Author: themuse.com

It kind of has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Making $100K has a sort of mythical quality to it. It feels like once you break that six-figure threshold, you’ve made it. It’s the kind of success that’s not just subjective, it’s objective. No one would dare call you a slacker if you’re raking in that kind of dough.

But how do you actually get to $100K? I mean, that’s a lot of money. Especially if you’re currently making half that (or less). People do it all the time, but it doesn’t seem like anyone ever tells you how.

Here’s some great news: In the tech world, $100K is a pretty “normal” salary for a lot of specific careers.

Developers, analysts, designers, and even marketers often break that six-figure mark without spending 20 years on the job. And as a freelancer or startup founder especially, you can get there quicker than you might think.

Here are 16 secrets to earning $100K that you can start acting on now.

1. You Have to Have In-demand Skills

Is this one a given? Let’s face it—it’s great to want to make $100,000 doing what you love. But that doesn’t make it realistic. Unless you’re going to crush it as a freelancer this year, you have to have skills that are in-demand enough to warrant earning that kind of money at work.

 

Read More at themuse.com

Author: contentmarketinginstitute.com

I’m beyond excited to announce that Content Marketing Institute has been acquired by UBM. For those of you not familiar with UBM, they are the No. 1 B2B events organizer in the U.S. and Asia, with a large business globally in many verticals. After many discussions with the executive team at UBM, it was clear that both UBM and CMI share the same passion for the content marketing industry and its growing community.

CMI and Content Marketing World will become part of UBM’s technology events group and it is an exciting expansion for UBM into the fast-growth world of content marketing and marketing technology. This decision will help us at CMI take our vision of advancing the approach of content marketing to more marketers in the U.S. and around the world.

If you are reading this, you are probably thinking “is this a good thing?” It’s a valid question. Acquisitions are sometimes good and sometimes bad. In this case, this is a very good thing for both CMI and the industry. Long story short, we are ready to expand and grow to continue our mission of education, training, and serving the content marketing community.

 

Read More at contentmarketinginstitute.com

Author: Derek Miller

Content has quickly become one of the most popular marketing tools for companies to invest in. An effective content strategy can generate better search rankings, higher traffic and onsite engagement and ultimately, more sales.

The main issue now, is that many companies are throwing money into content without proper research, a clear strategy and measurable expectations. So how can you use content to generate more sales? These four tips will help you get on the right track.

Before we start looking at how to use content to increase sales, we need to understand the landscape of sales in today’s society. Sales professional, Dr. Shane Smith says:

“There is a focus now more on the customer and their needs as opposed to the old style of trying to sell everything to everyone. This new thinking encourages the company to learn what the customer wants/needs first and then produce and deliver it to them.”

Essentially, we have moved from a brand-centric sales environment to a customer-centric one, that requires clear understanding of customer needs. This is a critical first step. Before you can ever begin a content strategy, you need to first collect information from your customers. Here are four questions that you should consider before moving on to developing your content strategy. Keep in mind, the more research you invest on the front-end, the better chance your strategy has at succeeding.

 

Read More at entrepreneur.com

Author: spoonagency.com

Thirty percent of US marketing professionals who use content marketing consider it ineffective. That’s a frightening figure. At the same time it is easy to identify – and repair – the errors they are making.

Those who have flicked through the Content Marketing Institute’s latest report, “B2B Content Marketing: 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends – North America”, have reason to be worried. Some of the figures presented there are troubling. Among other points, 30 per cent of the surveyed marketers said that their investment in content marketing is not effective. This would be possible to take as proof that content marketing is not working. Yet if you read a little more closely, you understand that is not the case.

How to succeed with Content Marketing

In the 2014 report by the Content Marketing Institute, 38 per cent of respondents said that they were effective in their work with Content Marketing. The figure this year has fallen to 30 per cent. This year’s report clearly shows why this is so. Who is it that considers their work to be ineffective, and what errors are they making? The report presents several areas where successful marketers differ dramatically from those who fail. Here are three points that make you more effective.

 

Read More at spoonagency.com

Author: Justin Wise

Are you looking for creative ways to spread the word about your Facebook page?

Your fan page can be one of your organization’s richest sources of interaction, R&D; and lead generation. The only problem is making people aware of it!

Unless you have a built-in audience like big-boy brands Coke or Red Bull, you’ll need to educate your fan base on how to find you on Facebook.

To help you out, I’ve put together a list of 20 different ways to promote your Facebook page. Even if you only put a few of these ideas into action, you’ll start seeing growth and increased conversation on your fan page.

Are you ready? Let’s get started.

#1: Put your fan page URL in your email signature

How many emails do you send per day? Now imagine each email you send is a chance for someone new to find out about your awesome fan page!

This URL goes out on every email I send! Talk about free publicity!

#2: Write a blog post about your new fan page

Give your readers five compelling reasons why they should join your fan page. Don’t beg; just give reasons they’ll benefit.

 

Read More at socialmediaexaminer.com