Content marketing is more than writing blogs. Way more

If you’re just getting involved in content marketing, the first thing you need to do is launch your blog and start writing.

Then, when your blog is established and purring along, try throwing in a new type of content. I predict that you’ll immediately see a difference — fresh traffic, targeted visitors, higher conversion rates, and better SEO.

But before I share the 10 types of content that will drive you more traffic, there are a few things you need to know:

You don’t need to try all of these examples — different content types suit different brands in different ways. If you don’t think that a certain type of content will serve you, no problem. This list isn’t about must-haves. It’s about maybes.
Don’t be afraid to try new stuff — I’ve found that some people shy away from new types of content because they think it will take too long, be too hard, or fall flat. I understand your apprehension, but I encourage you to try it anyway. Want to get started with a video? You don’t need to buy a green screen, editing software, or a pro-grade camera. Use your iPhone and your YouTube account. Start small and work your way up.

Pick one and put it in your schedule — if you use a content marketing schedule, slot one or two of these into the editorial calendar for the next month. If you don’t plan it, you probably won’t do it. I challenge you to pick one and give it a try sometime in the next four weeks.

This list is not exhaustive — I encourage you to think of content not in terms of types but ideas. The form that the content takes is secondary. The idea is primary. First, develop your idea. Then, determine what it’s going to look like. The variety of content is endless. Heck, you may even want to invent your own type of content.

So, let’s get started…

Content type #1: Infographics

An infographic is the presentation of information or data in a visual way. Its name sums it up — info + graphic.

Infographics get shared more, viewed more, and loved more than most other content types. They are a powerful way to get your information out there in an explosively visual format. One study found that infographics were liked and shared on social media up to three times more often than other content. The viral potential is there.

How to do it

If you have a graphic designer in your professional network, tap him or her to make an infographic for you. Some graphic artists specialize in infographics. If you have it in your budget, you can use a service like Visual.ly. Infographics typically start at $1,000.

When to use it

Infographics are perfect for communicating almost any idea or concept. Data, research, statistics, and findings work especially well.

Things to keep in mind

Infographics can be expensive. The amount cited above — a thousand dollars — is pretty close to the standard price.

Infographics used to go viral just by virtue of being an infographic. That doesn’t work anymore. Everyone is making infographics. Today, you have to make it really good to make it shareable.

Make a gifographic. Gifographics use the infographic model but feature animated gifs instead of the static images of a conventional infographic. You can check out an example here.

Content type #2: Meme

You’ve seen memes. They’re easy to make. They’re viral. They’re hilarious.

That’s one of the great benefits of memes — their humor. People love something that they can laugh at, share, and get a kick out of.

How to do it

Memes don’t require graphic design skills. Meme Generator and Quick Meme are sites that allow you to add your own text to popular meme images.
Memes may not be the best type of content to share on your blog, but they’re primed for social media outlets. Twitter, Stumbleupon, Pinterest, Reddit, and Tumblr (especially Tumblr) will help your meme to spread.
Memes are just-because content. When the mood hits or a funny idea strikes you, go ahead and meme it.

Things to keep in mind

They are adaptable. The great thing about memes is that they can be adapted for use in any niche. Your niche is neither too narrow nor abstruse to warrant its own meme.

Memes can be low value, so don’t overuse them. When misused, they can devalue the message or brand that you’re trying to promote.

Content type #3: Videos

There’s a world of variety within videos. I could write a whole separate post on different types of videos. No matter what type it is, however, a good video communicates a message in a succinct and memorable way. Done well, a video can be extraordinarily persuasive. This video on Crazy Egg helps to bring in $21k every month.

How to do it

Whether you create a video of an office tour, an explainer video, or a music video (it’s been done), you’ve got to get the script right. A video isn’t only about the moving picture; it’s about the words that you say or display. Check out a few more tips for making an explainer video.
Put the video on YouTube and Vimeo. Both of these video sharing sites are great ways to garner social signals for SEO and improved results for video search itself.

Things to keep in mind

Making a good video is not cheap. You can start small, of course, but contracting a video specialist or a camera crew can cost quite a bit.

