5 Fatal Mistakes Your Paid Content Marketers *Are* Making (and How Much it’s Costing You)

Businesses wanting to reach users in more subtle ways are jumping on the blogging bandwagon. Well and truly.

In a recent Australian study, 62% of respondents said “blogs are the most appealing medium for business to promote a brand.”

If you’re in a business that’s paying an agency to create content on your behalf and place it on niche- and audience-appropriate sites around the web, you might be surprised to learn how far short your chosen agency is falling.

As Content manager at Problogger.net, I see agency pitches all the time, from marketing shops large and small. Just this week, I turned down content submitted by a global digital marketing agency. Why? Because it managed to achieve four of these five fatal mistakes.

How much do I think this probably cost their client? Between pitching, concepting and writing the posts (let’s say a total of four hours), keyword research (an hour?), and client and legal approvals (two hours), at $300 an hour (global agency rates!) we’re looking at $2,100, at a minimum. That’s without any back-and-forth revisions. I really hope that client had these guys on retainer…

If you pay an agency to create and post content to promote your business, now’s the time to ask yourself: how many of these mistakes are they making?

ProBlogger has a pretty unambiguous name, and if you’ve ever visited the blog, you’ll see immediately that it has a clear mandate.

Yet every day I receive pitches for “relevant”, “unique” posts on topics like:

insurancefurnituremattresses and beddinghome decoratingmortgagesand so on.

Sure, this is a complete waste of my time, and bad news for your brand in the relationship-focused blogosphere.

But if you’re paying your agency to make these pitches, automated or not, you’re throwing money out the window.

If your well-paid content marketing “expert” is pitching a post on bedding to ProBlogger, they obviously haven’t read the guidelines. But that’s not the only way their wasting their time and your money, nor the only way they’re swiftly undermining blog-industry respect for your brand.

Many agencies pitch us topics that appear relevant to our readership, then send us vaguely relevant articles containing backlinks to businesses that are completely unrelated to either the topic or our readers.

Our guidelines clearly state that we only include relevant links in posts. So if you’ve paid an agency to carefully research your keywords, and craft the posts, and maybe even had your lawyer approve the posts themselves (which many businesses do), and the host blog has rejected those posts, you’ve wasted some serious money.

If only your agency took a more thorough approach to targeting content. Oh wait, that’s what you’re paying them for, isn’t it?

Of course, most of these mistargeting issues arise because content agencies assess potential host sites primarily on the basis of PageRank, traffic levels, and similar factors.

What should they assess host sites on? Their appropriateness to your product, and relevance to your audience.

If your content marketing strategy is positioned as an SEO tool, you’re doing it wrong.

Let’s be honest. There are plenty of people in the world who can string a few sentences together and call it a guest blog post. Only a small (or, looking at the agency submission we receive, I’d say miniscule) percentage of them have ever written to a brief, or know how to work with an editor.

Writing to a brief—even one you’ve set yourself—is an art.

So is taking in feedback on that draft to make it better suit the readers of the site you’ve pitched it to.

To say that not all people who present themselves as pro writers can do this is an understatement of gargantuan proportions. This stuff is hard. It takes practice.

And if your paid content marketer can’t do it, you’ve blown your dough.

I know: blogging looks so easy. Most people in this industry haven’t had professional training in either writing or marketing. The people in your shiny marketing agency have been to grad school, for crying out loud! They know how to put a pen to paper! And really, how hard can it be anyway, right?

Well, pretty darn hard, judging by the paid-agency drafts I receive every day of the live-long week. An ability to write a media release, radio script, print ad, ebook, whitepaper, or essay does not naturally translate to skill in writing for blogs.

For example, your agency might be submitting “blog posts” that look like this:

What’s wrong here? Ask your content marketing agency. If they can’t tell you, find one that can.

How can you find a good agency? First up, I’d say: stop looking for an agency.

You know who wouldn’t make any of these fatal mistakes? Any actual blogger worth his or her salt. If you want to make an impact using blogs as a medium, it seems that right now, you should hire a blogger.

It’ll be interesting to see how this situation evolves as the industry matures—I have a feeling agencies are eventually going to have to hire actual bloggers before too long, but from what I’m seeing, that’s not happening yet.

That’s the whole problem.

Whoever you’re considering, ask to see these things:

Their blog. If they don’t have a current, engaging one, run.Five guest posts they’ve had published on other relevant blogs, as well as: the comments and sharing stats for those posts on the host sitesevidence of the impact of the guest post publications on the blogger’s own traffic levelsthe search positioning of those posts for the relevant topic keywords.The details of, say, three independent bloggers or blog editors they’ve worked with, so you can contact these people and find out how well the blogger’s writing is received by “peers.” Blogging is a relationship-based industry. The better your blogger’s relationship-building skills, the more successful your content marketing efforts are likely to be.

Your chosen blogger doesn’t need to be a big name with a massive following. Far from it. All they need to be able to do is write blog posts that have an impact on the target readers, and work effectively within this rather unique industry.

Too few agencies can manage that.

