Anya Ciecierski | CAL Business Solutions, Director of Marketing
ERP/CRM Software Blogs, Editor Overcoming Writers Block
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Content Creation Is Never Done!
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Content marketing costs 62 percent less than traditional
marketing and generates about three times as many leads. Blogs give
websites 434 percent more indexed pages and 97 percent more indexed
links. Companies that blog more than 15 times per month get five
times more traffic than companies that dont blog. 67 percent of
consumers say custom content helps them make better purchasing
decisions. Is It Worth It? Entrepreneur.com
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CAL Business Solutions Website www.calszone.comwww.calszone.com
Traffic January 2009: 1,237 visitors vs August 2014: 6,875 visitors
Referral Links from ERP Software Blog Q4 2012: 496 links vs Q4
2014: 700 links Leads from Website 2009: 13% vs 2014: 34% Closed
Deals from Website 2009: 27% vs 2014: 40% Does Blogging Work?
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I Have Nothing To Write About I Have No Time To Write I Am Not
Good At Writing The Challenges
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Company Products Your Role Why are you here? Introductions
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I Have Nothing To Write About
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Expert: position yourself as an expert, show your depth FAQ:
answer a question, tips and tricks Explanation: explain something
that might seem obvious to you Analysis: go deep, ask why, look for
loopholes Promotion: promote white paper/ebook/video or other
marketing pieces Summary: your own spin on another article News:
report local/industry news item, relate to your product Types of
Blog Posts
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Hubspot Blog Topic Generator Enter three nouns, get 5 titles
Hubspot Blog Topic Generator www.contentideagenerator.com 18
questions = a list of topics www.contentideagenerator.com
www.Contentgems.com Choose topics, get curated lists of matching
content www.Contentgems.com Google Alerts & www.Mention.com
Track products, competitors, industries Google
Alertswww.Mention.com www.statistica.com Current statistics
www.statistica.com www.quora.com See questions as specific topics
www.quora.com www.Tynt.com Look at search terms and use as topics
www.Tynt.com www.whitepapers.com Reuse ideas or statistics
www.whitepapers.com www.Buzzsumo.com What info is being shared the
most then copy it www.Buzzsumo.com Where to Find Topic Ideas
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Quora.com Results: What do salespeople hate about their CRM
software? What is the best CRM software to use for a new startup?
What features do current CRM softwares lack? What is the best CRM
software for nonprofits? What CRM software has gamification
features? How many restaurants use CRM software? What are the
differences between Marketing Automation and CRM software? And what
considerations would affect the choice of one than the other?
www.quora.com Topic: CRM Software: Results: What do salespeople
hate about their CRM software? What is the best CRM software to use
for a new startup? What features do current CRM softwares lack?
What is the best CRM software for nonprofits? What CRM software has
gamification features? How many restaurants use CRM software? What
are the differences between Marketing Automation and CRM software?
And what considerations would affect the choice of one than the
other?
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ContentIdeaGenerator.com Brain Power
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Hubspot Idea Generator
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Partnersource/Microsoft sites Microsoft Community site LinkedIn
Groups NewsJacking Local newspaper/business journal Industry
newsletters/websites/blogs/social profiles Google Autocomplete for
keywords and related topics Where to Find Topic Ideas
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Press pass for events Exercise: Jot down 5 ideas of posts you
could create from this event Where to Find Content Ideas
Blog Posts to New Blog Posts White Paper to Infographic
Infographic to White Board Video Ebook to Checklist Presentation to
Slideshare Webinar to Short Videos Case Study to Press Release All
of the above to Blog Posts Reduce Reuse Recycle
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Consultants Salesperson Clients Partners Industry Experts
Record - Transcribe Interviews
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What questions does the support team receive frequently?
