AEX Small Business Finance Blog

Content Marketing and Writing: 5 Examples of the Best and Worst Strategies

3/6/2019

Consumers continue to raise their standards and expectations as they read marketing content in various formats. While inbound marketing is a popular concept with businesses of all sizes, the well-meaning process is likely to be confusing to buyers and readers if the underlying content is based on obsolete communication techniques. This brief overview will focus on two extremes — the best and the worst strategies (based on an in-depth content writing article that I published earlier this year).

For those who want their good news and bad news briefing in a video or presentation format, both options are provided below (SlideShare presentation and YouTube video). Please note that my original article contains seven examples of strategies that work and seven approaches to avoid — the video and presentation versions (as well as this condensed summary) omit a few examples in the interest of brevity.

Content Marketing Strategies That Work (and Some That Don’t) from Stephen Bush

Five Examples of the Best Content Marketing Methods

Here are five illustrations of content writing strategies that work:

Customer-Centric Content Marketing
Educational Content
Thinking Outside of the Blog
Enhancing Content Research and Communication
Personally Created and Original Textual Images

Including one or more personally created textual images is a prudent strategy for multiple reasons such as these: (1) A textual image provides valuable and concise information for visual thinkers as well as readers who increasingly scan articles instead of reading from start to finish. (2) A personalized and customized textual image facilitates targeted communication by including short phrases that are directly relevant to the content of the article. (3) Emphasizing the practice of using original textual images helps to minimize the inclusion of non-original stock photos. (4) Some search engines appear to penalize content with duplicate images and reward content with original images. (5) With proper planning and design, textual images provide another method to communicate with prospective consumers and busy readers. Lee Iacocca’s ageless business wisdom might be helpful to reinforce the value of this particular benefit --

“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.”

Five Examples of the Worst Content Writing Strategies

Some approaches to content writing are especially ineffective in making a positive impression with potential buyers of products and services. Five of the worst methods are the following:

Recurring Use of Non-Original Images
Blog Networks
Traditional Press Releases
B2B and Other Strategies Without a Personal Touch
Developing Content by Using the Lowest Bidder

For those who are unfamiliar with the potential problems created by using a low-bidder mentality, I will illustrate how the concept works on freelancing websites. If a business owner, corporate executive or marketing agency wants to create a series of articles in support of a company’s marketing strategy, one way to proceed is to search for a freelance business writer to complete the project. By listing the project on a freelancing website, the hiring individual can then select from among competing proposals and bids. It is not unusual for content managers to select either the lowest bid or one slightly higher in an effort to keep costs as low as possible.

On the other hand, many of the best writers frequently submit bids that are much higher than the low-bidding competition. For example, I am frequently among the highest bidders for many successful projects. In a recent article, I spoke about the limitations of selecting the lowest bidder to produce content designed to help consumers make a buying decision: “The potential for problems is often increased when business writing is outsourced to a ‘low bidder’ from a crowdsourcing website. Customers seeking educational content have high expectations — is it reasonable to expect that a low-bidder mentality will meet and exceed these expectations?”

The next step:

If you would like to talk before starting a business writing, consulting or career training project with Steve Bush, you can arrange a no-cost preliminary call (15-30 minutes) here:

Schedule a Call with Steve Bush

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Defining Business Rules and Terms of Engagement for B2B, B2C and H2H

3/6/2018

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Since work environments and business development campaigns often involve potential conflict, it seems appropriate to inject terminology usually reserved for military confrontations — rules of engagement. This military concept refers to guidelines for handling provocative actions by opposing forces. In extending the term to business applications, it is my intent to suggest a clearer path for making decisions about everyday issues such as blogs, business proposals, press releases, marketing and planning.

Defining and understanding key constraints and problems is a critical step in formulating workable business rules of engagement. While I could easily devote several thousand words to this thought process, my mission here is to introduce six terms that might be unfamiliar to some:

Zombie Business Problems
Thinking Outside of the Blog
Unsolicited Business Proposals
Textual Images
Customer-Centric Content
The Power of No

More details about each of these business concepts are provided below.

