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 by  Mary Walton Content writing is often dismissed as merely filler for your website, but in fact, it is akin to an exact science. Get it right, and you’ll be able to bring in more readers and, with a little luck and persistence,  convert them  into customers. Get it wrong, and it’ll be noticed and held against you quicker than you’d think. If you want to get your content writing perfect, there are tools online that can help you . Here are eleven of the best tools online for polishing your content. 1.  Wordrake You have pages to fill, so you hammer at your keyboard and hope that what you’re writing makes sense. Often, though, when you’re racing to meet deadlines, you’ll write copy that really could use a second or even a third pass through. Wordrake helps you get that proofreading pass done quickly and easily. Install it in your text editor, and click the “rake” button to get started. It will go through the document and make sugge...

by Maddy Osman Topic: Marketing Strategy In yesterday’s Advisor , we shared high-level marketing tips from industry experts, with a special focus on content marketing. In today’s Advisor, we’re sharing more bite-sized marketing tips from today’s top marketers to help you come up with new ideas to improve your next campaign. “Never write an advertisement which you wouldn’t want your family to read. You wouldn’t tell lies to your own wife. Don’t tell them to mine.” —David Ogilvy Ogilvy advocates getting into the head of someone in your audience. Don’t think of yourself as an organization. Instead, think of yourself as a peer to the person consuming your advertising. Don’t find customers for your product. Find products for your customers. “Our job is to make change. Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better than we found them, more able to get where they’d like to go. Every time we waste that opportunity, every ...

A lot has been written in the last three years about the merits of “mobile-first” design, and with good reason, a recent comscore report indicates that over 60% of web traffic now comes from mobile devices. You’re forced to be deliberate about hierarchy. You’ll have to optimize your content. Buzzword-y title aside, mobile-first design is exactly what it sounds like,thinking from the start about the way content is served to mobile devices, and making design choices that make things easier for your mobile users. While this approach can be challenging, starting small can have benefits that extend all the way up to the largest screens and can improve the quality and usability of your entire site. Users are used to scrolling, but you still need to make sure they see the most important content when the page loads. The decisions that come out of arranging content in the linear format necessitated by narrow device widths can be useful in deciding what actions and messaging are truly the mo...

5 cool examples of UTM tracking Robert Petković Google Analytics Specialist August 14th, 2014 5 URL BUILDER ARGUMENTS 1. Campaign Source (utm_source) This tag is mandatory, it identifies where exactly did your ad appear. That can be a specific portal name, social network name or similar. 2. Campaign Medium (utm_medium) Identifies the way your ad appears on the web page (banner, PR) but I suggest you to use the Medium as you would use it within Google Analytics: Social, cpc, email, etc. This tag is also mandatory. 3. Campaign Term (utm_term) This should be the keyword you use for identifying your ad. It will also appear as “keyword” within Google Analytics report. 4. Campaign Content (utm_content) This tag is usually used for A/B testing, but it could be used for ad type, market, website language version or any other similar info that will help you distinguish one ad version from another. 5. Campaign Name (utm_campaign) Surprisingly, that should ...

Marketing Strategy by Maddy Osman Wednesday, August 24th, 2016 Cognitive biases relate to the field of psychology, and they represent the systematic way a person rationalizes an illogical way of thinking. Clever marketers use their understanding of cognitive biases to persuade people to make purchases. Understanding cognitive biases can help marketers impact how we buy, sell, feel, think, and interact. Here are some common cognitive biases that can be used to influence prospects that are exposed to your content marketing. Attention Bias According to  Bart Schutz  of Online Dialogue, attention bias is the tendency to pay more attention to emotionally dominant stimuli and to neglect other relevant data when making decisions. How does attention bias affect people? The more often people see the name of your company or logo, the more likely they’ll be to purchase from you. In essence, the more familiar you are with a brand, the better. To use attention bias in marke...

By Neil Patel published February 9, 2016 Content Marketing Strategy Orignal Article I talk with a lot of people who are frustrated with the fact that their content marketing strategy doesn’t seem to be working. In fact, in some cases, their entire content strategy seems to be an abject failure. Why is this the case? If content marketing is such an important marketing method, has proven success, and is used by nearly 90% of businesses, then why do so many businesses feel like their strategy is useless and ineffective ? There are some common trends that characterize many of these “failed” content marketing strategies. In most cases, the strategies haven’t “failed” at all. The “strategy,” whatever that is, wasn’t clear enough to guide the business to achieve its goals. Instead, what the strategy needs is a hard reset and some new programming. That new programming comes in the form of SMART goals. RECOMMENDED FOR YOU: 2016 Content Marketing Toolkit: 23 C...

by  Carlo Pacis   July 5, 2016 Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past several years, you’re aware of Instagram’s rise to prominence as a platform for more than artsy photos of ice cream and early-morning hikes. It’s now a powerhouse social network for marketers that rewards great content. If social media is part of your marketing strategy, chances are you’re already using Instagram… and we both know using Instagram is so much more than just a photo-posting application. There are so many awesome tools for Instagram – visual editing, analytics, content management, sales – it might be hard to know where to start. In this article I’ve compiled 10 of the best Instagram tools to keep in your Instagram marketing toolbox. image: http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/vsco-tr.png.png #1. VSCO Price:  Free Available For:   iOS ,  Android VSCO  is a constant staple on the App Store’s “Top 100 Free Apps” list, an...

 by  Lauren Smith Lauren Smith is a Boston-area content strategist who has written hundreds of posts and reports on email marketing and design. She’s passionate about creating great subscriber experiences and helping the world send better emails. Lauren currently heads content marketing at  Litmus , a web-based email creation, testing, and analytics company. In her spare time, she enjoys trying out new recipes, traveling, and debating the Oxford comma. Social media is more than just a platform to promote your products, services, and content. It’s a two-way street for communication that can engage your customers and prospects. These interactions help  build brand trust  and a form a community around your brand. You need trust to create a deeper relationship with your customers and to encourage repeat purchases and referrals. So, how do you use social media to build brand trust? What goes into building this trust? Steve Rayson, director of BuzzSu...