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Using Follow-Up Questions To Drive Great Content
In journalism school they teach that the best reporters ask the dumbest questions. That’s because the dumbest-sounding, most obvious questions are often the ones everyone else is dying to ask but are...
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“We Have No Competitors”: Smart Marketing or Self-Defeating Lie?
One of the few who really have no competitors. During my years hearing vendor pitches as an editor, I’d always ask “Who are your competitors?” to help position the pitch in my mind. It was a standing...
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You Make Me Feel So…Optimized
I just don’t feel we’re leveraging our synergies, honey. As Valentine’s Day approaches, do these words set you afire? I’m guessing not. That’s because “optimize” is a vague buzzword that could mean...
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How to Be Your Own Trade Pub
Insert your insights here… The brutal mugging of the trade press at the hands of the Internet has meant fewer opportunities to place news story or opinion pieces. A recent post by Katherine Griwert at...
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Why Do Your Industry Trend Pitches Fall Flat?
The trend here is that I’m not listening. If you’re like most PR reps, you struggle with getting trade pubs to understand what’s so intriguing about your clients and give them the proper coverage. Many...
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Need Drip Content? Answer the Prospect’s “Next Question”
“What do I write next?” At each stage of a drip marketing campaign, you need something different, interesting, and compelling to keep the reader engaged as they move from awareness to consideration to...
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Need Content? Think Before You Write
Focusing your content on your prospects’ specific needs is worth the time and effort. Before spending time, effort and money just to get some content in front of customers, stop and think about what...
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Five Tips for “Five Things to Look for…” Lists
“List” stories are a staple in journalism and in marketing copy. Think “Five Things You Should Consider When Buying an SDD” (solid state drive,) “Five Things to Know about HIPAA-compliant Cloud...
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How Tough Questions Drive Compelling Content
Are your pitches, blogs, videos, podcasts and white papers rehashes of vague buzzwords like transformation and digital? To avoid pumping out “me-too” messaging, push yourself (and your in-house subject...
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Blockchain Blues, Case Study Heartache
Demand for IT marketing content remains as strong as I’ve ever seen it. But not all tech categories are as healthy as others, and in some ways, creating quality content is becoming harder and harder....
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Three Ways Hoarding Your Secret Sauce Hurts You
In the past I’ve argued for the value of sharing more, rather than less, of your consulting smarts in your thought leadership content and case studies. Yet I keep running into resistance when I ask for...
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Three Post Covid (Kinda) Cloud Marketing Tips
As we bob between COVID waves, many cloud marketers are trying to figure out how to reach prospects in an ever less predictable business climate. Differentiation is difficult with everyone playing a...
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Wrenching Thought Leadership from Tecchies
(This post first appeared in Sam Whitmore’s Media Survey (SWMS), which produces research and analysis that helps tech PR pros pitch more effectively. SWMS interviews editors, studies their work and...
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