May 7, 2013 Leave a Comment

Get Your Ass In Gear With Email Marketing

If you’re not doing email marketing yet, what the heck are you waiting for?

Look at some of the top internet marketers and successful online companies out there. For example look at Neil Patel’s blog Quicksprout, or Corbett Barr’s blog ThinkTraffic, or even a non-marketer brand like Velaro Live Chat Services. What do all these sites have in common? Duh! They all have a hyper focus on grabbing that email address.

So if all these big shots are putting focus on email marketing, there has to be a reason right? Of course there is.

Drum roll please….it’s because it works. The DMA reports a return on investment of $40 for every $1 spent on email marketing. I’ll take those odds any day. Here’s another fact while I’m dishing ‘em out: a survey conducted in 2012 of consumer preferences and channel habits showed 77% preferred to receive permission-based promotions via email.

I won’t bore you with any more numbers, but I’ll tell you one thing, it’s a hell of a lot better than social media or any of these other tactics the “gurus” are preaching these days.

But Wait, Email Marketing Is Hard, Right?

My dear friend, you could not be any more wrong. Email is probably the simplest, cheapest and most effective marketing medium on the web. No keyword tactics, no link building, no infographics, no likes, no tweets…

The best thing about email marketing is there are essentially only two activities to it: get people to sign up for your list, and have something to say.

Now that all sounds like cupcakes and roses but really if you think about it, that’s all there is to it. The only two activities of email marketing that require any type of strategy are coming up with a reason for people to hand over their address, and sending something that not only meets your needs as a business, but also provides value to your subscribers.

That’s not so hard is it? Okay, okay, before you start jumping off the bandwagon and head for the hills, let’s take a closer look at each of these activities, shall we?

Give ‘Em Something They Can’t Live Without

Let’s face it, no one is going to subscribe to your email list just for the hell of it. Trust me, I’ve tried it. It doesn’t work. Your would be subscribers are risking a lot in this day in age handing over their sacred email address, shouldn’t they expect something in return? Wouldn’t you?

Once that didn’t work, people started turning to discounts and giveaways. And while I’m not one to say this won’t work, you can be sure it won’t be as effective and I think it’s the cowards way out of it. What really gets the pot stirring is simply this: create valuable, exclusive content available for download in return for an email address.

Whether you’re a blogger, small business owner or online retailer, there are endless possibilities on what you could offer your subscribers. Whether you’re a niche expert offering a free ebook download, or a small town service professional offering a free maintenance calendar, there’s something for everybody out there. And guess what, you don’t even have to think of one yourself!

Here’s a fun activity: go check out some of your competitors’ sites. See what they’re doing. Hell, look outside of your industry, and just take a look at what others are offering their subscribers. Better yet, what has caused you to hit that subscribe button in the past. After all, you’re a consumer as well, right?

Some of my favorite types of subscriber content are:

  • Email series that provide information or teach something
  • Ebook downloads
  • Access to a webinar or video series
  • Free trials

Let’s not make as big a deal out of this than is necessary. The great thing is, you can always switch up your offer as time goes on. The important thing is to get something up and get started. You won’t know how well an idea works until you test it.

Start Slingin’ Some Emails

So now you’ve got your list rolling, it’s time to start letting it fly. But before you start stuffing those inboxes, let’s talk about what you’ll be sending to your list.

To start with, here are three golden rules to keep in mind before you hit that send button:

  1. Your email should be anticipated: Clearly, if someone has given you there email address, they should be expecting mail from you. However, we want to be clear on the front end what will happen if the user subscribes. Let them know what they will be receiving if they’re added to your list. Believe it or not this may even help with your subscribe rate!
  2. Your email should be relevant: I’m sure you’ve seen this mistake before. Somehow a site you subscribe to for one reason starts sending you either spammy messages, or emails not related to the reason you subscribed. These can sometimes be characterized as overly zealous sales pitches, so be careful there too. This rule will have a major impact on your unsubscribe rate, either good or bad one way or the other.
  3. Your email should provide value: Ultimately if you want to have any success with email marketing, and build a lasting relationship with your list, it is imperative to provide value in your email content. Much like blogging or web content in general, posting just to post makes little sense. Be timely, but have some value to provide. Don’t send just to send.