Videos aren’t supposed to be long. Two to three minutes is a good length.

Content type #4: Guides

A guide is a detailed and fairly long piece of content. Think of it as an epic blog post. It goes beyond the length, style, and approach of an ordinary blog post. My Advanced Guide series are some of the most popular types of content I’ve ever created. When you check them out, you’ll discover that they have more visual flair and are much longer than my blog articles.

How to do it

Writing a guide requires a good writer, a good designer, and a good idea. The writer needs to produce top-tier content. The designer needs to know how to present that content in an attractive way. And the idea has to be something that your audience wants. You may wish to present the guide as a downloadable PDF.

Things to keep in mind

Guides can be a helpful bait for harvesting email addresses: “I’ll give you this awesome guide if you register your email address.”

A guide needs to look good. Make sure you recruit the services of a capable designer as well as a writer. Readability has as much to do with layout and presentation as it does with great writing style.

Content type #5: Book reviews

A book review is a simple discussion of a book plus your take on it. You recommend good ones, critique not-so-good ones, and share the value that you glean from them. Book reviews are great because they help to position you as a thought leader.

How to do it

A book review can be as complicated or as simple as you want. I suggest a short-and-simple 7-point format:

• Introduce the book: 1-5 sentences.
• Introduce the author: 1-5 sentences.
• Summarize the book’s major points: 1-3 sentences per point.
• Share what you liked in the book: 1-5 sentences.
• Share what you didn’t like about the book: 1-5 sentences.
• Recommend it (or not) to your readers: 1-3 sentences.
• Provide a call to action: Link to the book.

Things to keep in mind

Book review content works best if you have a readership that is inclined to read books.
Book reviews are especially helpful for thought leadership if you’re able to review new releases or pre-releases or interview the author.

Content type #6: Opinion post (a.k.a. “Rant”)

This style of post is substantially different from your typical blog post, mostly due to its tone. You may be used to publishing a careful and researched discussion of a topic. The rant or opinion, by contrast, may be stronger and more expressive. The more vociferous your position, the more it’s going to get read and shared.

How to do it

Occasionally, write a strong first-person take on a hot topic or big issue. It could be your opinion on a major industry change. I did this when Matt Cutts announced the demise of guest blogging. When you address popular topics, you’re able to get stronger search potential and shareability.

Things to keep in mind

This should not be a daily thing. Someone who is constantly sharing his or her opinions or ranting about a topic can become odious. Use with caution.

Be civil. Don’t let your opinions degenerate into people bashing. “Rant” does not equal “angry.”
Be clear about what you’re doing — that this is your opinion, your take, your position — and be humble about it.

Content type #7: Product reviews

Like the book review, a product review can help establish authority and leadership in your industry. Every industry has its unique array of products, software, and services. When you engage key developers, manufacturers, or service providers, you gain recognition and respect. All you need to do is share your experience with the product and provide your recommendation.

How to do it

Here’s a pattern for the product review:

• Introduce the product
• Introduce the producer
• Describe the product
• Share what you like
• Share what you don’t like
• Provide your recommendation
• Provide a call to action

Things to keep in mind

If the product is a physical item, you may want to have a video component to the review. A video allows you to take a hands-on approach to the product as you review it.

Content type #8: How-to

The how-to is one of the most popular types of content, especially in my niche. On my blog, I write a lot of how-to guides. How-to articles have awesome long tail search potential due to these popular long tail query introductions: “How to…” and “How do I…?”

How to do it

First, identify a common problem. Then, come up with a solution. The model is simple:

• Introduce the problem
• Introduce the solution
• Discuss each step of the solution
• Summarize the discussion
• Provide a conclusion

Things to keep in mind

The options for how-tos are inexhaustible. Think of one topic that reflects something you do on a daily basis. Next, write a how-to article based on that one issue. It could be industry specific or more general: “How to reply to every email in one minute or less” or “How to optimize your robots.txt for search engines.”

The more thorough your explanation is, the better. Diagrams, videos, and pictures can all help enhance the how-to blog.

