May 2015 – Interent Marketing Voices

Deadly Conversion Busters: How to Fix a Horrible Headline

Headlines can make or break your conversions.
How do you craft a headline that works every time?
In this episode of The Mainframe, Chris Garrett and Tony Clark reveal:

Why being clever might be the easiest way to tank your offer
How your audience targeting is the key to developing your headline strategy
Testing and getting out of your own way
What your headlines really need in order to connect with your prospect
The 4U technique for getting your headlines right

Click Here to Listen toThe Mainframe on iTunes
Click Here to Listen on Rainmaker.FM
About the authorRainmaker.FMRainmaker.FM is the premier digital marketing and sales podcast network. Get on-demand business advice from experts, whenever and wherever you want it.

The post Deadly Conversion Busters: How to Fix a Horrible Headline appeared first on Copyblogger.

Original Source

The Free Content Trap Writers Always Fall Into

The other day I was walking to our neighbor’s house to let his dog out. It was noon, bright, and hot. No wind, my hands in my pockets, my thoughts somewhere else.
As I rounded the corner, I ran into another neighbor — a thick, weathered man with short black hair. He was rolling a lawnmower to the end of his driveway.
He said, “You know anyone who wants a free lawnmower?”
I stopped and contemplated his offer. A free lawnmower? “Does it work?” I said.
“Yep,” he said.
I don’t need a lawnmower — mine is less than a year old — but the resourceful spirit of my grandfather said take it. You can figure out what to do with it afterwards.
That’s what free can do to you.
But then another voice, the Spartan spirit of my father, got the better of me, and I decided not to deal with it. To remain light. Lean.
My neighbor was still staring at me.
“No, I don’t know anyone, but I’ll ask around,” I said, and moved on.
Free has a funny effect on people
Our eternal attraction to free is equivalent to a child’s obsession with toys. We will never tire of it or evolve away from our love of free.
This is good news for marketers. But just because you give something away for free doesn’t mean you will get the conversion. Free’s job is simply to flag down the reader.
Let me explain.
When free content fails
Part of my job at Copyblogger Media involves reviewing

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How to create a smart Call-to-Action (CTA) based on a contacts list

How to create a HubSpot smart Call-to-Action (CTA) based on a contacts list Did you know that you can use your contacts list to create a smart Call-to-Action (CTA)? It will take your inbound marketing up a notch. In this tutorial, George B Thomas will walk you through the process while using the HubSpot CTA…
The post How to create a smart Call-to-Action (CTA) based on a contacts list appeared first on The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan.

Rapid-Fire Takeaways from Authority Rainmaker

Authority Rainmaker came and went two weeks ago, but its impact is still being felt.
In this episode of The Lede, Demian Farnworth and Jerod Morris go back and forth delivering quick-hit takeaways from the conference that stuck with them once they left Denver.
Among the speakers Jerod and Demian discuss:

Dan Pink
Scott Brinker
Pamela Wilson
Sonia Simone
Ann Handley
Bernadette Jiwa
Chris Brogan
Sally Hogshead
Danny Sullivan
Michael King
Joe Pulizzi
Sean D’Souza
Joanna Lord
Scott Stratten and Ryan Deiss

And, of course, Henry Rollins — though they save the majority of the Rollins talk for next week’s follow-up episode.
Click Here to Listen toThe Lede on iTunes
Click Here to Listen on Rainmaker.FM
About the authorRainmaker.FMRainmaker.FM is the premier digital marketing and sales podcast network. Get on-demand business advice from experts, whenever and wherever you want it.

The post Rapid-Fire Takeaways from Authority Rainmaker appeared first on Copyblogger.

Original Source

The Bobby McFerrin Plan for Creating a Remarkable Business

Editor’s note: This article was Pamela Wilson’s first guest post on Copyblogger, published on March 25, 2010 — well before she joined our team as VP of Educational Content. Pamela had just completed Copyblogger’s flagship course, Teaching Sells, and was ready to expand her successful offline design business into new online territory.
I just returned from a Bobby McFerrin concert, and now I know how to run my new business.
No, this post isn’t about “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Bobby McFerrin is much more than that.
You see, I’m a little nervous. For 23 years, I’ve made my income the same way — in a service business, as a graphic designer. Clients come to me for design work. I create something for them, and bill for my time. Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat for 23 years, and you have a career as a successful designer.
But that’s all about to change.
I’m venturing into new territory. I’ve started a blog. I’m putting together a course. I’m interacting with my readers. I’m supposed to let them guide me, respond to their needs, offer what they’re looking for, and everything is going to work out fine.
Except, I’m just a little terrified. How exactly is content marketing supposed to work? Who are these people I am serving, and how do I know it’s all going to come together?
And that’s where Bobby comes in
The first thing you notice when you file into the theater at a Bobby McFerrin concert is that the stage