Now that your off and running with your email campaign, it is crucial to monitor that puppy closely. Take a close look at which emails have the highest open rates and make note of what subject lines you are using. Look at which had the highest click through rate if applicable and remember what type of content you were sharing in those emails. Monitor your unsubscribe rate or god forbid spam rate, and try and diagnose the cause.

Let me tell you this sounds like a lot of work starting out, but trust me, it’s not as much as you’d think and believe me it becomes smooth sailing after a few go-rounds.

The real important thing is creating something valuable that others will not just tolerate receiving but actually look forward to. From top to bottom, subscriptions to clicks, if you are providing value to your subscribers, everything else should will fall in line. Happy hunting email warriors!

Filed Under: Email Marketing
May 4, 2013 Leave a Comment

The Direction of Steamloft & What I’ve Been Up To

Well, hello there! It’s been a while.

Just so you all know, I haven’t forgot about you. I’ve been very, very busy, working to bring you something special. As you all know, the direction of this blog has been primarily focused in inbound marketing, predominantly SEO. While I have a soft spot in my heart for inbound and SEO, it’s not everything I do, and not even close to everything I am passionate about. So why short change you?

Where We Are Headed With This Thing

So, while inbound marketing is awesome, and definitely a major component of any online business, it is only one of many components. Building online businesses, and helping others build their own, is what I live for. So with that in mind, I want to bring that knowledge here.

Instead of heading to five different places to get the information you need to help build and run your business online, it’s my goal to bring all that information to one place.

So What’s In Store?

When you think about it, every online business can be defined by three core activities: business development, operations, and marketing. With that in mind, I’ll be dedicating my time to providing you all with everything you may need to be an online all star in each of these areas.

So stick it out with me for the time being, I promise I will be back and blabbering on as soon as possible. For now, sit back and relax. I’ve got a fresh look, and a fresh site design coming very soon.

Have a good one party people, see you soon.

Filed Under: Uncategorized
April 15, 2013 2 Comments

8 Actionable Steps To Writing Better Content

I feel like an overwhelming majority of inbound strategy recently has been stirring around the topic of content marketing. Content marketing for SEO, content marketing for ‘link-bait’, content marketing for lead generation. On and on and on.

And so often I hear the same story: “Man, this content marketing thing is rough. I’ve spent weeks trying to promote my content, but haven’t gotten any traction”.

Wait, let’s back up for one second. Where exactly does the actual “content” part of content marketing come into play here?

Time and time again when asking the question “What is your strategy for writing content?”, I get a puzzled look in return. It seems that everyone has forgotten that the core of true content marketing isn’t in the promotional tactics.

After weeks of head shaking, face palming bewilderment, I have come to realize the major problem in this equation is us. By “us” I mean the “experts” you all turn to for advice. For all the information we’ve given on the topic of “content marketing”, we’ve forgotten to start with the basics. And that is this: For you to have true success with content marketing, your content has to be not just good, but truly great.

Okay, so now we’ve got that all out of the way, let’s all take a step back and focus on creating really awesome content, shall we? Content that deserves to be marketed.Here are eight actionable steps to start writing better content:

  1. Start Reading More

    What better place to start writing better content, than to look at what others are putting out there. I’d be willing to bet that in any industry or niche, there are tons of great places to find awesome content. Even outside of your niche, finding content that inspires you is important to finding your voice.

    For my niche, some of the great places I turn to for content inspiration are:

    • ThinkTraffic: Awesome site from Corbett Barr. Great resource if you’re looking for ways to grow your audience and create epic shit.
    • ViperChill: Amazing example of how great, passionate content can truly be the best form of marketing.
    • QuickSprout: Neil Patel’s baby. Notice how every post follows a specific format, with actionable ideas?

