As Julian Shapiro points out, the most important characteristic of a successful marketer is curiosity. Do you agree? You have to consider diligence and perseverance. The statement though is if you can only choose one, so we have to agree. Curiosity is the driving the force for a successful marketer. Now having the best traits can only go so far. You also have to get stuff done, so we contacted some highly functional marketers and asked how to stay productive. Here is what we got from the feedback:
How to be a productive marketer
- The First Hour is Key
Do the most important task of the day at the very beginning of your day, without distraction. - Follow Successful People
Pattern yourself after successful people and do what they do. - Don’t Check Email Until After Tickets
Don’t lose focus by getting sucked in to email replies that can wait for later on in the day. - Keep Your Cell Phone Off Until After Tickets
Very few phone calls are urgent, return them later in the day if they were important. - Game Plan Your Next Day
Do you just show up to work with no real plan or strategy? This is a huge mistake and one that will bit you in the ass eventually. With no plan or strategy it is guaranteed you will be checking Facebook, Email, Texting, and Answering Calls.
Nothing is perfect. Nothing will ever be perfect. No time is the perfect time.
Stop waiting, start doing.
The people who wait for perfection get nowhere. Many of my successful friends take imperfect action and without all of the information they could get. Ready, aim, fire is the mantra of the most successful people. They develop an idea and they act.
Quick and concise decision making. No internal arguing and debates.
You have to execute and you have to be willing to fail.
Just like Michael Jordan said in this classic commercial
Hire Slow, Fire Fast
I’ve heard this from more than one person. This is one of the most important aspects of your business if you have employees that you manage. Basically, it’s impossible to build a successful web hosting company on your own. There’s just too much to do. That’s why you need to hire good people.
Hire good people then delegate tasks. This allows you to stay on top of your business. When you start doing tasks that should be reserved for an employee, you are in trouble.
Take the time to ensure that the person you hire will be a good fit. Make sure they share your vision and can be trusted. Do a background check, check references, and do a thorough interview.
At the first signs the employee isn’t working out, cut them loose. You must get rid of people who are holding you back and you need to immediately find someone better. If the person isn’t doing a good job, either based on customer feedback, results, or your own impressions they have to go and someone else better has to be brought in.
How to write better marketing content
One great tip we got was to replace any obscure or complicated words with examples. People tend to love real world examples and they tend to not long complicated words. For example if you say that you are a Pro service that is a little generic. If you say you have made over 100 professional websites it comes off a little more real world.
Written content is closer to visual design than many marketers realize.
Because whether you’re designing a landing page or writing one, both require you to consider user experience so you can improve engagement and conversion rate. They look at the first horizontal line or paragraph before moving down to the next horizontal section.
“Cringeworthy words”: According to research, jargon can make customers distrust your content instantly. Here are a few examples:
Utilize. Never utilize anything in your articles. Always use.
Enables. Say “Drill like a pro,” instead of “Our drill enables you to…”
Very. It’s very tempting to use them, but intensifiers like “really” and “very” add zero value to your content.
“We understand that…” Sounds inauthentic and fills your content with fluff.Content chunking: Breaking up your text in small “chunks” of info with a variety of visual stimuli makes the content easier and more enjoyable to read. That means you should:
Write short paragraphs with spacing.
Write shorter lines of text.
Create clear visual hierarchies—bolded and bigger headings
Place an image after every 200-300 words.
Bold or italicize key words and phrases.
Use bullets or numbered lists.Successful marketers also like to do a quick business break down before creating a plan. They do by asking these questions:
- What are your business’s greatest strengths and weaknesses?
- What are your biggest challenges and opportunities?
- Who are your current customers, and why are they patronizing your business?
- Who are your competitors’ current customers, and why are they patronizing their businesses?
- What changes or new programs would have the greatest potential to boost your sales?
This should help get you enough information to create a plan and stay focused on what will work easiest. People respond best to marketing consistency. The ad text matches what the page text says that they go to, the banners match the colors of the website, and so on.
Allow content to be read quickly
This doesn’t mean you need to finish your posts quickly, but rather create posts that are easy to read, and skimmable. Use bullet points when possible, as well as subheaders and short paragraphs to keep the content flowing and easily digestible.
- Make the content length dependent on the reader. For example how to Tic Toc should be a short article since Tic Toc users like short and to the point content. Where how to be a successful marketer would be a longer read since it would require examples, several topics, and a curious marketer will want as much quality information they can get.
- Use good typography might be more of a website optimization tactic, but readers tend to hate websites that have clusters of text and banners blocking the reading flow
- Light backgrounds make reading easier and clear
- Easy navigation is essential to keep readers happy
- Use lots of images to make reading more fun. How often do you publish infographics on your blog? If you aren’t already doing so, it’s time to consider it. Readers are more likely to read, engage with, and share visually oriented pieces.
- Stay away from too many numbers, well unless your readers are math experts. Numbers can be dull and scare your readers off. Keep the numbers short and sweet.
- Keep it natural. It’s important to be open and honest with your audience. This means coming out from “behind your logo” and letting readers know who works behind the scenes; this humanizes your brand, which makes it more relatable and increases brand loyalty. Your blog will give you the opportunity to express opinions and report news on a more intimate level – people become connected if they feel like they’re engaging with a person rather than a business.
- Have you ever thought about creating a “how to” blog post or one that answers a series of questions? It’s an especially strategic type because it establishes credibility, knowledge, and expertise within a niche.
- Make it a story. You’ve heard it a million times but we have to say it again. Regardless of whether you have a professional or casual tone on your company blog, you should always try to tell a good story. Narratives can keep readers engaged and coming back for more, especially if your stories are packed with useful information.