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A Deep Dive Into Concept Maps: What They Are and How to Use Them

Content Marketing
October 25, 2024/by
A Deep Dive Into Concept Maps: What They Are and How to Use Them Before Anna and I started contentki, we went to a cafe, pulled out a notepad, and began brainstorming all the services we could offer given our skills and experience. We came up with content writing, SEO optimization, and content strategy. From there we dived even deeper into each category adding SEO blog writing, thought leadership, landing page copy, and social media to our list. I’m glad we took the time to break this down early on, as it gave us a clear sense of who we were right from the start, rather than figuring out our services on the go. The rough sketch in our notebook was what’s professionally known as a concept map. It’s a tool you can use not only when starting a business but also to ideate and thoroughly research new concepts before bringing them to market. Table of Contents What is a concept map? Types of Concept Maps How to Create a Concept Map Creating My Own Concept Map What is a concept map? A concept map is a visual representation, often in the form of a diagram, that shows the relationship between various ideas or concepts. It’s a great tool for structuring and organizing knowledge. It typically includes two elements: Nodes. These represent concepts and come in the shape of circles, ovals,...
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The Power of Silence in Negotiation

Negotiation
October 24, 2024/by
The Power of Silence in Negotiation Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better. A few months ago, on my podcast Nudge, Jonah Berger told me about the power of pausing. The act of pausing seems like a small thing. But recent studies show that pausing can make you more persuasive and can improve outcomes. In this blog, I'll share some of the science behind this phenomenon and how to apply it to your next negotiation. Pausing shows confidence. He shared how highly successful speakers often use a surprising amount of pauses when they talk. Jonah shared this clip from an Obama speech and told me to listen for pauses. You can see the speech here: That clip is just 45 seconds long, yet Obama pauses for one second or more eight times. Jonah says this isn’t by accident. Obama has taught himself to slow down and pause more often. Why? Well, according to Jonah, it makes the former president sound more confident. Jonah has conducted studies that prove this (cited in his book Magic Words). He and his colleagues showed a group of participants a speech recording. 50% of the participants heard the presenter talk without pauses. The other 50% of participants listened to the exact same presentation but with pauses included. The two different groups of participants were then asked what they thought of the speaker, how they rated the content, and how positively...
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The Story Curve: How to Use Storytelling Techniques for Your Marketing

Storytelling
October 24, 2024/by
The Story Curve: How to Use Storytelling Techniques for Your Marketing You can have the best product, the most data, and the biggest advertising budget, but if you can’t tell a compelling story, none of it matters. One of my favorite quotes on storytelling comes from Morgan Housel's book Same as Ever, where he says, “Storytelling is leverage.” It’s such a simple yet powerful idea: no matter how great your marketing plan is, it’s always the best story that wins. Just look at companies like Nike, Apple, Disney, and Dove, whose storytelling has turned products into household names for decades. But how do you craft the types of narratives that emotionally resonate and stick with your audience? In a recent episode of Marketing Against the Grain, I break down Vonnegut’s three story arcs and give brand storytelling examples of how you can apply them to your marketing strategy. I also dig into popular story archetypes and tactics for keeping your brand narrative authentic and compelling. What is a Story Curve and Why is it Important for Marketing? A story curve, also known as a story arc, maps the emotional highs and lows of a narrative. While commonly used by novelists and screenwriters, marketers use story arcs to create content, campaigns, and messaging that engage audiences by tapping into their emotions at key moments. Kurt Vonnegut famously mapped out three of the most popular story arcs: Image Source Vonnegut’s three story curves show how different narratives flow from...
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How to Generate Video Scripts With AI

Artificial Intelligence
October 23, 2024/by
How to Generate Video Scripts With AI I write for a living. While I love allowing creative work space to breathe, grow, and develop, deadlines don‘t allow me the luxury of writer’s block. At some point in the project timeline, I‘ve got to get moving beyond that blank page. It doesn’t happen often, but when I'm really struggling to do this, I'll enlist AI to help me ideate and get the juices flowing. I think in the case of writing something as extensive as a video script, AI should — at least in theory — help speed up the process when you‘ve hit a wall. But the real art is to balance production speed with overall quality. (That’s not always easy!) Hopefully, the process I've outlined for generating video scripts with AI should help you do just that. I get into all that and more below. Table of Contents How to Write Video Scripts With AI Best AI Video Script Generators How to Write Video Scripts With AI Here’s some inside baseball for you: To learn how to get AI to write a video script first-hand, I tested a bunch of tools first. That way, I could show you everything you need to know to use the tech with absolute confidence. Why do I bring this up? Well, the article layout doesn’t reflect this order of events. But I think it’s important for you to know that...
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How An Obsession With Quality Led Emily Kramer to 48k Newsletter Subscribers and Counting

Uncategorized
October 23, 2024/by
How An Obsession With Quality Led Emily Kramer to 48k Newsletter Subscribers and Counting "An obsession with quality" is what I wish 12-year-old me had… but alas, I ended up with boatloads of Forever 21 T-shirts.  As it turns out, quality really does matter. Our master today — Emily Kramer, a marketer, investor, and advisor for B2B growth-stage startups (and MKT1 newsletter creator) — told me her "obsession with quality" is the reason she's been so successful in the newsletter space. (With 48k subscribers and growing.) Want to learn more? Keep reading to learn how the MKT1 newsletter creator "never misses", and her advice for any marketers who are the "first-ish" marketing leaders at their companies.  Why the creator of the MKT1 newsletter "never misses". 1. Be ready to tell leaders what you'll stop, start, and continue.  Kramer has been the "first-ish” marketer four times at companies ranging from 10 to 300 employees, so my first question was an easy one: If you're the first marketer at a company, where the heck should you start?  Kramer told me whether you're a team of one or leading a 200-person marketing department, the answer is the same: Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.  "First, you need to figure out where you can win. Where can you stand out? Where do you have the biggest advantage over competitors? What channels make the most sense for your business?"  This translates to: Stop doomscrolling through TikTok for "inspiration" or convincing yourself a snazzy newsletter giveaway will...
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How Marketers Save Time and Make Data-Backed Decisions with AI Reporting [+ Expert Insights]