Zombie Problems

Perhaps the best way to explain Zombie Business Problems is by referring to challenges that continue to recur in organizations of all sizes. The “Zombie” descriptor is appropriate because these are problems that keep on coming back to haunt you. Regardless of what you choose to call these challenges, they will typically cause irreparable harm if allowed to continue unabated. Here is a short video that I produced about these special recurring problems:

Think Outside of the Blog

Business blogs continue to be misunderstood and misused by many. I believe that alternative content strategies will pay (much) higher dividends than a traditional blog post. Key examples include extended articles, case studies and white papers. I produced a series of presentations, articles and videos about Thinking Outside of the Blog — here is one of them:

Thinking Outside of the Blog from Stephen Bush

Unsolicited Proposals

Business proposals are traditionally submitted in response to a formal RFP (Request for Proposal) process. But unsolicited proposals are often more effective (and successful) than those that are requested because of less competition and the opportunity to be a standout in the crowd. Instead of only using proposals for RFPs, seize the initiative and submit proposals to prospective clients without either a formal or informal request to do so.

Unique Textual Images

The changing landscape for both online and offline content presents serious challenges because an increasing number of readers scan articles rather than reading everything. While short videos and presentations can be effective in meeting this challenge, another viable alternative involves the use of textual images — showing relevant phrases instead of people or things. Two examples are provided within this article. The first one involves a GIF format that only works for online content; the second example is a collage of five separate textual images that I published. In addition to providing a visual communication opportunity, textual images allow users to include unique visual content rather than duplicate stock photo content.

Content That Is Customer-Centric

The “old-fashioned” way of selling goods and services is known as marketer-centric (also referred to as brand-centric) because marketers were typically in charge and insisted on controlling how and when consumers would receive information. Key examples of this outdated sales process are cold calling and traditional advertising. In contrast, today’s buyers increasingly insist on being in control and at the center of the sales process — hence customer-centric. This is exemplified by inbound marketing processes and educational content that is not promotional.

Using No (and Yes) More Effectively

“No is perhaps the most important and powerful word. Saying No the right way is crucial.” (William Ury)

The ability to use both “no” and “yes” effectively can be a challenge for even skilled negotiators and managers. If you need help in this area, William Ury has written a practical and useful trilogy — The Power of a Positive No, Getting Past No and Getting to Yes.

Two Common Themes for Business Rules of Engagement

The Bottom Line:

H2H (human to human) sales processes are frequently more successful than B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer) sales processes. I consistently see two themes appearing in B2B, B2C and H2H scenarios:

The importance of preventing or minimizing mistakes — especially recurring mistakes.
The ongoing value of contingency planning — Always Have a Plan B.

The next step:

If you would like to talk before starting a business writing, consulting or career training project with Steve Bush, you can arrange a no-cost preliminary call (15-30 minutes) here:

Schedule a Call with Steve Bush

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Commercial and Residential Pest Solutions

9/15/2017

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Non-Toxic Methods: Mosquitoes, Bed Bugs, Termites, Ants, Ticks, Flies and Fleas

Are you looking for successful and eco-safe ways of dealing with mosquitoes, fleas, bed bugs and other common pests? If you truly insist on “success’ and “non-toxic” as your primary criteria, you will probably end up with a very short list of viable candidates. My personal finding is that scientifically formulated cedar oil products belong on this short list — but unfortunately in taking this route you will need to avoid some “pretenders” and “cost cutters” when making your final cedar oil product selection.

Flood waters and high temperatures can produce an ideal environment for many pests, but even routine weather can be conducive to a burgeoning pest presence. Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma produced multiple impacts that were felt immediately by both commercial real estate and residential property owners and renters. However, some of the most complex challenges will appear a few days and weeks after initial storm damage in the form of increased pest populations that include mosquitoes, ants, flies and termites. While there are many “traditional” pest solutions for these ongoing problems faced by real estate owners everywhere, most of these annoying and dangerous pests have been able to outwit a high percentage of the pest control strategies.

