Content Reactor

Thoughts, stories and ideas.

Does your five-year plan include content marketing?

content marketing

Does your five-year plan include content marketing?

If you’ve attempted to establish a consistent workout routine, you’re familiar with its u-shaped process. You start out feeling excited about your workouts, but as that initial excitement wears off, it becomes harder to stay motivated. Until you successfully make this routine a habit, you may even question

What’s your story? How to use personal storytelling in your blog posts

content production

What’s your story? How to use personal storytelling in your blog posts

I have a confession to make: I’m a bad personal storyteller. I often forget or omit important details, hardly ever include my own emotions, and I usually end up repeating myself. It may sound ridiculous for a writer to be a bad storyteller, and it is, but many people

How content audits can save your content strategy

content strategy

How content audits can save your content strategy

Audits. Just hearing the word can make your blood freeze. Regardless of whether you’re being audited by the IRS or not, audits make us anxious — even content audits. Content audits are one of the most labor-intensive parts of maintaining your content strategy. However, as content marketing continues to evolve,

The beginner’s guide to email marketing

content marketing

The beginner’s guide to email marketing

Marketers have a bad reputation. Even though there are some good guys out there, companies like River City Media give a vital profession a bad name. How did River City Media discredit marketers? Simply put, they were running the world’s largest spam operation. They had a database of 1.

Innovation 2019 keynote summary: it's all about your customers

Innovation 2019 keynote summary: it's all about your customers

On October 24th, Coherent solutions held its Innovation 2019 event. There was a good mix of highly technical and practical talks. I put together some of the highlights on the keynote that I especially enjoyed. I hope you enjoy them too. You’ve probably heard the adage; the customer is

OKR we there yet? (objectives and key results workshop)

OKR we there yet? (objectives and key results workshop)

Yesterday, I attended an OKR workshop put on by software development leader Kemal Balioglu. The workshop reaffirmed that OKRs are how we should define success with any business venture. I think this science fiction excerpt sums up why pretty well. “... plans are all well and good in the Summer, but

How to write engaging content for your audience and boost your small business

content marketing

How to write engaging content for your audience and boost your small business

In November of 2007, the Kindle was released. This device destroyed the competition and had sold over three million units by 2010. What contributed to Kindle’s success, and why was it able to stand above the rest? The most popular products all have something in common: they are built

How to write a white paper that excites, educates, and sells

content marketing

How to write a white paper that excites, educates, and sells

What’s the best way to explain a complex business concept? You could try a short video or presentation, but you might miss some of the details. Or, you could go the opposite route and create something long, like a full report or a technical manual. But these can be

Events | The Business Conversation with guest Brent Stickels

Events | The Business Conversation with guest Brent Stickels

First, a special thanks to those who made this event possible: the organizer Garrio Harrison, Brent Stickels, and Don Ball. I recently had the pleasure of listening to The Business Conversation with Brent Stickles and Don Ball. Brent is a Partner at YYES, a design company based out of Minneapolis.

6 lessons for content creators from pre-internet marketing

content marketing

6 lessons for content creators from pre-internet marketing

Content marketing wasn’t always called “content marketing.” Benjamin Franklin called it an “almanac,” Michelin said it was an “auto-guide,” and Procter and Gamble named theirs “soap operas.” Plain and simple: content marketing is brands telling stories. Modern-day millennials might like to think that their podcasts, blogs, and videos are

Stop leaving these 4 key expenses out of your content marketing budget

content marketing

Stop leaving these 4 key expenses out of your content marketing budget

According to Bloomberg, 8 out of 10 entrepreneurs fail within the first 18 months, and Forbes says that the top 3 reasons those businesses fail have to do with marketing. So, how do you find buyers for that innovative product you created? Or, how can you attract more attention to

Create an insightful brand voice that will supercharge your B2B brand today

“He will join us or die!”“Do you feel lucky, punk?”“Congratulations on your one cousin. I have seventy, each one better than the last!”If I told you that Dwight, Darth Vader, and Clint Eastwood each said one of these quotes, would you have trouble matching up the speaker

9 ways to generate consistent, high-quality content

content marketing

9 ways to generate consistent, high-quality content

Let’s imagine that you enjoy a particular kind of candy. It tastes amazing, and it’s made with organic ingredients so you can pretend it’s healthy. Then, after you buy a big package of this candy, you taste one and... it’s awful. After trying the rest, you

[Infographic] Improve your website SEO with these...

content marketing

[Infographic] Improve your website SEO with these...

To thrive in the ever-expanding online marketplace we call the Internet, it takes more than just having a website. Bringing in traffic and website visitors requires you to know about effective SEO practices. So, let’s get down to business! The SEO effectAccording to marketers, SEO plays a huge role

Interview with brand identity expert Melissa Madgwick

The other day I had the pleasure of meeting Melissa Madgwick, the Founder of Brand Dominance in Perth, Australia. Her firm has made a name for itself as a brand identity and design leader in Australia and across the world. After reading one of Melissa’s posts on LinkedIn, I

Why quality content beats paid ads

content marketing

Why quality content beats paid ads

In 2016 paid search ad spending reached $72.5 billion, and that number only continues to grow. This means there’s more competition for valuable keywords, making it more expensive to run promotions and rank high on search engines. So if paid ads are your main marketing strategy, be ready

Interview with a corporate communications expert: Michael Robison

Recently we chatted with Michael Robison, CEO of The D5 Group. Michael has over 20 years of business experience, many of which he spent working on entrepreneurial ventures. In the interview, we learn valuable insights on how to help your leadership work together better by communicating effectively and the power

How to write a B2B lead magnet that converts

content marketing

How to write a B2B lead magnet that converts

Do you like getting free samples at the grocery store? Of course! There’s always a line around the toaster oven as people wait for a hot square of pizza. But, what if one day you went to the grocery store and every item was available to sample? Would you

My journey through marketing books: Contagious

content marketing

My journey through marketing books: Contagious

Why you should care about Contagious: If you’re a business owner or marketer, then you spend a lot of your time trying to get noticed by potential customers. This book can help you create content that’s engaging and made to go viral. “Virality isn’t born, it’s

5 ways to get ideas for your blog and inbound marketing

content marketing

5 ways to get ideas for your blog and inbound marketing

The hardest part about keeping your blog overflowing with helpful content is knowing what to write. This is where classic writer’s block pops up the most and makes blogging a chore. Let’s fix that. In this post, we’ll give you the easiest ways to find content ideas

content marketing

How to create a content calendar for your inbound marketing

When you're on the road and trying to get to a specific address, what's easier? Stopping every 5 minutes to look at your map and figure out where to go next or letting Google Maps tell you where to go next? Google Maps is the obvious choice. There's a similar

Why you need to change your B2B content marketing in 2020

content marketing

Why you need to change your B2B content marketing in 2020

Give something away for free. This is the timeless principle that every sales process depends on, whether you’re giving away a sample, lead magnet, or the salesman’s knowledge. This idea has blown up on the internet. Marketers are giving away everything they possibly can to get a tiny

Painful blog posts bring in leads (I am not a Sith)

content marketing

Painful blog posts bring in leads (I am not a Sith)

The one thing that Sith Lords and marketers have in common is a love of pain. In fact, every great inbound marketing campaign is built around pain. Why is that? People are most willing to buy a product or service when it directly solves a problem they’re facing. To

Should I hire a copywriter or write it myself?

Should I hire a copywriter or write it myself?

If you own a business, then you’ve probably asked yourself this question at one time or another. Everyone knows how to write, but the truth is that knowing how to write personally and to meet business objectives are completely different things. Copywriting affects your company’s image, internal communication,