Inbound Marketing Blog

The original The Elements of Style was written by William Strunk Jr. in 1918, but if you ever took an English grammar class, you are probably more familiar with the 1959 version that was expanded by E.B. White. It’s since been edited numerous times to accommodate our constantly fluctuating language. Though it’s sometimes hard to imagine grammar rules are still used and relevant today, when you have full-length books written in emojis, well-written content is still necessary. Getting the right message across is dependent on using the right language and form. As a business, your online presence is crucial, and your only interaction with customers may be through writing or content - so make it good! Using the advice from Strunk & White, we’ll show you how these age-old methods still apply today.

When I began blogging, I took the approach of purely factual and informative writing. Can I be honest? It was boring to write, and even more boring to read. Nobody cares to read blogs that are full of information and lack the human touch. Information is important, sure. However, it's how you present that information that determines its success. If you're looking to engage your audience more than you currently are, you've come to the right place.

You know how great your business is. You probably think you cannot say enough good things about what you do. But you can.

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If you've ever tried talking with someone who doesn't seem to listen to you, you know how annoying it can be. You try to make a point, but they just run over it like a steamroller and talk about something that interests them.

Why is this so frustrating? Because, even if they don't mean to, these people send the message, "I only care about me. I don't care about you. You don't matter."

No one likes hearing this. Especially not potential clients--after all, why give money to someone who doesn't respect you? That's why it's so important to understand buyer personas and the buyer's journey--it helps you create content that tells customers, "We understand you, we value you and we have what you need."

Thanks to our guest contributor Jessica Fender of Online Writers Rating.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) patterns have changed over the years. Regardless of whether you are a content creator or a planner, these things affect your everyday work. The latest trend to hit global search engines is the inclusion of “topic clustering” as a means to fight mechanical keyword optimization.

It’s no longer enough to simply abide by the logical rules of search engines – your content needs to have relevance and meaning. But how do we define topic clustering and how can we effortlessly implement it into already defined content planning strategies? Let’s take a look at some useful tips that can help you increase your ranking and traffic in no time at all.

The foundation of a good website content strategy is an outline of the website pages, sometimes known as a sitemap. One of the most important aspects of creating this document is determining the items in the main website navigation menu.

Why is the website navigation menu important?

When we're willing to ruffle a few feathers, we get more engagement. The more engagement we get, the more people will talk to us and about us. 

In 2017, you can find plenty of examples of this dynamic all around you. The abundance of click-baiting and fake news is probably the best. They elicit emotions and cause us to take action.

Facebook and the Baiting of Clicks

If you haven't heard the term "clickbait," it refers to a title that begs you to click the link for an article. For example, a link might have the title, "You'll be amazed by number 7." When you click through, however, 7 really isn't that important. It's sort of like being Rick Rolled.

I explored this a bit in another blog post I wrote titled, “Is Facebook Making us Stupid and Lazy?” (Of course, I think the answer is yes. You’ll have to take a gander later and let me know what you think.)

"What can you do for me?"

Site visitors will be looking at many types of content on your website to try to uncover this information, but one effective way to help answer that question for them is to include a section for testimonials that showcase customer delight. When a site visitor reads success stories and learns how your business's products or services solved problems for your existing customers, it can help the new prospect move through the buyer's journey by showing them how they can benefit from working with you.