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05/07/2014

Are You Ready for the New Era of Digital Storytelling?

Books, shows and movies all have one thing in common: They start, and they end. Just when you really start to get into a particular story or series, you are always left with the realization that it is not going to last forever.

But now, this is changing thanks to the power of the Internet and real-time communication.

The art of storytelling is evolving to meet the public’s insatiable demand for content. The latest example can be seen from the UK’s Mills and Boon, a Harlequin-owned book publisher that specializes in the genre of “saucy women’s fiction.” The company, which has been in business since 1908, needed a new way of interacting with and attracting unique readers. To accomplish this, it created a virtual hotel for its new show “The Chatsfield” where fans can “check in,” engage directly with characters and follow the non-linear stories as they unfold in real-time. Fans can also snoop around rooms and read private messages, or create their own stories and share them with other fans.

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05/06/2014

Hidden Tricks Industry-Leading Content Marketers Keep Close to the Vest

We’ve all been in the company of that individual—you know, the marketer who seems to be able to come up with witty slogans, awe-inspiring website copy and evocative white paper concepts on the fly. That individual who never seems scared or intimidated by behemoth marketing tasks.

He or she seems like a marketing superhero—even a magician—and, in truth, makes you feel wholly inadequate when it comes to your own marketing prowess.

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05/05/2014

5-Step Guide to Creating a Killer eNewsletter

Is your eNewsletter in desperate need of a face lift? Are your open and click through rates plummeting? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. While email newsletters are considered one of the most popular marketing tactics, they are often the hardest to get right. Below is a quick five-step guide to creating a killer eNewsletter that engages, nurtures, and converts—as well as some tips that we at Content Boost use when crafting our very own. Continue reading “5-Step Guide to Creating a Killer eNewsletter”

05/02/2014

The Beauty of Content Marketing? Everybody has a Story to Tell

Before I entered the wonderful world of content marketing, I worked for Golf Digest Magazine, perhaps the most prestigious golf publication in the world. As a golf-lover, it was a job I enjoyed thoroughly and it was a job that was also highly educational.

Story

Perhaps the most surprising and significant lesson I learned during that time was how important it is for amateur players to play with equipment custom fitted to their swing specifications. Many weekend hackers mistakenly believe that custom clubs are only beneficial for professionals when, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

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04/29/2014

Five Desk Feng-Shui Tips to Bring Out the Real Marketer in You

I particularly love the Monday morning Twitter stream. From the excessive #DeathToMondays tweets to the downtrodden posts lamenting the arrival of another week , Monday’s Twitter feed can be filled with some of the most slapstick, engaging posts of the work week. This morning, I was pleasantly greeted by a great picture by TollFreeForwarding (did I mention I love pictures on Twitter?). Check it out:

And it got me thinking how the littlest changes we make on a Monday—like completing a first draft in 15 minutes and accepting that it may not be your best—can be a real game-changer in the business world. So when Monday hits next week, why not take a few minutes to Feng-Shui your desk to bring out the A-marketer in you?

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04/24/2014

Three Signs you’re in a Writing Slump

We’ve all been there—staring helplessly at the computer screen, resting your fingers limply on the keyboard and willing words to start magically appearing on the screen. It is writer’s block at its best and it is the evil of all evil for marketers. That’s because our job depends on our ability to put pen to paper, redefine originality and string together a series of nouns, verbs and adjectives in such a way that harmony is struck.

So what do you do when your brain starts to enter the “nothing box?” And, even worse, how do you avoid falling into a writer’s slump without noticing it? Let’s take a look at three tell tale signs that you might be slacking when it comes to your copy creation:

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04/23/2014

If Your Blog Were a Refrigerator, What Would it Look Like?

Pouring mustard onto your hot dog should be one of the easiest things in life. Unfortunately, as “Good Eats” host Alton Brown pointed out in a recent YouTube post, it’s often a terrible process. Condiments tend to coagulate in the bottle, which makes it exhausting to squeeze them out. And since the bottles are bulky by design, storing them in a refrigerator rack is difficult, awkward and messy.

But as Brown proved, there is an easier way to organize your favorite condiments. By simply cutting off the top of an egg carton and storing the bottles top-down, you can solve both problems at once. All of the bottles can be kept in one place, and all of the liquid sits near the top which means easy access.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUig9IAwggM]

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04/22/2014

The ‘Spoiler Effect’ and How It Can Transform Your Content

I love “Game of Thrones,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead.” At a glance these series seem to have absolutely nothing in common, but they do have one common denominator: they have the “spoiler effect.”

I’ve been seeing the “S” word everywhere lately, especially with the fourth season of “Game of Thrones” now at full speed. Every website you visit, radio station you tune into and tweet you see contains some sort of clause warning: “Spoilers ahead! Do not continue if you have not watched yet!” The fear that someone will stumble upon a juicy online review or overhear a spoiler-filled conversation has become a very real one. We’ve all probably seen irate fans share rants on social media about how people need to respect the fact that others haven’t caught up yet. This still happens even for “Breaking Bad”—whose series finale aired last September.

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