Like it or not, social media gives people a platform for commenting on your products, your service orientation, your pricing, your people, your competitors, your industry, and more. These conversations happen candidly in real time and have the potential of turning into global discussions in the blink of an eye. Ignore these conversations at your peril -- monitoring social media matters now more than it ever has.

Do you remember "The Wide World of Sports"? There was a moment in the opening that is the definition of epic. Every episode began with Jim McKay's iconic monologue on the struggle of sports that peaked with, "The thrill of victory  -- and the agony of defeat" -- complete with sporting imagery to make your heart surge, then immediately cringe in pain. That's email marketing. For marketers, few things feel better than a highly successful email send with astronomical open and click through rates. And fewer things hurt more than an email that results in bounces and unsubscribes. 

In the world of sales and marketing, personas are invaluable tools. Well-made personas can help you to understand your targets' plans, challenges, behaviors and goals. They can help you to recognize that different people have different needs and expectations, and they can also help you to identify with the audience you are trying to have a conversation with. But many marketing and sales pros bypass the creation and usage of personas -- many times simply because they don't have a good idea of where to begin.

As any experienced content marketer can tell you, coming up with fresh ideas for content can be tough. Here are three steps you can follow to generate your next great piece of content for use in your inbound marketing strategy.

The most common offers I see on most websites are “Contact Us” or "Request Info". These typically convert 5% or less of website visitors into leads. Sure, you want all your prospects to talk to sales, but not everyone is ready.

The average time people spend reading an article is 36 seconds. That’s because much of the content available for consumption is ordinary, uninteresting, boring crap. And if we’re not careful, we can easily add to the ever-growing mountain of crap content produced on a daily basis by lazy marketers.

In my last post, I mentioned the concept of shoshin, or beginner's mind. In my jiu-jitsu training, shoshin has proven invaluable, but it has also influenced other areas of my life. Shoshin allows me to approach each endeavor with an empty, open mind -- free of preconceived notions. But how does this help? And how does this apply to marketing strategy?

Our totally awesome intern, Emily, went back to school -- but before she left, she interviewed me. I thought it might be interesting to share. It gives a pretty good snapshot of my approach to sales and marketing.

Miyamoto Musashi was a famous Japanese swordsman who traveled 17th century Japan, engaging in duels and developing his unique two-handed fighting style. In the 1935 epic, Musashi, Eiji Yoshikawa writes about the life of this famous samurai. Although the account is somewhat fictionalized, it is based on Musashi's real-life quest for swordfighting perfection in which he vanquished many skilled opponents and eventually experienced a martial arts enlightenment. It's a great read and I highly recommend it.