.) with the intent of building and retaining an audience.

The goal is to provide your audience with useful, valuable content to build trust and increase the likelihood that they will purchase products or services from you in the future.

Importance of Content Marketing

There are a number of benefits that come with having a strong content marketing strategy, including the following:

  • Improve trust and build brand reputation
  • Improve website conversions
  • Improve search engine rankings
  • Bring in new leads in a cost-effective way

Content marketing also helps you to establish yourself as an expert or authority figure in your industry. This, in turn, increases your conversions and helps you to build a solid reputation for your business and brand.

Promotional Tactics Every Content Marketer Should Use

As you can see, good content marketing is essential if you want your business to succeed long-term. Here are seven promotional tactics that you ought to use when marketing your content.

1. Reach out to Influencers

Some people scoff at the idea of working with social media influencers. In reality, influencer marketing can lead to some incredibly high conversions.

Influencers who have spent time building a loyal following can be a great asset to your company and can really help to spread the word about your brand and the content you’re working hard to put out. 

Reach out to an influencer and ask for a quote to find out how much they’ll charge to share your content on their social media profiles.

2. Mention Your Sources

If you’re quoting professional sources in your online content — and, if you’re not already, you definitely should be — mention and tag those sources when you share your posts or videos on social media.

Often, your sources will see the mention and check out what you’ve created. They may even share your content on their own social media profiles.

This helps to expose you to a much wider audience and can increase the amount of engagement and the number of followers you get from a single post.

3. Email Your Sources

If you really want to ensure that a busy individual sees your content, try sending them an email.

Let them know that you’ve written a blog post or created a video in which you mention them or their research.

Many professionals have busy social media profiles, and there’s a possibility that they might miss your mention or tag.

If you email them directly, they’ll be more likely to be on the lookout for your post and may be more inclined to share it with their followers.

4. Submit to Content Communities

There are lots of websites on the internet dedicated to helping content creators grow their following and expose their content to a wider audience.

There’s a lot of competition on these websites, but they can be very helpful, especially if you’re putting out high-quality content. 

If you join one of these communities, it’s a good idea to do more than just self-promote. Share other people’s work and engage with others who are posting on the site — remember, this is a community.

It’s a good idea to share only your best content, too. You don’t necessarily want to use these sites for every piece of content you create.

5. Send Content to Your Email List

Don’t have an email list? Create one as soon as you can. An email list will provide you with direct access to people who are already interested in what your company has to offer. 

Once you have your email list, start sharing your content in regular email updates. Don’t spam the people on your list — limit yourself to a maximum of one email per day. 

6. Use Paid Ads Strategically

You can always go the paid route when you’re trying to promote your online content.

Be smart about the way you do this, though. Otherwise, you could end up spending a lot of money, and that’s money you might not necessarily get back.

Pay to promote specific pieces of content, the ones you really want to get out to a wider audience.

Make sure you label your content clearly as being sponsored, too. This helps to establish credibility and prevents you from being penalized by the platforms on which you’re advertising.

7. Hire a Professional

Finally, you might want to consider hiring a content marketing expert, like the ones available at this website, to help you get your content out to a wider audience.

There are lots of content marketing professionals out there who know the latest tricks and tools necessary to share your content with as many people as possible.

Just be sure to do your research before hiring one of these professionals to make sure they’re trustworthy and have a good online reputation.

Need More Content Marketing Help?

As you can see, there are a lot of different promotional tactics you can utilize as part of your business’s content marketing strategy. 

These seven tactics are great ones to start with when you’re first getting into the content marketing game.

Do you need additional help in establishing a content strategy, though? If so, we’ve got lots of articles for you.

Head to the Content Strategy section of our site today for a variety of resources that will teach you how to create great content, stick to a schedule, and increase your productivity.

Business

Tips for Success: How to Create a B2B Content Strategy that Attracts New Clients

Tips for Success: How to Create a B2B Content Strategy


Tips for Success: How to Create a B2B Content Strategy that Attracts New Clients

89% of B2B marketers report that content marketing is their most effective way of bringing in new leads and sales. Which is why a strong B2B content strategy should be the backbone of any marketing campaign.