Content type #9: Lists

Lists have endless appeal. We’re wired to love them. Chance are you’re going to see or read an article today that involves some sort of a list — “5 Security Breaches You Need to Know about,” “17 Ways to Rank Higher in Google in One Month.” Hey, you’re already reading an article with the title “15 Types.”

From the ancient Ten Commandments to modern lists of everything, numbered ideas are as popular as ever. You can’t go wrong with this content type. Even popular magazines use list appeal to sell issues.

How to do it

Pick a topic, then pick a number. You’re halfway to creating a list. A good example of this is this post on 7 ways to increase your rankings without leveraging content marketing.

When you write your list, use this simple format: introduce the topic, list your points, and provide a conclusion.

Things to keep in mind

The more detailed your list is, the better. Long lists are good too.

There’s no magic number for an awesome list. Odd numbers, round numbers, any types of numbers — they all work equally well.

Content type #10: Link pages

A link page is simply a post that provides links to great resources around the web. The great thing about link posts is that they spread link love to other sites, provide your own site with authoritative SEO signals, and assert your thought leadership within your field.

How to do it

A link page, often called a link roundup, is simply a list of links. Write down the title of the article, hyperlink it, and number it. Done.

Things to keep in mind

It’s helpful to add your own blurb or introduction for each link you provide. Although not necessary, it’s a good way to put your own spin on a topic or add a bit of value to the discussion. Besides, if a post is particularly good (or bad), you may want to point this out.

Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer MarketHive Inc.

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Google will always be adjusting its algorithms!

That action is as predictable as buying fresh bread tomorrow. Nobody knows when Google updates happen, except Google. Everybody is on board though trying to grab whatever piece of return they can from Google Organic results. Hey, it’s free, what else do you want?

If you are a business owner who has jumped into the online waters, I’m sure that you are frustrated as hell hearing a million ideas and million methods from a million people. And you also know that there’s no such thing as “free advertising” in our world, at least not yet. So until then, you might want to keep on reading.

“The secret to SEO” This is a boring title basically because of the fact that it sounds like a generic get rich theme that we, all of us who own sites on the Internet are subject to on a daily basis. So calling all business owners and work from homers must listen up.

THERE’S NO SECRET TO SEO. It’s very basic and I’m sure you have read this in a lot of places; it’s content. But many sources fail to mention that it has to be relevant content. I tell each of my clients the same thing and it has 4 major clauses; 

1-            Original Fresh Content

2-            Popularity of your site

3-            Maintenance

4-            Existence

 Original and Fresh Content is not as easy as it sounds. We are talking about unique information that will move people to your site. See, the problem with many companies showing up on the top page today is that their pages are optimized for Google with a combination of nonsense sentences and keywords. So, my approach is, why not build a website that actually is optimized for humans?

When you do this, you are automatically taking care of the optimization for Google. Come on people, we all know that Google has game and they’re increasing their technology every day finding ways to get rid of this “optimization” deal. Google is always on the side of the users and never the advertisers keep that in mind.

Guess what, once you have original and fresh content, people are going to want to visit your site and link to your site. Hey, we just took care of Popularity as well. I’m not saying you do not have to work on the link exchange thing but promise me that it will be minimal. Also you want to stay away from link farms, link exchange offers and paying for links.

So I hear that question, how else am I going to bring links to my site? The answer is content. Write articles, submit it to article sites. Prepare a PR, submit it to Prweb.com. Believe me; all these will bring links to your site. All you have to do is, mention your website at the end of these articles and make sure you link to your site with your advertised link text.

Now you are thinking, “That’s it; I have the content and the links, I’m the king of Google”. That would be wrong. Always remember that while you are doing content and popularity, there are a million competitors doing that and more. So you want to Maintain your content. You want to update it every week so every time Google spiders come to visit your site, they find new useful information. Keep up with daily life and updated news.

For example, if you sell farming supplies and the price of grain goes up, you should write an article and put it in your site. Also publish those articles on other articles sites. You can find these sites easily with a “article submit” search on Google.

