Let’s face it – Business blogging can get repetitive. It seems as if there are only so many blog topics out there for your readers, and you’ve exhausted them all. We know the key to a successful business blog is fresh content, which brings more reader who might be potential new clients. But what exactly does “fresh” content entail? New topics or a different perspective on a problem, or an innovative tip – these are all good. Swapping guest blog posts with another business also infuses new life into a blog. Sometimes hiring a new writer can help bring new ideas, views, and topics to a blog. MORE >>

I get calls from small business professionals who want to start a blog or an e-newsletter. They’ve usually invested money in a nice website, and then suddenly realize that something’s missing… like customers and leads! They’re genuinely surprised that with the money they spent on their website, no one is coming to see it, indicate they like it, let alone pick up the phone and call. As for LinkedIn and Facebook , they’re baffled why people don’t interact with them. Content should be focused on readers, not you and your business. What are their struggles? MORE >>

When should you hire a freelance writer for your blog or website? Most small businesses don’t realize how much writing goes into publishing (and updating) a website or blog. Yet the content on your website or blog is the key component of your content marketing strategy. In order to get the online results you deserve (leads: phones calls, emails, sales!) your web content should be well-written and SEO optimized — as well-thought out as anything else you do to market yourself and your small business. So who writes the web content? That’s a good question. And that can often be a poor decision. MORE >>

'Having a hard time staying focused on your business content marketing ? Focus-schmocus. Sometimes you start off doing one thing and end up an expert at something else. Life is like that. look at content marketing as an experiment or adventure. Some things work well and you do more of them. Others, well, let’s hope you haven’t wasted money as well as time. Steve Allen was a famous comedian who started The Tonight Show , in 1954, long before Johnny Carson became the host (and later Jay Leno). Allen started off in radio but got his first TV job as an announcer for wrestling matches. MORE >>

No goals for 2013. I’m not setting any marketing goals this year. Goals are bad. am not kidding, and there’s research to prove it. This isn’t just me trying to avoid feelings of failure when I’m not seeing immediate results. Here’s an excerpt from Peter Bregman’s blog Consider Not Setting Goals for 2013 on HBR: It’s not that goals, by their nature, are bad. It’s just that they come with a number of side effects that suggest you may be better off without them. Did this motivate employees? It motivated them to overcharge on a companywide basis. MORE >>