The Content Fix

A successful online business takes patience and perseverance. In this episode, Marie Hunter, founder of the Elevate Marketing Summit shares the highs and lows of her journey, including her strategies for dealing with the difficult days that are part of the start-up journey and why pivoting to a new niche was the most difficult, but ultimately the best, decision for her business.

Some content fails and it fails for lots of reasons. I have content duds like everyone else. But when I've gone back and really looked at the core idea, I've realized that maybe I was a little off track. Sometimes you have to try something first to figure out what is wrong with it. But before you slink off to lick your wounds, there may actually be something you can do to turn this around. In this episode, I'm stepping through the process of evaluating a content fail and sharing the best optimization processes for salvaging your hard work. And how to know if it's time to let go gracefully and move on.

Are you struggling to create content, epic content, every week? I'm giving you permission to stop trying – for now. A lot of people will tell you that is a huge mistake. I won't. Because this pressure to create epic, consistent content right out of the gates is unrealistic and it sets people up to fail instead of encouraging them to build. It's more important to start creating quality content consistently. In this episode, you'll find out how to create high quality content consistently. It doesn't have to be 'epic'. These steps help you to build your skills and build your content creation habit then allow yourself the time to grow to best practice.

If you're creating content that doesn't sell your products and services, you might as well just write that activity off as a hobby. And an expensive hobby at that. Easier said than done? Of course it is. Because it takes skill and knowledge to craft high value content that naturally aligns and embeds your products and services as a solution. But it's a skill you can learn and if you're going to be content marketing, it's a non-negotiable. In this episode, I'm sharing the foundations of how to create product and service aligned content. So you can sell more, without feeling like you are selling out. This episode is supported by Workshops by Jillian Bowen – find out more at https://www.jillianbowen.com/workshops/

Have you ever received a receipt for a recurring payment on an app or subscription you forgot you even had? I have and I'm guessing you have too. You know that sinking feeling – the subscription has renewed, it's too late to do anything and you've just lost that money. The worst part is, it's probably not the only one. It seems obvious that we'd remember what we are paying for but you'd be amazed how quickly we forget what we've signed up for in our businesses. And so many of them renew without a courtesy email reminder first. In this episode, I'm outlining a simple process you can follow to identify, delete or manage your subscription payments. That includes evaluating them to decide what really is of value and to spot the areas that can be downgraded. This episode is supported by Workshops by Jillian Bowen – find out more at https://www.jillianbowen.com/workshops/

Have you ever considered how much time you're wasting on your email inbox each year? Or how satisfying it would be to get to inbox zero on a regular basis? I've thought about these things, but recently I actually added up the hours only to discover that over a year, it averaged out to hundreds. Yes, hundreds of hours. And I wanted those hours back. If you're like me, and want to get to inbox zero AND cut out all the wasted time, here's my system - from how to structure your inbox, your daily email management system and the all-important process for managing all those newsletter subscriptions to stop them building up again. This episode is supported by Workshops by Jillian Bowen – find out more at https://www.jillianbowen.com/workshops/

The first step in developing my strategy for the new year was to decide what I'm going to stop, start and continue. The second step was to put it out there, on the record and hold myself accountable. At the very heart of this strategy for 2020 (and always) is my belief in a customer journey loop, focusing on the audience first and what they need from me to create awareness, engagement, action and advocacy connections. As digital marketers, it's our responsibility to be in the right place at the right time according to the audience wants, needs and demands. So here's my plan or as I like to call it, my Goldilocks strategy – it's not too big, it's not too small, and in 12 months time, I'll let you know if it was just right.

You don't need a crystal ball to predict there will be a lot of change for digital marketing, content marketing, social media and more in 2020. But while predictions may be interesting, but they can be incredibly frustrating if you don't know the necessary steps to take action. Instead of a long laundry list of changes on the horizon, here are three big areas that you can really focus on and the actions to take if you want to implement them in your own strategy.

There's nothing sweeter than being able to use your skills to run your own business. Unless of course you can monetize your passion at the same time. Benjamin Shapiro, host of The Martech Podcast joins me to explain how you can do just that.

Shiny object syndrome can cost you serious time and money if it takes over your life. Here's how to spot it and mange it so you can improve productivity and stay in control of your business, your digital marketing and your budget.

Canva has just shared a huge list of initiatives they are rolling out from now and into 2020. These are game-changers and are so exciting I jumped straight off a livestream to record this episode and share them with you.

The end of the year, and the end of the decade, is fast approaching which means a lot of people are starting to dream about starting their own business in 2020. If that's you, here are the three things you need to do right now if you are planning to make that leap and if you've started your own business already, this episode is still for you – because it's never too late to do a check in on the set up and processes that underpin the success of your business.

Who doesn't #love hashtags? I'm explaining exactly how to find and use hashtags to improve your Instagram reach and engagement and tackling some of the big debates like how many hashtags you should use and why you need both popular and niche hashtags. So, hashtag, you're it! Let's get started.