Multiple Strategies for Handling Fleamageddon and Other Pest Problems

Many of us probably limp along with less-than-satisfactory pest solutions — until the problem becomes overwhelming. For example, the most recent winter in Ohio was so mild that it contributed to a larger population of fleas during the following spring and summer. Our “normal” approach of using Frontline Combo for both cats and dogs seemed to have little or no impact this year. For a detailed overview of our response, I suggest that you read my wife’s recent accounting of our experience — A Multi-Pronged Approach for Fending Off Fleamageddon.

As Blythe notes, pest control for fleas or anything else is rarely a straightforward “one and done” activity. Almost always, genuine success usually involves multiple strategies and actions taken to cure what ails you. I strongly urge you to do your own research (as I did) before going down a new path. For example, in reviewing the viability of cedar oil as a non-toxic alternative for killing fleas, I discovered some controversies a few years ago about the claims made for reducing bed bug problems with cedar oil. In my opinion, the bulk of the controversy was spawned by chemical manufacturers and professional pest control companies that did not want their current and potential customers to discover an effective non-chemical approach to the problem.

Fast-forward to today and I believe the biggest current challenges with cedar oil for successful pest management are threefold:

The “other ingredients” in cedar oil sprays such as silica hydrate (aka hydrated silica)
The source of the cedar oil and subsequent fractionating
The amount of cedar oil used in a spray formula

Cedarcide and Cedar Oil

Several cedar oil marketers have stopped using silica hydrate altogether because of “supply issues” — the real reason appears to be one based on reducing their costs while still charging the same (or more) for their product. Cedarcide ultimately found (with about 20 years of research) that the Texas Red Cedar (just one of more than 300 cedar tree species) was the “winner” in cedar oil sourcing — but only by also modifying and fractionating the cedar oil. As a direct result of the scientific sourcing and modifications, Cedarcide spray is safe to use on cats and kittens. Cedarcide fractionates the cedar oil to remove toxic ingredients such as terpenes and phenols that can be dangerous for small mammals.

The Cedarcide original spray continues to contain 10% cedar oil and 90% silica hydrate while the much cheaper Cedarcide D.A.S. (domestic animal spray) uses a 3% cedar oil and 97% ethyl lactate and water formula. With our own fleamageddon, we ultimately used both versions in addition to the Cedarcide patented flea and tick pet brush — I strongly endorse all three Cedarcide products based on our recent personal experience with fleas, and the company has many more pest solutions to consider for dealing with fleas as well as mosquitoes, bed bugs, termites, ants and ticks.

As noted above, pest control involving fleas and other pests is likely to be more successful when applying multiple solutions. As I reiterate throughout the AEX Commercial Financing Group website, “Always Have a Plan B.” With our first-hand indoor flea experience, the use of Cedarcide, both a flea brush and flea comb, flea traps (with light bulbs) and a top-notch vacuum cleaner (the Miele C3 cat and dog canister vacuum) each contributed to our final success. But we will need to be vigilant in coming months and years as well! As a favorite quote from “Galaxy Quest” suggests, “Never give up! Never surrender!” And never forget Plan B, C and beyond for lasting success with pest solutions.

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AEX Commercial Financing Group does not accept paid advertising, links or sponsored content on this website. AEX and Stephen Bush may earn revenue based on business relationships with partners.

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Making Better and More Informed Choices: To Avoid or Use?

