Time for a quick pop quiz …

What percentage of online shoppers are from the United States?

Better yet, what percentage of online shoppers speak English?

90%? 80%?

Surely at least 75%, right? Nope.

This might shock you, but according to J.P. Morgan — reporting for the Department of Commerce — only 27% of online shoppers speak English.

By neglecting to communicate with the rest of the non English-speaking world, you’re costing yourself a mountain of money.

In South Korea, 99 percent of individuals with internet access shop online.

97 percent of British, Germans, and Japanese are shopping online, too.

The United States can boast only 94 percent of internet users willing to shop online. Not a bad number, but certainly not as good as it gets.

Bottom line: it’s time to take your business global.

Yes, consumerism is global

Americans do spend the most money online.

They may shop with slightly less regularity than their British and Korean friends, but when Americans shop online, they do it in a splendid fashion.

But if you’re selling strictly to the old red, white and blue — regardless of where you’re located, you’re missing out on a huge percent of convertible traffic — especially if you haven’t maximized all of the markets in your own country.

The Swiss and the Koreans are ready to buy. Are you selling to them?

With huge purchases in everything from airline tickets to books, the global market is exploding every year and studies can’t seem to keep up with the growth.

You should be earning more if you have the cultural insight necessary to make the sale work. And that’s a big IF. You have to know how to make other cultures and groups buy what you’re selling.

Some of the biggest buyers of books on the internet are from developing countries — China, Brazil, Vietnam and Egypt — indicating massive growth potential for online retailers that can specifically target these fast-growing markets.
~ Jonathan Carson, President, International, Nielsen Online

If your content has worldwide relevance, it’s time to ditch your laser focus on a single country.

But how can you properly sell to, say, Brazil or China?

Specifically targeting foreign markets is more than finding a native Portuguese speaker to write up some brilliant Brazilian web copy. After all, how will you know if it’s actually brilliant copy or a bunch of keyword stuffed auto-translated garbage?

In all countries, there are intangible elements to cultures that can make or break a sale, and it’s your job to learn those elements, and make them work for you.

Here are some tips to help you get going on your international sales journey …

12 tips for selling effectively to a global audience

Looking beyond your borders? Proceed with caution!

Cultural differences can be subtle. It’s your job as a marketer to figure out the nuances and preferences of the culture you’re going for.

1. Do your research

Read as if you’re moving to the country you’re selling to.

The more you know about South Korean lifestyle, slang, favorites, celebrities, and cultural elements, the easier it will be to make your website a natural fit for the market.

2. Visit the land you’re marketing to

Nothing will help you like a trip to Brazil if you’re trying to sell to Brazilians. Spend a few weeks soaking up the sun and as much of the culture as possible. You might even end up moving to your target country for a period of time. That kind of freedom is one of the great things about owning an internet-based business, after all.

Consider it a reconnaissance mission to gain information on the target. Build up a team of local professionals, and if you have time, sample the night life. It can be one of the perks of business.

3. Learn what’s offensive

If your entire knowledge of U.S. culture came from Two and a Half Men and Howard Stern, you’d have a pretty shaky sense of what is and isn’t appropriate to say to customers.

Slang expressions can be as offensive as they are common. Stay with classy or at least moderately professional speech to stay above the fray.

4. Check out the competition

Don’t give up what you already know works. Do your marketing basics regardless of country.

What’s the competition up to? What slices of the market are they not serving? How can you set yourself apart or make yourself shine by comparison?

5. Learn the language

Obviously if you can pick up fluent Korean (or if you’re already there), you’re going to have an easier time selling to Koreans. Likewise Italians, Egyptians, and Portuguese.

Fortunately you don’t have to become truly fluent — you just need enough to be able to read your own website and check that it makes sense. Keep learning, however, and you’ll enrich your life and your business.

6. Find people to trust

You’re working outside your comfort zone, so find trustworthy freelancers or full-fledged business partners who can help you navigate these new waters.

You can find work associates through referrals, websites, and online communities. The right contacts can help you break into the market as well.