When it comes to writing headlines, don't over promise and under deliver. Here are three ways to get more clicks for your content without resorting to click bait.

Not all offers from online experts are created equal, so it's important to do your research before you get stung if you want to avoid losing money and getting bad advice.

So, let's talk about links on Instagram. Or more accurately, the lack of links on Instagram. Which is tough if you are trying to use the platform to drive traffic to your website. The availability of Instagram links is pretty limited. But there are few tricks you can use to increase your options, and they don't require 10,000 or more followers to implement like the swipe up link.

So someone stole your content. Welcome to the world of online marketing. It's going to upset you. You're going to want to do something. But what are your options? There's a murky space between inspiration and copying that the law doesn't always cover so I asked intellectual property lawyer Kelley Keller to help clear things up. She shares the three steps you can take if someone has stolen your content and provides important advice on how to manage the situation if you're the one accused of using someone else's content (whether it was accidental or not).

Copyright is the one thing you don't need to know about – until you do need to know about it. There's a lot of confusion about what copyright is, what it protects and, importantly, what it doesn't protect. Intellectual property lawyer Kelley Keller is breaking it all down so you know how to protect your important content assets.

A swipe file is a complete game changer, whether you're just starting out or a seasoned content creator. But how do you stay in the inspiration zone and not end up copying? There's a whole world of brilliance happening around us every day but copying someone's work is a complete no-go zone, which is why your swipe file must be a starting point not a step by step guide. Here's how to use your swipe file without crossing that line.

It's tough to create something out of nothing, so a swipe file collection of content created by other people is a great reference to inspire your own content and marketing. But to use one effectively you need to set it up right. Find out how to set one up, create categories, find and save resources and stay organized with your swipe file.

Creating content takes a lot of effort. So what are you doing with it after you hit publish? Over time, all those content gems sit in folders on your hard drive and the details get blurry. That's why I log my content in a content asset file - or database. All the important details, including keywords, publish locations - even internal and external links. When I'm planning or looking for related content, I hit my database and search quickly and easily. This is how to create your own. And get a copy of mine.

Three things have been bugging me a bit lately when it comes to digital marketing and they are opinion overload, mistake heroes and comparison paralysis. Love it or hate it, marketing starts with generating awareness. It weaves its way through building engagement and ultimately, or hopefully, leads to conversion. Because that's the whole point of marketing – it's designed to help a person or a business or a cause, achieve a result, hopefully that's is aligned to a well thought out goal. But it's getting kind of messy out there online. There are a lot of experts. There area a lot of opinions. This is how you figure out which ones matter.

Hubspot shared a blog including a survey they undertook that said 70% of US consumers prefer to watch stories on Facebook over Instagram and Snapchat. I don't believe it. So I did my own survey. Because the most important factor in any strategy is your audience and what they want and need. Not the opinion of an expert.

If you have something you've been putting off, an idea sitting on the shelf gathering dust that needs to gets some fuel in its tank, Ash Roy knows how to get you to done. Ash is a productivity expert, blogger and podcaster who helps online businesses build systems and scale.

Creating content is all about finding the right information for the right people and getting it to them at the right time. After more than 180 podcast episodes, online business consultant and coach Ash Roy knows just what it takes to create that kind of content. The kind that builds your business. When Ash was starting out, he scored the impressive coup of interviewing Neil Patel. But the interview sat gathering dust for 18 months in publishing paralysis. Find out how his mentor got him moving and how he has gone on to interview big names like Copybloggers Brian Clark, Moz founder Rand Fishkin, Ryan Deiss from Digital Marketer, James Clear, Ryan Levesque and Amy Porterfield and the lessons he's learned along the way. And then there's the fact that he exchanges emails with Seth Godin…

Find out the exact five steps I use for batching my content, whether it's podcast episodes, blog posts or social media. The process works for any kind of content creation and can be adapted easily to other tasks as well. Batching can be a game changer when it comes to your content creation productivity. But it's one thing to hear the theory and another all together to see it in action, so that's what we're going to do now.

How I use batching to cut my content creation time in half and produce weekly content consistently without stress (or skipping weeks).

Great storytelling has the power to differentiate you from all the other voices competing for attention. Louisa Deasey has spent 20 years learning the craft behind behind being a great storyteller. In today's episode, she's sharing her actionable tips on how you can take your writing and creative projects to the next level by learning how to tell better stories.

From penning letters to friends across the globe as a child, to twenty years of journalism and more recently two published memoirs, Louisa Deasey knows a thing or two about telling stories. Along the way, she's been refining her craft and is the first to admit that great stories take more than just talent. She's suffered the crushing blow of rejection more than once and each time risen to chase her dreams again. She's sharing her journey including many of the important lessons she's learned that have turned her love of storytelling into her full time career.