5/26/2017

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Food (and Water) for Thought

I want to share four observations about common components often involved when taking personal healthcare supplements — I strongly believe the following ingredients should be avoided whenever possible:

Number 1 to avoid: Stearates in all forms
Number 2 to avoid: Maltodextrin
Number 3 to avoid: Strontium in higher doses
Number 4 to avoid: Fluoridated water

Here is a more detailed summary of my findings:

1 — Stearic acid and other close relatives

Magnesium stearate (and its many variations such as stearic acid and vegetable stearates) continues to be used in far too many supplements. In our own household, we were using approximately 10 different supplements with this highly suspect ingredient at one point. There are additional unworthy ingredients in many supplements — key examples are carrageenan, dioxides, laurates and sulfates. A number of commercial concoctions contain multiple culprits. For example, Allegra 24-hour tablets have silicon dioxide, magnesium stearate and titanium dioxide; Dr. Tobias multi-vitamins have vegetable stearic acid and vegetable magnesium stearate. After much research, I have personally decided to focus on manufacturers that take the “high road” — one prominent illustration is NutriGold with a highly principled stand concerning magnesium stearate and similar ingredients. However, some of the attempts to avoid these questionable components are likely to be much harder than others. To mention just one frustrating experience, seemingly all of the readily available tablet or capsule alternatives to Allegra tablets have at least one (and frequently more) problematic ingredient. My own solution to reduce congestion and allergy symptoms (developed with the involvement of my ENT specialist) involves Flonase Sensimist. This is a 24-hour product (since February 2017, available over-the-counter without a prescription) that is both alcohol-free and scent-free — an important consideration for anyone who dislikes the often objectionable fragrance of regular Flonase sprays.

2 — Maltodextrin regardless of the source (but it comes from corn more often than not)

Avoiding maltodextrin is also advisable with both supplements and foods. This ingredient is often derived from corn but can also be produced from other starches such as rice, potato and wheat. If you haven’t already noticed, the corn industry has an almost infinite number of corn-related ingredients that have made their way into our foods. For example, in Multigrain Cheerios, you will find whole grain corn, corn bran and corn starch. In other products, corn variations can include citric acid, confectioner’s sugar, sorbitol, corn flour, monosodium glutamate, corn oil, diglycerides, corn meal, corn fructose, dextrose, dextrin, malt and fructose. Even if you’re not allergic to corn, the sturdiest body can begin to rebel from an internal assault due to the numerous and common variations of corn. For example, many versions of vitamin C supplements use ascorbic acid as the source of vitamin C — the source of ascorbic acid is typically either GMO or non-GMO corn. Viable vitamin C solutions that do not include corn are offered by responsible supplement providers such as Garden of Life.

3 — High doses of strontium

Strontium is simply not the helpful ingredient that many of us probably thought — I know that I was initially fooled. While it continues to be acceptable to take in small doses incorporated in some organic plant calcium supplements, larger doses included in most strontium supplements appear to be problematic at best — make sure you do your own strontium research before continuing or starting supplements that have more than nominal amounts of strontium.

4 — Fluoride in your water

For those convinced that all fluoride is a good thing, please think again and examine the issue more closely. A suggested starting point is a discussion of 50 reasons why fluoridation should be avoided by most of us. As for practical solutions, I advocate reverse osmosis for all who are financially willing and able to spend a little to avoid a potentially big problem — for about $20 per month in many cases.

Food (and water) for thought? My hope is that the observations above will at least serve as a starting point for further review and consideration.

Avoidable Risks in Supplements

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Avoiding Fees of 20% (and Higher) with Upwork and Other Freelancing Websites

5/6/2016

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The Wisdom of Avoiding Crowdsourcing and Freelancing Websites

I have some bad news for both companies trying to hire freelancers online as well as freelance consultants seeking to land assignments online via crowdsourcing sites. While the bad news about freelancing and crowdsourcing is indeed complicated, I will limit my primary bad news observations to two leading issues.

First, the cost of doing business on the internet is rapidly spinning out of control — as a prime example, the over-hyped idea of saving time and money by hiring and working online is being smothered by greedy online companies whose fees now typically range from 20 per cent to 40 per cent (with some sites even higher) of total project costs.