Not sure where to start? Read out tips below on setting up a successful content plan. 

What Is B2B content strategy?

Chances are, by now you’ve heard about how important a strong content strategy is. However, unless you’ve spent some time focusing on marketing efforts in the past you may not know what B2B content is.

Basically, B2B content is offering valuable information through various mediums to other businesses to mark yourself as an authority in the industry. Not only does this lead to increased traffic and higher Google rankings, but it also increases the number leads your business will bring in.

Know Who You’re Creating Content For

There’s an old marketing adage that states “if you’re talking to no one everyone you’re talking to no one”. The saying still rings true today, which is why it’s so important to know exactly who your content will be geared to.

While target market research is very helpful, we suggest creating an ideal target avatar. This means crafting a fictional character that matches someone that would fall into your demographic.

Give your avatar a name and get detailed. What do they do for a living? How many children do they have? How far did they get in their education?

Then go even deeper. Think about what keeps your avatar up at night. What parts of their day can be made better? Who do they admire? This information should be at the center of all of your content.

What Problem Will You be Solving?

Out of the questions listed above, the most important is what problem will you be solving? Is it a problem that your avatar even knows they have? Do you need to let them know that it’s a problem? Most importantly, how will you educate them on how your product or service fixes the problem?

Another valuable asset in marketing is letting your audience know just how affected they are by this problem. For example, everyone knows that a lack of sleep leaves you with low energy throughout the day, but do they know that not sleeping also increases your risk of heart attack? This is educating your audience on the realities of the problem you’re helping to solve.

Highlighting What Makes You Unique

Unless you’ve landed on an entirely original product, you’re going to have some competitors. Even if your idea is entirely unique, it won’t be long until the copied ideas start popping up. So it’s important to learn how to highlight what sets you apart from similar products and services.

Even subtle differences can give you an advantage over the competition. For example, your product may be more eco-friendly, safer for children, or perhaps a portion of your proceeds goes to a cause your avatar is passionate about. Highlight these differences and incorporate them into your content.

Know Content Type

Not all B2B content lands the same. It’s important to know what type of content your audience is most responsive too. Often these media choices will depend on the industry, for example, fast pace industries may respond better to a short infographic than an in-depth blog.

You may find that your audience responds to a blend of content, like a short blog paired with a video that gives more information on the subject. See where the engagement lies and follow that.

And Where to Publish It

Today there are countless social media platforms and media outlets where you can meet your audience, and trying to get your content on all of them will quickly dry up your marketing budget.

Instead, focus on 2-3 platforms that have been known to attract your type of audience. Don’t just limit yourself to social media either. White label blogging through other sites and media sources is also a great way to get your content in front of the right audience.

Set Clear Goals

And by clear goals, we mean realistic goals. Many businesses expect to start producing content and have the traffic rolling in within weeks. The truth is between audience research, content production, and engagement you’re looking at 4-6 months before you start seeing real results.

Which is why consistency is key in any content marketing campaign. Set a clear and realistic goal on where you would like to be in terms of traffic and engagement in the next 6 months, then an additional marker for a year from now.

Stay on Top of Management

Many businesses start off with a strong content campaign that tends to taper off as time goes on. We get it, your business takes enough time and energy without having to come up with fresh content on a regular basis.

This is where you have a couple of options. You can use a content platform that allows you to create your content in bulk and then slowly leak it out to the public. While this will ensure your content is consistent, it also requires you to invest a high number of hours up front.

Your other option is to hire a content agency that both creates and distributes the content on your behalf. This offers a higher ROI as getting the right kind of content engagement is what these businesses are all about.

Track and Regroup

While we would love to say that most businesses hit their content campaign out the park on the first try, this often isn’t the case. Fortunately, there are a number of analytics tools available to offer insight on which content is performing well and which isn’t.

Once a month take a look at your analytics and try to spot trends. Is your audience responding more to a specific type of content? Is one platform bringing in more leads than another?

