Best Marketing Stories of December 2015

I wanted to share with you the best marketing stories of December 2015. This is a new series I'm starting (last month was the first one), with the hope that I can collect the best marketing articles so that you don't have to do the hard work.

Now, I understand, this is a near-impossible–if not completely–impossible undertaking, as I can't read everything. But I've been in this game long enough to know who the respectable parties are and they are the sites I visit first and foremost and the bulk of the content I “roundup” here will come from a handful of trusted players.

And don't worry – I'll keep you from reading the crap in the internet marketing world. God knows there's a lot of it. And there are more than a few shady characters.

Without further adieu, here are the best marketing stories I found in December 2015.

16-Step Checklist for the Perfect Blog Post

John Jantsch over at Duct Tape Marketing wrote a great post on the elements you need to check off when publishing blog posts.

I've often thought about doing this, and I do have one for myself, but man, it keeps changing.

Anyway, here are just a few of the items that you may neglect:

Don't forget the hook – that first sentence in your first paragraph. Make sure it's an attention-keeper (your “headline” or title is what gets readers interested in reading more). Your “hook” keeps them reading.
Image Alt attribute – often forgotten, these tell the search engines what an image is about. A must-do for SEO purposes!
Links – both onsite and offsite. Remember, you are a provider of value. If you can link to relevant content on your own site, great. But if there's better stuff off your site, link to it anyway. You own it to your readers to give them the best information possible.

For the other 13 items, click here.

Source: http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/perfect-blog-post/

5 Little Words That Can Help You Achieve ANYTHING

This is so true!

My 10-year old is a smart, athletic, thoughtful dude. But he suffers from anxiety. When we cross a bridge, he tells us he's scared. He doesn't like rollercoasters. He gets flummoxed in big crowds. Hates heights.

But you know what? He challenges his fears all.the.time. Why?

Because he knows, “I can do that, too.”

I told him a long time ago–and I keep reiterating and reinforcing it–that I have been able to do things that frightened me because I rationalized (yes!) to myself that if that guy can do it, so can I.

Derrick Halperin over at Social Triggers tells a similar story.

And that’s when I realized the problem.

In both of those instances, I believed in myself. I saw someone doing something I was interested in, and I thought to myself, “I can do that too,” and I did it.

It’s almost as if those 5 little words held some kind of magical powers.

“I can do that too!”

But for some reason, “I can do that too,” wasn’t working for me anymore.

Read the rest here. I love it!

Source: http://socialtriggers.com/5-little-words-magic/

How to Set Up a Google Hangout On Air Using Google Plus & YouTube

Google is great. It's also a pain in the ass. Why the yin-yang, love-hate for Google? Because it changes so much, so often.

A couple of years ago, I tried Google Hangouts and loved them. Then I jumped on board with Google+. And the integrations with Hangouts and YouTube–while not perfect–were pretty damned cool.

Then things changed. G+ went to hell in a handbasket. YouTube went sideways. And Hangouts got goofy.

So I endeavored to figure out how to make the 3 work together again. And this is what I came up with. Currently, I'm using this for myself and special clients.

But you don't need to pay me to do this — you just need to follow the steps. Read the whole post here.

Source: http://internet-marketing-muscle.com/how-to-set-up-a-google-hangout-on-air-using-google-plus-and-youtube/

300+ Words that Add Impact to Your Writing

355-power-words — *355 words that will add pizazz to your writing*

I love posts that share how-to stuff and “recipes.” This one comes from SumoMe and it's all about “power words.” You know, words the evoke an emotional response:

[su_row]
[su_column size=”1/2″]

How about this for LUST?

Seductive
Naked
Forbidden
Tantalizing
Irresistible
Decadent

[/su_column]
[su_column size=”1/2″]

Or Savagery?

Uncontrollable
Vicious
Menacing
Poison
Lunatic
Frenzy

[/su_column]
[/su_row]

Great words, right? Don't be surprised if you see some of them in my writing 🙂

Source: https://sumome.com/stories/power-words

How to Build a Booming Facebook Group

how-to-build-facebook-group — *Building a Booming Facebook page can add $$$ to your bottom line*

I love how-to articles that also tell why. Like, why would I want to build a ginormous Facebook group? What's in it for me? How do I benefit?

Well, this story over at MOZ tells why and how. Can't beat that…

Did you know?

Group updates send notifications to members. Pages suck at that. (And remember when we were all told to build Facebook pages? Dang.)
Groups have more organic “reach” than Pages. Again, dang.
Owning a quality Group is a bargaining chip. Wow. Pretty encouraging, right?

And then Ryan Stewart tells you how to build a booming Facebook group. This one is a doozy.

Read the whole thing here.

Source: https://moz.com/blog/how-to-build-a-facebook-group

Speed Roundup

Here are some marketing articles that were really good, too. Listed without editorial comments because this is the Speed Roundup.

That's it for the best marketing stories of December 2015. Look for another Best Marketing Stories Roundup at the beginning of February. Stay tuned.