7. Seek out the niches

Jump in with both feet, but don’t plunge into the deep end right away — the wading pool is a better place to start when you’re learning to swim in a new way.

Flex your foreign creative muscle first in a small pond trying to catch a few fish before you start trying to reel in millions. Better to make a tiny mistake noticed by a hundred readers than a huge glaring error in front of ten thousand.

8. Scale your knowledge

As you learn the language and find elements of success within a new culture, use that knowledge to build additional niche sites for that country or population.

Immerse yourself in the new culture there or at home, and build from there. You may build a network of related niche sites, or build your own authoritative hub like Copyblogger.

9. Don’t get overwhelmed

The world is a big place and it’s easy to spread yourself too thin. As you scale, keep honing your focus.

It’s far better to hit just one or a few geographical areas well than to waste time creating shallow, poorly executed sites everywhere that don’t work.

10. Develop a master plan

Build a global plan ahead of time.

What countries should you target? Why? Which niches? How? Edit your plan as you go, but keep your blueprint visible at all times to keep you on track.

11. Stay aware of global trends

We whip through trends at blazing speeds. It’s hard to get ahead of the trends in your hometown, much less in a new country.

Keep your ear to the ground and watch trends so that you can make adjustments to your master plan as necessary.

12. Take advantage of stable markets

If the fast-moving trends make you nervous, skip them.

There’s no rule saying you have to jump into a fast moving river. Stick with something a bit more timeless like fitness, business, or travel. It’s always a great idea to find a unique corner of a well-established market.

Making global work

You don’t need to start from scratch when you’re constructing your master plan for global sales.

Nielsen and other research firms like JP Morgan have already done a lot of the legwork for you:

• Internet consumers from around the globe are buying everything from books to sports memorabilia
• The most popular items sold online include books, clothing, shoes, accessories, videos, DVDs, games, travel, music, electronics, cosmetics, and nutrition items
• Global e-commerce revenues are expected to grow by 19 percent in 2012
• $681 billion was spent globally in 2011 — how much of that did you take home?
• Of that, only $187 billion was spent in the United States, leaving $493 billion for the rest of the global market
• It’s anticipated that global ecommerce spending will grow to $963 billion by 2013
• High-income families shop online most frequently

Inspiring, right?

You’re probably feeling the urge to act quickly. The online world moves fast, and timing is important.

Fortunately, the world is a big place. And there’s still plenty of room for those looking to expand into new markets.

A great time to start an international business

Online shoppers prefer to buy from familiar sites.

60 percent buy from the same site repeatedly. Kudos to you if it’s your site they like.

As Bruce Paul explained,

This shows the importance of capturing the tens of millions of new online shoppers as they make their first purchases on the internet. If shopping sites can capture them early, and create a positive shopping experience, they will likely capture their loyalty and their money.

JP Morgan forecasts that the global ecommerce market will grow at 12.4 percent from 2010 to 2013.

The opportunity is huge, even with new recession fears looming.

If you ask famous economists and business experts, most will tell you that a recession is a great time to start a business. The current global market conditions are making the internet an even more attractive market than ever for consumers looking to save and shop around for the best deal.

Online advertising has grown at 14.5 percent since 2008. In 2011, it shot up by 20.9 percent according to PriceWaterHouseCooper. More companies are joining the party, and this offers more opportunities to marketers and bloggers all over the world.

Stores are looking to be the first and only shop buyers are looking for. If you can position yourself as the ecommerce store they reach first, you’re in a prime position to profit over time. Build an authoritative website through content marketing, dedicated to the interests and culture of a specific country.

It’s time to go global

The global economy is hungry for content, trust, and value.

If you can deliver, you’ll surely profit. Leverage your previous successes by taking those first baby steps out of your comfort zone.

Cultures and perceptions shift in new countries, but the rules of marketing are always the same.

Build an audience, earn their trust, learn what they most want, then sell that to them.

It works every time, regardless of language or location.

About the Author: Uttoran Sen is a travel blogger writing from around the world, inspiring readers to discover new places. Follow him on twitter or join his facebook page to stay connected.

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What if getting big PR and media exposure for your business or idea were no longer out of your reach or budget?

