What I Learned from Checking BuzzSumo Every Day for a Month

By Neil Patel

I use a lot of different tools and various software for marketing.

But one of my absolute favorites is BuzzSumo.

I love it!

At this point, I consider it a linchpin useful for several different aspects of marketing.

And apparently I’m not alone.

Big name brands, such as TechRadar, TechTarget and even Rolling Stone magazine, use BuzzSumo to optimize their campaigns.

And because I tend to be compulsive about certain things, I’ve gotten into the habit of checking BuzzSumo every single day.

As you might imagine, I’ve come up with some pretty interesting insights along the way.

In this post, I’ll share with you …read more      

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10 Easy Tips for Professional Audio Quality

By Toby Lyles

I started working with podcasts because I was an avid podcast listener.

I would be listening to a conversation, hanging on every word, and then it would happen: the guest would bump his mic at the exact moment when he said the one thing I wanted to hear, and I’d miss out.

Our content should connect and engage, not frustrate and push away.

Since I run a podcast production company, I’ve learned that most people think any sound problem can be repaired with the simple twist of a knob. If only that were so.

Do you know how to avoid …read more      

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How to Carve Out Your Own Slice of Independence

By Sonia Simone

american flag art by hugh macleod

Today is Independence Day in the U.S. I’ve written before about the theme of independence and how it plays out in our lives today.

Independence is more important to Americans than ever. Thirty-five percent of the U.S. workforce are now working as freelancers. And while the current uncertainty around our health insurance system might make it seem “safer” to take a more traditional job, rapid economic change also creates a lot of turbulence in traditional employment.

Running a “side hustle” — a micro business with controlled costs and limited risks — offers amazing benefits for your peace …read more      

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How to Create a Link-Building Strategy from Scratch

By Neil Patel

Search Engine Ranking Factors 761x600

Google examines roughly 200 different factors to determine page rank.

That’s a lot!

But what’s arguably the most important is backlinks.

Here’s a chart from Moz that shows how important links are:

Backlinks have been, and continue to remain, one of the top ranking factors, making them Google’s primary form of “currency.”

In March 2016, Google Search Quality Senior Strategist, Andrey Lipattsev went on record describing the two most important ranking factors.

According to Lipattsev,

it is content. And it’s links pointing to your site.

He didn’t specify which was more important, content or links.

But you …read more      

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2017 Content Excellence Challenge: The July Prompts

By Sonia Simone

2017 Content Excellence Challenge: July Prompts

Happy July! Here are the Copyblogger Content Excellence prompts for this month.

For those of you who haven’t joined us yet, each month in 2017 we’re providing a pair of prompts: one to make you more productive and one to improve your creativity or writing skill.

Feel free to try one prompt or both. You can join the fun anytime you like. And let us know about your experiences in the comments!

The July Creativity Prompt

Create two new types of content

Producing content, like any creative work, has its own set of rhythms.

At first, you have to work really hard to …read more      

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