Archive for Content Marketing – Page 8

When Business Blogging Works Too Well…

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, December 19th, 2011

Blogging for your business works like this:

  1. You blog about the problems you solve for your clients
  2. You get found on the Web by the people who need your services
  3. People get to know you, like you, trust you
  4. They email or call and hire you (photo courtesy ddpavumba)

But then your business grows, you get busy, and what happens to the blog? I’ve seen hundreds  of business blogs written by smart professionals who haven’t been posted since last summer.

Here’s my own example. I think I enjoy blogging for other people more than I do for myself! The more work I’m getting ghost blogging for executive coaches, the more interesting my writing becomes, and the more fun I’m having. It’s all good, really, except for a few problems…

I am quite simply more excited about creating content that markets for other professionals than I am for myself and my own  business blog. I have long since stopped worrying about being “normal,” so that doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

But here are some problems… All the while, my ranking on the Top 42 Content Marketing blogs is slipping. I went from #4 to #10 to #17…to #45. I may soon be off the list entirely. Yikes! (List now defunct, but you get the point!) Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, Online Marketing
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Why Writing Like You Talk
Works Better for Your Brain

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Today’s guest post is by Barb Sawyers:

Many experts who try to write their own content need to rewire their brains, to abandon the lessons drilled into them at school in favor of the more conversational approach that works better online. The good news is that they can evolve.

Think about the conclusions of Dr. Norman Doidge in The Brain that Changes Itself, and other neuroscientists who have confirmed that people can recover or develop new regions to compensate for brain damage caused by strokes or congenital defects.

If they can make changes this profound, certainly you can rewire your writing process, even if it’s deeply entrenched from higher education, professional experience or other neural programming. Your neuroplasticity, as the brain geeks call it, means you can move from an objective style that builds walls to content that sticks to emotions and subconscious longings.

Yes, this takes practice, discipline and an open attitude, but luckily some of these changes come easily because they’re based on talking, the communication mainstay we all learned before writing.

I don’t have a million dollar research grant, but let me share what I’ve learned as my writing has adjusted. If you compared scans of my brain before and after writing for the web, I bet you’d see different areas light up, maybe new synaptic tangos too. Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Writing for the Web
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Basic Human Motivation: 4 Ways to Engage Readers

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

If you are writing content designed to persuade and influence, you need to know what makes people tick. (photo courtesy of digitalart/FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

There are universal drives that are common in all human beings, across cultures, across the globe. When you create content that appeals to either of these four basic drives, you can’t help but engage the hearts and minds of readers on a profound level.

We can learn a lot from evolutionary studies. Our brains haven’t changed much, nor have our fundamental motivations.

I suggest a frame work for understanding basic human motivations: the Four Drive Theory, presented by Professors Paul R. Lawrence and Nitin Noria in their 2001 book Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices.

There are many theories about what motivates behaviors, but I like this Four Drive theory because it is based on studies of primitive man, primitive societies, and the evolution of brain functioning over the last 100,000 years.

It doesn’t matter if you view humans as being motivated according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, or Freud’s Pleasure/Pain framework, or any other drive theory. What matters for marketing is that you understand basic human drives, and what drives peoples’ behaviors at their most fundamental sources.

This theory doesn’t exclude other theories, but as a framework for marketing, I think it works quite well. Keeping these four things in mind, you can create more effective marketing that reaches the subconscious brains of your consumers. Read More→

Categories : Brain Based Content Marketing, Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Online Persuasion, Writing Great Blog Content
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Content Marketing that Speaks to the Old Brain

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, November 18th, 2011

You get better results with your content marketing when you speak to the “old brain,” the one that’s also known as the primitive brain or the survival brain. Knowing how the brain works will help you write better as well as help you with presentations to influence others.

There are a few principles to remember, and here’s a great story that makes this come alive… (photo courtesy Mantas Ruzveltas /FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

A Marketing Moment with a Homeless Man…

I want to share an excerpt of a story by Patrick Renvoisé, from his book Neuromarketing: Understanding the Buy Buttons in Customers’ Brain. He tells the story of how he earned the equivalent of a $960/hour consulting fee from a homeless man…

One evening as I was entering a restaurant in San Francisco, a homeless person stopped me. His sign read, “Homeless. Please HELP.”

The man showed all the signs of distress with sad empty eyes. He looked me directly in the eyes, and I was compelled to hand over a few bucks. However, something led me to go further with this particular man.

Like many of my clients who try to get responses from marketing, his message was weak, and certainly not unique. So I gave him $2 on condition he let me change the message on his sign for at least 2 hours.