What if you could “inject” your name or brand into a national or international story of your choosing, becoming part of the story yourself?

David Meerman Scott, a veteran PR and marketing expert, has written a book that teaches you how to accomplish that, and more.

Enter Newsjacking, a powerful way to get seen and heard in today’s big media environment…

In this episode, David Meerman Scott and I discuss:

• How a single blog post brought one company $1,000,000 in sales
• How to become a Newsjacker with a blog and Twitter
• What your website must look like in the near future
• Where journalists are desperately looking for content
• 3 Newsjacking case studies you can use right away
• The main goal of Newsjacking and how to achieve it

Hit the flash player below to listen now:

Other listening options:

• Click here to download the mp3 | 29.6 MB | 24:41
• Click here to subscribe via iTunes
• Click here for the RSS feed (non iTunes)
• Click here for the show archive

The Show Notes:

• Internet Marketing for Smart People Course (free)
• Newsjacking: How to Inject your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage
• David Meerman Scott’s blog
• We left the building with Girl Talk …

About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse.

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• Almost everything you wanted to know about content marketing in one post.
• How to thrive in difficult times.
• How to create a social media calendar. And a powerful content marketing plan you can put to use right now.
• Several more smart bits of content marketing goodness.

If you want even more links you can use than the seven we highlight here, follow @copyblogger on Twitter.

This is The Lede …

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[Almost] Everything You Wanted To Know about Content Marketing in One Post
Brackets are mine. Shane Snow has made things easy for the beginning content marketer, and useful for the veteran. To make a start right here would be a wise decision.

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A Simple and Powerful Content Marketing Plan
The headline says it all. If you’re wondering how to actually begin your content marketing efforts, these simple frameworks will get you started. Oh, had articles like this been around in 2005 …

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How to Create a Social Media [or Content Marketing] Editorial Calendar
Ms. Buyer has written invaluable advice on tackling one of the most difficult (and elusive) aspects of content marketing: the editorial calendar. You’ll find tips, tools, and definitions on the other side of this link. Thank her when you get there.

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The Power of Real-Time Content Marketing
David Meerman Scott joined us on the radio show this week to discuss newsjacking. This article is a fascinating follow up to and summation of his strategy that can bring free PR and media exposure to you and your business.

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How to Thrive in Difficult Economic Times
Ben Settle read something 10 years ago that changed his life. It’s a big piece of what carried him through some scary economic times, to becoming a highly-paid expert on email marketing. Mr. Settle’s opinion is that this lesson teaches the most valuable skill a working person can possess.

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Don’t Wait, Pick Yourself Right Now
It wasn’t long ago that this seemed like a futile idea. The gatekeepers were too powerful, the distribution systems locked up, the audience too far away. What’s one thing good content marketing does for you? It allows you to pick yourself.

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97 Ideas for Building a Valuable Content Platform
Mr. Godin wants you to pick yourself. Mr. Brogan offers 97 specific ideas on how to do it.

Did you miss anything on Copyblogger this week?

• Why Google+ is an Inevitable Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy
• 3 Content Marketing Ideas You Should Steal from Coca Cola
• Copyblogger Went Dark for One Day, in Protest of SOPA and PIPA
• Save up to $350 on Search Marketing Expo
• How Great Web Design Grows Your Audience
• How to Newsjack Your Way to Free Media Exposure with David Meerman Scott

About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse. Get him on Twitter or Google+.

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Let’s quickly review: Email marketing works.

In fact, none of the shiny new communication technologies even come close. With more than 188 billion messages sent every day, email is a more important and influential tool for your business than it has ever been.

Email isn’t going anywhere, and we think it’s time you got serious about building your email list.

Our StudioPress division has built the Generate theme for WordPress to help you get that done.

Here’s a quick look at how the Generate theme can help you build your email list …

Build your email list faster

Email list-building can be a time-consuming (and frustrating) endeavor, but one thing remains true, engaged email subscribers are the most likely to respond to your work and your offers. Period.

And it may surprise you to learn that one of the best ways to gain an email subscriber is to simply ask your readers to sign up to your list.

