Inbound Marketing Blog

Full disclosure: I'm a big fan of WordPress. It's easy-to-use, incredibly flexible, and the price point is right where I like it. (That would be "Free.") Those attributes have made WordPress tremendously popular as a platform, but all that traffic is like a magnet for hackers, thieves, and other malcontents. One of the big dings on WordPress was security. An old joke was, "You're running WordPress? Congratulations. You've been hacked." The good news is that the WordPress core is actually quite secure. The bad news is that there are still plenty of ways that your site and data can be exposed. The better news is that there are plenty of things you can do to reduce your vulnerability.more

If you have ever started a new job you know it can take awhile to feel like one of the team. There are references to specific customers and clients, inside jokes that coworkers make repeatedly, and random nuances to the rules and procedures that take some getting used to. The same adjustment period occurs when joining most new groups or cultures. But if you are lucky, someone reaches out and shows you the ropes. As an agency, we always suggest that our clients blog. Even if we are doing the majority of the blogging, it is always good to have someone writing about the business from the inside. Our clients' staff can always offer a perspective that we can't. With that in mind, I wanted to create a post giving our rogue bloggers out there an inside look at some of the tools being used by longtime content writers. Take a look.more

Website content, blog posts, social media, emails; there are so many avenues that colleges and universities can use to create digital content and communicate with their prospective audiences. This variety can be a blessing and a curse, depending on how you slice it. But either way, it can be a challenge. We asked some of the colleges and universities that we work with what some of their biggest challenges are when it comes to creating digital content and here is what they had to say:more

Join us November 17th! 2016 Inbound Marketing Lunch & Learn Our Lunch & Learn Workshops have been filling up fast! Why? Because they give industry professionals a chance to come together and learn from one another. Join us and explore the challenges you are facing with colleagues and experts alike. If this is something you want to be a part of, sign up for a Lunch & Learn today!more

When I was 7 years old I went to a neighborhood picnic with my family. I was wandering around the dessert table when my mom came over to me and told me I could join the "three-legged race" that would be going on later in the night. Being a competitive little bugger (who would later become a runner) I was sure I would win, so I signed up and awaited glory. I had no idea what a three-legged race was. When I got to the starting line my smirk turned to a look of incredulity as I was strapped to another kid. I backtracked in my mind to see what I had missed. 'Race...I definitely heard race...but....three legs!' It was too late for me to back out now so I took my starting position and prepared myself to drag, shove, and carry the deadweight attached to my ankle across the finish line. I heard the word "go" and took off like a rocket.....I immediately fell to the ground as the weight of my "partner" held me fast. The race was lost on the first step, I knew it, the kid attached to me knew it, my older brother (laughing hysterically) knew it. I embraced defeat as any 7 year-old would, by shouting defiance at the world.more

When you work in a creative industry where you are getting paid for your mind more than anything else, there is a lot of pressure to generate creative, useful ideas every second of every day. If you are anything like me, half of your time is spent blankly staring at the screen, trying to think of the perfect way to say something. So how do you combat these moments? How do you make sure that when you sit down to write, design, or create the ideas are going to be ready to flow?more

By now most people have heard about the controversy surrounding Jared Leto's extensive method acting while on the set of Suicide Squad, gifting cast members with items like live rats and dead pigs. I think we can all agree that the guy took things way too far... that being said, there is something to say about his dedication to the character and role. He used method acting techniques to not just play his part—but live it. Why am I bringing this up? Recently, I have read a lot of blogs focused on how to reach buyer personas through content. A step-by-step list in one of these posts might look something like this: Step 1: Define your target demographics Step 2: What does a day in your buyer's life look like? Step 3: What are your buyer's problems or challenges? Step 4: What are your buyer's goals, problems, and challenges? Step 5: Where do your buyer's hang out? At least online. These blog posts are incredibly valuable (in fact, we have created a few like them), but like so many pieces of content out there, they tell you how to do something without actually...well telling you how to do it. Finding out your buyers goals is an important step to take, but discovering those goals doesn't mean anything if you don't understand why they are there in the first place.more

I am a huge fan of superheroes - Superman, Batman, X-Men; I love them all. So any chance I get to make a superhero analogy I take it, and I think this is one of those chances, so bear with me.more

