Junta42 blog

Junta42 Releases New Top Blogs List - "Marketing with Meaning" Leads the Way

We're excited to announce the fifth installment of the Junta42 Top 42 Content Marketing blogs. Congratulations this month goes to Bob Gilbreath and the team from Bridge Worldwide, whose Marketing with Meaning blog just squeaked by Brian Solis and PR 2.0.

This quarter's update included a record 224 blogs, up from 187 last quarter. In addition, the Junta42 Top 42 are now featured as part of the content marketing category at Alltop.com (which will be updated soon with the new 42).

Here is the complete Top 42:

1 Marketing with Meaning
2 PR 2.0
3 Chris Brogan's Blog
4 EyeCube
5 Conversation Marketing
6 Web Ink Now
7 Conversation Agent
8 Online Marketing Blog
9 ContentMarketingToday
10 Copyblogger
11 Marketing Interactions
12 Writing on the Web
13 The Toadstool
14 Keysplash Creative
15 The Social Media Engager
16 Influential Marketing Blog
17 Be the Voice
18 Buzz Marketing for Technology
19 AriWriter
20 Winning the Web
21 Web Strategy by Jeremiah
22 Hard Knox Life
23 Litman Live
24 Buzz News
25 Drew's Marketing Minute
26 Left the Box
27 Dan Blank
28 Nick Burcher
29 Craphammer.ca
30 Conversational Media Marketing
31 Nigel Hollis
32 Social Media Explorer
33 Chaos Scenario
34 The Content Wrangler
35 Eat Media Blog
36 Insights & Ingenuity
37 Ducttape Marketing
38 Servant of Chaos
39 Emerson Direct Marketing Observations
40 Seth's Blog
41 ViralBlog
42 Social Media (Re)Loaded

Click here to see the news release, which will be distributed on Wednesday.

Click here to see the entire Top 42 Content Marketing blogs.  To view the selection criteria, click here.

Again, congratulations to the Top 42, and keep up the great work!

Related Articles:

• TopRank Sneaks by Copyblogger to Take Top Junta42 Spot
• Copyblogger Takes Top Spot for Second Time in August Top 42 Update
• Junta42 Announces New Top 42 Content Marketing List (May)
• Junta42 Announces Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs (January)

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I Want to Give You $4200 Toward Your Content Marketing Project!

We here at Junta42 are pretty excited to announce this, and I thought it would be best to do it with a two-minute video.

Here's the deal.  Starting today (2/4) and running for 42 business days (ending on 4/2), any company that submits a content project to our free and no risk custom publisher matching service will be eligible to receive $4200 toward their content project. We're calling this "$4200 in 42 Days".

You may ask, what can $4200 buy these days?

Well, quite a bit we think. $4200 may cover the web content you need to keep your customers engaged in your products and services. It may cover the postage on your quarterly custom magazine project. It may cover one issue of your outsourced opt-in enewsletter. It may be just enough to keep you believing in the power of valuable, relevant and compelling content.

So why are we doing this?

First, we wanted to celebrate our first 100 content vendor matches through our Match service (the 100th match happened in early January). Our little idea to solve the marketer challenge for finding their perfect content provider has turned out to be a very helpful solution for companies like Research in Motion (makers of BlackBerry smartphones), First Midwest Bank, United Methodist Communications and more.

Some are calling us the eHarmony for custom publishing.  I can live with that.

And second, we're hoping it's just the incentive you need to get your content project off the sidelines during this economic climate (or possibly, the incentive you need to outsource your project that is just not working with internal resources, or maybe to get rid of that content provider that's just not delivering the goods).

Hey, we know times are tough out there...but now is more important than ever for you to deliver valuable, relevant and compelling content to your customers and prospects. That's what creates engagement. That's what helps you become part of the customer conversation.

Developing and distributing great content for your customers is not easy, which is why we have over 90% of the top custom publishers/content agencies in North America ready and waiting to help you create something of real value delivered to your customers.

We also thought this would be a lot of fun. Who doesn't like getting money anyway?

Here are all the details on the "$4200 in 42 Days" program.  Take a read...I think you'll find it worth two minutes of your time.

And here's our promise to you...if we can't find a content provider that matches your needs, we'll keep working with you to help you find a solution that makes sense (although, we're pretty confident we have the expert content publishers to help you get the job done).

Thanks, and on with the content marketing revolution!

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Seven Content Strategies to Build Trust with Today's Savvy Consumers - A Complimentary eBook

At the heart of all sales transactions is trust.

The greater the trust, the more likely the sale. Without trust, there is no sale. In today’s business world, where more and more relationships are being developed and maintained over the Internet—the need for establishing trust and building confidence with buyers may be stronger and more powerful than ever. One of the resulting challenges for marketers is to find ways to quickly establish rapport, and then build upon it. How can you best do that? By listening to your customers and prospects and giving them information they need—information that will build their trust in your company as a solutions provider, and lead to the ultimate goal—sales.

