Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing

Seth Godin says “pick yourself.” Choose yourself. Select yourself. It’s a refrain we hear across the web. But what does it really mean? On the latest episode of The Lede, the second in our “Hero versus Villain” series, Demian and I debate this question. Before you listen, see if you can guess which side ofPlay Episode

Authority is essential for online success. There is no debating that. But how do we acquire authority? That topic is up for debate in this episode of The Lede. This is the first of a four-part series in which we are going to take conventional content marketing ideas and debate their merits. Because hey, thePlay Episode

Selling isn’t what it used to be. And for most of us, that’s a good thing. Gone are the days of alpha males who are “always closing.” Today, in the new era of selling that has dawned, many of us are spending much more of our time selling than we even realize. This is thePlay Episode

A few weeks ago, Demian got the opportunity to talk to Bernadette Jiwa about her books, her blog, and her unique approach to branding. And ultimately, about how a business can satisfy customers by answering that terribly important question about life. Why bother? Each and every morning you and I both wake up and askPlay Episode

You have a natural ability to fascinate others that you may or may not be taking full advantage of. And getting in touch with this “fascination advantage” can pay big dividends, both in business and in your personal relationships. Sally Hogshead is a copywriter-turned-Catalyst who teaches you how to tap into your natural ability toPlay Episode

We all know about the importance of learning from mistakes. “Fail forward,” as they say. But we shouldn’t just look at our successes as magical moments when everything went right and think these experiences do not hold significant lessons of their own. In the last episode of The Lede, Demian and I discussed mistakes thatPlay Episode

In this episode of The Lede, Demian and I share personal stories of mistakes we’ve made — some big and some small — and how we learned from them, and we describe the thought process necessary to do so consistently. Everybody makes mistakes. And everybody should make mistakes. They are unavoidable when we step outsidePlay Episode

You may be creating content in a niche with 1,000 other sites, but only you have your audience. And surveying your audience can be fertile ground for the kind of information and insight that builds your next transformative content series. Just ask Demian Farnworth. He did it twice for Copyblogger in 2014 — and thePlay Episode

As we look ahead to 2015, what buzz concept should you be paying attention to? We’ve got you covered in this episode of The Lede. Each new year seems to bring with it a new buzz term or two describing a concept that will change how we reach an audience, or how we build andPlay Episode

On this episode of The Lede, Demian Farnworth and I spend a little time purposefully reflecting on 2014 and the most important lessons we will carry forward with us into 2015. For so many of us, the end of every year revolves around holiday celebrations and spending quality time with friends and family. As itPlay Episode

In this episode of The Lede, Demian Farnworth and I share some of our personal stories of success and failure online, in the hopes of inspiring you and educating you (but mostly inspiring you). The two biggest concerns for the average blogger are obscurity and sustainability. In other words … for the vast majority ofPlay Episode

Empathy is essential because it allows you to feel what your audience members feel, but what if you could get inside their hearts and walk a few steps in their shoes as well? You can. Here’s how … Well isn’t this a pleasant surprise. After we published the third installment of our three-part series onPlay Episode

As we enter the conclusion of our three-part series on content strategy, you should already know what your audience believes about the world and have a narrative mapped out that will allow you to confirm your audience’s worldviews. Now it’s time to explain the final piece of the content strategy puzzle. This piece creates anPlay Episode

We know that to lift our audience members out of their ordinary worlds we need to tell a compelling story. But how do we do it? You’ll find out on this week’s episode of The Lede. Articulating the goal of content marketing, a wise man once wrote: You lift prospects out of their ordinary worldsPlay Episode

We are kicking off a three-part series on content strategy, starting with this episode. We begin with an element of content strategy that often gets overlooked, but that is crucial to understanding your audience intimately enough to influence it. Yesterday, Brian Clark published a highly anticipated answer to a question that’s been on a lotPlay Episode