How to Create Content that Deeply Engages Your Audience

By Brian Clark

"What you say is crucial. But how you say it can make all the difference." – Brian Clark

Art Silverman had a vendetta against popcorn.

Silverman wanted to educate the public about the fact that a typical bag of movie popcorn has 37 grams of saturated fat, while the USDA recommends you have no more than 20 grams in an entire day.

That’s important information. But instead of simply citing that surprising statistic, Silverman made the message a little more striking:

“A medium-sized ‘butter’ popcorn contains more artery-clogging fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries for lunch, and a steak dinner with all the trimmings — combined!”

Yes, what you say is crucial. But how …read more      

Read More

Here’s Why Your Customer Acquisition Strategy Isn’t Working

By Neil Patel

image03

Customer acquisition is arguably the most important aspect of business operations.

Before you can even think about retention and having loyal, long-term customers, you need that initial acquisition to take place.

But the process of turning leads into paying customers comes with a lot of twists and turns.

What looks great on paper doesn’t necessarily translate into tangible results.

Like most aspects of business, successful customer acquisition typically begins with a formal strategy.

You need an airtight game plan.

But what if your strategy isn’t working?

If this sounds like you, you’re definitely not alone.

In fact, “only about 22 percent of businesses are …read more      

Read More

Introducing StudioPress Sites: WordPress Made Easy … Without Sacrificing Power or Flexibility

By Brian Clark

Not Just Another WordPress Site

From 2010 through 2015, we at Rainmaker Digital built at a furious pace. Most of that effort was directed at development of the Rainmaker Platform.

During that entire time, StudioPress.com worked tirelessly in the background to bankroll our bootstrapped effort to create a full marketing automation platform without outside investors.

And it worked.

That said, we were always aware of the debt we owed to the StudioPress line of business, and more importantly, the community that had grown around the Genesis Framework. Which is to say, we always planned to come back to it and give it the love it deserved.

The …read more      

Read More

What Should You Do if Someone Attacks You Online?

By Neil Patel

image03

Online trolls are an unfortunate part of life. While the Internet connects us, it also enables people to spew hate for no apparent reason.

A survey from The Daily Mail, a leading UK news agency, provides insight into some of the platforms that attract the most trolls, with Facebook taking a commanding lead.

I’ll be upfront with you about the way I handle haters of my personal brand.

I ignore them.

That’s my method, so I’m not telling you to do the same. It’s simply been an effective method that has allowed me to stay sane and keep my personal brand …read more      

Read More

Creative Frameworks that Build Content Marketing Success

By Sonia Simone

Copyblogger Weekly

There are two ways to go about business.

The first is to have an idea and then frantically do a lot of stuff hoping some of it works. It helps to only focus on tasks you’re already comfortable with, ensuring that critically important things will fall right through the cracks.

This approach is closely related to the frequently made-up statistic that a billion percent of new businesses fail.

Luckily, we have option two: Find solid frameworks and adapt them to your own unique circumstances. This way has the advantage of not burning through all of your money, leaving you heartbroken and living in …read more      

Read More