Take this information and use it to restructure your content. Remember, your audience will change and it’s up to you to change with them.

Taking the Right Steps Today

The more you know about creating a B2B content strategy, the more successful your content campaign will be.

If you’re ready to start putting some action behind your content, we suggest starting with our article on 4 Actionable Content Marketing Tips.

Business

How to Get Your Business Out There? Content Marketing 101 Guide

How to Get Your Business Out There? Content Marketing 101


How to Get Your Business Out There? Content Marketing 101 Guide

Launching a new business online? Good luck – the competition is tight.

You’ll need to learn how to get your business out there. You need to fight tooth and nail to grab higher ranks on Google’s search results.

The good news is there is a legit solution. Whatever business you have, we’re sure that content marketing can get your name out.

70% of businesses that perform content marketing are more successful now than last year. Brands know that online content marketing is a powerful strategy.

Even then, what is content marketing? Why use content marketing and is content marketing effective?

Don’t worry, we’ve got all the answers you seek.

Want that extra visibility and a business that people come back to? Keep reading below to discover more:

1. What Is Content Marketing?

There are many definitions of content marketing that look like they’d work on books. If you’re a business, you don’t need that. Here’s a more precise explanation that you can use in your business.

What is content marketing? Content marketing is a long-term strategic technique that emphasizes customer relationship. It lets you focus on your target audience with high-value content that they can use day to day.

Your content should have a few crucial elements for it to work. These are:

  • Relevant customer content
  • Consistent value over time
  • Care to your audience

At the end of the day, your goal is to choose you over the competition. By using your content for long-term value, you remind people that they need you. This content is a way for you to foster loyalty, which then gives you better lifetime customer value.

2. Understanding Pain Points

The primary strategy for online content marketing revolves around three specific points. These are not the end-all. Rather, these core concepts will help you make a custom style for your content marketing business.

The first point is to understand the customer’s pain points. Customer pains are the problems that they experience every day. These pain points keep them up at night, looking for a way to solve them.

As an example, if you’re doing Veterinary Marketing, you would focus your content in reminding people of their daily pet pains. It sounds weird, but knowing people’s pains and reminding them is a way to tug their interests.

Why use content marketing like this? That points out to the next step.

3. Resolving Customer Pains

Why is content marketing effective? It’s because of this second point.

Once you know people’s pains, the next step is to resolve their problem with your content. This may be in the form of a guide, a step-by-step overview or a recipe.

Online content marketing revolves around being helpful. You want people to keep coming back. If you’re a vet, this can be how to treat dog mange or potty-training cats.

What is content marketing good for is making content that resolves problems. If people deem your content helpful, you build trust and loyalty in them.

Once you create a good reputation and expertise with customers, that’s where you go to the next step.

4. Leading To The Buying Cycle

Why use content marketing? Here’s the thing.

The end-point that you want in content is to convert or sell your product. Your goal is for people to see you as a premier authority within your niche. Your content accomplishes that for you.

Once your target audiences are in their prime, you want your content to lead to your buying cycles. You would want to present your product offers as a solution to their problem. By doing so, you’re creating a desirable product.

5. Is Content Marketing Effective?

Is content marketing effective? That depends on how you treat the entire process. You would want to make sure your first steps are useful.

To understand your customer’s problems, you need to create a buyer’s persona. In online content marketing, a buyer’s persona is your avatar for your ideal customer. This includes:

  • Age Range
  • Gender
  • Geolocation
  • Income bracket
  • Family Size
  • Wants
  • Needs
  • Problems

The idea is to create the ideal customer that you think would buy your product, whose problem you can resolve with your content.

6. Creating Valuable Content

Once you know the people that will be your target audience, the next step for your content marketing business is to generate appropriate content. You would want to list as many topic points as possible.

You would want to make them long and informative. You aim to guide people on how to resolve their problems. You want content in varying lengths, depending on what you want to provide.

1000 words should be your bare minimum for listicles. You also want 1500 words or more for comprehensive guides. These blogs, videos, and images tend to get more traffic due to their comprehensiveness.