    The important part is finding content that inspires you. Spend a few days aggregating a list of some sites you enjoy and load them up into a RSS reader. I recommend Feedly, as Google has unfortunately decided to pull the plug on my beloved Google Reader.

    I suggest taking a half an hour a day and really analyzing how your favorites lay out their content, and how they speak to their audience. Make note of which pieces or articles really stand out to you.

  2. Find Your Style, Find Your Voice

    So now (hopefully) that you’ve spent some time dissecting the works of others, you’ve begun to find bits and pieces you really like. Now it’s time to start piecing these things together and making it your own.

    The exercise above, if nothing more, was a chance for you to find out how you want to write. When I first started blogging, my content was garbage. I spend so much time trying to be “expert like”, I lost my voice as a writer. I tried too hard to sound professional like everyone else, and guess what, people don’t read your content because you sound like everyone else, they read what you write because you wrote it!

    Start writing how you want to write. Simple as that. Don’t worry about sounding unprofessional. Don’t worry about being different. Be you. Trust me, your audience will appreciate how refreshing it is. Writing any way other than as who you are right now is holding your content back.

  3. Create Variety In Your Content

    Imagine you’re a grocery store. Specifically a grocery store that sells only health foods. Sure, you may be killing it amongst health food advocates, but what about everyone else? I’m not sure the burger and fries crowd would frequent your store very often.

    The same holds true with your online content. Sure, a portion of your audience might enjoy lengthy “how-to” posts (Hey, you’re reading one right now!), but what about the rest of the crowd?

    Varying the length, style or type of content you are publishing, can help expand your reach to capture a wider audience.

    Side note on this: If you are happy with the state of your current audience, it might be wise to keep on creating the stuff they like, rather than experiment with other content they may or may not enjoy. Totally up to you.

  4. Record Your Thoughts As They Come

    If you’re like me, my most creative moments unfortunately don’t coincide with the time I’ve dedicated to actually sitting down and writing. Ideas come when I’m sitting in rush hour traffic, when I’m trying to fall asleep at night, while I’m singing in the shower (I feel I’ve said too much at this point).

    The point is, to think that you’ll remember all your great ideas when the time comes to write is bullshit.

    Luckily there’s a solution: when it comes to you, write it down! I personally use Evernote for this. It also makes a great tool for storing awesome content ideas you find (see step 1). Whatever you decide to use, make sure it’s something you like enough to actually use. It could be as simple as a spiral notebook, the medium doesn’t matter. What matters is getting those creative juices in safe keeping for later.

  5. Create A Content Schedule Matrix

    For the longest time I’ve advised those interested in writing better content to create a content publishing schedule. However, I’ve since changed my tune. I think “scheduling” your writing and giving yourself deadlines can lead to lackluster content created for the sole purpose of “getting it done”. I myself have been victim to this.

    Instead, I propose creating a Content Matrix. The idea is simple. Create a spreadsheet for content pieces you wish to publish in the future. Identify things like content topics, potential headlines, talking points, and relevant links for inspiration, and record them in one place.

    You can use this Content Matrix as a place to turn to when you need a topic to write about, to remind yourself to create a follow up piece to a previously written article, to make sure you’re varying your content type (see step 3)…the point is you can use it for whatever purpose fits your need. The key is just to add a bit of structure to your content strategy, without creating boundaries.

  6. Cater To Your Audience

    Still not sure if your content is good enough? Guess what, your audience will tell you!

    Just because you’ve hit publish doesn’t mean your job is done. In order to get the most out of a piece of content (no I’m not talking about leads or traffic, I’m talking knowledge) you need to continually analyze it. What articles are being tweeted the most? Which have the lowest bounce rate? How much time are readers spending on them?

    All of these types of questions are things you should hyper focus on post-publish. By finding out what content is creating the most engagement, you’ll find what works best for you. A man wiser than I once said “Most of the successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more listening than talking.”

  7. Lose The SEO

    Okay, okay before you lose your mind. I (obviously) don’t think you should just forget about SEO. Of course it is an essential tool in bringing new traffic to your site. But when the hell did we start writing content based on a keyword we deem to be “juicy”? Seems like an ass backwards way of thinking, doesn’t it?