The man agreed, and I wrote a different message on the back of his sign. Later, we met up again.

He insisted on giving me $10, because he had made over $60 while I was having dinner. His usual take averaged $2-$10 an hour.

As my entire interaction had lasted only 30 seconds, this eight dollar profit translated into a $960/hour consulting fee, not bad.

All I did was apply what I know about the brain and marketing messages that get people to act.

Here’s what his new cardboard sign said: Read More→

Categories : Brain Based Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Online Persuasion, Writing Great Blog Content
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Entering the World of Social Media:
Better Late than Never

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

(A guest post by Frank Anderson.)

The younger generation is, without fail, the heaviest participant in social media. Born straight into the world of online dependency, the art of social media is considered just another common form of innate communication. (Image by Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot, freedigitalphotos.net)

However, while Generation Y was spending their younger years amidst the World Wide Web, those born in the era of picture books and hand-written correspondence suddenly find themselves faced with an intense learning curve.

Engaging in social media in any capacity can be quite intimidating. The great thing is, however, at one time or another, we all start at the same level. Each of us faces similar challenges while striving to build an online reputation.

While one inquiry of interest can come in seconds or another in a matter of months, the recipe for success remains the same: maintaining discipline and a unique spark of creative will.

This great element of equalization is part of the magic that makes social media so unique. For anyone, anywhere, and most importantly  ̶  at any age, social media can provide a new and exciting world of engaging opportunity.

The ability for potential consumers to recognize and relate to you or your business through social media is proving successful for those willing to make the effort. If you’re not doing so already, no worries   ̶  it’s never too late!

Find your voice. Promote your business by promoting your personality. In the limitless world of social media, without doubt there is a group of like-minded individuals waiting to spot you in the crowd. Social media might lead to that breath of fresh air you never knew you needed.

If you don’t know where to start, turn first to a little self discovery. Explore your intended niche, your personal interests. Here are four tips to getting started: Read More→

Categories : Content Marketing, Social Media Stuff
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The Homer Simpson Guide to Neuromarketing

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, November 11th, 2011

Content marketing experts and the people who write marketing messages ought to understand how consumers’ brains work if  they want to engage and create trust and loyalty. The problem lies in assuming people are in charge of their own choices…

Everybody thinks they are in control of their behaviors and decisions. We think we are rational, logical, and smart human beings. But we may not be so smart if we don’t recognize our own and others’ irrationality.

Our behavior and decision-making is affected, 95% of the time, by the unconscious processing in the mid- and lower brains. 95% of our decision making and buying and Web actions are heavily influenced by unconscious processing.

Approximately 85% of the time our brains are on autopilot. But marketers continue to write messages as if people were paying attention.

Market research: in 2005 corporations spent more than $7.3 billion in US alone. In 2007, $12 billion. That doesn’t include marketing, advertising, etc. which carries an additional annual $117 billion tag. Most of this is spent in the wrong places and fails.

Companies and brands are gathering the wrong information, because consumer surveys and focus groups can only report back what they consciously experience …and it’s falsified by biases and flaws. The only true market research comes from monitoring brains of consumers as they react to messages, through neuromarketing.

Almost 8 out of 10 new product launches fail. Could it be that we’ve misunderstood how to capture attention,  emotions and be memorable to consumers? Could it be we assume people are conscious and rational?

Health warnings on cigarette labels actually trigger smoking behaviors, they don’t deter any smoking at all, quite the contrary. Read More→

Categories : Brain Based Content Marketing, Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Online Persuasion
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Neuromarketing Books for Marketing to Brains

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

If you want to know more about how to write content that makes an impact on the brains of your readers, here are some interesting sites and books about the emerging field of neuromarketing.

There are new neuromarketing companies and books galore, and I believe most offer important clues for content marketers. Here are a few of my favorites:

Categories : Brain Based Content Marketing, How to...Tips, Online Persuasion
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“WIIFM”? Neuromarketing Improves Your Odds

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

Every time I read about a new neuromarketing study, it seems they’re only confirming what copywriters and marketers knew all along: to get readers to take action, you must address the “what’s in it for me” filter in consumers’ minds.  Easy, right?  Well…

Although we can’t directly cause people to do something, we can use knowledge of the brain to improve our chances of influencing their buying decisions. We can write better content because we understand how consumers make decisions.

We know more about the subconscious functions than ever before. We know what kinds of messages reach the emotional brain and the old brain, even though consumers aren’t aware of their influence. More importantly, we now understand that much of our decision making goes on in the old brain, out of conscious awareness.