That's exactly the reason why have developed this complimentary eBook/white paper entitled "Seven Content Strategies to Build Trust with Today's Savvy Consumers." Big thanks to our sponsors McMurry and ContentWise for supporting this important project.

This comprehensive eBook will:

• Give you seven strategies to enact right now that can tip the trust scale in your favor.
• Provide clear examples of how leading brands are creating trust through content marketing.
• Identify factors that erode trust and how to avoid them.
• Show you simple and free online tools to help monitor what customers are saying about you.

Download your complimentary eBook now!

If you like this one, you may also be interested in our complimentary white paper, "How to Attract and Retain Customers with Content Now." If you are a custom publisher/content provider, check out The New Rules of Custom Publishing and How to Become a World-Class Content Provider.

If you are signed in as a Junta42 member, you'll go straight to the eBook.  If not, your name and email address will direct you to the white paper download.

Enjoy!

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Junta42 Releases New Top Blogs List - TopRank Blog Sneaks By Copyblogger

We're excited to announce the fourth installment of the Junta42 Top 42 Content Marketing blogs. Congratulations this month goes to Lee Odden and the team from TopRank Online Marketing, whose Online Marketing Blog just squeaked by Brian Clark's Copyblogger (which held the #1 position for the last two updates).

This quarter's update included a record 187 blogs, up from 172 last quarter. In addition, the Junta42 Top 42 are now featured as part of the content marketing category at Alltop.com (which will be updated soon with the new 42).

Here is the complete Top 42:

1 Online Marketing Blog
2 Copyblogger
3 Writing on the Web
4 Influential Marketing Blog
5 Web Ink Now
6 Marketing with Meaning
7 Nigel Hollis
8 Conversation Agent
9 Buzz Marketing for Technology
10 Post Advertising
11 Conversation Marketing
12 Marketing Interactions
13 PR 2.0
14 Nick Burcher
15 The Toadstool
16 Servant of Chaos
17 Chaos Scenario
18 No man is an iland
19 What's Next
20 Buzz News
21 Be the Voice
22 Really Practical Marketing
23 Bringing Brands to Life!
24 ContentMarketingToday
25 Hard Knox Life
26 Web Strategy by Jeremiah
27 Drew's Marketing Minute
28 JournaMarketing
29 Writing White Papers
30 Seth's Blog
31 Greg Verdino's Marketing Blog
32 News from the Herd
33 EyeCube
34 Find and Convert
35 Techno//Marketer
36 Eat Media Blog
37 Conversational Media Marketing
38 Emerson Direct Marketing Observations
39 Internet Marketing Blog
40 Feed Growth!
41 Daily Fix
42 Occam's Razor

Click here to see the news release, which will be distributed on Monday.

Click here to see the entire Top 42 Content Marketing blogs.  To view the selection criteria, click here.

Again, congratulations to the Top 42, and keep up the great work!

Related Articles:

• Copyblogger Takes Top Spot for Second Time in August Top 42 Update
• Junta42 Announces New Top 42 Content Marketing List (May)
• Junta42 Announces Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs (January)

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Heck with the Recession; Companies Are Investing in Content Marketing

Luckily, I was on the golf course yesterday instead of catching the news about the blood bath on Wall Street. Upon coming back to the office, I looked at my stock portfolio.  Ouch...a sea of deep red.

It's already been a challenging year for most companies, and it seems that we have yet to turn the corner. Especially until we figure out where the financial industry is headed.

That said, small, medium and large companies continue to pour money into their content marketing. Although I rarely promote our service, Junta42 Match, on this blog, it's worth using as an example of what is going on in the marketing world.

With very little Junta42 marketing to date, business and marketing professionals from all over North America (and globally in some cases) are finding our little site to search for content partners.  Yes, some of these projects are small - white papers, enewsletters, and blog help - but extremely important to their marketing activities.  They need to find the right vendors, so they seek us out. We've also seen other projects from some of the biggest brands in the world with high six-figure projects like custom magazines and versioned newsetters to customers and prospects.

The biggest eye-opener? Approximately 90% of the content projects coming through the system are NEW. This means that these aren't ongoing projects that they look to outsource or find a new vendor to replace their current one.  This means that they are investing in content in order to sustain or grow their business.

As ad spending falls at its steepest rate since 2001, businesses are taking that money and investing it in content activities that help to develop a conversation with customers and prospects.

