1
How
Set Up aServices
Content Marketing Strategy for Your Document
Industry
Company
PMCtoContent
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Do It Yourself Instructions for Small and Medium Size Businesses
Table of Contents
Introduction.......................................................................................3
Why Use Content Marketing? ............................................................5
Getting Started ..................................................................................7
Identify Your Audiences .....................................................................9
What Have You Got Already? ........................................................... 11
Where to Publish?............................................................................ 14
What to Write? ................................................................................ 17
Should You Do It Yourself? ............................................................... 18
Is it for Us?....................................................................................... 20
Resources ........................................................................................ 21
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Introduction
Companies are having a tough time - especially small to medium size vendors.
Competing with larger players and their promotional programs, incentives, and
advertising campaigns can make it difficult to get noticed in the marketplace.
In a tight market, larger companies have an advantage. They possess the resources to
promote their brand and inform prospective customers about their latest products.
They hire agencies or employ a full-time marketing staffers dedicated to executing
well-planned campaigns.
Smaller companies lack those resources. Fortunately though, another affordable path
to customer trust and consideration exists. One way to level the playing field is
exploiting the concept of content marketing.
Content marketing involves understanding what your target market wants to know, and then delivering
that information to them in a relevant way, at a suitable time. Often, organizations link the content and
delivery schedule to steps in the buying cycle. Think of content marketing as an opportunity to educate
your potential customers–to give them the information they will need to make them comfortable doing
business with you. By beginning a relationship with prospects before they are ready to identify
themselves as interested you make it easier for them to buy from you when they reach that decision
point.
Use content marketing to establish your company as a trusted source of valuable information–an
organization that understands the needs and challenges of its customers. It’s a little different from
traditional product marketing. Product information should always be accessible, but the materials
companies deploy as part of their content marketing programs are heavy on information and light on
selling. Customers are doing independent research long before they speak with a sales representative.
Prospects reach out to vendors only after they are confident the products and the company will be a
good match. Your content marketing program should lead them to that conclusion.
Companies unable to establish customer confidence,
without the benefit of a sales call,
will make the short list of prospective suppliers less often.
All companies, regardless of their size or their budget, can take advantage of the benefits that content
marketing provides. This strategy is an equalizer that helps vendors with great products but scarce
resources compete with larger contenders.
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It sounds like it should be easy. But producing and distributing branded content takes skill and
persistence; a tall order for companies already strapped for resources.
If you have no full-time marketing staff, this book is for you.
In this book, I’ll share best practices for getting started on a content marketing program along with tips
and suggestions to make your program successful. I wrote this book especially for B2B organizations
where administration of a content marketing program falls on the shoulders of staff members who
already have responsibilities in other areas of the business. This is often the case in smaller companies
where administrative staff, salespeople, or even business owners are the ones handling marketing
duties besides juggling a long list of equally important tasks.
Throughout this book I’ve included links to other helpful resources and shared a few accounts of my
content marketing experiences as a small business owner. If I recommend a product I have found useful,
the link may be an “affiliate link”. This means I may be compensated with small amounts if you decide to
sign up. Affiliate payments aren’t much, but they help keep the coffee flowing.
My goal in writing this book is to help small and medium size companies learn how content marketing
can help their businesses grow. I’ve worked with many organizations that struggle to develop programs
they can comfortably administer. If I have inspired you to start working on your own content marketing
strategy, please send me a note to tell me about your accomplishments! Should you decide you prefer
me to handle a few of the tasks that often prevent companies from reaching their content marketing
goals, I’m here to help.
Mike Porter
Print/Mail Consultants
mporter@printmailconsultants.com
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Why Use Content Marketing?
B2B customers will do extensive research before they ever talk to a sales representative. In order for
your company to be considered a contender, you’ve got to be familiar to the prospect or show up
prominently in the results generated by keyword searches. Content marketing will help in both regards.
This is especially important for print service providers who have many competitors. Until you
differentiate your company, print buyers will consider all printing companies as the same. Then you’re
competing on price – not a good place to be.
Businesspeople are bombarded with too
many marketing messages – in every
medium and channel you can imagine. The
vast majority of these messages are
ignored. Adding to the difficulty of getting
through the clutter, messages that are
clearly marketing in nature rank low on the
trust scale.
Content Marketing Paves the Way
Publishing carefully planned content that
is relevant to the concerns of your target
customers shows you understand their
business. Providing expert advice or analysis shows that your people are equipped to handle questions
or problems that might come up after a prospect buys your product. Providing case studies, white
papers, or survey results lets prospects know that others have evaluated your product and found it to be
worthwhile. All these things are powerful when it comes to attracting, selling, and retaining customers.
Content marketing does not drive sales directly. You should not expect to correlate a particular article or
event with specific sales results. If your objective is to increase sales opportunities, it is the cumulative
effect of your branded content pieces that produce results.
From an ROI perspective, content marketing strategies are likely to produce a better than average
return than advertisements over the long term. The cost is relatively low and the potential return is
great. Combined with traditional marketing activities, content marketing strengthens the brand and
improves customer confidence. Informational content has a long shelf life and is versatile. Investments
you make today in a customer case study, for instance, can still be serving you in two or three years.
