What to do when people ask to submit guests posts on your blog!
Should I even accept guest posts on my blog? Once you get a successful blog going chances are at some point people will offer to write guest posts for you. Yay, more content! Well, not so fast. There are things to consider! Of course the definition of successful blogging is highly subjective and depends on […]
Read MorePutting taglines or scripts in your own words helps authenticity
Using our own words in our own voice helps authenticity. Here's an example: I called customer support to get help with a product I was using (and still use) inside my home. The customer service rep who answered had a sense of humor and definitely did not stick with the company script. Now, that can […]
Read MoreHow original photos can help you rank higher in Google Image Search
You have likely heard me debate the topic of whether we should use stock images or authentic and original images. I can be swayed in many debates when a direction that I didn’t think of can actually benefit the consumer. But I just have never gotten to the point to see the benefit for when […]
Read MoreGuess who is now a YouTuber… #dadlife
Not me. LOL. 😱😂 My daughter is now a self-declared YouTuber. Her channel can be found here. That means that she: Has her own channel Publishes regularly Tells stories Is comfortable on camera 🎥 (aka her iPad) She’s done a nice job publishing almost daily videos discussing a variety of things I mostly don’t understand: […]
Read MoreThings to consider before video recording other people and posting to social media
I'm all for sharing stories through multiple mediums but there are things to consider before recording other people without their knowledge.
Read MoreWhy to write content adjacent to your sweet spot on your (corporate) blog
You hear me talk about the importance of being clear about what your content niche is. This is the content that you are an expert in and that you have a defined audience for and that you share on your (company) blog. Everything we produce and then distribute needs to fit into that category. For […]
Read More[CONTENT CREATION] How many people should own my organization’s editorial calendar?
A look at how to manage an organization's editorial calendar.
Read MoreWhy editing for preference is the biggest waste of time in content marketing
Everyone who creates content likely has had an editor who edited for preference only. They change words because they like another word better. Not because it actually makes a difference to the audience or impacts that story’s performance. I even once had an editor who admitted that he edited to “add value, and it’s my job.” […]
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Should every blog post have a photo and how to get better ones
“A photo is worth a thousand words.” The person who said that first certainly hadn’t heard of irrelevant stock art photography that people now use abundantly on their blogs and websites. Those people in that meeting look oh so happy. Stock art!
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Why To Not Just Repurpose Existing Content
Here’s a quick video I did on this important topic. You can’t be unique by copying others.
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Why we shouldn’t take that social media photo – sometimes!
Fall in Iowa is beautiful, though a bit too cold for me. It’s actually surprisingly hard to take a good fall photo. This, for example, looked a lot better offline: I spotted the scenery during a walking meeting in 2016 and actually took this shot 4-5 times. Ugh. The photo isn’t showing how it looks […]
Read More![[MARKETING] Why we shouldn’t make up quotes for people in our marketing stories](https://i0.wp.com/authenticstorytelling.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/img_6624.jpg?fit=374%2C374&ssl=1)
[MARKETING] Why we shouldn’t make up quotes for people in our marketing stories
October 4, 2016
Change Leadership, Content distribution, Content gathering, Creativity, Health, Training
It can seem easier for writers and content creators to write the quotes from “actual people” marketing materials. It’s one way to make sure they stay on message, I suppose. Marketing materials, of course, can include printed pieces, other offline items and all kinds of digital components, including ads, blogs and eNewsletters. And many marketers […]
Read More[STORYTELLING] How to get access to the people with the good stories
It’s virtually impossible to share good and meaningful stories if we don’t have access to the people who lived and participated in those stories. That’s why personal storytelling is so much easier than organizational storytelling. We already have access to the person who lived the story – us. When we work in an organization’s communications […]
Read MoreOrganizational storytelling: Should we check the background of people whose stories we are sharing?
Storytelling strategies can be full of reasons why not to publish something. In fact, if we want to find a reason to not publish a story that can be a super easy task: We don’t have the time. We don’t want to. I’m not a good writer. Somebody, somewhere may potentially be offended by something in the […]
Read More![[STORYTELLING] Cameras on people can help us gather authentic stories](https://i0.wp.com/authenticstorytelling.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/img_4201-1.jpg?fit=750%2C422&ssl=1)
[STORYTELLING] Cameras on people can help us gather authentic stories
While at a Chicago White Sox game in 2016 my wife pointed out to me that the approaching vendor had two cameras attached to him. One pointed at him and one at the crowd. Of course, I asked him about it. “We are doing a special on vendors and it’ll be on the website. They […]
Read More[EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY] How to get employees to share stories without feeling like braggarts
Some people don’t share any of their authentic stories – good and bad – and they have reasons for that. Good stories – they don’t want to come off as bragging about themselves. Not so good stories – they are embarrassed and don’t want to feel vulnerable publicly. These are valid reasons and we should […]
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Confirmed talks
Annual conference
Reno, NV
Oct. 8-9. 2017
San Francisco
Nov. 6, 2017
Lisbon, Portugal
March 3, 2018
May 2, 2018
Also catch me at…
ScribbleLive Blog
- NO OVERKILL: How creatives and content marketers need processes and systems
- Content Marketing Storytelling: Not Everything Has To Have A Marketing Lesson! Just Share Your Stories!
- How to Know When to Ignore a Best Practice in Content Marketing Strategy
- How to Develop Your Content Marketing Strategy in 2018
- How Can Media Companies Use Content Marketing Strategies To Build Their Audience?
Christoph Trappe
August 31, 2017
Content gathering