SmartBug on Tap

Today's 24/7 news cycle has created the need for content. But staff writers can't do it all. They need you. That's where contributed content comes in.  Contributed content is when someone at your company authors an article for publication in a trade publication or mainstream outlet. And, if you follow a few tips, you can pitch your content in a way that increases your chance of being published. Th...

You probably know how important it is to use buyer personas.  But your work doesn't end there. It's actually really important to consider customer personas, negative personas, and micro personas. Each of these personas can be helpful when it comes to increasing the success of your marketing campaigns.  So, on this episode of SmartBug on Tap , I'm talking through how to use each of these three pers...

Lead nurture campaigns can seem a bit tricky. After all, there are a lot of elements, like creating great copy or choosing the right frequency, that you need to get right in order to convert leads. But don't worry — in this episode of SmartBug on Tap I'm sharing my guide to addressing each of those elements to create a great lead nurture campaign.  These are the eight steps you need to follow to c...

If you're already writing SEO-optimized, persona focused content, and if you're publishing that content on a regular basis and creating detailed newsworthy updates that Google's going to love, then the tips I'm going to share with you in this episode of SmartBug on Tap will provide some ideas on where you can go next.  On this show I'm sharing our team's favorite tips to help you refine your conte...

We talk to so many marketers who think their website is a "set and forget" project.  But this could not be further from the truth. Your website is like a living, breathing, organism that needs constant tending.  There are four big mistakes companies often make when they set and forget their website. On today's episode, I'm sharing them with you so you can avoid making them yourself. 

We've all been there. You sit down to write and…nothing. Whether it's a blog post, an e-book, or sometimes even an email, writer's block can affect us all. If you're up against a deadline and just can't get your words down on paper, I have some helpful ideas to get you out of your rut. In this episode of SmartBug on Tap I'm sharing six tips for overcoming writer's block.

Infographics made their splash in 2013. Six years later, they're still popular. That's pretty unusual in the fast-paced, ever-changing market we're used to today. And while infographics have definitely evolved with advances in marketing technology, the same best practices for successful infographic creation — and the same reasons you'd want to create an infographic — still ring true today.   So, w...

Inbound marketers today are armed with a serious amount of data. And that data can be used to help a sales team close deals faster. In this episode of SmartBug on Tap I covered the three main ways I like to approach this challenge: segmentation, personalization, and well crafted lead nurturing campaigns. All three of these tactics will give your leads the "I am a special snowflake" feeling and rea...

I expend a great deal of energy simply trying not to react. See, I've learned the hard way that, if I react, when the dust settles, my reaction didn't properly represent my intentions. It's when I've allowed myself to react quickly that I've regretted my choices. Because, as it turns out, I never actually made any conscious choices at all. So, on this episode of SmartBug on Tap , I want to share w...

Watching a new qualified lead come in is a beautiful thing, because it's a validation of our marketing efforts and our market fit. After all, you can have the best product or service in the world. But if it doesn't solve a real person's problem, good luck selling to anyone. So, with my marketing brain on high alert, the first thing I look for in a lead is its source — what did we do that paved tha...

There's one kind of question that frequently comes up when I'm doing webinars or in-person presentations: What kind of content belongs in each stage of the buyer's journey? In this episode of SmartBug on Tap , I'm talking about what kind of content you should use through each stage of the buyer's journey and how to deliver it from a tactical perspective. This will ultimately help you achieve that...

On today's episode I want to talk about SEO basics.  That's right, we're talking search engine optimization. I've actually found that a lot of people can get a bit confused about the basics of SEO, so today, I'm sharing 4 beginner tips to help you get you started.  

In this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I'm talking about why and how you can use PR to ramp up your content marketing program. Many organizations make the mistake of thinking that a content marketing program fits into the same bucket as public relations. But the thing is, there's more opportunity out there. That's where PR comes in. With that in mind, I want to share three ways you can use public rel...

Marketers typically view e-books as a critical part of their marketing strategy. Yet most marketers don't build or promote the material in ways that really maximize their impact. By not properly promoting their resources, marketers are missing out on potential leads and building influence. In today's episode of SmartBug On Tap, I'm talking about three common e-book issues and how to fix them.

On today's episode of SmartBug on Tap , I'm sharing how you can utilize your marketing team to enable sales. Many people assume sales enablement is strictly a job for sales managers. This is wrong! There's one trick you can use to sell efficiently at a higher velocity rate: your marketing team. Today we're going to take a step back and look at what sales enablement really is. I'll also be sharing...

On today's episode of SmartBug on Tap I'm talking about how you can maximize your trade show marketing efforts by actually incorporating digital strategies. During an era where nearly every marketing innovation is digital, there is still one traditional mainstay I see in B2B marketing — the trade show. But live event marketing campaigns, such as trade shows, are expensive endeavors. How much of th...

Jen Spencer here. On today's episode of SmartBug on Tap we're talking about buyer personas. Specifically, how sales teams can use personas to close more deals. Here's a rundown of what we'll cover. First, we're going back to the basics, reviewing what a buyer persona is and what it is not. Next, I'll review the importance of negative personas. Finally, I'll give you some tips for integrating perso...

While I was working for a SaaS startup, a member of our board once gave some advice for sales and marketing. He said pick one, maybe two bets, and go all-in. It's not in my nature to go all-in, especially when there's a lot at stake, but it's something I'm working on. And this wonderful little thing called data sure does help. On our latest episode of SmartBug on Tap , we discussed the 3 keys to g...

When most of us think of "call recording," we think of sales. But call recordings provide an incredible inside scoop on buyers, one we'd never be able to find through any other type of research. So, why aren't marketers using them? This SmartBug on Tap podcast challenges marketers everywhere to reconsider using call recordings as part of their tool belt.  Jen Spencer shares 3 tactics for incorpora...

We started a podcast about all things marketing. Why? Well, because everyone has a party trick, even our VP of Marketing and Sales at SmartBug Media . Here's her party trick: providing insanely tactical marketing advice. Each episode, Jen Spencer will share truly tactical solutions around all things marketing, such as lead generation, account engagement, brand loyalty, marketing automation… you ge...