Second, there is little more than a token amount of quality control on the labor crowdsourcing sites — this is a logical outcome whenever a “low bidder” mentality prevails, and there should be little surprise that freelancing and crowdsourcing websites are rarely known for facilitating high-quality results. In addition to unhappy clients, a race to find the lowest bid also places competing consultants in an unhappy place through an involuntary “guilt by association” with thousands of freelancers who are typically lacking any semblance of a professional commitment to high quality standards. What could possibly go wrong?

Crowdsourcing — When Was It Ever a Good Idea?

Well, it must be admitted that crowdsourcing did allow a new group of internet companies to thrive at least temporarily. In the spirit of the first horses to reach the watering hole getting to drink as much as they can handle, many crowdsourcing pioneers have raised millions of dollars from both investors and clients — but were the results positive for hiring companies and freelancers?

The term “crowdsourcing” was created by combining two concepts — crowds and outsourcing. The most anonymous version of the crowdsourcing model is possibly represented by MTurk — or Amazon Mechanical Turk. However, most of the online freelance websites operate under the similar premise of assembling an online network that prospective employers can quickly access for a wide variety of consulting assignments ranging from business writing to web development, engineering, graphics and business training. Popular crowdsourcing sites include Freelancer, Guru and Upwork. Within specialized areas such as business writing, there are also crowdsourcing venues like WriterAccess and TextBroker.

The Upwork Example — Recently Raised Fees from 8.75% to 20%

Upwork was created by the 2014 merger of Elance and oDesk. At the time of the merger, Elance charged 8.75 per cent of each project’s total cost as their standard fee for putting hiring companies and freelancers together for each assignment — while oDesk charged 10 per cent. The new company chose to eliminate both the Elance and oDesk brands and relaunched as Upwork during 2015 and initially adopted the higher oDesk fee of 10 per cent. In an astounding development during early May 2016, Upwork announced that they were doubling the standard fee from 10 per cent to 20 per cent for the first $500 of each new project. While Upwork’s fees above $500 will be “only” 10 per cent until a $10,000 threshold is passed (and then 5 per cent), this 100 per cent increase in fees will immediately double the costs for both small businesses and freelancers using Upwork (since a high percentage of Upwork assignments are for less than $500). Apparently because a doubling of fees would still not produce enough revenues for the newly formed Upwork, the May 2016 announcement also reflected the intention of Upwork to pass along their credit card processing costs to clients (2.75 per cent of each transaction).

This striking development by Upwork should serve as a clear warning sign that everything is not as healthy with crowdsourcing operations as the crowdsource companies would like for everyone to believe. It is truly a “Buyer Beware” moment — can you think of any similar pricing changes for offline enterprises that were actually in the best interest of the company’s clients?

business writing and business consulting

Doing Business the Old-Fashioned Way

The Good News — Back to Doing Business the “Old-Fashioned” Way?

I consider the good news from recent exorbitant price increases by Upwork and other online crowdsourcing companies to be the solid momentum provided to resuming previous ways of doing business in cases like this. As much as internet entrepreneurs don’t want to hear it, the online environment does not provide a “better solution” for everything imaginable. In the face of ever-increasing fees and low-quality work by crowdsourcing businesses, is it really such a bad idea to revert to “old-fashioned” techniques like one-to-one communication with real people instead of anonymous workers?

In other words, the practical alternative to working with anonymous people on a crowdsourcing site is to actually talk to them first and continue this old-fashioned solution throughout the process of working with them. By the way, I continue to make myself available to individuals and businesses of all sizes without any “hiring fees” or “project fees” — my areas of specialization are business writing, career training and business consulting. However, please don’t expect me to be the “low bidder” when working with me, as I am frequently among the highest bidders for many successful projects.

Please feel free to contact me directly. My contact details are provided in the footer portion of this page — or send me an email via the “Contact” page.

Saving Money While Improving Quality

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