Explain an interesting client problem/solution you dealt with
recently What feature of the software do your clients say Wow
about? What do you cover in training? What do you show/explain to
clients all the time What are your favorite add on tools? What new
feature do you like? How does x compare with other software
packages you used in the past? What issues are on the minds of CFOs
you work with? Interview Questions - Consultants
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What questions do your prospects ask you over and over? What
reasons do prospects have to change software? What industry issues
are people talking about? Can you compare x to y? Why is x good for
this industry? For this type of company? List every possible
objection a buyer could have, then the replies. Interview Questions
- Sales
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Challenge, Solution, Benefits 1.What was the obstacle that
would have prevented you from buying this product? 2.What did you
find as a result of buying this product? 3.What specific feature
did you like most about this product? 4.What would be three other
benefits about this product? 5.Would you recommend this
product/company if so, why? 6.Is there anything youd like to add?
Interview Questions - Clients
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What are you passionate about in your industry? How did you get
started in your industry? Why is your product the best? How does it
compare? What are some mistakes that people make in your industry?
What is the greatest challenge in your industry? Who is the most
successful person in your industry? What is the biggest news in
your industry? What is a success story from your business? What
personal skills help someone become successful in your industry?
What tools do you use to get your job done? Why do you enjoy being
in your industry? What is changing in your industry? Interview
Questions - Partners
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Record and transcribe (www.speak-write.com app
)www.speak-write.com Get them away from their desk Give compliments
Have questions in advance Be a little annoying, ask for
clarification Stick to a time limit (10 min) Interview Tips
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Eavesdrop Attend sales meetings, prospect demos, project
meetings, training sessions, support calls and LISTEN Get CCd Ask
sales reps to send questions they receive from prospects Ask
service reps to cc you on support requests with reply Always ask
Why? Whatever I dont understand, prospects wont either Listen
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I Could Blog About That! Use Your Powers of Observation
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Review handouts and brainstorm topic ideas with your group.
Exercise
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I Have No Time To Write
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How Many Blog Posts Per Month?
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Group Blogs mean more exposure for less work
www.erpsoftwareblog.comwww.erpsoftwareblog.com
www.crmsoftwareblog.com www.distributionsoftwareblog.com
www.crmsoftwareblog.com www.distributionsoftwareblog.com Top Posts
CAL blog CAL blog (April 2012) 2,113 visits vs ERP blog (June 2010)
7,981 visitsERP blog Dec 2013 SQL Server Licensing Posts CAL Blog
CAL Blog 260 visits vs ERP Blog 6,539 visitsERP Blog Group
Blogs
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1.Flip Your Internal Script 2.Set Deadlines 3.Keep a Topic List
4.Editorial Calendar 5.Eliminate Distractions 6.Set a Self Imposed
Time Limit 7.Make an outline 8.Keep it Short and Sweet 9.Skip the
Intro 10.Dont Write and Edit at The Same Time 10 Tips To Write
Faster
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What marketing activities can we give up? What tasks are you
doing that someone else can do? Make Writing A Priority
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List 10 activities/responsibilities you can eliminate or
delegate. Exercise
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I Am Not Good At Writing
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Get the company involved 30 minute brainstorming session
Contests and bribes Guest posts from partners Agree on a topic
Offer a backlink Curate a List Research vs writing 10 Great Ideas
for Valuable Curated Content 10 Great Ideas for Valuable Curated
Content Use Other People
$25 for rough post (you supply topic and edit) $100 for full
post Tip: Give same topic idea to multiple writers to find two you
like the best. Then keep them happy! Outsource
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Blog Posts: $90-$125 per post eBooks: Starting at $1,900
Whitepapers: Starting at $2,500 Infographics: $2,500 Case Studies:
Starting at $1,000 www.thepartnermarketinggroup.com The Partner
Marketing Group
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Weekly to Daily Blogging (since 2012) 1200 to 2400 website
visitors 60% of traffic lands on blog pages Read and add to folders
1 morning per week for content creation Summarize and link strategy
1x per quarter per consultant ISV and partner guest posts Delegate
admin tasks No outsourcing 25-30% of total time of Mktg Director
Altico Advisors Case Study