INSIGHTS
Listen up! We have all kinds of opinions about how to do this stuff right. No ranting — we promise.
What Thought Leadership Actually Costs
There’s no clear-cut dollar answer to the thought leadership cost question. But there are guidelines that can help you plan and budget — and that’s what we’re sharing here.
Using the Minto pyramid to start a white paper? Stop right now.
Not long ago, a new client asked if we were familiar with the Minto Pyramid Principle and could we use it to help with the white paper he was planning. Yes, of course, we said. (We’re helpful like that.) But, we added politely, that’s not the right way to start a paper or article.
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Content Marketers
From wrangling creatives to controlling the budget — see what it takes to be a content marketing maestro.
Ghostwriters for thought leadership? Nothing scary about that!
Done right, using a ghostwriter for thought leadership actually mitigates risk for the companies that create it.
Deciding Who Makes Thought Leadership Happen
Take a lesson from Abbott & Costello: When you’re creating thought leadership content, it does matter who’s on first, second, and third.
You really shouldn’t try to fake expertise
Far too often, we find ourselves reading a piece of thought leadership that, had we been locked in a quiet room with access to the Internet and a large bowl of M&Ms, we could probably have written ourselves.
Why Thought Leaders Should Never be Writers
Imagine this: a senior partner has a great idea for an article. She jots down a few thoughts during a break in her client meeting. She writes up that idea on the plane ride back from the client. Done! Published. Posted. Right? Not right.
Where Thought Leadership Ideas Should Come From
There should be broad agreement about what thought leadership is and how it’s created (and, by the way, how it’s used).
Content marketers: still having Groundhog Day moments?
It’s Groundhog Day! Remember the movie of the same name, where Bill Murray, as an arrogant weatherman, is forced to live the same day over and over again? Seems to me that’s often how many marketers experience the development of thought leadership content.