7. Other Forms Of Online Content Marketing

There are many more types of content that work. Why use content marketing like these? That’s because not all people like reading.

In this case, use different vehicles to convince your customers that you can help them. Use social media to reach out to them.

Use instructional videos and video marketing content to engage your customers. Use paid advertising to create an active outreach to your target customers.

Attract people to your website, using your helpful content as the motivator. Track how your content is performing with analytics from both Google and social media. This is a way for you to know what works.

Create different versions of your ads and pitches and test which one works the best. A/B testing is a good method of testing your campaigns.

This Is How To Get Your Business Out There

What is content marketing? It’s how you use your content to build ties with your target audience. If you want to know how to get your business out there, you need online content marketing in your repertoire.

Are you looking for more helpful articles on how to grow your business? Feel free to check out our other guides! From optimizing your PPC tactics to the best wealth building strategies of the super-rich, everything is here.

Technology

4 Actionable Content Marketing Tips That Get Results

4 Actionable Content Marketing Tips That Get Results


4 Actionable Content Marketing Tips That Get Results

Are you spinning your wheels in a content marketing rut? It happens to the best of us. But a few expert content marketing tips might be all you need to move in the right direction.

Before we get into details, it’s worth noting that everyone seems to have an opinion of what makes great content. Some companies go all in for video storytelling. Others swear by long-form blog posts loaded with how to’s and images.

The most important thing to remember is that the best content is what works for you.

Great content isn’t always what you think. It usually takes a little finessing to find the right formula. 

If you’re struggling to find yours, put these four content marketing tips to work in your strategy:

1. Familiarize Yourself with Your Sales Funnel

You don’t create content just for the sake of it. Every blog article, video, and social media post has the power to move your audience through your sales funnel — if you know how your sales funnel works.

Each stage of the funnel targets a different buying stage. You should develop your content to appeal to buyers at each stage of the funnel to help them progress toward a conversion.

Take time to understand this process and where buyers are entering the funnel. Engage them at every step in the journey so you never miss an opportunity. 

2. Maintain a Content Calendar

Content calendars keep you organized. You can plan out your content schedule and know what you should be creating throughout the year. 

Pre-planned content calendars can also help to guide your entire content strategy. They provide detailed insights into what you’re posting and where you’re posting it. 

Take some time to map out what you want to accomplish with your content and then develop content that aligns with those goals. If you find it difficult to keep up, reach out to a marketing company for help. 

3. Develop Your Content around a Specific Purpose

Every piece of content you create should serve a specific purpose. Otherwise, how will you know it worked?

Start with your goals: what should your audience do after reading your posts?

Do you want to drive people deeper into your sales funnel? Should they reach out for more information or sign up for a newsletter Is your content designed to promote a positive brand image with no strings attached?

Start with a purpose in mind, then develop the content around that purpose. 

4. Repurpose Your Content

Repurposing your content helps you get the most value for your efforts. You’ve already done the research and writing, so why not maximize your findings?

For example, you might turn a white paper into an infographic, video, and blog post. It’s essentially the same information, but in different formats that appeal to different audiences.

Turn These Content Marketing Tips into Action!

Don’t let these five content marketing tips collect dust! Put them to work in your strategy to drive traffic, increase conversions, and gain the recognition your business deserves.

Want more content marketing advice? Head back to our Content Strategy section for industry insights, tips, and tricks the pros use.

Technology

App Design 101: How to Craft a Content Strategy for Your App

App Design 101: How to Craft a Content Strategy for


App Design 101: How to Craft a Content Strategy for Your App

Two-thirds of the global population, around 5 billion people, now own mobile phone.

That’s around 60% of the current population, which means mobile phone usage is in the majority.

This is why the mobile apps industry is still growing at an exponential rate. As the needs of mobile phone users change, the industry adapts and undergoes many changes as well.

This might be the reason why it can still be hard to get the right mix of app design and content. If you want to know how you can create a great content strategy for your app, dive in to learn what you should consider.