The Generate theme for WordPress lets you ask simply, boldly, and with the benefit to your reader standing unmistakably front and center.

Generate works for you — whether you remember to ask for the opt-in or not — 24 hours a day, elegantly doing the asking for you.

What about mobile readers?

Most of us now read email from our mobile devices, so you’ve got to make sure you have those mobile readers covered.

The Generate theme for WordPress is mobile responsive. That means it automatically adapts for the best viewing layout on mobile devices and tablets, including iPhone and iPad. So your content looks fantastic, no matter which device the visitor is using.

Your content looks great, and your email opt-in stays constant — not missing or hard-to-find, as it can be on some less sophisticated “mobile-ready” sites.

You don’t need to do anything tricky or technical, because mobile responsive design is built in to the Generate theme.

64,449 people take WordPress further with StudioPress

You might be asking, “This sounds cool, but what’s this Genesis thing?”

Our Genesis Framework for WordPress empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress.

With search-optimized code and functions, 44 turn-key designs, and unlimited support, updates, and websites you can build, Mashable calls Genesis the “best of the best” among premium WordPress themes.

Whether you’re a novice or an advanced developer, Genesis provides you with the rock-solid infrastructure to take WordPress places you never thought it could go.

Click here to check out Generate + Genesis right now.

About the Author: Kelton Reid is an independent screenwriter and novelist, as well as a copywriter for Copyblogger Media. Get more from him on Google+.

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The landscape of search and search engine marketing change rapidly.

To keep up, stay ahead, grow your business, and get more (and better) traffic to your site, you need the right help.

Search Marketing Expo is a conference that offers more than 60 cutting-edge sessions (as well as invaluable networking opportunities) covering the search marketing strategies and tactics you’ll need to thrive in 2012 and beyond.

At Search Marketing Expo from February 28th to March 1st, you’ll learn how to:

• Master social media marketing on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and other networks,
• Optimize your site content for better organic search results,
• Expand your skills as a local and mobile advertiser,
• Get the best ROI from pay-per-click search advertising,
• Boost your conversion and increase your sales

Whether you’re a seasoned vet or new to search, own a small business or are employed at a Fortune 500 company, you’ll appreciate the depth and flexibility this comprehensive agenda offers. Click here to see the entire agenda.

As a bonus for Copyblogger readers, use the code smx100copy (case sensitive) and save up to $350 on your All Access ticket when you sign up before January 28th.

To learn more about the Search Marketing Expo, visit http://smxwest.com.

We’re always impressed by the depth of knowledge and expertise represented at SMX, which is why we’re happy to be a media partner for the conference.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is co-founder and CMO of Copyblogger Media. Share your content and copywriting insights with her on twitter.

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Hear that, content marketers?

That is the sound of inevitability.

It’s the sound of you creating a Google+ page for your business and working diligently to build up a network there with content, conversation, and the occasional cat photo.

Goodbye … free time.

Shameless (yet eerily fitting) references to Agent Smith of The Matrix aside, here’s why every online content marketer needs to be building a Google+ network.

I’ll also tell you why Google+ may just become more important than Facebook or Twitter when it comes to deciding where to focus your limited time and effort.

What’s new with Google+

Since I first wrote about Google+ shortly after it launched, the search giant’s “social network” has grown to an estimated 67 million users as of November 2011, closing fast on Twitter’s stated 100 million active users. This kind of growth should put to rest claims that Google+ is dead or dying, and yet isn’t as meteoric as it could be given Google’s huge existing user base.

But the real growth of Google+ could be just ahead.

The main points I stressed in my original article were that Google+ is an excellent content sharing platform, and that the data gleaned from sharing and other activity would have a direct influence on Google’s search results. I said:

Building an audience on Google+ may be the smartest thing you do as a content marketer when it comes to improved search rankings. You still need to understand the language of your audience and reflect it back in your content, but Google will now have direct indications that you’re putting out quality stuff.

As of last week, Google did more with Google+ and search results than I (and most everyone else) expected. Much more.

