actionable marketing guide

Dear ,

I’m not sure how the weather is where you are. In New York City the thermometer hit the mid 90s and it feels at least 10 degrees hotter.

My solution: Stay inside where it’s air-conditioned.

When I was young, my parents took us to the movies to stay cool and entertained. Instead of the movies, I spent Saturday reading some of my marketing reading list.

I’m not alone in this activity. The White House posted The President's Summer Reading List. As I’ve said before, reading is key to becoming a better writer.

Here’s what I read:

	Authority Content by David Jenyns. The title says it all. It’s compact and Jenyn’s style is easy-to-read.  Further, he’s road tested the process in a variety of categories.  Take-aways: Analyze the existing authorities in your market. Determine what their credentials are. Follow Jenyns’s product approach to content creation. His authority content process is present, product, and promote.  I’d say: create your content, develop different presentations for various platforms and audiences and promote it.
	Ask by Ryan Levesque. Levesque keeps popping up on my radar. Friday he offered a free Amazon download and I jumped on it. According to my Kindle Reader I’m about half way through. Read Levesque’s personal story. If I had kids in high school or college, I’d make them read this section. Levesque turned around a personal failure, getting a low SAT score. Result: He studied as hard as he could in a structured environment to beat the initial results. Levesque wanted to work in China after college. He turned down a plum Goldman Sachs job for one at AIG for a third of the salary. He chose the AIG job because it gave him the opportunity for the future he wanted. Result:  Position yourself for the long term over short-term financial gain.
	Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It’s a self-help classic. Hill interviewed and analyzed the top performing businessmen of the mid-1920s. Based on his research, he developed a methodology anyone can use to improve his work and results. Hill discusses Master Minds. In the 1920s, this wasn’t a thing. Take-away: Find a group of peers to meet with on a regular basis. Help and hold others accountable.

I totally get you may not be able to spend a day reading. BUT you can increase your quality content intake.

• Discover resources and curators to minimize search and selection time. Scott Monty has a great newsletter.
• Listen to audio books. You can do this while doing a number of other activities.
• Save valuable content to your favorite device. Pocket can be useful for this. Alternatively, set up a folder on your desktop for downloads.
• Schedule time to read or watch relevant webinars or views. Actually make an appointment with yourself.

This week, I’m off to visit friends in Keene, NH. If you live nearby let me know, perhaps we can get a coffee while I’m there.

After Keene, my next trip is Cleveland. As I’ve mentioned, I’m attending Content Marketing World.  If you’re planning to attend, please let me know. I’d welcome the opportunity to meet you IRL.

If you’re still haven’t committed to attending CMW, I get it. It’s an investment. BUT if you do change your mind, use code: VIP200 . (This isn’t a sales pitch. I don’t make any money on this offer.)

Here’s why I’m going:

• See friends and colleagues and meet new ones. Live events require you be visible. People are more relaxed at events. They’re there to learn, do business and have fun. It’s easier to meet influencers.
• Attend select sessions including Andy Crestodina’s keynote. I met Andy at Content Marketing World 2013 and we’ve been friends ever since. He’s the most giving person. Check his column: How To Meet Everyone At An Event.
• Create amazing content. Based on my 2014 content curation workshop, I developed a top performing CMI article: How To Curate Content Like A Pro.

Why Your B2B Marketing Needs Content Strategies To Generate Quality Leads

Generating demand and ensuring the consistent flow of high-quality, actionable leads is what makes B2B marketers successful.

Sales enablement and pipeline performance remain key mandates as organizations look to better harness their content marketing practices.

To address the growing need to optimize lead flow and track winning content marketing strategies, the CMO Council has partnered with global content syndication expert NetLine to better understand the issues and challenges marketers face when working to deliver timely, relevant and robust content that reaches the right audiences.

What you'll take away from this report:

• Understand the current content marketing landscape and its challenges.
• Develop meaningful and relevant content that resonates with the proper audience through proper channel distribution.
• Improve you content marketing strategy through various methods, including aligning Sales and Marketing objectives, in order to increase healthy lead flow.

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