Don’t Let Go of Expectations … Put Them to Work in Your Marketing

By Stefanie Flaxman

"Are you willing to write like a million people read your words, even if only one person currently does?" – Stefanie Flaxman

We all know the potential trouble associated with expectations:

If you expect something to turn out a certain way — and it doesn’t — you likely end up disappointed.

Subsequently, traditional wisdom has advised that we let go of our expectations to soften the blow of disappointment and train ourselves to be content with the outcome we get.

Even though I hold that outlook to be true most of the time, I wanted to explore how we could use expectations to our advantage in certain situations, rather than try to (unsuccessfully) forget about them.

If you struggle with letting go of expectations for …read more      

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How Knowing Your “Why” Can Revolutionize Your Digital Marketing Strategy

By Neil Patel

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Many digital marketers carry out their daily tasks in a furious frenzy.

They send out email blasts, update social media, perform keyword research and so on, trying to accomplish as much as possible.

Working hard and staying busy makes us feel we’re being productive.

But how many people stop to think about why they’re doing what they’re doing?

Of course, you want to generate leads, increase brand exposure, improve conversions, etc.

But what’s the underlying purpose of your digital marketing?

What specific goals are you hoping to achieve?

In this post, I talk about how knowing your why can help you optimize and ultimately revolutionize your digital …read more      

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Making a Living Writing Ebooks: Here’s How It Works Today

By Sonia Simone

"An excellent ebook can provide both revenue and a doorway to greater things." – Sonia Simone

Once upon a time, there was a straightforward solution to “monetizing” your website when you got tired of trying to make AdSense work:

Write an ebook!

Having something of your own to offer, even a simple $7 ebook, virtually always beats trying to monetize your traffic with advertising.

And that’s still true. (In fact, sales of ebooks hit $9 billion in 2015.)

But as more and more people have taken that advice, we need to get a little more strategic to build strong businesses around ebooks.

It can still be done, and I’ll be talking about folks who are doing it. But you …read more      

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The Latest SEO Trends You Should Ignore

By Neil Patel

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Given that Google changes its search algorithm 500-600 times each year, it’s not surprising marketers get confused sometimes.

Speculations about the latest SEO trends run rampant and are a breeding ground for many myths.

For this reason, it’s sometimes difficult to tell fact from fiction.

Of course, the Internet provides the perfect framework for misinformation to spread at an alarming rate.

As a result, many marketers waste their energy and resources implementing useless tactics that don’t get any results.

Or worse, some implement harmful techniques that get them penalized.

It’s a bad deal either way.

In this post, I’d like to address some …read more      

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How to Unlock the Door to Effective Content with Your Creativity

By Sonia Simone

How to Unlock the Door to Effective Content with Your Creativity

We definitely had a creativity thread weaving through the week, both on the blog and the podcasts.

On Monday, I continued our “Quick Copy Tips” series by talking about the difference between benefits and features. It’s one of the first topics covered in nearly every copywriting book, but even experienced writers often get it wrong — because it can be so tricky to see with fresh eyes. I gave you a fast way to do exactly that.

On Tuesday, Stefanie addressed that nasty creativity killer: perfectionism. It takes many forms and hides in many disguises. She reminded us …read more      

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