The Tip Jar is a weekly inbound marketing tip that is only available to subscribers. This week’s tip jar is a list of the top 5 articles of 2012.
Tip Jar: Best of 2012
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#5 – Inbound Marketing Lessons from the PitchMen
This article did not make the top 5 in terms of traffic but I included it as the Editor’s Choice of 2012. This was my favorite blog post of the entire year and I hope you take a few minutes to read it. I was a huge fan of the show Pitch Men, which followed (the late) Billy Mayes and Anthony Sullivan as they selected products they would pitch and then crafted the marketing messages and delivered the pitches. I consider this show to be an Encyclopedia Brittanica for marketers.
#4 – 10 Inbound Marketing Questions to Ask Your Web Designer
If you’ve decided to engage a company to provide a quote for a website design (or redesign), you should make sure you’re not practicing partial inbound marketing. These questions will help you determine whether or not their proposal has any holes in it.
#3 – The Critical Question Business Owners Should Ask Their SEO Consultant
If you have hired or are planning to hire a SEO consultant, this article will give you the one magic question you need to ask them in order to make sure they’re delivering the right services for your business.
#2 – Power Nazi Misses a Golden Marketing Opportunity?
This article was a reaction from a Tweet I saw during a massive power outage in Maryland following a powerful summer storm. A Barnes and Noble store missed a golden opportunity to treat its customers like human beings.
#1 – Social Media Marketing Trends in Small Business
In September, Vocus published Path to Influence: An Industry Study of SMBs and Social Media. The picture painted by this data is one that includes success, optimism, frustration and rookie mistakes.
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Reading List
Business Blogging 101: How to Write
The fifth entry in my Business Blogging series reveals my three-step process for getting people to read your blog posts. When it comes to content marketing, how you write is at least as important as what you write.
An Updated Guide to Google Webmaster Tools
(via SEOMoz) Google Webmaster Tools was once Google Webmaster Wasteland. But the past year has been a fruitful one as Webmaster Tools has rolled out improvements faster than Facebook does new privacy statements.
Only 5% Of News Publishers Use The Google News Keywords Meta Tag
(via Search Engine Land) Just over three months ago, Google launched the news keyword meta tag designed to let news publishers have a better chance of ranking for words they might not have included in their headlines. Adoption rate so far? Only about 5% of the sources within Google News use the tag, according to new data provided by Blekko.
