Dear ,

Most importantly, I hope that you and yours are safe from the hurricanes and typhoon rains around the world.

Please heed your local officials regarding your safety since life is the most precious thing you have. No amount of money or other tangible items can replace your life. It’s the only one you get so protect it.

On a lighter note, September brings a form of New Year; a mid-year refresh that follows summer's relaxed routines.

While I’ve outgrown the educational calendar that defined my early life, September still makes work and life feel fresh and new.

In terms of work, before starting to develop your 2019 marketing plans, assess your 2018 results-to-date.

Although your senior management may focus on performance compared to budget, realize that budgets are often politically determined.

Therefore to measure your actual 2018 progress, check your results against your 2017 performance. Sales and profits tend to vary by month. Where possible, include another year of performance.

Further, as you go through this process, focus on metrics that increase your house file, drive qualified leads, contribute to conversions and get customers to buy again.

RECOMMENDED READING:

• Sales Forecasting Made Easy
• End of Year Marketing Analysis (Note: While focused on small business, this information is universal.)
• Pricing: HINT: It’s not about the numbers!
• Annual Content Planning

One of my marketing favorites is MarketingProfs B2B Forum not only because it’s hand curated by Ann Handley but also for its intimate community feel. Translation: Expect to learn from the unexpected. For those of you in the B2B space, the Forum moved to San Francisco this year.  

Even better you can save $200 on MarketingProfs B2B Forum in San Francisco if you sign up by Friday, September 21^st. (BTW—This isn’t an affiliate offer. I just love MarketingProfs and this event. #TRUTH!)

PS: If you missed my #CMWorld presentation, you can still get a copy of my presentation slides as well as the outtakes. Just click here!

Click here to get this and previous AMG newsletters on the Web.

​​​​​​​The inside scoop on why your content marketing plans must incorporate mega-conferences.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​Unlike many other top content marketing experts lists, this list was hand curated. It used one of the essential elements of content marketing, namely curation.

​​​​​​​Books are the ultimate long form content. Even better, they make a memorable calling card.

Yes, Jay's book beats out his bottle opener business card! But Baer has several books to-date, His latest book, Talk Triggers is scheduled to be released on October 3^rd. (Stay tuned: his latest interview is coming up.)

​​​​​​​Social Media Marketing World 2019

Heidi Cohen was mentioned in the following posts:

• Ivana Taylor tapped Heidi to add her insights to Apply These 11 Techniques for Getting the Most Out of Cleveland’s Content Marketing World.
  
  
• Gemma Joyce of Brandwatch reached out to Heidi Cohen to get her insights on Creating How To Content. (BTW, it includes useful charts!)