Close your eyes … and think about the best. vacation. ever. 

It may have been decades ago when you were a kid and didn’t have to plan a thing. It may have been something you did as a grownup -- when you got to choose the destination, the thread count of the sheets and the color of the drink.

Whatever it was, I’m here to say, (with bell-laden, magical-infused music in the background, a la when door number 3 opens on The Price is Right) “Let’s imagine a vacation to the Content Marketing Resort.” (Yes, I made it up - stay with me here!).

I’ve asked some “travel” experts to help us get there.

Real talk? I’m a huge Project Runway fan. I just spent the last several months blowing through every season Hulu has to offer. In case you don’t know about Project Runway, it’s a punchy reality TV series where up-and-coming designers compete for recognition (and stardom) in the fashion industry. What I love about it is the boot camp-like experience that forces designers to test their mettle. They work up to 20 hours a day and are given nearly impossible challenges. At the end of the day, the fashionable look they created is worn by a model on the catwalk and they sink or swim.

You are the marketing professional. It’s November, and you have a meeting scheduled with the CMO (it’s about time --getting on their calendar is impossible). This is the meeting where you get to explain why your plan is exactly what your organization needs for next year. ​

​Here’s the challenge: Your CMO is hangry (you know, hungry and angry)…for solutions.

Last week was Seattle Startup Week and I had the pleasure of working with a collection of marketing, design and technology professionals to create an engaging marketing track. If you missed it, don't worry.  We've put together a comprehensive list of the abstracts, speakers, decks and resources (where available).   

 I’ve talked before about the importance of cultivating thought leaders (and other types of enthusiastic cheerleaders) when it comes to establishing public trust in your brand. Why? Simply put, it’s because public trust is at a premium. When people are feeling anxiety in every arena of their lives — spending time and energy separating fact from “fake news” —  businesses aren’t immune from the epidemic of trust issues. In 2017, the Edelman Trust Barometer reported that 60% of people would put trust in “a person like themselves.” That means it’s just good business sense for companies to invest more in putting smart, relatable people out in the market to build public trust. For referral-based businesses, that trust  can mean the difference between bringing home the bacon — and finding you’ve got nothing to fry up in the pan.

One hundred milliseconds equals 0.00166667 of a minute. That’s not very long, is it?

It takes a little longer (300 milliseconds) to blink. It’s so fast it barely registers that you’re doing it. But in that nearly imperceptible sliver of time, humans have the ability to take in a surprising amount of information—almost all of it at a subtle, instinctive level. ​

#ContentChat is a weekly Twitter chat focused on all things content marketing. Last week, Erika Heald, Maureen Jann, and a host of other content-minded professionals gathered to discuss attribution and the challenge of measuring how content marketing contributes to reaching business goals.

Attribution. Can you think of another term that evokes such stammering discomfort from so many marketing professionals—all in four short syllables? The ambiguity involved in deciding on an attribution model and measuring its results can feel totally overwhelming—so much so that many organizations end up haphazardly choosing an approach and hoping for the best.

Dear readers: take a look around at your environment (then come back to this post, please!). I’m guessing that for many of you, there’s a bottle of water not too far away. You may be drinking it as you read. Maybe you're in a restaurant or coffee shop, where purchasing a bottle of water is an option, or in a home where the fridge has at least one bottle (or even a case) of the stuff. ​

Bottles of water are everywhere, the fact remains. Many of us reflexively grab one on the way out the door, despite environmental ramifications (buy a reusable one, they're great!).​ ​​Have you ever wondered: what story was told about bottled water that made it so ubiquitous?

I’m facing two big milestones this month.  One that has come and gone and another one is around the corner.  I have been in full-time business for a year as of July 1st and I’m turning 40 as of July 17th.  

Who knew that July would be fraught with so much meaning? Isn’t this supposed to be the happy-go-lucky month where the sun finally comes out in Seattle and it’s semi-acceptable to drink a ice-cold lager at 3 in the afternoon?

Back in May, I was the expert on Erika Heald’s tweetchat #ContentChat about customer personas, and since then I’ve been sharing the highlights of the conversation in a series of blogs. Part 1 was about what you need to know before you start the process of persona development. Part 2 focused on getting to know your customers. In this, the final installment, I’m talking about pulling together all of that work you did to finally create your customer personas. Enjoy!