Regardless of how well you know your buyer personas or Google analytics, putting effort into growing a business blog is critical in modern marketing. An estimated 60% of companies in the US have a blog, and many view it as an integral part of their outreach. While blogging began in the 1990’s as a tool for individuals to share thoughts and hobbies with others, companies worldwide have realized the myriad SEO, lead generation and branding benefits associated with consistently creating content. If you’ve been hesitant to get started, fear not. We’ve compiled virtually everything you need for starting a blog that drives results.

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SEO as we know it is actually gone forever. The most recent Hummingbird update to Google’s search algorithm was a final nail in the coffin of an industry that had been in decline since the major Panda update in 2011 that affected as many as 30% of all search results. Are you dubious, or worried that our position is extreme?

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SEO and blogging form the backbone of content marketing, something that every serious business and marketer should be doing today to grow their online presence. Have you heard the term? Learn it well. Unless you are satisfied with your current cyber status.

Having a good-looking website is not enough. It’s hard to attract business with a few static web pages; those won’t bring you traffic, leads, and sales, or develop your brand.Blog writing and search engine optimization can, however. All you need is a content strategy.

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If you’re trying to create an editorial calendar to keep your business blogging on schedule, there are two tricky things you need to master: coming up with new content ideas and figuring out how often to blog.

The optimal blogging frequency and the best times to blog will vary from business to business, but the following tips and resources will help you discover the best publishing timetable for you.

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There is only a 16% chance someone will actually read your entire blog article.

Staggering, isn’t it? Research on how modern consumers engage with information online has found that while 79% of page visitors will skim the information, only 16% will consume every word. Formatting your articles appropriately is key to success at business blogging.

Still, you need to avoid mistakes under review in this article at any cost. Remember that poor text formatting pushes off your visitors…

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Are there any major differentiators when it comes to inbound vs content marketing, and what are they? Caution. You’ve just unwittingly stepped into one of the fiercest marketing debates today. While both inbound and content marketing are relatively new practices, they’ve both won some serious proponents (and probably a few detractors) during their years in use.

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If you’ve been doing business online for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard a new phrase about using proprietary information to attract and retain customers. You’ve heard it’s all the rage–search engines love it, prospects love it, sometimes it even goes viral.

So, just what is content marketing?

It is using any type of content to attract prospects and convert them to customers,  and to reconvert previous customers to repeat buyers.

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Wondering how to write a press release? Great press releases are not that hard to write. They have a format that’s easy to follow. These basic guidelines will help you to write and distribute effective press releases that will get your readers’ attention and – best of all – get them to share the news on social media.

If you’re new to press release writing and want to master this art, read our 4-step guide.

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So you’ve decided to pursue content marketing and started a blog for your business. Now what?

If you’re like most content producers, tracking all your content projects and making sure they get published and shared is an organizational nightmare. If you provide content services for your clients in addition to your own content marketing objectives, it’s even worse.

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Although content marketing became popular and powerful thanks to SEO and blogging, it applies to many other marketing initiatives you could pursue for your business. Email newsletters are the perfect example.

But like business blogging, newsletters for business sometimes have a bit of a learning curve.

If you’ve been wondering how to write a newsletter, the good news is it’s relatively easy. Once you make all the preliminary decisions about your e-newsletter, then all you have to do is plan the editorial calendar, get everything written, send it out, and track the results.

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