1. Have a Strategy Before Launching the App

When developing a content strategy, make sure it’s ready before you even launch the app. When you already have an idea of what your app is going to be about, that’s when you can start planning. This is because you also have to take into account the type of content when designing the app.

Your app should have the right sections for the content you want. For example, you want user-generated content on your app. You should then design your app in a way that would accept submissions.

This then brings us to the type of content you want.

2. Determine the Right Type of Content for Your App

You have to consider the type of app you want before you decide on the content. If you want to cater your app toward busy people, for example, you won’t want to publish lengthy articles.

If your app is all about recipes, decide if you want to include step-by-step pictures or videos, too. Then, think of what else you can offer aside from recipes. You can allow recipe submissions, or you can put a comment section so users can chime in.

Remember to focus on the goal of your app. Don’t add other types of content if they don’t align with your app’s purpose.

3. Focus on High-Quality Content

You might think that with mobile apps, shorter content is better. That may be true in some instances, like in the example above, but that’s not always the case.

Even with smaller screen real estate, people still like reading useful information. If your content doesn’t add anything of value to them, they’ll drop your app no matter if it’s short or long.

Instead of focusing on limiting the length of your content, focus on delivering valuable information. Optimize the content in other areas to keep the readers’ attention.

4. Use Short Paragraphs

Because devices have smaller screens, a single paragraph can take up the whole screen. Avoid walls of texts by using shorter paragraphs. Test the content first on a mobile phone before publishing it to get an idea of how readers will experience it.

As you publish more and more content, you’ll be able to get a feel of how long a paragraph should be. We recommend using 2-3 sentences per paragraph. If the sentence is rather long, use 1-2 instead.

Make sure each paragraph also has ample spacing in-between. Otherwise, it would still look like a wall of text.

5. Use Headers to Separate Different Sections

One trick to make the reading experience easier is to use headers, especially if the content is long. They can separate each point in the article into different sections. This makes it easy for a reader to follow through.

Headers can also make it easier for a reader to go back to a certain point in the article. As you know, navigating is a bit harder on mobile phones. It can be harder to find something again as your readers will have to scroll back and forth.

With headers, they can read them instead of the whole section to find what they’re looking for. To make it easier for your users, use the right header tags to make them stand out from paragraphs.

6. Use Legible Font Size and Type

Another consideration when devising a content strategy for mobile phones is the font. It has to be simple, something that people can read without effort from their screens. It should also be in the right size so as not to strain the users’ eyes.

When designing the app, you also have to consider every single person who’ll be using your app. Your user base will likely include those with poor eyesight, old or young. In this sense, it’s a good idea to offer options, such as a bigger font size.

7. Publish Engaging Content

Of course, these tips won’t help if your content isn’t engaging in the first place. As we’ve mentioned above, it should align with the goals of your app to ensure that it’s relevant to your users. If you’re a user and you downloaded a beauty app, you won’t want to know the latest personal finance tips, for example.

You can also deliver personalized content, which takes into account their activities within the app. This shows that you’re catering to their needs, urging them to engage with your app more.  

8. Consider Adding Visual Content

Humans are visual learners, and so they may be more inclined to engage with your app content if it has some visual elements to it. Add infographics or even videos along with your content or as the content. These will make it easier for them to understand the message you’re trying to deliver.

There’s one thing you’ll have to consider when using videos, though. It’s going to use a lot more data than images or a simple text. Consider adding text to accompany the video so your users will have a choice.

If you have a poor app structure, it might not even be able to perform well with videos. Make sure it can handle videos by visiting this website.

Sometimes, you don’t have to go overboard with your graphics. Some relevant images to break up walls of texts can suffice to hold the readers’ attention.

9. Front Load the Important Information

In mobile phones, you have limited chances of grabbing the user’s attention. This heightens the importance of being direct to the point from the get-go.

To give you an example, think of how users read push notifications. There are only a few lines they can see, so apps would have to make sure they can deliver the most important information in 2 lines.

You can have the same logic with app content. The first thing they see should be the content’s main point following the headline. At the same time, it should make them want to know more.

