Brad Johnson is an author and blogger who helps writers discover their niche, build successful habits, and quit their 9-5. His books include Ignite Your Beacon, Writing Clout and Tomes Of A Healing Heart. For strategic content and practical tips on how to become a full-time writer, visit: BradleyJohnsonProductions.com.
How long should your emails be? Do people read long emails? Do short emails convert better? These questions have been debated for a long time. My guest has the data and this is one question she answers for us. There’s nothing better than getting another shot at a conversion. Sometimes, people aren’t ready to buy. […]
In 2019, the world lost several talented, unforgettable writers. Together with the entire literary community, we here at Writer’s Relief mourn the loss of these gifted individuals and remember their contributions. This tribute does not include every great writer who left us in the past year, so in the comment section below, please share the names of any other noteworthy authors you’d like to remember.
Ernest Gaines: “Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?”
Anne Rivers Siddons: “Didn’t I say I’d always be your same stars? If you get to missing me, just look up.”
Judith Krantz: “Some questions are not meant to be asked as long as the answers are right.”
Mary Oliver: “Listen—are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?”
Gene Wolfe: “You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you’re writing.”
Rachel Held Evans: “My interpretation can only be as inerrant as I am, and that’s good to keep in mind.”
Marjorie Weinman Sharmat: “I left a note for my mother. I always leave a note for my mother when I am on a case.”
Rachel Ingalls: “I can’t imagine living in a different time,” Estelle said. “Not in the future, and certainly not in the past. Can you?”
Cokie Roberts: “Times do keep changing—thank God.”
Herman Wouk: “Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today.”
Toni Morrison: “We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”
Jay Baer started the Convince & Convert blog back in 2008, and every year we post a top 10 list of our most popular posts of the year. But for 2020, we’re bringing you our favorite posts of the decade. Some are visitor favorites. Others are team member favorites.
Dive in now as we celebrate 10+ years of marketing content:
To celebrate Convince & Convert’s 10 year anniversary in 2018, founder Jay Baer reveled the 10 biggest lessons he learned while leading the company. While this post doesn’t receive many organic visits these days (it was tricky to optimize for SEO), it did get a ton of feedback, shares and engagement when we originally posted it. It’s worth a read — for sure!
A fan favorite, we recently refreshed this popular post in early 2019 with a video, new downloadable template and updated advice—and it jumped in the rankings and receives thousands of visitors each month. And for good reason — the advice is useful and actionable.
We take the ability to get real-time answers, real-time help and real-time apologies for granted, because they are the norm today. But it wasn’t the norm in 2001 – the year the Diamondbacks won it all, and Jay spent 4 innings in handcuffs. Our very own Kelly Santina suggested this post be added to the list, and I suggest you read it too.
In terms of page views since January 2010, this post is #1, generating more than 600,000 page views since it was first published in 2013. We’ve updated it and added a downloadable template, and it’s still going strong — the post is one of our top 10 most popular.
Jay originally wrote this post based on a presentation back in 2014, and our very own Lauren Teague updated it in November 2018. Lauren is an expert in social media crisis preparation and management, and this post continues to inform visitors and clients. Keep this one handy as you update your social media crisis plan for 2020.
Another classic, evergreen post, Jay wrote the original in 2014, and C&C content strategy experts Anna Hrach and Jenny Magic updated the post in 2019. Still going strong over 4 years later, this post is popular with Google visitors and our email readers. It includes a handy, downloadable template too.
This post killed it in our weekly newsletter — some of our highest opens and CTRs ever! The subject line was “Sheryl Sandberg Is Totally Wrong About This”. People must really love to hate Sheryl Sandberg or they just really love our weekly newsletter. I’d like to think it’s the latter. But really, this is a fantastic post from Jay that explains when you follow the “done is better than perfect” philosophy, you sacrifice customer experience for speed.
In conjunction with the release of the book, Talk Triggers, Jay created this nifty infographic on the 5 types of talk triggers. It includes stats, research and the five ways you can get your customers talking about you with a talk trigger.
For the past ten years I have gone through an annual ritual of publishing a book about trends that describe our shifting culture and business environment. Over the past decade, my team and I have identified and written about well over 100 trends covering everything from the rise of the #metoo movement (a trend we called Fierce Femininity back in 2017) to the growing ability for immersive technology to help us better connect with one another (which we described as Virtual Empathy).
On January 14th, I am publishing the LAST of this long running series – the tenth anniversary edition of Non-Obvious called Non-Obvious Megatrends. In this new edition, we took an expansive look back at the past reports and combined this with all of the feedback, insights and discussions from more than a million smart readers who have bought, shared and debated this trend report over the years in order to arrive at ten big megatrend predictions.