Google+ is Google … period

Toward the end of last year, it became clear that Google+ was much more than a “social networking product,” like the failed Buzz. So far, Google+ has been significantly integrated with Google Docs, Chrome, Google Reader, Gmail, and YouTube.

Google also redesigned the header across Search, News, Maps, Translate, Gmail and many other Google products to incorporate Google+. In short, Google+ has become the glue that unifies Google’s various offerings into a seamless whole.

As Mike Elgan smartly put it, Google took its various products and turned them into features of Google+, rather than treating Google+ as a standalone social network. But that was just a warm up for what was to come with Google’s bedrock function, search.

Google gets all up in Your World

Last week, Google announced Search, plus Your World, which is the merger of personalized search with social search, including the addition of relevant Google+ results.

In other words, Google search results now more than ever send you to … Google.

You’ll only see the Your World aspects when logged into Google, and not everyone can see them yet (you can also easily turn it off if you want). The Google+ results are drawn from the people you have “circled” in Google+ (and vice versa for others who have circled you).

Search sensei Danny Sullivan calls this the most radical transformation of Google search results ever, and with good reason. According to Google’s algorithmic guru Amit Singhal, Your World takes personalized and social search and combines it into one seamless experience:

The social search algorithm, and the personal search algorithm, and the personalized search algorithm are actually one algorithm now, and we are merging it in a way that is very pleasant and useful.

“Pleasant” and “useful” are open to debate, and there’s plenty of debate happening right now. But the one thing that’s for certain, like it or not, is that content marketers can’t choose to simply ignore Google+ and sleep well at night.

Does Google have you in a stranglehold?

My opening Agent Smith reference makes a little more sense now, huh? Do you feel that metaphorical arm around your neck, with the inevitable sound of the train bearing down on you?

Let’s not get overly dramatic, young Neo.

But it does feel somewhat like a take-it-or-leave it deal. We already knew that participating in Google+ would have some positive impact on our search results, but now it seems as if you have no Google+ presence and your competition does, you might lose existing search traffic going forward.

That’s only the beginning of the drama:

• Twitter issued a statement decrying the preferential treatment for Google+ results over Twitter. Google responded by revealing that it was Twitter, not Google, that chose not to renew the agreement with Google to use Twitter content for real-time search results.
• Jon Mitchell of ReadWriteWeb thinks Google+ is going to mess up the internet, because Google+ posts about his content were outranking the actual content itself when he searched, and this was even before the official announcement of Your World.
• Danny Sullivan points out that Google is violating what made Google so useful in the first place. Search engines provide value by sending you away to the best results, not keeping you trapped within a “sticky” web of their own making, no matter how expansive that web within the Web might be.
• Lee Odden is skeptical about the usefulness of the new socially-integrated results that he’s seen so far, but he nonetheless encourages online marketers to get involved with Google+, build out a quality content presence, and actively participate.
• John Battelle thinks it sucks for the web that Google and Facebook can’t play nice together. But as Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt points out, Facebook purposefully blocks Google, both with technology and terms of service, from indexing Facebook content and putting it on equal ground with Google+ results.
• And the rumblings regarding privacy, antitrust, and FTC action are well underway.

On the plus side, others see this development as inevitable in a good (or at least not evil) way:

• Stephan Shankland of CNET argues that Google had no choice but to make this move. The web is more social than ever, and the primary search engine on the planet must evolve along with the web, with or without the cooperation of Twitter and Facebook.
• John Henshaw of Raven Tools says Google knows exactly what they’re doing with Your World, and it’s not an act of desperation or necessarily devious. He recommends avoiding cheap SEO tricks that Google is already anticipating, and rather immerse yourself in the Google+ social ecosystem while continuing to create great content.
• On the anti-antitrust side, Eric Goldman of the Santa Clara University School of Law points out that when Google+ launched, it was welcomed by many as competition against the massive dominance of Facebook in social networking. Now that Google+ is actually getting competitive, everyone’s getting upset.

The only inevitability is change

Look, I’m as concerned about Google’s dominance and the potential for abuse as anyone. I have been for years, which is why I designed Copyblogger Media so that it would survive (and even thrive) if Google sent us zero traffic.