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3 Email Marketing Mistakes That Most Marketers Make

Hey Guys,

Hope you’re doing great! I’ve posted many articles about mistakes in email marketing and from year to year I see that some mistakes are still actual. We, email marketing specialists, are the ones who develop and push email marketing, if we make such mistakes we just make the email marketing progress slower. I’ve prepared a compilation and explanation of 3 email marketing mistakes that most marketers still make.

1.  One message to reach them all. All the people and people of different niches have different needs. If you send the same message to executive/company holder and specialist/employee then one of them receives irrelevant message and offer.

2. Messages with no links. How can you expect some action and output if you don’t provide a recipient with a chance to act? Also, too many links may get your email banned by spam-filters. 1-3 links is enough.

3. Non mobile-friendly messages. No matter how informative and good your message and offer is, if your prospects can’t read it on a smartphone or tablet PC, it’s not going to be read. Keep this in mind! Also a huge percentage of emails is opened on mobile phones and tablet PCs – just imagine you lose half of all recipients.

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The Email Marketer's Letter To Santa

Here's an article I wrote for MediaPost:

As you may recall from previous posts, my family and I are currently in the process of building a house and are living in a rental during the interim. We anticipate moving around mid- to late December, and the kids are concerned that "Aurora" (our Elf on the Shelf) and Santa may not find us at this transitional location. So in order to minimize their angst, I had them write letters to Santa in advance so he has ample notice before the wish list rush begins. This pacified them. Thankfully.

Continuing on this theme, I have had some great "email marketing wish list" conversations with many of you during my recent travels, and I've taken the liberty to use all that insightful data to assemble this letter to Santa -- and his response.

----

Dear Santa,

I know it isn't even Halloween yet, but internally we’ve been focused on our plans for messaging with our customers during the holiday season. I know we’re not the only brand having these conversations. Our competitors and non-competitors alike are all in this planning mode -- which means that our customers are going to be getting a lot of stinking email in their inboxes really soon.

I want to use the right tactics to be as visible and relevant to subscribers as possible, and achieve optimal conversion. So while I would love to ask for a new car, an exotic vacation, or even a boatload of money, my wish list this year is a little more practical and grounded. Here it goes:

Please Make My Subject Line Sing and Dance
In an ideal world, I could make my subject line talk. It could sit in the inbox and prod my recipient with a gentle reminder to "open me...open me first...please, I'm bored," but I don't think that’s likely to happen any time soon --at least not in time for this holiday season.

But I do know that in order to really stand out in the inbox, I need a compelling subject line to differentiate me from all the other holiday email campaigns. I know some folks are using those fun little icons in the subject line –but what else can I do? Discounts? Sales offers? Free shipping? Santa, I really need a hook here.

Haunt My Customers for Deleting My Email
If the ghost of Jacob Marley can haunt Scrooge, than why can’t I haunt my customers for deleting emails past? We put a lot of work and effort into those, email Santa, and for them to just disregard it feels, well, hurtful. Maybe I just send more email. What do you think?

Santa, is there any way you can make this happen? I wouldn't mind the boatload of money, either.

I hope you are keeping warm there in the North Pole!

Sincerely,
Mary Marketer

----

Dear Mary,

Am I keeping warm? In the North Pole!? Clearly you have not spent any time here, but I appreciate the sentiment.

Basically you’re asking that I make your life easier and that of your customer more... annoying? I don't think I can help there, exactly, but based on my years of experience trying to find just the right gift for everyone, I might be able to offer up some usable advice. If this does help, Mary, consider it your gift this year. If not, I have you on my list, I've checked it twice, not quite sure if you are naughty or nice -- yet.

Subject Lines
I cannot think of anything more annoying than talking subject lines, but I do see value in them singing. Not literally, but figuratively. Since there is going to be a lot of clutter in the inbox this year (as is true of most years), it is important that you give your subject lines more thought and care than usual. Often, Mary, it appears that your subject line is an afterthought. And in order to make it sing, you really need to copy write it and make it stand out from the crowd. Don't just use $ off or % off or icons, really make it something that is going to resonate with your customer and align with the content of the email.

Haunt Your Customers?
Not a chance. But what you can do is set some expectations early on with them for your mailing plans for the holiday season. Are you going to have a special holiday program that they can opt into? Let them know you are going to be increasing volume, and provide an opportunity for them to dictate how often they are willing to hear from you. Most customers will be less likely to delete email if they feel they have had an active role in choosing to receive more.

While you're at it, make your content really compelling and engaging. It can't hurt to add a little pop here –perhaps some strategically placed animated gifs or video to provide some movement. Dabble in some unconventional layouts that sensibly scroll wide or long. Whatever it is, make it relevant and FUN. You will stand out in the inbox if you continually surprise and delight the reader. Why do you think I’ve been in business for so long? I may have a dud every once in a while, but you have to keep it fun and fresh so they'll keep coming back.

Mary, I hope this helps. As far as your boatload of cash, I wouldn't hold your breath.