I am so excited to share all of them when the book comes out in January, but as a sneak preview, here are five of the ten – along with a short backstory for each one.
Non-Obvious Megatrend #1 – Revivalism
What is Revivalism?
Overwhelmed by technology and a sense that life is too complex, people seek out simpler experiences that offer nostalgia and remind them of a more trustworthy time.
The Backstory:
Like most of the other megatrends, this one encompassed many ideas from past trends in other reports – and since writing the chapter about it, I keep seeing stories of how the past is coming back to be appealing for us today … which is a good sign!
Non-Obvious Megatrend #2 – Flux Commerce
What is Flux Commerce?
The lines between industries erode, leading to a continual disruption of business models, distribution channels, and consumer expectations.
The Backstory:
If there is one megatrend that really demonstrates the power of intersection thinking and finding inspiration across industries, it is this one. With stories from banks, food, retail and tech – the impact and expanse of this trend made it very satisfying to research and write.
Non-Obvious Megatrend #3 – Purposeful Profit
What is Purposeful Profit?
As consumers and employees demand more sustainable and ethical practices, companies respond by adapting products and taking public stands on issues.
The Backstory:
There were plenty of big stories this year that offered even more ammunition for this big idea that purpose is becoming more and more of a core necessity for all type of organizations. While this in itself may not be all that new, what was surprising was just how vocal those organizations are now willing to be.
Non-Obvious Megatrend #4 – Attention Wealth
What is Attention Wealth?
In the information economy, our attention holds greater value; leading us to be more skeptical of those who rely on spectacles to manipulate us.
The Backstory:
The idea of our attention as a form of wealth felt like a perfect way to underscore and start to describe the battle that is happening right now for our attention on every level. The positive upside? If we can better understand how wealthy we all are, we can start to find better ways to monetize and prioritize our own attention.
Non-Obvious Megatrend #5 – Protective Tech
What is Protective Tech?
As we rely on predictive technology to keep us and our world safe and make life more convenient, we must contend with the privacy trade-offs required to make it work.
The Backstory:
We’re just a few weeks away from CES and the stories of how technology will proactively serve us will likely come about again, but what was interesting about this megatrend was the idea that even as technology can be built to offer us protection or convenience, a question some are increasingly asking is whether we want tech to take this step (and whether we are willing to accept those corresponding compromises to privacy).
Want more trends?
These are just half of the total trends presented in the book. If you enjoyed these, you’ll probably enjoy reading the full book too! Here are a few ways to get the full book:
Join my launch team – get a FREE early reader copy before the book comes out!
Order in bulk – get signed copies early as a gift for your team/colleagues!
How are these trends curated?
The method and process behind the research for these trends is heavily based on observation, analysis, discussion and curation. In the book, the method is described by the term the Haystack Method – which essentially is a model which can be used by anyone to become a collector of interesting ideas which are utilized over time to develop bigger ideas and insights. Here is a video of how this process looks in real life:
For the past 10 years, the Non- Obvious Trend Report has been one of the most widely read collections of future insights in the world, reaching over 1 million readers. This 10th Edition features ten new megatrends curated from stories, interviews and more than 100 past trend predictions.
The 1890s saw pioneering works of science fiction, detective fiction, and Gothic horror all published, by some of the greatest English, Scottish, and Irish writers of the age. In the United States, too, novelists addressed social issues, sometimes in comic ways, while social realism continued to play an important role […]
Search marketing has matured in many ways throughout 2019. At each twist and turn along the journey, we’ve done our best to not only cover each change thoroughly, but to also offer insight and research-based strategy to help savvy digital marketers along the way.
We’re fortunate to have a stellar group of digital marketing professionals contributing to the TopRank Marketing Blog, with our CEO Lee Odden, Associate Director of Search & Analytics Tiffani Allen, Vice President of Client Accounts Alexis Hall, Content Strategist Anne Leuman, and others, each contributing valuable and actionable search marketing insights, tips, and tactics this past year.
To help our blog community grow its search marketing knowledge, we’re thrilled to offer this list of our most popular search marketing posts of 2019.
Our talented Associate Director of Search & Analytics Tiffani Allen wrote our most popular search marketing post of 2019, taking an important look at five SEO mistakes killing your content performance, and offering up an actionable fix for each. Tiffani explored how to avoid and fix keywords based solely on volume, using too much targeting, and the perils of ignoring internal link structures. Check out all of Tiffani’s posts here, and follow her on Twitter.