That said, I like getting targeted search traffic from Google. It doesn’t suck, not one bit.

And let’s face it … I also like Google+. It’s been a great experience to hang out over there the last 6 months or so, and I think it’s clearly superior to Facebook, while providing a truly different environment than our primary social networking / content distribution platform, Twitter.

Regardless of all the other potential issues laid out above, the fact is that we online marketers hate changes like this. But Google is constantly changing, and must change, as the Web itself changes.

Universal search (the last “most radical change ever“) arrived in 2007, and personalized search arrived across the board in 2009. Each time, people wrung hands, gnashed teeth, and wailed hysterically about how everything was different and wrong and awful, and they’re still doing it today.

As content marketers, we really have limited choice when it comes to what Google chooses to do.

One choice is to simply decide that we don’t really need search engine traffic.

Another choice is to observe, adapt, and conquer in ways that make the most sense for our businesses.

My guess is Google’s going to be tweaking things rapidly over the course of the year, rolling out more cool new features, and generally looking to strike a balance that rapidly grows Google+ without becoming cannon fodder for the Justice Department.

Circle me up on Google+ and we’ll observe, adapt, and conquer together.

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Copyblogger Media. Get more from Brian on Google+.

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Joe Pulizzi over at the Content Marketing Institute recently shared a fascinating video presentation from Coca-Cola about their upcoming marketing strategy.

The short version?

Content marketing has arrived.

For more than 100 years, Coca-Cola has been one of the world’s foremost practitioners of what they call “one-way storytelling.”

(You and I call that an ad.)

But Coke — in the form of their brilliant VP of global advertising strategy, Jonathan Mildenhall — is looking around and realizing that the 30-second television ad won’t take them where they want to go next.

To do that, they’re turning to the tool that’s quickly becoming the most important strategy for smaller businesses — content marketing.

For anyone who still thinks that content marketing is some kind of fad, take a look at the thinking (and dollars) going into Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy, aimed at doubling worldwide consumption of Coke by the year 2020.

The videos are compelling, but they’re also packed with advertising jargon that can be about as intelligible as Klingon.

And yet, this is a peek into a great marketing and advertising mind — and there are some juicy strategies we can carry off and implement in the real world.

Here are a few of my favorite ideas from Mildenhall’s presentation.

Idea #1: “Liquid and linked” content

“Liquid and linked” is the phrase Coke’s marketing team is using to describe its developing content strategy.

Understand that a giant company like Coca-Cola creates countless “stories” every year. These “stories” are created by multiple agencies and in multiple formats — a mobile app one day, a viral video another, a really good television ad the third.

Mildenhall describes these stories as being like molecules in a glass of Coke. Each molecule is an individual piece of content, but they’re also bound together. There’s unity there … a content strategy that acts like the “glass,” giving shape to the whole endeavor.

There’s a balance between control — keeping your content “linked” by a coherent idea, and chaos — allowing your content to be “liquid” and to wander around the Net, being shared and even altered along the way.

How you can use it: Make your content good enough, remarkable enough, to be “liquid” — to be shared outside your own circle of influence.

But don’t forget to keep your content “linked” to a strong sense of who you are and what you offer. Viral doesn’t do you any good if it’s not linked to an underlying business strategy and goal.

Idea #2: The 70/20/10 content plan

This is a nice framework for a complex content marketing strategy, but you can also lift it directly for a much simpler program. (Like the kind normal businesses create.)

Mildenhall argues for 70% of the content you create as being “low-risk” — what he calls “bread and butter content.”

Because it’s less controversial, less risky, it also takes proportionally less time.

(Please keep in mind that “bread and butter” doesn’t mean boring or low-quality. It just means that it’s the kind of solid, useful content your audience expects.)

20% of content “innovates off of what works” … it’s more in-depth, it takes more time and energy to create, and it connects more deeply with a well-defined segment ofyour audience. Ideally, of course, that’s a segment that buys your products or services.