Neuromarketing and science can help improve your content writing so that it has more of an impact on people in your target audience.

I just love this site: SalesBrain, a neuromarketing company. Founded by Christophe Morin and Patrick Renvoise, authors of Neuromarketing: Understanding the Buy Button Inside Your Customers’ Brains. The company does sales training using neuroscience as it applies to what influences buying decisions.

I recommend you visit the site, as it is clear and easy to navigate to find great information about buying decisions. I found the page on 6 ways to stimulate the old brain especially illuminating.

Here’s an excerpt from www.SalesBrain.net:

The ‘Old Brain’ is Self-Centered

The ‘Old Brain’ is a very self-centered entity and general considerations about others do not reach it. Think of it as the center of ME. Do not assume that it has any patience or empathy for anything that does not immediately concern its survival and well-being.

The ‘Old Brain’ Seeks Contrast

Before/after, with/without, slow/fast all allow the Old Brain to decide. Contrast is a safe decision engine. It allows quick and safe decisions. Without contrast, it enters a state of confusion, which ultimately results in delaying decision.

The ‘Old Brain’ is Tangible

Numbers work for the neo-cortex, but the ‘Old Brain’ won’t decide based on numbers alone! It is constantly scanning for what is familiar and friendly, what can be recognized quickly, what is tangible and immutable. It cannot process concepts like “flexible solution”, “integrated approach”, or “scalable architecture” without efforts and doubts.

The ‘Old Brain’ Remembers Beginning and End

It forgets most everything in the middle. This short attention span has huge implications on how to construct and deliver powerful messages. Placing the most important content at the beginning is a must, and repeating it at the end an imperative. Keep in mind that anything you say in the middle of your delivery will be mostly overlooked.

The ‘Old Brain’ is Visual

Neuroscience demonstrates that when you see something that looks like a snake, you react even before the conscious mind physically recognizes it’s a snake. This implies that visual processing enters the ‘Old Brain’ first which can lead to very fast and effective connection to the true decision-maker.

The ‘Old Brain’ Responds to Emotion

Neuroscience has clearly demonstrated that ’emotional cocktails’ create chemical reactions that directly impact the way we memorize and act.

What do you think about this? Makes sense to me.

How will you apply it to your content marketing?

 

Categories : Brain Based Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Online Persuasion
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Memory + Emotional Attention = Content Marketing

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, October 28th, 2011

How do you write good blog posts that connect emotionally with readers and turn them into loyal fans? Oh, heck, that’s easy. All you have to do is:

  1. Grab their attention
  2. Get them emotionally engaged
  3. Make a memorable impact

There you go, right? Easy-peasy. This is what you need to do whenever you write any content designed to market your products and services. Attention, emotions, memory.

Neuroscientists are now showing that the two most important elements of persuasion are emotional engagement and memory. Of course you can’t get either of these unless your marketing messages gain readers’ attention first.

Why this is so important? We’ll go into how to do it another day, since this involves quite  number of suggestions and tips.

These three goals for your content marketing are required if you want to write stuff that is effective to attract prospects, and get them interested and primed for making a purchase or other desired action.

This information comes from research on neuromarketing and what makes people buy. If you’re interested in learning more about the brain from a marketer’s viewpoint, I recommend The Buying Brain and Neuromarketing: Understanding the Buy Buttons in Your Customer’s Brains. Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Brain Based Content Marketing, How to...Tips
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5 Reasons Content Marketing is Getting Harder

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

I hate to be a purveyor of gloom, there’s too much of that around these days. But I’ve been thinking about this and want to share my thoughts with you.

Here are some reasons content marketing is getting more challenging. There exists:

  1. A shift away from focusing on your products and services (what you know well)
  2. A shift towards the reader/customer and their needs (what you may not know very well)
  3. A business environment that is changing rapidly (what is unknown)
  4. More people online in your field writing about the same things (some better, some worse)
  5. A huge volume of content about everything possible, creating information overload for readers

This makes it harder for you to grab readers’ attention and get through to them. However, readers are still hungry for solutions and are looking for trustworthy professionals to work with.

I know this because I’ve experienced it personally. In spite of the recession, people are still hiring consultants to help them with their content marketing strategies and with writing quality content for business marketing.

As marketing guru Seth Godin writes:

“With 80 million other blogs to choose from, I know you could leave at any moment (see, there goes someone now). So that makes blog writing shorter and faster and more exciting.” Read More→

Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, How to...Tips, Online Marketing, Writing Great Blog Content
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