[bctt tweet="“Following SEO best practices as a content marketer can reduce performance-related headaches and set you up for long-term success.” @Tiffani_Allen" username="toprank"]
The second most popular search marketing post of the year is by our Senior Content Strategist Nick Nelson, who deftly explores the complicated yet complimentary relationship between SEO and social media, and shows how to maximize both in unison with your marketing efforts. Check out all of Nick’s posts here, and follow him on Twitter.
[bctt tweet="“In a sea of competing ephemeral content, you’ve really got to stand out to capture someone’s attention and compel a click.” @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"]
In the number three spot on our top search marketing posts of 2019 list, I explored what the future of Google search mean for B2B marketers, looking at how touch-free Motion Sense gestural search and other changes will affect the course of B2B marketing in 2020 and beyond. Check out all of my posts here, and follow me on Twitter.
[bctt tweet="“Innovations at Google will alter how people search, learn, and lead their professional and personal lives.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]
Our CEO Lee Odden wrote the fourth most popular search marketing post on our blog in 2019, exploring how a best-answer content strategy can drive impressive B2B marketing results, showing its value and offering up strong examples of what it takes to be the best answer. Lee shows that being the best answer is hard, but that it’s the price for being in the winner’s circle of consistent top visibility. Check out all of Lee’s 2,600+ posts here, and follow him on Twitter.
[bctt tweet="“If buyers don’t see consistent, credible and engaging 'best answer' content across channels from your brand, they’ll begin to trust competitors who are.” @LeeOdden" username="toprank"]
Our Senior Content Marketing Manager Caitlin Burgess earned the number five spot on our top search marketing posts of the year list, showing how B2B marketers benefit when SEO and influence collide, becoming a powerful keyword and topical research tool to create best-answer content that audiences and search engines crave. Check out all of Caitlin’s posts here, and follow her on Twitter.
[bctt tweet="“Integration is absolutely essential for driving digital and content marketing success in the crowded, competitive B2B landscape.” @CaitlinMBurgess" username="toprank"]
Nick also penned the sixth most popular search marketing post of 2019, with a detailed look at how you can modernize search marketing to fit with a fully customer-centric strategy, with insight from our guide to identifying “best answer” opportunities. Nick shows how multiple disciplines — from technical SEO to creative content — can be leveraged to win the search marketing game.
[bctt tweet="“When marketers make the effort to see every side of the questions their customers are asking, we can see the bigger picture and craft content to fully satisfy the extent of a searcher’s interest.” @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"]
Another of my posts made the year’s top 10 search marketing post lists, exploring a number of B2B search revelations from the 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, with six take-aways including diversity KPIs, real-time branding, micro-storytelling, and the rise of customer-driven search journeys.
[bctt tweet="“Search taking place from smart speakers and other connected voice-assisted is poised to boom in the coming years, and podcasting is expanding to offer new ways to integrate brand messaging.” @LaneREllis" username="toprank"]
In our eighth most popular search marketing post of 2019, a share 10 smart question research tools and an array of savvy tactics to help B2B marketers uncover the questions your audience is asking, and provide best-answer solutions.
[bctt tweet="“How can you be the best answer for your audience if you don’t understand what questions they’re asking or what problems they’re trying to solve?” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]
With his third appearance on our search marketing top 10 list, Nick shows how B2B brands can ensure that their content strategy is aligned with the rise of voice search, and helps you find your B2B marketing voice.
[bctt tweet="“B2B companies need to be less robotic, and more human. The rise of voice search is simply another trend feeding the urgency.” @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"]
Tiffani makes another appearance on our top 10 list of search marketing posts for the year, exploring how can you optimize your B2B content performance using a thoughtful and strategic SEO audit to help you understand your landscape by analyzing technical, on-page and off-page factors, and more.
[bctt tweet="“A strategic and thoughtful SEO audit will result in a clear, prioritized and actionable plan to improve your search visibility in the ways it matters most to your business.” @Tiffani_Allen" username="toprank"]
We can’t thank Tiffani, Nick, Lee, and Caitlin enough for these top 10 search marketing posts of 2019 — congratulations on making the list!
Thanks TopRank Marketing Writers & Readers
We published dozens of posts this year specifically about search marketing, and plan to bring you even more in 2020, so stay tuned for a new year of the latest helpful search industry research and insight.
Please let us know which search marketing topics and ideas you’d like to see us focus on for 2020 — we’d love to hear your suggestions. Feel free to leave those thoughts in the comments section below.
Many thanks to each of you who read our blog regularly, and to all of you who comment on and share our posts on the TopRank Marketing social media channels at Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
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