Here are the types of approved projects that we've seen through the first three months (number in parentheses is the total number):

Advertising/Sales Management (3)
Advertorials & Supplements
Blogs (9)
Books - Electronic (eBooks)
Books - Print
Case Studies (2)
Custom Events & Roadshows
Digital Magazines (6)
E-mail Newsletters (9)
Magalogs
Magazines - External Audience (15)
Magazines - Internal Audience (6)
Mobile Solutions
Newsletters - External Audience (6)
Online/Virtual Trade Shows
Podcasts
SEO/SEM (2)
Syndicated Content Packages
Video
Web Portals/Microsites (3)
Webcasts/Webinars (2)
White Papers (9)

We've seen a lot of research to date about the growth in custom content and custom publishing. Even though we "hear" it, it's hard to visualize unless you can see it first hand. This type of Junta42 data shows that more marketers are taking up the content flag and selling it successful in their own companies to fund content-based projects.

In recessions, marketers turn to the initiatives that have the most impact on their current customers. What does that better than valuable, relevant and compelling content?

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Junta42 Match, Custom Publishing Matchmaker, Turns Two Months With Style

My wife and I were just talking today about how we can't believe our oldest "baby" is in first grade and turning seven.  Where did the time go?

And now, Junta42's first born, Junta42 Match, turns two months old.  Since launching on June 24th we've had our share of starts and stops, but it's clear that Junta42 Match has been a tremendous success.

Here are some stats:

- 35 matches completed
- Over 100 leads distributed to publishers
- 11 different types of content projects

Total Value of Business = approx. $3 million dollars

Needless to say, we here at Junta42 are pretty excited about the early returns on the service. It's clear that this was a needed service in the marketplace - bringing brands, agencies and associations together with custom publishers who can develop and execute their content projects.

Big thanks to our publishers and content providers for signing up early in the system and believing in the model. It's challenging selling a product that doesn't exist yet, but everyone believed in the promise, and now we have more than 90% of the top custom publishers in the country supporting our cause and getting high-quality custom publishing leads.

On the other side, we've had wonderful conversations with marketing executives, marketing managers, agency reps and even small-business owners about how we've saved them time, energy and resources, bringing them the most qualified publishers to help them with their custom magazine, newsletter, website and blogging projects.

More good news to come.

For more information on Junta42 Match, click here to go to the site or click here for the demo.

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Content Marketing Top Blogs Announced; Copyblogger Keeps Top Spot

We're excited to announce the third installment of the Junta42 Top 42 Content Marketing blogs. Congratulations again goes to Brian Clark's copyblogger.com, who keeps the top spot for the second straight month.

This quarter's update included a record 172 blogs, with more than 50 being newcomers to the list. Just within the past six months we've seen more and more bloggers (and media companies for that matter) focus on the importance of content marketing as integral to successful business marketing practices.

Here is the complete Top 42:

1 Copyblogger
2 Buzz Marketing for Technology
3 Post Advertising
4 web ink now
5 No man is an iland
6 PR 2.0
7 Online Marketing Blog
8 ContentMarketingToday
9 Hard Knox Life
10 The Daily Flip
11 Conversation Agent
12 Marketing Interactions
13 Find and Convert
14 Conversational Media Marketing
15 Bernaise Source
16 Techno//Marketer
17 Pandemic Blog
18 What's Next
19 Writing on the Web
20 The Toadstool
21 Conversation Marketing
22 Emerson Direct Marketing Observations
23 Todd And Marketing & Media
24 The Retail Email Blog
25 Marketing 2.0
26 The Content Wrangler
27 The Viral Garden
28 Emergence Marketing
29 Writing White Papers
30 SG Stephen Gates Blog
31 Greg Verdino's Marketing Blog
32 Nigel Hollis
33 Web Strategy by Jeremiah
34 Campaign Monitor
35 FASTforward Blog
36 Drew's Marketing Minute
37 SEO Copywriting
38 Eat Media Blog
39 Marketing with Meaning
40 Servant of Chaos
41 THINKing
42 Chaos Scenario

Click here to see the news release, which will be distributed on Monday.

Click here to see the entire Top 42 Content Marketing blogs.  To view the selection criteria, click here.

Again, congratulations to the Top 42, and keep up the great work!

Related Articles:

• Junta42 Announces Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs (January)
• Junta42 Announces New Top 42 Content Marketing List (May)

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Attract and Retain Customers with Content NOW - A Complimentary White Paper

Today’s Internet-savvy buyers are hungry for content. And not just any content...valuable, relevant content that offers solutions to their problems and helps them lead successful, productive, enjoyable jobs and lives. However, they are also inundated by thousands of marketing messages every day, most of which they ignore. To get through, you need to communicate differently—you need to do more than just sell products and services. You need to provide information. Smart marketers know this and are creating strong brand relationships by providing good, authoritative, even leadership-type content.

For that very reason, Junta42 is offering this complimentary white paper entitled, "How to Attract and Retain Customers with Content NOW."

The majority of companies are set up to sell products and services, not to create valuable, relevant and compelling content on a consistent basis. To deliver content that has a chance to create long-term relationships with customers and prospects, businesses need to develop a new content mindset.  This free white paper will help you get there.

