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The Best Story Framework for More Engaging Storytelling [Example]

Daily, Storytelling
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The Best Story Framework for More Engaging Storytelling Even if you’re not a professional storyteller, you can use storytelling frameworks to share more engaging narratives in your content marketing copy. You’ll not only be able to tell your company’s story more effectively to stakeholders, but you’ll be able to write more effective, readable material that converts users into loyal customers. Whether you’re writing for your website, blog, social media profiles, presentations, or online offers, the framework discussed below will help you gain confidence in storytelling and start telling better stories in business and in life. Let’s get started. Why use a storytelling framework? As content strategists, we should spend a lot of time thinking about the importance of storytelling in marketing, but we don’t — mainly because it’s so intimidating. The pressure-filled process of creating a framework and telling a story can keep a lot of people from even making an attempt. When the subject comes up, we understandably get nervous. The thing is: storytelling is part of what makes us human. We don’t have to be Ernest Hemingway to be good at it. We can use a storytelling framework to guide us in the writing process. Storytelling frameworks make our copy and content feel familiar to readers, while providing us with an easy “formula” to follow. The good news is that your content will never feel formulaic, because you can (and should) diversify how you write individual pages or posts. However, the bare bones stay the...

17 Last-Minute Gift Ideas for the Marketer in Your Life

Company Culture, Daily
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17 Last-Minute Gift Ideas for the Marketer in Your Life The days remaining in 2020 are few, and 2021 is just around the corner — things you undoubtedly know already. But here's something you may have forgotten about: There's not much time left to finish up your holiday shopping. (Gasp! We know.) Maybe you're a marketer looking to complete your wish list. Or, maybe you've got a team of marketers you want to make smile. To help you out, I've searched the internet far and wide (it's kind of what I do), and found you some of this year's best gifts for marketers. Without further ado ... 17 Last-Minute Gift Ideas for Your Favorite Marketers 1. Send a Starbucks eGift Card Once upon a time, Starbucks offered a Tweet a Coffee program, which was retired after testing it in beta. I tried it for the first time earlier this season when Emily Maxie, B2B tech marketer at Very said something nice about our social media tool. I was really thrilled and just wanted to do something nice in return. Tweeting a coffee was an easy, hassle-free way to surprise co-marketing partners, customers, or others. Plus, it was almost instantaneous, so it was a savior for last-minute shoppers. @emilymaxie, @meghkeaney just tweeted you a coffee! Redeem it now. https://t.co/0X3XIAVK4E — Tweetacoffee (@Tweetacoffee) November 21, 2013 Although that program has been retired, there's still a good alternative: Send a Starbucks eGift Card. Just add a...

A Beginner’s Guide to SSL: What It is & Why It Makes Your Website More Secure

Daily, Site Performance
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A Beginner's Guide to SSL: What It is & Why It Makes Your Website More Secure Have you ever noticed that some URLs start with "http://", while others start with "https://"? Maybe you noticed that extra "s" when you were browsing websites that require giving over sensitive information, like when you were paying bills online. But where'd that extra "s" come from, and what does it mean? To put it simply, the extra "s" means your connection to that website is secure and encrypted; Any data you enter is safely shared with that website. The technology that powers that little "s" is called SSL, which stands for “Secure Sockets Layer.” As a consumer, you always want to see https:// when visiting any site you trust with your essential information. As a marketer, you'll want to make sure you have an SSL or two for your audience. So let's talk about why SSL is a big deal. What is an SSL Certificate? Let's define an SSL. This definition comes straight from SSL.com: When you land on a page that has a form you filled in and hit "submit" for, the information you entered can be intercepted by a hacker on an unsecure website. This information could be anything from details on a bank transaction to what you enter to register for an offer. In hacker lingo, this "interception" is often referred to as a "man-in-the-middle attack." One of the most common ways an attack happens is this: A hacker places...

Are Amazon ‘Sponsored Products’ Ads Worth It?

Daily, Ecommerce and Amazon
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Are Amazon 'Sponsored Products' Ads Worth It? Say you're in the market for a new pair of headphones or a new guitar tuner. Where would you start your search? Google, right? Not so fast. Amazon came away with nearly 40% of the US ecommerce market in 2018. Google still remains the top search tool for B2B purchases and services and informational queries that lead to purchases, but Amazon is the dominant front runner in ecommerce. Need help getting started with inbound ads on Amazon, Google, LinkedIn, or Facebook? Book a free meeting with The Center for Inbound Advertising here. So what does this mean for you? When you’re thinking about your online advertising strategy, you want to meet your consumers where they are. And if you're an ecommerce company, that place is — more likely than not — Amazon.  That’s where Amazon advertising comes in. Amazon has several advertising programs to choose from, but the best one to get started with is Amazon Sponsored Products. Amazon Sponsored Products Sponsored Products on Amazon are pay-per-click (PPC) ads that appear in strategic locations on Amazon, giving your products more visibility and purchase opportunity. You select the products you want to boost, set your bid and daily budget, and write an ad to entice shoppers to click. The Sponsored Product ads are really just image ads — similar to display ads in Google Ads — but the cool thing is that they appear in search results on...