Is the summer season making it hard for you to stay focused? The nice weather (read: oppressive heat) tends to make it particularly hard for me to concentrate, so I decided to focus this month’s content marketing round-up on articles that designed to make creating and sharing awesome content easier than ever. Plus, because I like you guys, I added an extra-special bonus about staying focused at the office.
So, what are some of the best posts on content marketing this month?
“Ninja Guide to Content Creation: 10 Writing Tools” by Robert Morris
This guide to creating awesome content is all about making it simple. Robert’s first point is that being a great writer requires more than just the ability to write – it also requires dedication and focus.
If those are areas you struggle in as well, this article is the perfect read. From an idea generator to deciding when (and if) to outsource, he offers all the tools you need to create awesome content – whether that means digging in or letting someone else do the heavy lifting.
“7 Simple Steps to Improve Your Content Marketing Strategy” by Jay Baer
I have a confession. Jay Baer is my spirit animal. If you haven’t read his book Youtility, I highly recommend it. If you ever have the chance to hear him speak, go. He is seriously one of my favorite speakers. Nearly every thing he writes focuses on keeping it simple and helping people, which, honestly, should be the goal of any content you create.
In this article, Jay introduces seven steps you should take to make sure your content strategy is successful, including finding the ‘one thing’ that makes your content stand out, measuring your success, and researching what your audience actually needs. If you know you should have a set content strategy but don’t or aren’t seeing the results you would like, this is a must read.
“17 Trigger Words That Work Like Cheat Codes for Getting Your Content Read” by Dvora Goldstein
There are a lot of articles about ‘trigger words’ and different strategies to create catchy titles that make people want to read your content. Since I tend to get stuck in title ruts, I like those articles. However, this isn’t one of those articles – it’s actually better!
What makes this list different is the trigger words Dvora gives aren’t necessarily for your titles, but for accompanying posts on social. For example, the share post for this article might be “Stop spending too much time keeping up with content marketing news,” or something similar. It is an interesting spin, and one I found useful.
“Seasonal Blogging: Summer Blog Post Tips” by Tara Clapper
Summer time comes with a big old cup of nostalgia for most people. It reminds us of childhood, vacations, and most of all – freedom. This makes summer a really good season for creating content that connects with your audience on a deeper level. They are already primed for connecting – but how do you create content that takes advantage of that nostalgic mood?
Tara’s article discusses strategies for timing, topic ideas, and promotion to make sure you get the most mileage out of your summer content.
“27 Tricks to Boost Blog Post Conversion Rates” by Aaron Agius
You have created awesome content that people are reading, but they aren’t converting. What now? This article details 27 methods you can use to drive up your conversion rates.
If you are tired of creating content that doesn’t actually do anything, this is a great place to start. And, since it’s summer, you won’t have to spend hours coming up with ideas to test. Start here, and hopefully the summer haze will lift before you get through them all!
Bonus Pick: “Can’t Focus? 5 Ways to Overcome Distractions at Work” by Lindsay Kolowich
If summer time means you struggle to stay focused, this guide will give you the tools you need to stay on track. Lindsay provides tools and tips for blocking out the distractions and staying focused so you can get it done. Her first suggestion? A time audit to see where you are spending (or wasting) your time. Come on, how many times a day do you need to check Facebook?
Are there any other content marketing topics you think should have made the round up? Share in the comments section!
Image Credits
Featured Image: Illustration by Paulo Bobita
In-post Photo: VoodooDot/Shutterstock