Blog posts published over the course of six months might be re-packaged as an eBook. Online magazine
article archives show up in search results many years after publication.
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The searchability and longevity of well-written informational content are advantages when sales cycles
span months or years. Producers of such content find their efforts continuing to pay off long after they
were created.
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Getting Started
I know you’ve heard this a million times, because it applies to every successful project you’ve ever
tackled: Start with the end in mind.
A clear perception of your objective is important for success in your content marketing strategy.
Otherwise, you will scatter your efforts, you won’t see results, and you will abandon the project. People
have different reasons for working on content marketing. It pays to be clear about your particular
purpose.
The most common content marketing goals for businesses are brand awareness and lead generation,
but you might focus on developing a reputation for innovation or thought leadership to make your
organization attractive to investors. Perhaps your company needs a more professional image to attract
top tier job candidates for upcoming openings or valued partners necessary to help your business grow.
When I first got serious about content marketing, I had a very specific purpose. A humbling experience
prodded me into action.
A Personal Motivation for Content Marketing
I was attending a conference presented by a professional organization where I’d been a member for
several years. I’d met many of the people at the conference before, but I realized I was introducing
myself and explaining what I did, over and over. Even though I was a veteran in the business and
possessed a wealth of knowledge about many relevant topics, no one seemed to recognize me.
When I returned home, I embarked upon a journey to increase awareness for me and my business among
the group that attended the conference. I vowed at least a third of the people I spoke with at future
conferences would recognize my name.
My timeline for accomplishing this task was two years. I didn’t know exactly what I should do at first, but
I was certain that continued passivity about my professional reputation would not get me to my goal.
I am proud to say that by consistently working a plan, even though I was learning as I went, I achieved
my objective. Most of the people I spoke with at several events two years later recognized my name and
my work. The content marketing effect continues to grow and generate business for me still.
Striving for Perfection
One of the first things I had to do was overcome my propensity for perfection. I was one of
those people who try to have every detail worked out before committing to any visible action.
Predictably, lots of my projects never really got launched. I constantly ran into obstacles or got
distracted by other urgent matters.
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I see many of my clients falling into the same trap and it can kill a content marketing project
before it ever gets going. Do not wait until you:





Redesign the website
Finish developing a new product
Switch to a new CRM system
Hire a new sales manager
Or check off any of the hundreds of things that are always on your to-do list
A content marketing strategy is a set of building blocks, anyway. It can get insanely complicated
to take on too much at once, especially when attempting to automate processes or integrate
functionality provided by independent systems. If you try to do too much you will backtrack
constantly.
In the meantime, you’ll have made zero progress towards your goal. Take it from me-I learned
the hard way.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t formulate a long-term plan; just don’t allow future details to
impede starting with something simple. Once you publish your first piece of content, it will
inspire you to do more. You can add channels and automation over time.
Create a planner that lists all the items you will create and distribute (see the “For Best Results:
Plan and Coordinate” section later in this book to download a handy tool for this step). Block out
time for writing and set some reminders in advance of the publication date. I use Outlook and
sync to my phone, but whatever method works for you is fine.
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Identify Your Audiences
Who do you want to reach? If your answer is potential customers, be sure you are clear about
what defines a customer for your business. Number of employees, specific needs, volumes of
work, or geography might be factors for you. Industry might be important too. Perhaps you sell
to insurance companies, real estate brokers, or family-owned restaurants.
You may have multiple audiences. If they are different enough, you might develop separate content for
each group. Often you can tweak content so it uses familiar terminology for each type of customer and
adjust the text to address the challenges of each individual group. You won’t have to write all your
content from scratch to connect with a variety of customer types.
Marketing people will refer to differences in your audience as “Buyer Personas”. There is plenty of
advice on the internet about how to create Buyer Personas, but this area is one where many
businesspeople get stalled. It’s great if you can visualize a personal image of your ideal customers, but
I’ve found you can be pretty effective with a more general description in a B2B environment.
Aiming for Everyone Isn't Really Targeting
I hate to break it to you, but your target market - and therefore the audience for whom you create
content - is NOT "everyone". There is a subset, a sweet spot where your products provide the greatest
benefit or solve the most difficult problems. THAT is your market. This is the group you should have in
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mind before you ever put your hands on the keyboard to create newsletter articles, blogs, or website
content.
The fear of missing a sale because your message didn't influence every single prospect, no matter how
implausible, makes marketers rely heavily on publicizing long lists of features and benefits. They hope
that everyone who reads their general-purpose stuff will see something that resonates. It's no mystery
why those efforts are failing to generate high-quality sales leads these days. Little in their material
distinguishes them from their competitors.
You Should Know the Answers to These Questions about Your B2B Audience
1. What is their main objective and how does it relate to your company’s products?
2. What are the top 3 challenges or obstacles for these organizations and how can you solve them?
3. How does your audience measure success?
If you are clear about just these three items, you will know what to write about and how to get your
audience’s attention. You’ll notice I didn’t include “What print products do they need?” in my list. This is
a secondary priority. Customers are most interested in what results you can help them achieve. This is
where you should focus your efforts.