Here are just a few of the content marketing issues that are covered in this white paper:

• Content marketing defined
• Why companies have to "Be the Media"
• Six reasons why you need to begin today
• How to develop a content strategy
• Putting the plan in motion
• How to measure your success
• Content + Marketing = Customers

We also include a few case studies from leading brands that are making it work today.

If you are signed in as a Junta42 member, you'll go straight to the white paper.  If not, your name and email address will direct you to the white paper download.

Download your complimentary white paper now! For all you media types and publishers out there, make sure you check out the sister-white paper to this document - "The New Rules of Custom Publishing: Nine Strategies to Create a World-Class Content Marketing Organization." Enjoy.

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Using Content as the Center of Your Marketing Strategy - Don't Miss this Event!

Interruption marketing is dying. Consumers have control over what they engage in and when. So how do you get your relevant, valuable, and compelling content out to your customer base on a consistent basis?

You turn to the Web, right?

But hold on. Are you confident about which of the myriad Web-based options are right for your content? Do you know what to plan for now so that your content is found on the Internet in the future? And what’s with this whole social media thing, anyway?

Join me for an exclusive online presentation with McMurry's ContentWise (formerly Publications Management) discussing why content is the future of marketing and how to choose the best ways to make your content accessible for your customers, prospects, members—even the ones you don’t know about yet. You’ll learn what will generate demand and position your organization as a thought leader now, and what will ensure that you’re still a visible force on the Web five or ten years from now. Register now!

When

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

11:30 A.M. — 12:30 P.M. Eastern
10:30 A.M. — 11:30 P.M. Central
9:30 A.M. — 10:30 A.M. Mountain
8:30 A.M. — 9:30 A.M. Pacific

Pricing

Webinar (per dial-in site):
$199 (subscribers)
$229 (non-subscribers)

Here's What You'll Learn

• Reasons to integrate your content into your current website
• Reasons to go for a standalone option instead
• Pros and cons of the main standalone options
• Pros and cons of implementing social media now
• What to keep your eye on if you choose to wait
• Which Web options are right for which goals

Looking forward to seeing you there.

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Custom Publishing-Branded Content Matchmaking Site Junta42 Match Opens for Business

I'm excited to announce the formal launch of Junta42 Match for marketing and association professionals everywhere.

Junta42 Match is a free online service for businesses who are looking for custom publishing, post-advertising agencies and other content providers that match their specific content marketing project needs. After spending the last few months recruiting publishers, the site is now open to marketers looking for vendors to produce their custom magazines, newsletters, video projects, white papers, webcasts and in-person content events.

We've been working on the concept of Junta42 Match for well over a year now. We believe this fills a very important void in helping businesses find expert content providers.

Personally, I've been on both sides of the equation...a content provider offering custom publishing and branded content services with Penton Media, Inc., as well as on the marketing side (with various companies) continually seeking out the best vendors for targeted content projects.

Why Isn't it Easy to Find Qualified Publishers/Content Providers?

Over the past decade, the process of finding a qualified publisher/content provider has hardly evolved, even with the onset of Google and other search engines. And, as more businesses begin to understand that they NEED valuable and compelling content to grow, the demand for these services is higher than ever (now a $56 billion dollar industry).

Yet, marketing professionals still struggle finding the best possible content providers. Marketers rely on search engines (30%), referrals (28%) and industry web sites (13%) to find qualified custom publishers and content agencies to produce their content projects (see research here). And still, in talking with marketing executives around the country, the process takes weeks and even months (or more) to create a short-list of qualified providers (and even then, they aren't confident they have the right list of vendors). Shotgun RFPs have cluttered up the system as well, so much so that many publishers and agencies don't even respond to RFPs anymore.

What's the Difference with Junta42 Match?

Junta42 Match takes this "short-list" process from weeks/months to just a few minutes. All a marketer has to do is complete a brief online survey (free), define their content, project and audience needs, and we'll match them up with the best providers.  Once the survey is complete, the marketing executive gets three options: Perfect Match (they want to talk to the best match only), Best Matches (they want to talk to three-to-five providers that meet their needs), or You Match (they want to see the publisher profiles and choose for themselves).

I know we haven't perfected the system by any means, so we are relying on our community to help shape this service to truly help businesses create the best content possible to drive their businesses (and have a little fun along the way).

We Are Taking All Feedback

If you have any feedback on how we can make this a better service, please don't hesitate to shoot me a note, either on this blog or personally at joe[at]junta42.com.

Thanks...and long live the content marketing revolution.

Related Articles:

• 27 Days and 100 Publishers - 5 Startup Tips and Lessons
• Junta42 Announces New Top 42 Blogs List
• New Research: Business Marketers Spend Big on Custom Media
• Junta42 Match Launches to Publishers

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