And the last but not least would be Existence. I don’t want to get all philosophical on you but you have to have some type of existence online. Try to search for your company name on Google and see how many results you get; that’s your existence. You could also name this one “Brand Recognition”.

You want to increase that so when somebody searches for farming supplies, they must see your name. You can do this easily by writing articles and Press Releases on a weekly basis. The more you write, the more circulation you will get.

If you have a great piece of article or information, acquire a list of media outlets such as local and national newspapers, and fax it to them. They just might bite pick it up. Always remember to include your website at the end as a source and you might have yourself a million dollar makin’, traffic gettin’ website, Google top rankin’ website !!!

Brian-Walters-online

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Here’s my list of seven steps for creating a customer-centric culture at your company.

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I came here Saturday May 2, 2015 around 2:30 pm. I wanted to be close in West Haven as my Dad was in the VA recovering from pneumonia. I was here many years ago and a co-worker recently told me how good this place was. It received many positive Yelp/Trip Advisor reviews so I wanted to check it out for myself.

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In 1882, the Douglas brothers, William and Edward, formed the Douglas Engineering Company in Kingswood, Bristol to carry out foundry work.

 

 

 

The horizontally opposed twin cylinder (flat twin) engine had originally been designed by German engineer, Karl Benz.

The flat twin engine for which the Douglas company became well known, was designed by Joseph Barter, the founder of Light Motors Ltd.

 

Barter had produced a single-cylinder motorcycle between 1902 and 1904, and then the 200cc flat twin called the Fairy, using components manufactured at the Douglas foundry.

 

Light Motors Ltd. failed in 1907 and was taken over by the Douglas brothers. Barter joined Douglas to continue with motorcycle design.

 

In 1907, the first Douglas motorcycle appeared. It featured a 350cc version of the flat twin and single speed belt drive. One of the cylinders faced forwards whilst the opposing cylinder faced the rear of the motorcycle. Initial sales were not too impressive.

 

In 1910, a two speed gearbox had been introduced, and this improved sales figures.

In 1911, two of three Douglas entries finished in the Isle of Man TT Races.

William Douglas rode one of the machines into seventh place in just over four hours.

G.L. Fletcher came twelfth.

 

1912 was more successful for Douglas in the Isle of Man Junior TT Race.

 

Harry Bashall came first at an average speed of 39.65mph.

 

In second place was Edward Kickham who achieved the fastest lap at 41.76mph.

 

J. Stewart came in fourth position and Jack Haslam came eighth.

 

In 1913, Douglas entered thirteen machines in the Isle of Man Junior TT Race.

 

Seven of these machines finished the race, the best position being W. Newsome who came in second place.

 

In 1914, the best that Douglas could manage in the Junior TT Race was seventh place ridden by E.E. Elwell.

 

Douglas continued to enter the TT Races with some reasonable results.

 

During World War I, Douglas manufactured many motorcycles for military use.

 

By 1920, the range included overhead valve machines 500cc and 733cc, as well as side valve machines of 350cc and 595cc.

 

The 350cc side valve machines were reconditioned military WD models.

 

Also in the 1920s, the RA models were introduced for racing. They featured disc brakes developed at the Research Association.

 

In 1923, production RA models were introduced in 346cc and 596cc versions.

 

The 348cc side valve EW models followed shortly after.

 

TT success returned to Douglas in 1923 when Tom Sheard won the Senior TT. Also in 1923, Douglas won the first ever Isle of Man Sidecar Race with the famous Douglas banking sidecar ridden by Freddie Dixon and T.W. Denny.

 

A Douglas ridden by A.H. Alexander came third in the Junior TT that year.

 

Later in 1923 Jim Whalley won the French Grand Prix on a Douglas.

 

Percy Flook won the gruelling Durban-Johannesburg Race in 1923 riding a 2.75 hp machine. He achieved an average speed of 43 mph over 430 miles.

 

In 1927, both 350cc and 600cc versions of the EW were available and in 1928 a 350cc ohv Sports model based on the EW was introduced.

 

In 1929 came the S5 and S6 models, developed by the well known motorcycle racer and tuner, Freddie Dixon.

