In the online world, everyone is always trying to one-up each other.

I see it all the time.

It’s not that competition is a bad thing. I love a little competition.

Sometimes it’s not about competing. It’s about refining what you have to offer and adding real value.

You can write a 2,500-word blog post about SEO, for example, but unless it helps the person reading it, what use is it?

You can publish 5 blog posts every single day, but unless there’s a purpose, the only thing it will bring you is a little more traffic.

Publishing content for content’s sake won’t help anyone.

I’ve been blogging for a long time now.

I’ve seen some of the best and worst advice out there.

Even though I’m not perfect, I do have a few things that I recommend people do if they want to improve their blog.

You certainly don’t have to do all of them.

But these tips are ones that I’ve found to be helpful for improving my blog over time.

Let’s dive in. [click to continue …]

Paid advertising has long been a reliable tactic for customer acquisition.

As retargeting has exploded, ads have even helped growing businesses retain customers, improve customer lifetime value, and reduce customer churn and cart abandonment.

Unfortunately, paid advertising is becoming less effective.

Nearly 200 million people were using ad blockers in 2015. Today, more than 615 million devices now have ad blockers on them.

Approximately 11% of the global Internet population is blocking ads online.

And it’s not just on desktop — there are even ad blocker apps for the mobile experience.

That might make for a better online experience for customers, but it spells trouble for brands who rely primarily on paid ads to reach current and new customers.

How do you get around the ad block movement?

Content marketing is the answer. [click to continue …]

Organizations that have made consistent and sound investments in content marketing in recent years are reporting those investments paying dividends.

That’s what the latest data from CMI is showing us.

According to the 2017 benchmarks and trends report from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, more than 60% of B2B marketers reported that their content marketing strategies are more effective than one year before.

Comparing the data year over year, 34% of marketers felt their content marketing was effective in 2016 vs. just 30% in the previous year.

In 2015, 4% of marketers felt their efforts were “not at all effective.” Thankfully, those numbers improved for 2016 with 0% of marketers stating their content marketing was “not at all effective.”

There are a number of factors contributing to that success, including better quality content, strategy development, more time spent on content marketing, and better targeting in content distribution.

In short, the experience gained through content marketing made those marketers more effective.

But in order to maintain that growth, marketers also have to stay tuned into the ever-changing landscape of content marketing.

What worked last year may not be enough to creep ahead in 2018.

Being able to anticipate trends, as well as the change in audience behavior based on technology trends and updates, can help you adjust your strategy and get ahead of the wave.

Here are some trends to keep an eye on as we head into 2018. [click to continue …]

Everybody knows that blogging is important.

This is 2017!

A recent survey by Michael Stelzner published on Social Media Examiner shows that 68% of marketers use blogs for content marketing

But once you have a blog, you need traffic.

You need backlinks and organic visitors searching for the answers, products, and services you provide.

Guest blogging is the best way to do all that, and I’m going to show you how.

I guest blog all over the Internet.

I have a page on Inc, where I dispense marketing advice.

Having my picture featured on such a prestigious business magazine is a big accomplishment for me.

It’s far from the only one.

I’ve been in the business a long time.

You can find my entrepreneurial advice on Forbes and Fortune, too.

I’m also on Huffington Post and Entrepreneur, among others.

Those are just the mainstream publications. It wasn’t easy to get to that level.

Not everybody can do it. Some try their entire careers to get published in such places.

I’m showing you what I can do now, but I started small.

I started out with niche industry blogs writing about SEO, social media, blogging, and other forms of digital marketing.

I have a profile on HubSpot.

You can find Neil Patel articles on any of your favorite SEO and digital marketing blogs.

It’s what I do.

I know what you’re thinking.

“Neil. That’s great that you can guest post so many places. But how do I do it?”

This is your guide for exactly that.

We’re going to explore how you can effectively guest blog like I do all over the web.

Every guest post is different, and I’ll show you how to target the right places with the right messages.

There are four key components to a blog proposal.

They’re the publication, the pitch, the post, and the promotion.

Before diving into them, let’s discuss the difference between bloggers and journalists.

Each has its own nuances in reaching out for guest posts. [click to continue …]

Let’s talk about blogging.

Brands that blog regularly see ROI increases across the board, according to HubSpot’s data.

But just having a blog on your website doesn’t guarantee you ROI.

You can’t just create a blog post and instantly gain thousands of conversions. It takes a bit of hard work and dedication before you’ll be able to reap the rewards for your efforts.

Blogging requires strategy. It takes time. It takes patience.

It’s an art.

But it’s an art that’s really good for business if you do it the right way — and if you measure your success.

Blogging means consistently improving your content to match exactly what your readers want to see.

Here’s what to know if you want to use blogging to boost your brand power.

[click to continue …]