    Here’s a thought: start writing content that you want to write, and that you’re audience might like. Then once you’re done, find a keyword or two that fits your topic and sprinkle them in. You’d be amazed how much this approach will make your content stand out amongst the garbage. And you might be surprised at how effective it can still be in terms of SEO.

  8. Create Something You’re Proud Of

    Ultimately everything I’ve been rambling about above boils down to one thing: If you were reading your content, would it be worth your while?

    Creating lots of content is never a bad thing. But creating it just for the hell of it you’ll find isn’t worth the squeeze. Create content you’re truly proud of. You should be excited when you hit that publish button. If you’re not, please refer back to step one and repeat.

Filed Under: Content Marketing
CASE STUDY: How To Increase Google Ranking Without Links
March 14, 2013 3 Comments

CASE STUDY: How To Increase Google Ranking Without Links

Premise: The point of this case study is to show you my strategy for getting rankings and traffic for competitive terms when I first started this blog. As we all know, when you are first starting any online project, be it a blog, niche site or freelance engagement, much of your time is spent creating content. And while you are sure to include all the right keywords and make sure your title tags are just right, it doesn’t necessarily leave a ton of time for the marketing stuff.

We’re all busy people, and our lives shouldn’t be spent building backlink after backlink just to move up a spot or two in search results. I think we can all agree when starting out, there are much better ways to spend our time. The less effort and time we need spend with mundane tasks like link building, the more time we will have for creating epic shit, and building our foundation.

So with that I present this case study on how to increase Google ranking for highly competitive keywords with absolutely zero link building, quick and simple.

First, The Results

So before I get to the “how” stuff, I want to share with you what you can achieve with the steps I provide later in the case study. Some might say I’m stupid for giving away the keywords I try to rank for, but I have two things to say about that: 1. While this case study shows how to rank for keywords, keyword optimization was not a priority for this beforehand, more a happy occurence. 2. I feel you all can learn more from the sharing of this, and to me that’s more important.

*Disclosure: Rankings shown here are, as any, subject to have changed since posting

Increase Google Ranking Without Links

My “Oath” post popped up towards the top of page one for “modern SEO” within just a few days of posting and remains there to this day.

how to increase google ranking

My tutorial on outreach consistently stays within the top five results for “SEO outreach”. This has been steady for several months since published.

increase search ranking

This is a post I brought over from a previous blog, and it has performed well on the first page regardless of the blog it was on.

While I could go on with more examples, I think you get the point. First page ranking in days, zero links. So now that we’ve looked at the results, let’s break down how to increase Google ranking without links.

How To Increase Google Ranking

Site Speed

Site speed is a factor that is too often overlooked in terms of how to increase Google ranking. Especially in the WordPress world we live in, often times we are looking for the next best plugin or a sick new theme to put us over the edge. But what tends to happen is these things can really bog down our sites.

There are three things I have done for this site in particular, as well as several other projects I am working on, to dramatically increase site speed. By implementing at least the first two, which you can do for free on any WordPress site, you should absolutely see a significant decrease in site load time, and a dramatic increase in overall site performance.

  • WP SuperCache

    WP SuperCache is a simple free plugin you can install via WordPress to take care of browser caching. In simple terms, what this does for your website is it creates static files of your webpages and serves them to users instead of the much heavier WordPress php.

    I’m sure you can see where the speed comes from here. WP SuperCache has a ton of cool settings to mess with and add on plugins (I’m currently running the Minify add on) but I’d go with all the recommended settings to start with and see how things go.

  • .htaccess Modification

    While WP SuperCache is a great starting point for site speed performance, I like to take it one step further. For any content on the site that will remain static (ex. javascript, images, pdf. documents, etc.) I like to manually set the cache times to over a month. This will ensure these files are not called often when loading the page, and are consistently cached.

    If you end up having to make a change to one of these files, the easiest way around the cache is to simply rename the file you are modifying and you’re good to go.

