The Ultimate Guide to Content Creation Content creation is what happens behind the scenes. It's how Google can offer the perfect answer to your problem. It's the videos you watch on YouTube after a tough day. Content creation is also what helps people discover your business, brand, and products. And that content helps you attract, engage, and delight prospects and customers. It brings new visitors to your site and ultimately generates revenue for your company. In other words, if you’re not creating content, then you’re behind the curve. Why is content creation important? Content creation is the ultimate inbound marketing practice. When you create content, you’re providing free and useful information to your audience, attracting potential customers to your website, and retaining existing customers through quality engagement. You’re also generating some major value for your company, as these content marketing stats show: Almost 40% of marketers say content marketing is an essential part of their marketing strategy. 81% say their company sees content as a business strategy. B2B marketers have data that says content marketing is a successful tool for nurturing leads (60%), generating revenue (51%), and building an audience of subscribers (47%). And 10% of marketers who blog say it generates the biggest return on investment. Content equals business growth. So, let’s get started with the types of content you can create and then review your content strategy. Content Creation Ideas 1. Blogs One type of content creation (the kind...

If Everyone is a Content Creator — Is Anyone? Quick riddle for you: What do you have in common with podcast hosts, YouTube sensations, TikTok stars, and Instagram influencers? Stumped? Okay, okay. I'll tell you the answer. Statistically speaking, you probably also consider yourself a 'content creator', at least on some level. Recently, HubSpot's Blog Research team ran a study and found 30% of 18-24 year olds and 40% of 25-34 year olds call themselves content creators. That number might seem high at first, but when you consider how deeply ingrained social media has become in our lives, it starts to make sense.  What did surprise me, however, was this: When asked how many followers most of these content creators had, 84% reported less than 10,000, and 39% reported less than 1,000. This confused me. In high school, I had roughly 100 followers. But I'd never considered myself a content creator. I guess, as it turns out, maybe I should have. To investigate whether 'everyone is a content creator' is true — and what it means if it is — I spoke with three content creators and influencers about their relationship to the 'content creator' label. Let's dive in. Is anyone who creates content a 'content creator'?  Li Jin is an investor and co-founder of Variant Fund, a venture firm investing in the ownership economy. Jin, who's been called 'The Investor Guru for Online Creators', believes everyone is a content creator. As Jin told The Information, "No matter...

How to Stop Procrastinating and Become a Joyful Writer Whether you're a full-time blogger or a social media marketer who's occasionally tasked with writing social media copy, I'm willing to bet you've experienced the temptation to procrastinate in the middle of your writing process. Maybe you type your introductory sentence and then open Pinterest. Perhaps you finish a section of your post and then, losing steam, decide to wash your dishes, instead. Whatever it is, we've all been there. Writing is a tough and tedious process, and there are plenty of moments where procrastination is much more tempting than writing one more sentence. But if you're on a tight deadline, it's critical you're able to stay focused. Here, Henneke Duistermaat, founder of Enchanting Marketing, dives into strategies writers can use to avoid procrastination the next time they're on a tight deadline and can't afford to spend any more time refreshing their Pinterest feeds. Let's dive into the strategies you can use to stop procrastinating during your writing process — and how to become a more joyful writer,...

What Editors Want from Guest Contributors in 2021 Few industries escaped 2020 unchanged, and digital media was no different. At Influence & Co., our proprietary content marketing software and our process of working with hundreds of contributors, editors, and journalists offered us courtside seats to watch the industry evolve — and we compiled our most relevant digital media research for marketers and content creators into our latest "State of Digital Media" report. Wondering how to make guest posts stand out? Our third digital media survey combines the opinions of experts with our own exhaustive content analysis, and the result is a tool that can be used to hone your content in order to gain more success in 2021. One of the biggest findings? Guest-contributed content isn't going anywhere. In fact, 93% of editors see themselves publishing the same number of guest posts or even more this year. An increase in guest-contributed content is good news for prospective contributors. But just because more guest post slots are becoming available doesn't mean guest contributors can afford to send lackluster pitches. Publication editors haven't lowered their standards and aren't likely to, so read on to find out what publications want so you can give your pitches the best shot at hitting the mark and achieving acceptance. (Note: All of the following statistics are taken from our 2021 State of Digital Media report.) How to Make Guest Posts Stand Out The publication editors we surveyed receive pitches day in and day out. Although they might sometimes...

Discover Your Writing Genius: 8 Tips for Doing Your Best Work in 2020 As marketers, it can be difficult to continue to produce high-quality content when we don't feel creative or inspired. And it can be especially challenging when we're on a tight deadline.  Henneke Duistermaat, writer and founder of Enchanting Marketing, knows the feeling well — as she describes it in her latest infographic, we often believe writing simply means creating "great stuff", when in reality, it entails research, multiple revisions, messy first drafts ... and even time for procrastination.  Fortunately, there are strategies you can implement to relieve the pressures of writing, get outside your comfort zone, and befriend your inner critic. If you're in a writing slump or looking for some inspiraiton, take a look at Henneke's hand-drawn infographic to learn 8 tips for creating your best...

5 Benefits of Educating Prospects With Free Content In the marketing world, the infamous free content debate seems to be everlasting.  "If we give away free content and information about the challenges our paid products and services resolve, then who will pay for what we're selling?" It's easy to understand why you might think about free content this way — after all, the goal of any business is to make a profit, so giving away free goodies would be crazy, right? Wrong. In fact, offering free content to your target audience and prospective customers can actually do the opposite. Providing education on the topics related to and about the products and services you offer can help you boost leads and sales. Benefits of Educating Prospects with Free Content When it comes to inbound marketing, the old adage, "Why buy the cow if the milk is free?" doesn't seem to ring true. Here are five benefits related to offering free educational content to show you why that's the case. 1. Free content builds trust. Using free content, whether in the form of blog articles, ebooks, webinars, or videos, can do wonders to boost brand trust and credibility. Quality content shows prospective customers that your business is a thought-leader and authority in the industry, which translates into initial trust in your paid products and services. After all, if the content you're creating is educational and helps your prospects learn...