Ray ManleyFollow

The 5 Blogging Tools That Keep Me Sane https://t.co/gICagoxM8c

Reply on Twitter Retweet on Twitter Like on Twitter Twitter

Ray Manley @rbmanley·

The Marketing Test That Saved the World https://t.co/7QyF5zZDdU

Reply on Twitter Retweet on Twitter Like on Twitter Twitter

Ray Manley @rbmanley·

Beware that the detours in your life don't turn into destinations. - Tim Fargo #quote #dailymotivation

Reply on Twitter Retweet on Twitter Like on Twitter Twitter

Ray Manley @rbmanley·

EU090: Email Marketing... Are You Sending Enough? https://t.co/U9VzPTMydU

Reply on Twitter Retweet on Twitter Like on Twitter Twitter

Ray Manley @rbmanley·

Different Strokes When It Comes to Solopreneur Lifestyle Choices https://t.co/WYqhtIJq7q

Reply on Twitter Retweet on Twitter Like on Twitter Twitter

A Primer to Boost Your Content’s Readability

Our content was too academic and didn’t resonate with our audience. When we focused on making it more readable for our audience, business grew. What about you? Is your brand deliberately centered on readability? At its purest, readability is about keeping things simple. It’s about explaining things in as straightforward

3 Content Marketing Strategy Reminders That Lurk in a Surprising Place

Did you catch Joe Pulizzi’s talk at Content Marketing World 2018? In it, he revealed the secrets of life and marketing (sorry if you missed it). I won’t give everything away here, but I will let you in on one of the (no longer secret) secrets: Cut everything from

Everlance Guest Post: Maximize Your Mileage Deductions Automatically

Everlance is the #1-rated mileage and expense tracking app for both iPhone and Android and we couldn’t be more excited to be integrating with FreshBooks! It’s no secret that tracking your business mileage can save you thousands at tax time. In fact, for freelancers who drive for business, mileage is

If Your Content Doesn’t Have This, the Majority Won’t Trust It [Research]

Is your content trustworthy? Is your content persuasive? If your content doesn’t include data, it is less likely to be trusted, persuasive, or even read. That’s based on the findings from an August survey of 1,054 U.S. adults released this week by Survey Monkey: Three-fourths of adults say

Brands Often Overlook This Superhero of Storytelling

Comics aren’t just SMASH, WHAM, KAPOW! One of the oldest mediums is also one of the most powerful — and one of the most overlooked in content marketing. Yet some brands are working with top comics creators and publishers such as Marvel Comics. OK, maybe writing this

How to Answer 25 FAQs on Content Marketing

Editor’s note: This article is the follow-up to an August post about 25 frequently asked questions about content marketing. Do you get asked tough, or even easy, questions about content marketing by your executives or clients? Want a handy dandy cheat sheet to those questions? We are here to

5 Advanced Methods to Promote Your Content in 2018

Just because you create content doesn’t mean anyone will see it. People have to know the content exists in order to consume it. The digital landscape is increasingly competitive. If you want your content to drive maximum value, finding opportunities to engage audiences is just as critical as the content

How Cisco Merges Martech With Creative Content

If you could build the ideal multi-industry global conglomerate from scratch, scaling it to over 700 product families, would you let each one of those 700 product managers target the same customer separately? Of course you wouldn’t. Why then do so many enterprise brands find themselves in a similar pickle?

How to Make Your Content Stand Out in a Crowded, Global Marketplace

English-speaking markets are attractive, but for most niches, they’re also the most competitive. It takes a lot to move the English-speaking needle. If you want results with less effort – and it makes sense for your audiences – think about localized markets. After all, while people may speak English as

Want Engaging Social Media Content? Lessons From a Viral Smash

Graphic designer Chris Barker has twice won cover of the year at the British Society of Magazine Editors and recently won art director of the year. Yet he is probably best-known for an image he created for his own amusement at 2 a.m. one Nov. 9 while watching the

Category : Marketing

How to conquer social listening with one free applet

20 Aug/
rbmanley /
Marketing, Social

Overhead is the business version of cancer. If not treated aggressively, it will overtake the healthy, productive life of your business. If you have a bigger business, your accountant can tell you exactly how much you’re spending on overhead. If you’re a freelancer or solopreneur, “overhead creep” can be almost invisible until you realize the ..
Read More…

Tags: DIY apps, if then then that

My content marketing secret weapon

12 Aug/
rbmanley /
Marketing, Social

I’m probably an idiot for revealing one of the top content-marketing strategies I use for clients. I should figure out a way to make you pay for it…but I’m not, so feel free to take this idea and use it for yourself. Leverage curated content Curated content posts have been popular for some time now ..
Read More…

Tags: curated content

Easy ways to create graphics with type to boost readership, social shares

04 Oct/
rbmanley /
Basics, Blogging, Social

There are three elements that will pull a reader into your article: The headline, A graphic with type, and The first paragraph. Of course, once you pull readers in, you have to keep them engaged. But if you can’t make the “sale” at the top, you have failed right out the gate. I’ve discussed headline ..
Read More…

Tags: images

Boost Your Social Media Productivity With Awesome Apps

04 Nov/
rbmanley /
Basics, Blogging, Freelancing, Marketing, Social

Tweens sitting in their middle school history class may prefer to while away the hours on social media, but for freelancers and entrepreneurs, the time drain can be overwhelming. Fortunately, there are a number of apps that can help you improve your social media productivity, freeing up time for other important tasks. HootSuite Confession: I’m ..
Read More…

Tags: productivity apps, social media management, social media productivity

Build a Digital ‘Company Town’ and Start Selling to Its Residents

15 Apr/
rbmanley /
Basics, Marketing, Social

The quaint hamlet of Scotia, nestled among Northern California’s tall redwoods, was the country’s last company town. Since 1863 the entire community was owned by the Pacific Lumber Company. After a 2008 bankruptcy, the town fell into the hands of a Manhattan hedge fund and residents weren’t pleased, but that’s another story. I used to ..
Read More…

Tags: community, social media marketing, startups

When Good Content Marketing Research Goes Bad

When a friend tweeted a link to “Why Content Goes Viral: What Analyzing 100 Million Articles Taught Us” last week I said to myself, “Yes! Here’s exactly what I—and everyone else—need to know.” As I read the first point I said, “Wow!” But that changed as I moved further through the conclusions. Here’s my full ..
Read More…

Tags: best shared content, content marketing, list blogs

The Headline Writing Trick You Can’t Afford to Ignore!

If you’re reading this, my headline worked. If not, then why am I typing this? The simple point is that today the main job of a headline is to get you reading at least the first sentence of what follows. Any headline that does that is successful. The downside to this is that we see ..
Read More…