10. Craft Interesting Headlines

Headlines should have a bigger font size to capture the interest of your users, but they should be interesting by themselves. It should be clear as to what the content is about, giving the readers a good idea of what they’ll see when they click it. Make sure to avoid clickbait headlines that might make your users delete the app instead.

Craft interesting content first and then write an interesting headline to go with it. At the same time, it should be short enough for mobile optimization. It shouldn’t take too much room on the space, yet it should be big enough for readability.

This task is going to be a bit tricky with all these considerations. However, as you get a good idea of what makes people click and what doesn’t, you’ll be able to craft good headlines in no time.

11. De-clutter the Screen Space

You need a reader’s full attention as they read through the content. To achieve that, your app design should have minimal clutter that can distract them.

This is becoming more important as humans now only have 8 seconds of attention span as opposed to 12 seconds from before 2000, around the start of the mobile revolution. This is what you’re up against, so don’t make it easier for your users to distract themselves from what’s important.

Depending on the purpose of your app, you may want them to take action. A cluttered space will distract them from doing that. It might even make their user experience unbearable, which will then lead them to delete the app.

12. Optimize the Reading Experience for Touch Screens

Navigating in the small screens of mobile devices is hard as it is; if you want users to interact more with your app and content, you have to make navigation easier for them.

On computers, we have keyboard shortcuts to copy/paste, switch between screens, and more. It’s easy to highlight certain texts and then save it to another application.

On mobile phones, on the other hand, we have limited shortcuts and most of the time, these shortcuts are hard to access and use if the developer didn’t optimize them. You can’t use keyboard shortcuts on mobile phones. As an app developer, you then have to figure out a way to offer shortcuts that will enhance the user experience.

Consider adding buttons for bookmarking, sharing, and such. However, we recommend keeping them hidden but still accessible via a single swipe. This is in line with the tip above to reduce clutter.

This is only an example; you can be as creative in optimizing the space for a great reading experience as you want.

Develop an App Design with Content in Mind

Your content strategy will play into the app design you’re going to end up with. This is why it’s a crucial part of any app development.

If you want to learn more about writing great content, for apps or for the web, check out our other guides now. Join us now for any of your digital marketing needs.

Business

7 Promotion Strategies to Promote Your New Content

7 Promotion Strategies to Promote Your New Content


7 Promotion Strategies to Promote Your New Content

Looking for a few new promotion strategies?

Did you know that on WordPress alone, users create over 77.4 million new posts new posts each month? More than 4.9 million people view over 20.7 billion pages each month. That’s a serious competition.

So how do you rise above the millions of competitors?

The simple answer is you work for it. The accurate answer is you build fabulous content that your audience wants to read, and you let them know it’s available. That’s where we’re going to spend our time today.

In the piece below, you’ll find seven handy strategies for promoting that fantastic content you build. By the time you’re finished, you’ll know exactly what you need to build a new promotion strategy. One which takes your crawling promotion-strategy into a first-place sprint to the finish line.

Read on.

Promotion Strategies 101

Expert marketers use all of the strategies listed below plus a few of their own. If you’ve never promoted your content, start with one or two of the following strategies. Master them before you move on.

Look for ways to diversify your marketing tactics. Imitate the experts. Don’t get bogged down in the same old approach, especially if it isn’t working.

New Links – Old Posts

When search engines compare your website to others, they focus on a few critical pieces of information. They look at how much time visitors spend on each page. They check out your page format and keyword content.

They also keep close track of the number and quality of links to and from your website. These are called inbound and outbound links, respectively. For now, let’s focus on the links which connect one page of your website to another page of your same site.

The most common example is linking one article in your blog to another article in your blog. Guess what? If you’re wondering how to market your blog, this is the quickest easiest method.

First, use an analytics program of your choice to discover which of your articles have been your audience’s most favorite. We recommend BuzzSumo.com to analyze the most read content, and Social Crawlytics to determine the most shared content.

Just pick the top articles and create a link in each of those archived articles to your new article. And just like that, your readership will increase.