Artificial Intelligence
October 23, 2024/by
How Marketers Save Time and Make Data-Backed Decisions with AI Reporting Marketers are often asked to do more with less. I’ve been there too. I’ve battled the constant pressure to juggle multiple campaigns, track their performance, and present insight-packed reports. This process is overwhelming, time-consuming, and riddled with challenges. After years of struggling to prepare reports for my marketing campaigns, I discovered how AI reporting can truly transform the process — and empower creativity with data-backed strategies. In this article, I’ll discuss: Crucial Challenges Marketers Face in Traditional Reporting 5 Key Benefits of AI Reporting for Marketers 4 Applications of AI-Powered Reporting for Marketers My Best Tips to Get Started with AI Reporting Crucial Challenges Marketers Face in Traditional Reporting Throughout my decade-long career in marketing, one of the most significant (and repeated) challenges I’ve had was reporting my work and attributing it to revenue. I’m sure every marketer agrees that traditional reporting methods are complex and time-consuming. Reporting feels like rocket science with so many moving parts. Here are some challenges I've faced and observed in marketing reporting. Tedious data collection. I’ve spent hours (and even days) consolidating, cleaning, and organizing data from different tools to build a report. I realized that a key reason marketers struggle to build a robust reporting setup is due to this inefficient and error-prone process of collecting data manually. Inability to measure...
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9 Best AI Marketing Bots I Use at Work in 2024

Artificial Intelligence
October 23, 2024/by
9 Best AI Marketing Bots I Use at Work in 2024 As a solopreneur, marketing my own business gets pushed to the back burner more times than I care to admit. There are just too many other tasks that require immediate attention. It’s why I’m a big fan of AI marketing bots. Automating certain marketing tasks means I have more time for other tasks, like creating connections with other business owners who need my services. Recently, I chatted with other marketers to find out which AI marketing tools they use at work. And because I love sharing what I’ve learned, I’ve made a list of the nine most popular AI marketing bots. Before we get into it, let’s define what an AI marketing bot is and dig into why they’re becoming more mainstream. Table of Contents What is an AI marketing bot? Why are AI marketing bots so popular in 2024? 9 Best AI Marketing Bots You Need to Try What is an AI marketing bot? An AI marketing bot is software that uses artificial intelligence, like machine learning and natural language processing, to generate responses based on user prompts. These AI bots use specific datasets, like your company’s or industry data, to generate the best, most accurate responses. AI bots designed for marketers can help automate certain tasks, such as content ideation and outlining, image generation, and video editing, or help you better personalize...
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Designing an Event Marketing Budget? Here’s What Experts Recommend

marketing budget
October 19, 2024/by
Designing an Event Marketing Budget? Here’s What Experts Recommend The year I turned 30, I started a new job. The role was a management position and carried strategic responsibility for marketing, communications and PR — all things I was excited about. Also tucked in the job description? Event planning for a festival and various smaller events. I didn’t know it yet, but I was about to take a crash course in event marketing. Event marketing is planning and executing an event with the goal of promoting a brand and its products and services. Events are opportunities for building brand awareness, engaging target audiences including new and existing customers, and generating leads. Because the goals fall under marketing, the responsibility typically falls to the marketing team. Planning an event that attracts prospects and makes an impact starts with your event marketing budget. I’ll walk you through how to create an event marketing budget with what to include and share tips from event planning experts along the way. Deal? Let’s get started. Table of Contents How much of your marketing budget should be for events? What does an event marketing budget go toward? How to Create an Event Marketing Budget Tips for Creating the Right Event Marketing Budget How much of your marketing budget should be for events? First, how much of your marketing budget should you dedicate to events? Experts say that companies spend...
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AI in Graphic Design: The Pros, Cons and What it Means for Designers [+ Expert Insight]

Artificial Intelligence
October 17, 2024/by
AI in Graphic Design: The Pros, Cons and What it Means for Designers Several months ago, I tested several AI logo generators and documented my experience. Then my friend Michael Randall, a graphic designer, read the post, and I‘ll just say he wasn’t thrilled about it. “ logo generators? We're doomed,” were his exact words. I ended that blog post by clarifying that businesses should use actual graphic designers when designing their logos to stand out. And I stand by that, so hopefully, that gave him more faith in humanity and our friendship. That said, I wanted to ask my friend for his perspective on AI in graphic design. So, here are some of Michael’s thoughts mixed in with my findings from other sources. After reading, if you're curious about integrating AI into your own workflow, check out our various HubSpot AI tools to see if any can help with your next big campaign.  AI Graphic Design: What is it? AI graphic design is exactly as it sounds. It's the use of artificial intelligence to generate graphics such as infographics, ads, logos, and other forms of visual art. The logos I created in my previous post via AI generators are examples of AI graphic designs. @erikeepswriting Watch me make a logo using AI! Want to learn more? Check out blog.hubspot.com/marketing #marketing #AI #logo #adobe ♬ Feel Good - Tundra Beats ...
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