  • Genesis Platform

    First off let me mention that the Genesis WP platform is not necessary for this to work, however the principal behind why I run on Genesis holds true. To ensure your WordPress blog runs as smoothly and fast as possible, it is important to have light, clean code. Genesis does this for me, but many other themes and platforms (Thesis anyone?) do as well.

    On the other side of things, there are a ton of really awesome looking themes out there, but if they are coded by someone merely for the “visual” effect, they may not be coded in the proper fashion and can really bog down your site. It’s important to look into code cleanliness before purchasing and installing a new theme, always.

Google Authorship

Ah yes, my favorite topic ever. If you haven’t set Google Authorship up on your blog yet, what are you waiting for? While it’s tough to see the actual return on this when starting a site from scratch. I’ve personally seen client blogs with only 20-25 posts get a 20% bump in traffic in the weeks post authorship implementation.

Authorship attribution is one of the first things I did on SteamLoft. And with the supposed coming of “AuthorRank” I can only imagine this will have a huge role to play to improve my Google ranking. For a complete guide to Google Authorship, view my guide here.

Traffic Day 1 via Social Channels

With this one I’ll say, the specific source isn’t important. What is important is driving real traffic on day one. As soon as I publish a blog post I either have a friend share my article on Inbound.org, or share it myself. I then will not only do my normal link tweets and Facebook shares, but will promote the link to my Inbound.org listing.

The important thing is to find one or several social channels specific to your niche that can help drive traffic on the first day. Another way this is possible is to pay for exposure on StumbleUpon. As long as it drive quality traffic for those first few crucial days, it’ll help.

Social Signals via Sharing

Retweets, Plus ones, Likes, Shares, Pins, you name it. These things matter. I’ve found out here that the more social signals I can show in a small amount of time after publishing, the better I will rank. And if you’re already sharing content and driving traffic, why not provide a way for these folks to share it right?

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To do this on SteamLoft, I use the plugin Digg Digg. It can be conformed in a number of different layouts, and I’ve found that the scrolling side panel works best in terms of interaction. From the Inbound.org traffic alone I can typically get 30 or so retweets, along with similar numbers for likes etc.

A word of caution on this. While it is possible to provide buttons for every social network under the sun, I would choose a few that you want to focus on, to get real penetration. For me, the two I mainly want to focus on are retweets and Googl+ plus ones.

Long Form Content

I read a case study from I believe Neil Patel a while back on the number of words on a page in relation to where it ranks. As this section suggests, what he found was a great percentage of the first page results across a broad range of keywords were over one thousand words.

I kept that in mind when I was beginning to create content for this blog and looking to improve my Google ranking, as I found that blogs I had started before had a hard time gaining search traffic with the 450 word or so articles I had been writing. Low and behold I found, the longer my pieces were, the better they ranked and the more traffic they drove.

Now you might say this contradicts usability and readability standards (though I could show you some studies that would surprise you) but I think the risk reward of this will pay off, and if your content is truly epic and thorough, it will be just fine.

Keyword Usage/Placement

After recent Google algorithm updates, I have been super sensitive to the idea of keyword stuffing. For the last year or so I had been hyper focused on low keyword density, and with little Google interference I might add, but also little results.

Since this was my own project, and a new one at that, I decided to push it a bit. Nothing overboard, but enough to make an actual impact. Here are some of my keyword placement targets:
improve google ranking

I think the key here is diversity of placement and how you use your keywords/what surrounds them. I may push the envelope here soon with a new article, to see what that can stir up, but for now the formula above has proven pretty successful.

Internal Link Structure (minimal navigation, sidebar link, etc.)

So internal linking and site architecture has been a big topic of modern SEO. But what I’m really getting at with this one is lack of internal linking. “Donor” pages and “hero” pages and all that jazz are fine in theory, but what I’ve done here has proven contrary.