Note: If you write your own articles, consider the possibility that they aren’t up to snuff. Learn from the pros, and read expertly crafted articles. They can be from any niche. Examples include The Art of Non-Conformity, UCANNTECH, and Zen Habits.

Flaunt Social Media

You’re probably not using social media adequately. Don’t worry; most people aren’t.

For some bizarre reason, novices approach promotion with a the-more-the-merrier mindset. If you’re one of these people, stop. Please, for the love of all things good and holy, stop.

Promote your content only on platforms which are frequented by your audience. Make sure you’ve established a reliable connection with others on that platform who have an interest in the type of content you create. Then and only then should you focus on your article or video promotion.

Also, include shareable snippets in your content. Tools like Click-to-Tweet make it simple to create bite-size pieces viewers can share with the click of a button. Each social media platform has similar tools.

Reformat Your Content

So your articles aren’t making a big hit? Why not turn the same piece into a podcast or YouTube video? Same piece, different format.

Your audience may love your material, but prefer to digest it differently. It opens up new avenues for search engines to find your stuff. You can also use the opportunity to link those new videos and audio files back to your website.

Email Exposure

If you’ve created scads of content, you’ve likely also created an email list for your viewers. Now’s the time to use it. Reach out and let them know you have something fabulous to share.

When it comes to emailing, less is more. Only a marginal percentage of your email list will show up if you send out a new email every single day. You lose their trust when you proclaim every day that your latest piece is your best yet.

Contact them only during occasions you have something valuable to share. Examples include time-sensitive offerings and best content creations. Remember, if you abuse that link, you’ll end up in the spam folder.

Reach Out to Your Sources

This is probably the most effective strategy. Unfortunately, it requires a lot of legwork.

The first step is to link from your content to your sources. Give credit where credit is due. Unless you’ve worked in a field for twenty years, or already have a million followers, chances are some of the ideas come from other people.

And that’s ok.

It’s even preferable. When you link out to your sources, you create a perfect opportunity for those sources to link back to you.

But how do they know your stuff exists?

You tell them, of course. You contact them through email or send them a direct message through LinkedIn. Use whatever means you can to let them know you created a stellar piece of content which mentions them.

Domain Authorities which link back to your site shoot up your page rankings overnight.

Content Community Submissions

This is a long term strategy. Content Submission communities, like Triberr, put your content in front of established audiences. It’s an easy way to get seen.

It’s also competitive. Your stuff needs to be top notch. You also need to establish yourself as part of the community before you submit. It’s one of the best ways to get noticed, but you must be patient.

Contact Your Influencers

Don’t confuse influencers with sources. A source is a person who creates words or ideas which you later regurgitate. An influencer is someone in your field which is a leader or a thought provoker.

Influencers typically have websites with a high domain authority (DA). Search Engines use DAs as a way to rank a website’s authority and popularity. You can find out a website’s DA with tools like the MozBar.

If you’re writing an article, reach out to an authority and ask them for a quote. If you’re making a podcast, ask an influencer for an interview. If you’re filming your next YouTube piece, ask a thought provoker for a guest appearance.

If you use people who already have a following, you’re guaranteed a healthy readership.

What’s Next?

Well, did you restructure your promotion strategies? Which one do you think will work best for you?

We know you’re raring to promote that new piece of content you finished. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have landed on this page. Remember to be patient. Mastering any new strategy takes time.

If you enjoyed this piece, head over to our site and browsed our other great marketing articles. Do it now, while the thought is still fresh in your mind.

So long and good luck!

Lifestyle

Writing Compelling Content For Your Clothing Shop

Writing Compelling Content For Your Clothing Shop


Writing Compelling Content For Your Clothing Shop

Whether you have an e-commerce website or a brick and mortar clothing shop, you need the right digital marketing strategy to improve your sales numbers.

Digital marketing drives users to your checkout counter.

This could be through entirely virtual interactions or a combination of online engagement and real-life experiences.

Either way, marketing strategies have to be a core part of your sales strategy; the numbers need the right content to thrive. More so, the right content needs the best copywriting to perform well.

Without compelling content, you risk losing half of your audience before they even get to see your cute clothes!

