5 Ways Content is Experiencing Its Own Health Reform

During a recent project, I got a crash course in Healthcare Reform. Not ObamaCare but rather the undercurrent of initiatives causing a major paradigm shift in the industry. To survive the shift, healthcare entities will have to marry new-school technologies with old-school industry values.  And, the key initiatives, when stripped down, are strikingly familiar. That’s…

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What Makes Content Effective?

Like all marketing efforts, Content Marketing has one ultimate goal — to produce new customers or clients. That’s a given. However, HOW content achieves this goal is a different story. In fact, there is no one magic recipe for creating effective content that sells. That’s actually what makes Content Marketers’ jobs so much stinkin’ fun! Content has to be…

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Content Approval in Gridlock? How to Break the Cycle.

The creative process in Corporate America can be chock full of…oh…shall we say…”challenges.” Last week I heard a respected colleague mention that the challenges of gaining project approvals are even worse now because of the economy. Seriously? Don’t worry. I’m not about to jump on the “blame the economy” bus. But, I will say that the…

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5 Questions to Ask Before Publishing B2B Content

We’ve been considering an “Infrequently Asked Questions” series—covering the most common mistakes B2B content teams make and how to avoid them. For now, we’re going to highlight a few of our favorites. Feel free to add your own or ask for more! 1. Did you remember to use industry jargon and acronyms? That’s right! Unlike traditional…

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Why Your New Website May Never See the Light of Day

Building a successful and impactful web presence is more important than ever—especially for B2Bs and businesses with a complex product to sell or story to tell. Today, the “creative process” is more about solving the visitor’s problem than about whether the masthead should “pop” more. So why do so many well-intentioned, brilliant web projects fall…

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Why Your Blog Is Your Social Media Hub

“Smart social media marketing is always paired with a well-planned and well-maintained blog.” At Well Planned Web, we utter that phrase at least 10 times a week and include it in every presentation we give. Why? It’s simple. The Social Networks are swimming with partiers and elbow-rubbers. As I like to say, “Any Monkey Can Tweet.” But,…

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When Good Blogs Go Bad

Social Media has very few rules that are black and white. Which is why real-world examples tend to be the easiest way to demonstrate the power of these explosive marketing tools. That said, sometimes the best way to learn how to do something right is to see examples of what happens when it’s done wrong!…

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Shut Up, Listen Up, and Read!

For those of you who have endured my voice and tone workshops and training, brace yourself. Deana’s got her “rant” voice on today. If you’re a thought leader who’s genuinely ready to enlighten, educate and inspire others…awesome! Guess what? Your business will grow along with your online influence. This blog and my business are ALL…

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Writing a Blog Post That Generates Sales Leads

Generating sales leads from your blog while remaining authentic is not only possible, it’s mandatory! But, during the editorial planning and brainstorming process, it’s easy to overlook the most effective sales-generating blog post ideas. Am I saying you should rehire Your Inner Sales Guy? Heck no! I’m encouraging you to add genuine, straight-up value that…

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6 Ways to Beef Up Your Blog With Images

News flash: Endless streams of blog text are B-O-R-I-N-G! Business blogs are no exception. In fact, the best content strategy for blogs includes images as part of the process! We’re not talkin’ any old ho-hum images here. Well chosen, high-quality blog images are more than “icing on the content cake.” They create instant polish and…

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Do You Procrastinate or Incubate?

Remember that killer blog post idea you had a while back? Still sitting on it? Are you in love with the concept but beating yourself up about not finishing (or starting) the piece? Perhaps you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. Last week, one of my contacts tweeted an article by Robert Biswas-Diener on CNN.com…

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Why Blog? – Reason #1: Content is King

Any business that has tried to optimize its website or beef up its visibility online has heard the phrase over and over… “Content is King.” If Content is King, a Blog is the King’s Most Loyal Servant. A well-built blog: Publishes your content at a moment’s notice. In fact, a blog makes it so easy…

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