Join us October 20th! 2016 Inbound Marketing Lunch & Learn Our Lunch & Learn Workshops give industry professionals a chance to come together and learn from one another. Through the discussions and activities that make up a Lunch & Learn presentation, you will be able to pose the questions you have and explore the challenges you are facing with colleagues and experts alike. If this is something you want to be a part of, sign up for a Lunch & Learn today! Class starts October 18th! CREATE & EXECUTE: CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY MINDSCAPE has helped companies generate more leads, more sales and more profit for the past 15 years. Our processes have helped generate well over $1 billion of additional revenue for the clients we’ve served. We are opening our playbook and providing you with access to the processes, tools and thinking which have led to this success. We are excited to announce our 60 Day Create and Execute Program! Case Study Cornerstone University came to us looking to give their website a new look and feel, in the hopes that this would increase site traffic and application rates. To help Cornerstone meet these goals we improved the user experience by restructuring the sitemap and creating new user paths and new landing pages. In year-over-year comparison, of the old site in 2015 to the new site in 2016, Cornerstone saw a: 746% increase in the number of applications received 59% increase application conversion rate 541% increase in organic search visits to the homepage The proof is in the numbers, a better user experience = a better performing website. How to Get More Leads Through Conversion Rate Optimization Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is a system for increasing the percentage of visitors that convert into customers or leads by taking the desired action (like downloading a content offer or filling out a form). Any changes that you think about making to your website to help improve conversions should be informed by user feedback and cold, hard facts like: Bounce rate - percent of people who leave the site after viewing ONLY ONE page Exit rate - percent of people who leave the site after viewing A SPECIFIC page Average time on site - how long a person is on the site during a single session Average page views - how many pages the average visitor goes through before leaving While analyzing the stats is crucial for optimizing your website, at the end of the day it's really all about knowing your target audience (or personas, in Inbound lingo). It's about knowing what they want out of a website experience and what types of content they are most responsive to. To read the rest of this post, visit our blog! David's House Ministries Walkaton At MINDSCAPE we love our clients! We had an amazing opportunity to really get to know one of our newer clients David's House Ministries this past weekend. We were blown away by all the hearts that are touched by the work being done at David's House. In broad terms the ministry provides care and facilities for adults with developmental disabilities and traumatic brain-injuries. But after spending a few hours with the families that attended the walkathon we learned David's House Ministries is so much more! It is peace of mind, a support system and an extended family for 37 residents and their families. If you would like to learn more about David's House Ministries you can request information or schedule a visit. Tell them the MINDSCAPE crew sent you!more

Investing in an Inbound Marketing plan can be a big step, so naturally, it raises a few questions and concerns. I asked our Business Development Manager some of the questions he is asked most frequently when having conversations with potential clients about Inbound Marketing plans.more

My girlfriend likes to test me from time to time. She likes to subtly slip little questions into our everyday conversation to see if I know things. Her favorite color, favorite animal, what kind of ice cream she likes best (trick question, she's lactose intolerant). Over the years, I have gotten pretty good at paying attention to the little stuff and answering these questions without a second thought... but for some reason, I never know what to get her for her birthday.more

Jane owns a small coffee shop in a busy metropolitan area. As a responsible business owner, she is aware of how many people come into her shop, what they order, and if for some reason they leave without ordering anything (something she notices has been happening more often lately).more

more

You have been told time and time again that blogging can help drive traffic to your website, but the problem is, no one ever seems to tell you how to drive traffic to your blog post. And if your blog post isn't receiving views, how is it supposed to help your website?more

more

The world of digital marketing has changed a lot over the last 20 years, and it looks like it is going to keep on changing. It seems like there is always some new piece of technology to try out or forum to explore. So with all this "new," how are you supposed to stay ahead of the marketing curve? What can you do to make sure you stay competitive? Well, we have little advice on that front...more

In the Wild West (or at least how it's portrayed in the movies) the "good guys" wore white cowboy hats and the "bad guys" wore black cowboys hats. But "white hats" and "black hats" aren't just for the Wild West anymore, now they show up in the technology sphere. Recently, the term "black hat" has been used to describe computer hackers, virus creators, and others who perform unethical actions with computers. Some of these unethical actions can include aggressive SEO tactics, like:more

I have a dog named Boon. Our relationship is shaky at best. He barks loudly during designated quiet hours, and I am more likely to say "who's a dumb dumb doggy?" than "you're a good boy, yes you are, yes you are," (He can't tell the difference people, trust me).more

more

more