Not to worry – here are seven ways to transform your copy and better engage customers.

1. Know Your Audience To Create Compelling Content

You can’t expect to engage your customers if you don’t have a thorough understanding of who they are.

Create as detailed of a buyer persona as possible.

Give your ideal customer a name and a lifestyle. Think about where this person works, how much they make, the kind of relationship they are in and the general responsibilities they prioritize.

Do this for your primary and secondary market. Then, write your compelling content as if you were speaking directly to this person.

2. Understand Their Lingo

When creating the conversation between you and your consumer, try to use the everyday language they do.

This may be a form of slang or something a bit more proper. It could be a mix of words and phrases that come and go in pop culture. Or, maybe your customers will better relate to more common sayings.

Whatever their vocabulary looks like, use it.

Write your compelling content in a voice that will sound almost familiar to users.

3. Connect with Similar Stores and Trendsetters

If you want to better understand the lingo of your users, go deeper into their world.

Start reading the content other brands in your market are producing. Pay attention the way their writing is presented. Make notes of everything from the words and phrases to the grammar and how customers are addressed.

Do your users prefer to be talked to as friends or as professionals? Do they enjoy a laid-back, casual conversation or a more proper approach?

To find your answer, see how they connect to competitors.

Then, take this one step further and research the trendsetters in your niche market. Trendsetters are fashion influencers who are always a step ahead of what everyone else is wearing. They know the next big thing before it becomes big.

Pick a few to follow and watch how they communicate with their audience.

Remember, the same people who are looking to your market’s trendsetters for fashion inspiration will be the ones who visit your clothing site for fashion products.

4. Express Your Brand

Once a user makes it onto your website – or even comes across a form of digital marketing elsewhere on the internet – they have to be able to identify with you.

The best way to be relatable to the right users is to use the voice of your brand.

Your brand is everything a user associates with you. It is your logo as well as the filters on your social media and the way you write compelling content for email campaigns. It is the feeling someone gets when your brand is brought up or they walk past your store.

Use your content to encourage a positive brand image. Write with clarity and purpose. Be direct, unique, and always aim to offer the most valuable of insights.

5. Try to Be a Fluid Writer

No matter what you are trying to say, you will find it comes out best when you write fluidly.

This means to set aside enough time for you to take on a project from start to finish. You may have to break up big initiatives into small chunks, but the point is to write as well as you can for as long as you can.

Such an approach allows your thoughts to flow.

It better prepares you to move from one point to another, picking up where you just left off and writing with consistency. This, in turn, creates a better branding and communication strategy.

6. Edit and Re-Write

While it’s good to get everything out at once, you should always come back to it.

Take a step away from what you’ve created. Then give it a look over and see if it truly is the compelling content you thought it was at first.

You will often find you’ve got a good start, but not the whole thing. Don’t be afraid to make the necessary edits.

Maybe there is a word you can replace that significantly improves the overall message. Maybe the message isn’t as clear as you intended.

Whatever the issue, it’s usually nothing a few edits and a bit of time can’t fix.

Sometimes, though, you may have to do a re-write entirely. When you use the steps above, the need for a re-write is few and far between. But, they will come up, and it’s your job to use them as a creative opportunity when they do.

7. Get Creative with Your Placement

Whether you’re writing something for the first time and it comes out great, or you’re taking another shot at it, always make sure you’ve placed your product well.

Think about what your user really wants to hear.

They are not looking for a sale or a new accessory every time. They may be reading your content in search of everyday styling advice or upcoming trends.

But, that is not to say you can’t place your product somewhere in your compelling content. Try to make your writing conversational instead of about the sale. This makes it much easier for users to buy-in, which is better for your business.

Build a Schedule to Write Compelling Content

The final piece of advice to keep in mind when writing is to keep a schedule.

Your schedule helps you be fluid while staying focused and on-track. It gets you in a rhythm to write compelling content.

This may even be the easiest part of your content creation process. Once you have your schedule down, you are better able to take on all the tips and tricks of great writing.

Click here to learn how to create a writing schedule.