Another Dixon design, the 350cc A31 followed in 1930.

In 1931, the overhead valve K32 and M32 models were introduced.

In 1932, after twenty five years of motorcycle production, Douglas became a limited company known as Douglas Motors Ltd.

 

They were to continue manufacturing motorcycles for a further twenty five years.

 

In 1934, the Blue Chief and the Endeavour, a 494cc flat twin shaft drive model were introduced.

By 1935, the company was struggling financially and was taken over by by the British Aircraft Company (BAC) who then formed a new company, Aero Engines Ltd.

 

The company continued to manufacture side valve 350cc, 500cc and 600cc models up to the breakout of World War II.

Motorcycle production continued into World War II and for the war effort, the company manufactured a variety of products including generators, aircraft components and industrial engines.

 

In 1945, the T35 was introduced featuring a 350cc flat twin engine with chain drive.

In 1946, the company became known as Douglas (Kingswood) Ltd.

In 1948, not long after the war, Douglas was facing financial difficulty again and production was restricted to the 350cc flat twin models.

 

In the early 1950s, Douglas became the UK importer and constructor of the Piaggio Vespa scooters.

In 1955, the 350cc Douglas Dragonfly was introduced. This was the last motorcycle to be produced by Douglas.

The Dragonfly featured a 348cc flat twin engine, four speed gearbox and chain drive.

 

In 1957, when Westinghouse Brake and Signal took over Douglas, production of Douglas motorcycles came to an end.

 

The production of the Vespa scooters at the Douglas factory also ended, however the company did continue to assemble scooters from parts imported from Italy.

 

Under Westinghouse, Douglas continued to sell Piaggio scooters and when Piaggio acquired the Gilera motorcycle brand in 1969, Douglas also became the UK importer for Gilera.

 

This continued through until 1982 when the import licence came to an end.

 

Steven Hodgkiss

Douglas Motorcycles

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I get together with a couple dozen other business owners for lunch every Tuesday here in Birmingham 
– Community Business Builders of Birmingham — is what we named the group several years ago when it started…

 

 

 

We have a 60 minute meeting over lunch and we keep the meeting very structured in order to be respectful of everybody’s time.

 

Every person has 60 seconds to introduce themselves and their business.

 

The we have a 5 minute education segment and then 2 of our members have 7 minutes to talk about their business in a little detail…

 

If there is any time left at the end of the meeting we encourage anyone with referrals from any other member to give a little gratitude/feedback.

  

It’s a very “fast” hour so we constantly encourage members to have “one on one” meetings during the week. In other words get together for Coffee or lunch and get more in depth about what we do business wise and what kind of referrals are good for each other. I love it…

 

Today’s business education segment was handled by Joe Simons.

 

Joe is an architect who is focused on “building with integrity”. It’s his branding motto. Although he’s capable and proficient with just about any architectural work Joe especially works with a lot of churches.

 

It’s not just about drawing a plan for a building with an architect like Joe, it’s about guiding his clients through the “mine fields” of government red tape that can cost a client a lot of extra time/money.

 

Joe gets most of his business by networking so it was no surprise to me when his educational topic was “Questions to ask an influential leader”. Joe related how he had used this exact list of questions when he had lunch with a mayor of a New Mexico city recently…

 

Joe was quick to credit John Maxwell with 7 questions Joe likes to ask “Influential Leaders” but it occurred to me the list works well with anybody you or I are talking to (in person or over the phone) so I thought I’d share it.

 

Next time you are talking to someone and establishing “rapport” here are some questions that may help you help them help you & them…

 

1. What is the greatest lesson you have learned?
2. What are you focused on learning right now?
3. How has failure shaped your future?
4. Who do you know that I should know? (my favorite)
5. What have you read that you’d recommend I read?
6. What have you done that you’d recommend I do?
7. How can I add some value to what you do?

 

That’s an easy 7 to jot down and try the next time you are meeting with someone. Let me know how it works for you if you do use them — that would be a great future post.

 

Steven Hodgkiss

MarketHive — Free Inbound Marketing Tools

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