Social media is essential for your branding, like putting up a sign outside your brick-and-mortar business. The message amplification you get from social media can be rocket fuel for your business. Sponsored posts or earned media — it doesn’t matter. It works either way. Before you jump in, there is one big question you need to answer: Which Continue Reading...
5 Critical Mistakes in Cold Email (And What to Do Instead)
Cold email is one of the easiest, most affordable ways to connect with people and companies. Your message goes straight to their inbox. And if they like your approach, you’ll have the beginnings of a relationship. A well structured outreach campaign can generate 5 or more positive replies for every 100 contacts. But for all the advantages of Continue Reading...
Craft the Perfect Headline
“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” So said the “Father of Advertising,” David Ogilvy. Ogilvy’s mastery of the written word propelled him to the top of the advertising world. Some of his headlines still capture Continue Reading...
State of the Platform: The Easy Way to Create a New Home Page
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsr1Pao9l7U Greetings Rainmakers! Your home page is the "curb appeal" of your site. A fresh, interesting page makes people stop to take a look. If you're not comfortable with web design, creating a home page can seem daunting. In this State of the Platform we show you how to create an appealing home page with Continue Reading...
The MVP Mindset: Does It Work?
How much of a product do you need to launch? None at all, if you ask Joel Gascoigne. The Buffer founder decided to create a tool to schedule his Twitter posts — but when he “launched,” the tool was nothing more than a spark in his mind. “I created a super minimal two page website, without building the product at all,” said Gascoigne in a Continue Reading...
Cornerstone Content that Gets Google’s Attention
Greetings Rainmakers! July was a busy month with the release of our Rainmaker Platform update. August has been just as busy, but we're using our time for something other than updates. We're working on bringing you even better, more topical content and offers that fit your needs. Take a look at this month’s Rainmaker Dispatch. We’ve included Continue Reading...
Social Audio: Streaming’s New Frontier
“David, you’re up,” the host said. I flicked the mute button off on my phone and prepared to speak. I’m an Oklahoma City Thunder fan and moonlight as a salary cap expert. It was NBA draft day and I was on Spotify Greenroom with my friend, reporter Keith Smith. An insider had just dropped the news that the Thunder were going to pick Australian Continue Reading...
Step into the Spotlight as a Podcast Guest
All of us probably have a favorite guest — I’m personally a fan of Bill Burr on Conan or Chris Stapleton’s guest spot on Justin Timberlake’s “Say Something.” A great guest lifts a show from ordinary to extraordinary, adding something the host can’t. You can be that great guest. Even if you have your own podcast, guesting on other podcasts is Continue Reading...
Turn an Album into an Audience with Podcast Curation
Content may be king, but your business podcast is the power behind the throne. It’s like when a band releases an album. All of a sudden there’s a cornerstone piece of “content," creating material for tours, interviews, radio playback and more. Your business podcast can do the same — if you curate it properly. Podcast curation is a powerful Continue Reading...
Go from One-Man Band to Supergroup with Podcast Guests
You can podcast by yourself. But is that the best way to do it? Interview shows are among the most popular podcast formats. They shift some of the burden of the content to guests, create new relationships between the brand and the community, and open the brand up to new audiences. To quote one of Seth Godin’s maxims, “All marketers tell Continue Reading...