The final 10% is what Mildenhall calls “high risk” content. These are brand new ideas — the wild hair stuff that might work … and might fail.

Mildenhall makes the point that it’s this risky 10% where your future 20% and 70% content will come from. Today’s loony idea is tomorrow’s cornerstone content.

This is also the content that will keep you from burning out creatively. It keeps you excited about what you’re doing, and allows you to keep evolving in a fast-moving environment.

How you can use it: Too many content marketers don’t actually know what their 70% content is. What topics and keywords are most important to your readers? What are your audience’s key desires and problems, and how can you speak to them?

20% content takes the 70% and goes deeper. Maybe it’s a special report, or a video series, or a free email course.

Once in awhile, a content idea even evolves into a full-blown product.

And your 10% content is what keeps you sane. It’s content that reaches out to the edges, or comes at your topic in an entirely new way. Your audience might not be there yet, or they might be right there with you. You don’t know until you put it out there.

Idea #3: Content excellence

Content excellence is part of Mildenhall’s official job title, which I think is quite cool.

In his presentation, Mildenhall says,

The role of content excellence is to behave like a ruthless editor, otherwise we risk just creating noise.

Unfortunately, he says this immediately after saying “The development of incremental elements of a brand idea that get dispersed systematically across multiple channels of conversation for the purposes of creating a unified and coordinated brand experience,” proving even the best of us sometimes needs to take our own medicine.

Content excellence is the first rule of Copyblogger.

Too many would-be marketers try to dance over this one.

Without excellence, the time you spend on content marketing will be entirely wasted.

How you can use it: The first thing you need to do is to be honest with yourself. If you can’t create content that’s damned good, you need to either get better or you need to partner with someone who’s got the talent to create content that’s worth your audience’s attention.

How about you?

Those are three of Coca-Cola’s ideas about where content marketing is heading. How about you? Did you find some great strategies of your own in the videos? What are the exciting ideas informing your own marketing — and how are you implementing them?

Let us know in the comments.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is co-founder and CMO of Copyblogger Media. Share your brilliant content marketing ideas with her on twitter.

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How to work from home like you mean it.

How to code like a hacker. In one year. Via email.

The lost art of becoming good at things, and a handful of reasons why you should have your own place on the web.

Follow @copyblogger on Twitter to grab these links (and more) every week.

This is The Lede …

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The Problem with SOPA (And How to Stop It)
Yes, you’ve been seeing stuff on this “SOPA” thing everywhere. Yes, this link also appears at the bottom of this page. If you’re a content creator, it’s time to get on the bus, learn what SOPA is, and make your own decision regarding its importance or lack thereof. Ms. Simone has written an outstanding article that will help you do just that.

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How to Work from Home Like You Mean It
It’s the dream of many — the “freedom” of working from home. For some, it becomes a nightmare of broken productivity, unconscious web surfing, and showerless days. Mr. Purdy offers some great insights into making the most of being a stay-at-home professional.

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10 Hard-Hitting Link Building Tactics
The Lede makes an appearance in Neil Patel’s list, but that’s not why I linked it here. Link building is a foundational function of good SEO, and of therefore supporting your business on the web. Mr. Patel gives you real tactics you can put to use this morning, right after you finish reading The Lede.

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How a Niche Email Newsletter Grew to a Million Subscribers
An incredible story of the use of email marketing to build a business. Email is so simple, and arguably the most powerful of all the social technology tools at our disposal. Are you building your email list? Watch this video and see how Tasting Table built theirs to one million subscribers in just a few years.

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5 Reasons Why Your Business Should Have a Blog
Content marketing is the new advertising, and the best way to do content marketing right now is on the blog you own. Mr. Gardner lays out the most compelling reasons why in this post. For some, this will be elementary, for many, this read will be just what you needed. For all, this post offers a valuable reminder …

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Learn to Code in One Year via Email
Every small business is in the media business now. The media business is largely online. Even if you think you’ve got the best developer in Silicon Valley locked up tight for the next decade, it’s good for everyone to know the basics of how to code. Here’s how to get those basics down in a painless, easily understood series of lessons.