Happy Holidays,
Santa

---

Man, who knew Santa had so much email prowess? I wonder what he's doing in the off season. So, what's on your holiday wish list this year?

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Living in Your Own Private Cloud: Better for Marketers?

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Blogs #blogtitle {background: url(/res/blogs/mastering_social_crm/images/headerbg.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat !important;}#maincontent #blogtitle h2 {margin-left: -103px !important;} Email Marketing InsightsKara Trivunovic
Vice President of Agency ServicesJustin Williams
Senior Marketing StrategistJason Klein
Director of Marketing Communications Living in Your Own Private Cloud: Better for Marketers? September 24, 2012 | By David AtlasTweet

Here's an article I wrote for eM+C:

Marketers have an interesting relationship with technology. Without a doubt, new tools provide marketers with sophisticated analytical and communications capabilities unparalleled by any previous generation of marketers. Indeed, consumers today are findable, understandable and convertible through media that exist purely as developments atop technology. Yesteryear's network of connected computers becomes today's web of email inboxes, mobile connections and social channels.

Yet marketers aren't IT customers. They want to use tools, but the tools need to be designed in a way that's powerful and accessible. Just like automotive technology, which is usable by vastly more people than are able to understand it, marketers today need to leverage deeply complex technologies without drowning in the details of their operations. They want to drive systems that maximize customer lifetime value without having to become computer programmers.

One of the key enablers of all this automation is the cloud. Cloud technologies — known by the roughly synonymous terms of Software as a Services (SaaS), on-demand software and hosted systems — mean that the software used to accomplish critical digital marketing campaigns isn't purchased by a customer and installed on premise. Cloud-based technologies run "out there." You simply open a broswer, log in with your account credentials and get to work.

Having an email marketing and cross-channel solution that lives in the cloud means never having to install your own software — i.e., getting IT out of the picture. It also means, typically, a much quicker time to be up and running, a much greater level of automation, and vastly lower overhead in terms of the technical resources — and dollars — needed to support them. Cloud-based solutions can be a huge advantage, and there's little doubt why the market has moved so much in that direction.

Not all clouds, however, are the same. While clouds have their definite benefits, one of their limitations, at least in terms of automated marketing solutions, is that the actual resource is commonly shared among many different users. Think of it like the difference between a restaurant and your home kitchen: it's easier to get a meal in a restaurant — so much more is "automated" for you and all you have to do is walk in and order. However, just like the cloud, you lose something important: individual ownership.

One of the advantages of good old-fashioned software that you install in-house is that you have full and unfettered use of that resource. You want a sandwich at three in the morning? The restaurant may be closed, but your kitchen is always there waiting for you. Can't get a table at the popular restaurant down the block? Your own dining room table is there waiting for you.

Technically referred to as "multitenant" solutions, most cloud-based implementations today lump hundreds of brand and direct marketers onto what's effectively a single system. The resource out there in the cloud is shared. Yes, you've gotten IT out of the picture and found a level of automation you didn't have before, but you may discover during peak times that accessing all of that resource is difficult. While you may be willing to wait 45 minutes for a table at a restaurant, having your email marketing campaign delayed by other clients using the system has a real bottom-line cost. Flash commerce, daily-deal sites and others trying to get messages delivered during specific times of day that have proven optimal for conversion can be severely compromised due to the shared nature of most cloud services.

Enter the private cloud. Private clouds effectively give you the best of both worlds: the convenience of a hosted solution and the dedicated resources of an always-on system that's configured just for you. Imagine owning your own restaurant, staffed by professional chefs and the best waiters, but the only one they serve is you — whenever you want, however much you want.

The private cloud means no latency for large email sends. Many customers discover the need to achieve huge sends during small time windows to maximize revenue; with a private cloud, you have full use of the resource, enabling you to send as many messages as you want, as quickly as you want. The kitchen, so to speak, isn't busy serving other customers; everything is there for you alone.

The pricing model for private cloud email services also can be different, enabling both a lower total cost of ownership and the elimination of self-serving incentives that arise through per-message (CPM) charges. With a multitenant or first-generation cloud solution, you typically pay for the capacity you use, as opposed to purchasing a license for the software that you install in-house. This sounds good, until you realize that each and every message you send increases your charges. Want to send more emails during peak seasons? You better budget more. And be prepared to be sold on the virtues of sending more and more by sales reps trying to upsell you on your usage of the public cloud. It's not uncommon for clients of pubic cloud email service providers to systematically send 20 percent more email every year — whether their growth demands it or not.

With a private cloud, you're not paying per item ordered off the menu. Since you're effectively purchasing the system with a software license (albeit one without the IT overhead of installed software), once you own it, you can send as much email, or as little, as you need to maximize the value of your customer relationships.

Private clouds may be the next generation in cloud-based solutions. When it's time for you to evaluate your marketing services vendors, ask around. You may find that when it comes to clouds, its best to own your own and not share.

Posted by: David Atlas at 8:58 AM Categories: marketers, cloud Permalink Comments (0) 0 Comments Leave a comment This thread has been closed from taking new comments. Email Updates

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