I’ve seen several sites literally fall of the face of the earth for prominent keywords with recent algorithm updates. And almost always the one thing in common between them is sitewide navigation. Say you have a thousand pages, and you have a sitewide nav link to one of your main pages using your “big daddy” keyword. What you now have is 1,000 exact match internal links to one page on your site. Do you really think Google will appreciate that?

With this in mind, one of my themes for this blog has been minimal internal linking, getting by with necessities. Bare bones navigation was the framework, and in terms of internal content links, I only link to other pages when absolutely relevant, such as my Google Authorship reference above. Never exact match, never excessive.

Part 2 Coming Soon

Unfortunately there are a few other pieces I want to discuss but would like to grab some more data before sharing. These topics will most likely include: RSS/Ping Updates, Outbound linking, and comments and discussion.

Like this article? Vote for it on Inbound.org here!

Filed Under: Case Studies, Inbound Marketing, SEO
HD Content Marketing Strategy: Presenting Your Content in Hi-Def
February 17, 2013 Leave a Comment

HD Content Marketing Strategy: Presenting Your Content in Hi-Def

Ok, so let’s say you’re shopping for a new TV at a nearby electronics store. Or at a local bar on a Sunday afternoon watching all the big games. And I know, you might be thinking, what the hell does this have to do with content marketing strategy, right? Stick with me for a second. At that bar or electronics store, which TV is your eye instantly drawn to? The one with the brightest color, the highest resolution, the clearest picture…am I right?

The same factors hold true in content marketing strategy. In an online world where content grows like weeds, it takes something truly great to stand out: High Definition Content.

High Definition Content is simply content that time and time again makes online readers stop and take notice. However, to achieve this type of draw and reaction, there are several things to consider when creating your content. To implement a truly high definition content marketing strategy, one that will propel your content to shine above the rest, here are three areas to address:

Great Content Must Catch The Eye & Stand Out

The first step to success in any content marketing campaign, whether it be blogging, email, guest blogging, infographics or what have you, is to get the readers’ attention. So naturally, the first objective of your content marketing strategy is to stand out from the crowd. This is where some of your copywriting skills come into play.

A few of the most important things to getting someone to click are your content title, meta description/social description and featured image for social. In any format, whether it be search results, social media, email or anything else, you typically have less that 200 characters to capture someone’s attention. Therefore, these 200 characters or less are some of most important few words you can write. Be sure to spark an interest with your copy, create intrigue as to what might lie on the other side of the click, and always be sure to include a hook.

Content Clarity

Another aspect often overlooked in content marketing strategy is message clarity. There are two items to focus on when looking at the clarity of your messaging.

One, it is an absolute necessity to have your content correspond with the messaging a reader receives prior to the click. Aligning your pre click messaging with your content is imperative to meeting reader expectations, and ultimately presenting yourself/your brand in a higher light. When someone clicks a link, there is a reasoning behind it. And the more you can align yourself with meeting that reasoning, the better.

Two, in a broader sense, brand messaging in terms of content marketing is simple. The clearer your message comes across, the easier it is digested by more readers. Ultimately every piece of content created is designed to do something/create a specific reaction. The more times you can present a clear message within your content, the more often you will be able to guide readers into producing the specific action you are looking for.

Cream of the Crop Content

Content Marketing is all the rage these days. The latest and greatest trend to getting traffic and making money. However, if you are creating content just to create it. You don’t really understand the point.

Ultimately to truly build an HD content marketing strategy, you need to align your content goals with being the best of the best. Only by creating amazingly awesome content that adds value to your readers will your campaign actually be successful. Writing just to write because you need to write doesn’t cut it anymore. The whole premise of content marketing is to have people read what you’ve written and be inspired to do something afterwards. If you aren’t creating something with passion or true energy, it will show. What reaction do you think that content will receive? Food for thought.

Let’s all face the music. Content marketing strategy has become a big part of our industry. However, our instinct as marketers is to market, and that leaves a huge void to fill on the actual content side of things. Any great content marketing strategy should start with the content first. When you have created truly great content, the marketing nearly takes care of itself.

Filed Under: Content Marketing, Inbound Marketing