Don't feel like writing? You're not alone. Sometimes it's writer's block. Sometimes it's procrastination. But let's talk about solutions not problems! A couple of weeks ago, I shared my first five tips on how to write when you don't feel like writing. And as promised, I'm back with five more tips to help you write when you don't feel like writing

Big news announced today, you can now publish to your Instagram feed and IGTV from desktop using the Creator Studio in Facebook. In this episode I'm explaining exactly how to get started.

One of the hardest things to do is write when you don't feel like doing it. Maybe it's writing block. Maybe you have too many distractions. Or maybe you just don't enjoy writing and you're procrastinating. Even the best writers struggle at times. And the first draft rarely looks anything like the finished product. Writing is a craft. It's a process. And it is something you can do better. As long as you can get yourself started! In this episode, I'm sharing my tips on how to get writing even when you don't feel like it.

Have you ever wondered why you stopped scrolling through a social media newsfeed to look at a post? There's a good chance the visual content caught your attention. With organic reach at an all time low and competition for audience growing all the time, the importance of creating eye-catching and effective visual content has never been higher. Nicholette von Riche is the undisputed Queen of Canva. In this episode, Nicholette shares her insights on developing a consistent brand with visuals and explains how easy it is for a non-designer to successfully manage the process with Canva.

Everybody is talking about the untapped potential of LinkedIn for marketers. But is it right for you? And do you really need another social network. With ten years of experience marketing on LinkedIn and teaching others how to use it to the full potential, I've compiled my top ten lessons to help you make a decision.

Do you remember the days when you shared an update on a Facebook Page - and people actually saw what you posted? Facebook organic reach is at an all-time low. So, what do you do? Pay to play? Or is there still a way to reach your followers without taking out a second mortgage on your home. In the first episode of an ongoing series – Facebook Organic Reach Secrets – it's time to get ready for your close-up because video is the format Facebook marketers are using to get their content in front of followers. Even ad hoc use of video delivers better reach than any other post format. Listen to this episode of The Content Fix to find out why video is worth prioritizing in your content strategy, the best format, whether or not you need to go live and tips on how to create the best video for Facebook engagement.

If you're blogging, vlogging or podcasting and you're not finding some way to monetize it, you've just got yourself a very expensive hobby. That's where affiliate marketing comes in. You can promote someone else's products with your audience and let the commissions role in. But it's not really as simple as that. Affiliate marketing can be one of the easiest ways to make money with your content. But it's far from passive income. In this episode I'm breaking down what affiliate marketing is, how to get in on one of the biggest growth opportunities in online business and how to do it properly so you don't come across as overly promotional and burn yourself out before you've seen any results.

Have you ever wondered why people buy from one person and not another? Bobby Klinck is a Harvard educated lawyer who pivoted to running his own online business selling legal templates and, more recently, offering a subscription membership called the Fans First Society. But when he started out, nobody wanted to buy from him. After his first launch, Bobby tallied up the figures and the total was a gut-wrenching loss of more than five figures. Fast forward a year and his business is growing daily and on track to hit the coveted seven figures mark. People are excited to buy from Bobby. And encouraging others to do so as well. So, what changed? Instead of giving up, Bobby took the time to figure out exactly what went wrong in the beginning and the things he could changed in his content, his business offerings, his approach to building relationships with his audience and why some of the advice he was following from experts, while well intentioned, was not always right for his business.

Have you ever created a piece of content you were positive was going to set the world on fire? Then crickets. Sometimes great content fails. We've all been there. If I knew the magic formula for success, I'd happily share it. It's a tough game these days. Competition is fierce, attention spans are short and trust and loyalty takes time to build. That's why it's so important to catch the avoidable mistakes with your content before they happen. These three reasons may not be the only reasons why content fails, but they are traps that a lot of people, even really experienced content creators, fall into. If you're creating content, there's a good chance you've already encountered all three of these reasons even if you don't realize it. I certainly have. And even though I've been creating content for many, many years, they still creep in when I least expect it. If you're not creating content yet, but planning to start, you are going to be way ahead of the rest of us because you're starting a journey without content fail blinkers on. Listen now to find out the three avoidable reasons why a lot of content fails and exactly what you can do to fix them

Content creation, content marketing and social media can make your head spin! Do you want to know how to use content and social media to make people aware of your business, build engagement and convert that audience into customers? The Content Fix Podcast is where you'll find out exactly how to make that happen, with step by step masterclasses, deep dives into who you should be following in the online marketing world (and why) and interviews with some of the best in the business who'll share their tips and tricks to give you an unfair advantage. Whether you're blogging, podcasting, doing Facebook Lives, diving into Instagram Stories, trying to leverage LinkedIn or figuring out the point of Pinterest, you'll find out how to take your business to the next level and take your content and social media from a time drain to a winning business strategy. This first, short, introductory episode will give you a run down of what to expect from The Content Fix podcast.