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The Lost Art of Becoming Good at Things
Are you really good at something? Anything? Have you ever worried that maybe you’re spending too much time consuming and not enough time doing? In this Age of Distraction, what would happen if you decided to focus? Mr. Barr takes an intriguing look at what it means to get good.

Did you miss anything on Copyblogger this week?

• A Tested Social Media Success Formula: Talk as Yourself, Not About Yourself
• The 2nd Most Important Element in Copywriting
• The Problem with SOPA (And How to Stop It)
• Download Our Free Guide to the Genesis Design Framework for WordPress
• Steven Pressfield and the Battle for Productivity

About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse.

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We’ve been thinking a lot about new WordPress users lately.

As elegant and simple as it is, WordPress can be a little daunting if you’re just beginning to work with it. The beauty of it though, is that it doesn’t have to be.

So, we’ve been taking some time to think through the big questions people have when they’re just starting out.

What came of it was an indispensible, easy to understand guide for the Genesis Framework for WordPress, compiled and written by Copyblogger Media’s Brian Gardner and our relentless team over at StudioPress.

Whether you’re just getting out of the gate with your Genesis + WordPress website, or you’re already publishing regularly, this easy-to-read distillation of how the Genesis Framework works for you is an invaluable guide for every smart online publisher.

In fact, you should go ahead and grab it even if you don’t own Genesis — it’s a fantastic primer for WordPress too.

The guide is for bloggers, copywriters, consultants, and content marketers who rely on the efficiency, security and scalability of Genesis + WordPress to make their place on the web.

Click here to download the Genesis Guide for Absolute Beginners (PDF) 3.3 MB

With the free guide, you’ll be well on your way to utilizing (and enhancing) the rock-solid security and remarkable SEO capabilities of the Genesis Framework.

With the vast array of out of the box, turn-key designs & options, unlimited support & updates, and as many website domains as you can build on, the new revolution in publishing is getting a lot easier for everyone.

As Darren Rowse puts it “Genesis lets me sleep easy.”

This free guide helps you navigate all the basics:

• An introduction to Frameworks and Child Themes: page 4
• Turn on Auto-Updates for one-click streamlined stability and peace of mind: page 38
• SEO Settings to ensure your content is reaching your audience: page 19
• Install procedures for both beginners and advanced users: page 6
• Understanding how to enable Widgets for extended functionality and efficiency: page 24
• Theme and Navigation settings to style the look and feel of your site: page 11

It’s all in there. Download it, print it, or drop it on your mobile device to keep it handy whenever you need it.

Click here to download the Genesis Guide for Absolute Beginners (PDF) 3.3 MB

Note: This is a “living” document, so as Genesis evolves, so will the guide. Check back from time to time for an updated version.

About the Author: Kelton Reid is an independent screenwriter and novelist, as well as a copywriter for Copyblogger Media. Get more from him on Google+.

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It’s human nature to look for the easy way out.

We dream of the “big break” that will carry us away from our current troubles forever.

Then, along comes a guy like Steven Pressfield.

He’s the type that tells you that this single day is what matters. That money and recognition come and go, but your desk and your work remain.

He’s the type that shatters your illusions about the very nature of work, and the reasons why you do what you do.

And he gives you hope, because the work that you’re doing is actually far more important than you could have believed.

Work is war, and Steven Pressfield has a few thoughts on how to get through it, and how to thrive in it…

In this episode Steven Pressfield and I discuss:

• How to change everything about your work, in a moment
• Lessons from 17 years of struggle and failure
• Why you should approach your work with a warrior mindset
• How Steven “uses” social media
• The key to getting his work done every day
• How to quit screwing around and get serious

Hit the flash player below to listen now:

Other listening options:

• Click here to download the mp3 | 44.6 MB | 37:10
• Click here to subscribe via iTunes
• Click here for the RSS feed (non iTunes)
• Click here for the show archive

The Show Notes:

• Internet Marketing for Smart People Course (free)
• Steven Pressfield on Playing Hurt
• The Most Dangerous Threat to Your Online Marketing Efforts
• We left the building with Girl Talk …

About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse.

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