Whatever sector you’re in and whatever role you play in your company, accurate, effective and compelling written communications are a crucial factor in success. It might be a press release, a new product launch presentation, training materials for sales staff, product descriptions or any customer-facing copy – whatever you’re writing, good copy has the power … Read More
Know your customer. This is the first rule of content marketing. It’s a rule that most brands don’t follow. But the reasons businesses avoid developing customer personas are not borne out of an individualist streak to break the rules. It’s usually just down to a lack of know-how or the time to invest in working … Read More
You’ve worked hard to build your email subscriber list. You’ve probably invested in marketing automation software. But are you worried that you’re wasting time sending newsletters because you’re not seeing the results you hoped you would? Does that sound like you? You and your team are busy running your online shop, fulfilling orders and supporting … Read More
As a website owner, you’ll know that you need written content. And lots of it. Because a website without the right words is just a silent movie. Don’t get us wrong. We’re big fans of the old black and whites. But we’re doing the day job here. Words are our thing. It’s the words on … Read More
This question is one of the hardy perennials in the content marketing herbaceous border. This year is no different. Marketers, SEO ninjas and blog copywriters are always digging deep to find answers on the best inbound marketing strategies. And when it comes to whether you should still accept guest posts on your site, the answer … Read More
“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are” Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin I’m into food and drink. It’s no secret. I spend most of my time thinking what I’m going to have for my next meal. I’ve got a side hustle running a hipster catering company called More Gravy, I ran … Read More
“If people like you they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you” – Zig Ziglar When was the last time you reviewed your website About page? If the answer is closer to ‘last year’ than ‘last week’, you’re not alone. Along with the Contact page, About is one … Read More
“The reason it seems that price is all your customers care about is that you haven’t given them anything else to care about.” – Seth Godin Product descriptions are the cornerstone of your ecommerce store. Done well, they can increase sales, improve your organic traffic and even reduce return rates. But what exactly does a … Read More
“Great content is the best sales tool in the world.” – Marcus Sheridan Industry gurus are constantly waxing lyrical about the importance of content. It’s the king (Bill Gates). It’s the kingdom (Lee Odden). It’s the lifeblood of your marketing strategy (Neil Patel). If you own a website, you already know all this. But are … Read More
“Your brand is a story unfolding across all customer touch points.” – Jonah Sachs You already know that your brand needs a strong tone of voice in order to stand out. This voice should be one which distinctively ‘sounds like’ your company – and you alone. It should also constantly reinforce your unique selling propositions … Read More
A 2019 survey by UENI found that 75% of UK small businesses did not have their own website. If this is you, read on. Businesses cite many reasons for not getting online. Here are five we hear most frequently (and why you need to re-think them): 1. “We already have more leads than we can … Read More
“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence — it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” Peter Drucker As COVID-19 storms through 2020, hurling our habits and treasured systems against the wall, we all know we have to change to survive. From the domestic adaptations needed to successfully work from home, to … Read More
“Content Marketing is all the Marketing that’s left.” Seth Godin If you want your online business to succeed, you have to invest in content marketing. But, with uncertain times ahead and online competition becoming ever steeper, you need to squeeze every last drop out of your content investment. We’ll show you how. Repost your content … Read More
SEO is a long-term marketing strategy with literally hundreds of actions required to make it a success. But how do you distil this into a report that matters to your CEO? As a marketer, you may well be fonder of graphs than most, and capable of immersing yourself happily in reporting dashboards for hours at … Read More
Despite the meteoric rise of its cooler siblings, email marketing is going nowhere, and continues to provide businesses with a significantly higher ROI than any other marketing channel (Campaignmonitor). With email, possibly more than any other marketing channel, the devil is in the detail. And timing is the most important detail of all. Here, we … Read More
Every retailer knows that an online presence is a must if you want your business to thrive; in 2018 the value of UK ecommerce sales was placed at £688.4 billion (statista). But, according to research by Barclays, an ever-growing returns rate risks hindering growth of this booming business. The convenience of online shopping, combined with … Read More
Jamie Oliver’s cookbook 5 Ingredients has recently made it onto the shortlist of titles for the British Book Awards. The self-styled cheeky chirpy Essex lad has secured his seat at the publishing top table alongside authors including JK Rowling and Philip Pullman. But his stellar performance in publishing is literally just one chapter in the … Read More
“Never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” Rahm Emanuel At a time when most businesses – large or small – are fearing for their future, the title of this piece may seem to be … Read More
You’ve carefully mapped out your content for the year and then there’s a global pandemic. What the hell do you talk to your customers about now? Way back when you were creating your 2020 content calendar (you do have one, right?), you no doubt planned timely pieces relevant to the year’s key events. Depending on … Read More
Here at Big Star HQ we like to answer a direct question with a direct answer. And the answer to this is yes. It’s a yes because blogging can be your most effective content marketing tactic. The fact that 57% of marketers say they plan to increase their blogging efforts tells us that it’s still … Read More
In a world where consumers have virtually unlimited choice regarding what clothes they buy and where they get them from, to have a successful online fashion retail business you need to ensure that everything you do is exceptional. Your clothes, exceptional. Your deals, exceptional. But you also need people to know how exceptional your offering is. That means utilising fashion copywriting which is irresistible.
Are you investing a lot of time and energy in blog content but not seeing anything like the new leads and sales that you thought you would? Don’t panic. We’ve put together an essential checklist to help you optimise your blog layout to make sure you are doing everything you can to encourage visitors to … Read More
As a business you want to provide an inclusive user experience so that your content is accessible to everyone. This includes people with sensory, cognitive, learning or physical difficulties that use assistive technology like screen readers. There are almost 14 million disabled people in the UK (22% of the population). People use screen readers for … Read More
Let’s start with what is pretty much a given. People are talking about your brand online whether you are monitoring (and listening) to these mentions or not. If your company has a social media presence (and you’d have to dig pretty deep to find a brand without one) you will need to be actively monitoring … Read More
Are you hesitating to invest energy and money into content marketing? Well, consider this: no one ever won a game of Monopoly by cautiously navigating around the board without buying Pall Mall, Park Lane, or a station or two. As a business owner, you may be playing a delicate financial balancing game. But, if you … Read More
