Neal Schaffer's Blog, page 95

21 LinkedIn Best Practices for Business Professionals to Follow for Success

These days, LinkedIn has lost its position as one of the newest tools for business professionals. However, just because there’s no “cool factor” doesn’t mean that it isn’t important. In fact, LinkedIn is one of the best places to see and be seen in the business world. Employers and employees look for each other, and sales professionals search for decision makers. However, even professionals who work in other capacities need to follow LinkedIn best practices to build their personal brand and thei...

The 17 Most Useful WordPress Tips and Tricks to Blog Like a Pro!

With time comes experience, and this translates into knowledge. Today I’d like to share my accumulated knowledge as it relates to blogging, and specifically to my favorite WordPress tips and tricks. It’s one thing to have great ideas, and another to put those ideas on paper. Over the years, I’ve shared a lot of my wisdom on blogging, including how to pick your niche, keep up with content, and make money. However, I’ve talked much less about the back end of blogging, because it takes less strateg...

7 KPIs To Measure Your Content Marketing Performance

If you’re new to the term ‘content marketing’, it is likely that you might have a vague idea of what it is but are not too sure how it really works. If that’s the case, you’re not alone! Making a content marketing plan and making it work isn’t all that easy. However, with a little time and effort, you can make it really work in your favor. Let’s take a look at content marketing in a bit more detail and explore the 7 KPIs that you should be mindful of to measure your content marketing performance...

What is a LinkedIn LION?

What is a LinkedIn LION? LION, in the LinkedIn world, stands for LinkedIn Open Networker. LIONs are basically open to networking with people that they have never met before, and they can help you be successful on the site because they bridge networks of closed people by finding a potential connection that would have gone ignored otherwise. Open networkers are unique to LinkedIn because of the degree of connections system that it has. If we all follow the standard rule of this social network and ...

9 Types of Blogs That Can Make You Money Today

If you have a lot of things to say, it’s easy to consider writing a blog. After all, blogs are the Internet’s way of letting ordinary people publish their thoughts. All you really need is Internet access and a few tools. But have you thought about the financial aspect of blogging? We bloggers spend a lot of time on our work, and not everything required is free. To that end, let’s look at the types of blogs that make money. Ways Bloggers Make Money Blogging First, it’s important to think about ho...

How Do Influencers Make Money from Social Media?

Make no mistake: the days of social media being nothing but a fun environment to hang out in are over. While many of us can still have lots of fun on social media, it has still become highly commercialized. Early on, advertising in the form of paid social and display ads paid the bills for networks. It still does, for the most part. However, social media has also become a place where influencers make money, often in ways you don’t realize. How do influencers make money? Let’s take a look at thei...

What Branded Content is. What it’s Not. And How to Get it Right

When we become immune to a drug from overuse, doctors either increase the dosage or use an alternative. And in the case of advertising, branded content is that alternative. As our disdain for the endless conveyer belt of advertising infused information grows, brands need an innovative strategy to engage consumers without leaving them feeling sold to. Their chosen approach is a creative technique as old as humankind. Stories. Ones that convey their values and engage our emotions. Advertisers perf...

Top 10 Ways How to Get More Connections on LinkedIn

If you’re trying to figure out how to get more connections on LinkedIn, you’re not alone. Who to connect with on LinkedIn in order to build a network is a question I often get asked. Every time someone sends me a connection request, I always send out a reply thanking them and also asking them to contact me should they ever need any help with LinkedIn. Well, not everyone asks me a question, but by far the question that I get the most is: How to get more connections on LinkedIn? As I have seen my ...

How Much Does Email Marketing REALLY Cost? The 7 Components of Email Marketing Cost

Whether you are a startup about to start with email marketing for the first time, or an established company working out budget allocations, it’s important to understand email marketing cost. After all, it can be easy for us to pay bills and forget where the expenses are going. Unfortunately, this also allows for costs to get out of control. By understanding the costs, we can more easily ensure that we are getting appropriate ROI and make adjustments as needed. An Intro to Email Marketing ROI If ...

What is a Fractional CMO and Why You Might Consider Hiring One

I was recently asked what to call someone who helps multiple companies simultaneously as a marketing strategist and leader. When I replied, “You just described an answer to the question of What is a Fractional CMO,” they said they had never heard of the term. In all honesty, I first heard of the term at a B2B marketing event in Japan, but there are still a lot of people who might have heard of the term without understanding its meaning or have never heard it before. I believe a Fractional CMO, e...