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How do I create email templates in the HubSpot CRM

How do I create email templates in the HubSpot CRM Creating email templates in the HubSpot CRM is a little tricky, but so easy to do once you’ve seen @GeorgeBThomas’s tutorial. To get started, you have to click on an individual contact, click email, and THEN you’ll be ready to set up the template. Once…
The post How do I create email templates in the HubSpot CRM appeared first on The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan.

Creating Visual Content: The Favorite Tools and Tips for Non-Artists

You don’t have to be a trained artist to create stop-them-in-their-tracks images that boost your content’s effectiveness.
These days, you can find easy-to-use free tools that will allow you to create beautiful images for your blog, website, and social media.
This week on Hit Publish, host Pamela Wilson invited three Copyblogger experts to share their best advice for creating remarkable visual content.
Tune in to hear from host Pamela Wilson, Demian Farnworth, Chris Garrett, and Lauren Mancke as they discuss:

Why images “put the brakes” on readers, and why that’s a good thing
Which “off the beaten path” visual content creation tools you should start using today
Crucial tips non-designers should keep in mind when putting together images

Click Here to Listen toHit Publish on iTunes
Click Here to Listen on Rainmaker.FM
About the authorRainmaker.FMRainmaker.FM is the premier digital marketing and sales podcast network. Get on-demand business advice from experts, whenever and wherever you want it.

The post Creating Visual Content: The Favorite Tools and Tips for Non-Artists appeared first on Copyblogger.

Original Source

The Oddest Story About Overcoming Obscurity You’ll Ever Hear

It’s a monumental moment in the history of Rough Draft because we are going to break — for the first time ever — the monologue mold of Rough Draft.
In fact, we’re going to do it all week.
See, Demian Farnworth has four short interviews for you from four superb web writers. People who will teach you fabulous lessons on overcoming obscurity, finding your voice, choosing the right words, and rapidly expanding your audience.
Right now, you’ll hear from the lovely James Chartrand, a single mom with two kids who built a world-class design and copywriting boutique called Men with Pens.
But her ride wasn’t pretty. Her story is one of intrigue and forced anonymity. And downright sexism.
It’s one of unfair competition and writing $2 articles. But there are also inside jokes about dressing drag and being Canadian, and ultimately, a happy ending that culminated in a blog post on Copyblogger that blew all of our collective minds.
Demian speaks in superlatives because this story demands superlatives. And it demands your attention. Particularly if you feel alone and forgotten and like no one will ever notice you. Because the lesson is if this single mom can win the attention battle with these odds, so can you.
So pay attention …
Because in this roughly 20-minute episode of Rough Draft with Demian Farnworth and James Chartrand, you’ll discover:

Fab advice about getting noticed from a woman who chose to remain obscure
The icky environment James found herself in when

Original Source

Why HubSpot’s Radical 3 Million Dollar Loan to its Partners is a Game-Changer

Anyone that knows the River Pools story also knows that our amazing turnaround as a business started when I stumbled across a new marketing software start-up in 2009 called HubSpot. For an ignorant pool guy, they truly spoke “my” language. The philosophy of Inbound Marketing was intrinsically obvious to me and seemed to be our…
The post Why HubSpot’s Radical 3 Million Dollar Loan to its Partners is a Game-Changer appeared first on The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan.

How to create a smart Call-to-Actions (CTA) based on lifecycle stage

How to create a HubSpot Smart Call-to-Actions (CTAs) based on lifecycle stage Your Calls-to-Action (CTAs) can go beyond the default, and @GeorgeBThomas can show you how using HubSpot’s CTA tool. You can create different messages (Smart CTAs!) that will reflect the marketing relationship your company has with an individual. Are they a subscriber? A lead?…
The post How to create a smart Call-to-Actions (CTA) based on lifecycle stage appeared first on The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan.