Coming up with new content to post is the number one challenge for content marketers today. However, have you heard the expressions "mind the store" and "use what you’ve got?" Developing fresh content in your traditional and online content marketing strategy is important, but so is freshening up valuable, existing, evergreen content.

The Internet is flooded with new content everyday, and you don’t want to be just another fish in the online sea. You need to make an impact and create a wave of interest in your professional services brand by implementing a content strategy. Your strategy must include content that properly reflects and represents your firm’s mission and image. Content must also be authentic and worthwhile.

Coming up with new content to post is the number one challenge for content marketers today. However, have you heard the expressions "mind the store" and "use what you’ve got?" Developing fresh content in your traditional and online content marketing strategy is important, but so is freshening up valuable, existing, evergreen content.

Strong client relationships can be summed up in one word: loyalty. Whether you’re fundraising, trying to develop business, providing better services or gaining greater market share, inbound marketing is the method you should use to build strong client relationships and reach your goals. After all, if you spend all your time on outbound marketing and none on inbound, you’re like a doctor who uses bloodletting to cure a headache. The technique may date back farther, but it’s much less effective than modern day solutions.

The average open rate for marketing emails is an abysmal 21 percent. That means four out of five clients are ignoring your attempts to contact them. Why is this happening? And more importantly, how can you give your email marketing messages a boost? Insert the following three qualities into your marketing emails and increase open rates.

What’s the best way to predict the future? Some say it’s to create it. From a business standpoint, that means using analytical information regarding client engagement to help shape the future. That’s how we amassed this list of nine branding trends, which you should incorporate into your 2014 marketing game plan.

To effectively grow your business, without becoming mired in a time sink, your content marketing effort must be guided by a clear strategy. It’s easy to get caught up in the daily rush to create new content and maintain a presence on all social media. Instead, be purposeful. Think focused rather than frantic. Make sure each piece of content is effective, leading to your conversion goals rather than going for quantity and achieving little. Feed the right, high-quality content to your prospects at key points in the sales cycle and you can lead them through to the services agreement. Create content answering objections that each client persona typically has at specific decision points in the sales-nurturing process. Your content should:

If you are in the process of developing your content marketing strategy for the coming year, always remember this effort involves highly strategic, consistent creation (sometimes curation) and distribution of valuable content to attract and keep a targeted audience of clients and prospects. 

As a professional services marketer, you are tirelessly looking for new ways to engage your audiences.  It can get discouraging to perform traditional marketing methods and not know if you are really making a connection.  You attend professional seminars and lectures that cover important points to consider. However, you can’t seem to find the right ingredient that allows you to bridge the gap from concept to emotional connection with your audiences.