As you progress, you can make finer distinctions about your audience and the decision-makers within
target organizations. At some point you may create content that connects on a more personal level with
individuals, but that can come later. For now, be clear about identifying your B2B audience and
understanding what is important to them–you’ll be 80% of the way there!
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What Have You Got Already?
When was the last time you took inventory of the content used to support your marketing and sales
strategy? Last month, last year, maybe never?
Most people scramble to create blog posts, newsletter articles, and
emails to meet an internal deadline or to coincide with some event or
announcement. They put little thought into the overall strategy.
Targeting the material to a specific audience or circumstance is seldom
considered. Everyone does this at least once in a while.
The resulting random collection of articles may be better than
publishing nothing at all, but you may be missing opportunities to make
your content marketing efforts pay off in a bigger way. Unless you step
back every once in a while and evaluate your content inventory, you
may find the prospects on your list aren’t moving along in the sales
process. You might make sales, but your inbound marketing efforts
aren’t having much of an impact because your strategy has gaps.
A Content Audit
What you need is a content audit. That may sound official and
complicated, but all it means is taking time to evaluate your
accumulated articles, white papers, case studies, posts, and
presentations that were created in a one-off manner. Review each
piece of content and separate them according to buying process stages, vertical markets, or buyer
personas. Along the way you’ll discover material that is obsolete and worthless along with content that
just needs updating.
I’ve created an interactive Content Audit
you can use for free to get a handle on your existing resources
GET THE FREE CONTENT AUDIT
Most companies will find they’ve got more content than they thought, but they have loaded their
collection with mostly awareness-type material. Published pieces are often missing a call to action
designed to move buyers along in the sales process, or the action request is so weak customers ignore it
99% of the time. If most of your articles end with “for more information…” or you’ve pasted in your
mailing list sign-up form pleading readers to “join our mailing list” without offering a compelling reason
to do so, you know what I mean.
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Keeping Your Audience Engaged
Content lacking a compelling reason to interact further with your company will never advance prospects
from the top of the sales funnel. When they are ready to click through and evaluate your products more
seriously, you must be prepared with more comprehensive content. Otherwise they are likely to move
on to a competitor.
What a shame!
All the work you did to stay top-of-mind paid off, only to lose prospects
when they are finally getting more serious
In contrast to top-of-funnel content, material satisfying the needs of a prospect in the research or
evaluation stage of the buying process might include case studies, product comparisons, and ROI
calculators. The content is still educational, but it emphasizes particular business challenges.
In the final stage of the buying process prospects have concluded they have a need that requires
attention. They are seeking confirmation your product is the best solution. Create content promoting
live demonstrations, access to customer testimonials, special incentives, or customized estimates and
direct it towards prospects at the bottom of the sales funnel.
Does your content inventory include enough items to meet the needs of prospects at various stages of
the buying process? Is the driver for content creation always deadlines rather than comprehensive
strategy? Without performing a content audit, organizations can’t find the gaps in their content
collection. Creating content without a strategic plan is better than creating no content at all, but at some
point it will not be enough.
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For Best Results:
Plan and Coordinate
Of course a plan is essential. Make sure your content
marketing activities are in sync with your overall
marketing plan. Develop a schedule of when and
where you’ll release each piece of content.
Consistency is a huge success factor. A single article
or even a slew of them all at once followed by no
activity is not as effective as a steady stream of
exposure for your company over a long period of
time.
DOWNLOAD A
FREE
CONTENT
PLANNING
TOOL
Content marketing programs fail as often from poor
execution as from lack of content. Companies
frequently start out with a plan but are unable to
follow through. If resources are an issue you can
start small and then build out to additional channels
or formats.
You are welcome to use the planning tool
I developed to manage content plans for my clients.
Click here to download a free copy for yourself.
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Where to Publish?
MAGAZINES
E-NEWSLETTERS
(EMAIL)
PRINTED
NEWSLETTERS
MINI WHITEPAPERS
(WEBSITE)
WEBINARS/PODCASTS
CASE STUDIES
(WEBSITE)
BLOGS
(WEBSITE/GUEST
POSTS)
EBOOKS
(WEBSITE)
VIDEOS
(WEBSITE/SOCIAL MEDIA)
QUIZZES & SURVEYS
(WEBSITE/SOCIAL
MEDIA)
POSTS
(SOCIAL NETWORKS)
Publish where your customers are spending their time. Although search engine optimization (SEO) is
important, companies with many competitors (such as commercial printers) may find it difficult to rank
high enough in the results to rely on search to drive traffic to their content. Direct routes can be more
effective.
I started out with an e-newsletter. I had a very limited budget so it was a great fit. The investment was
minimal. Newsletters are also a direct connection with the audience. There is no competition from other
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sources and I was in total control of the content and presentation. Later I added published articles,
videos, and a podcast. I used some of the newsletter content to populate my blog. It isn’t necessary to
start out by publishing to all channels at once.

ARTICLES – These can vary in length, depending on the topic and the channel. Articles can
appear in print magazines, online magazines, or newsletters.

E-NEWSLETTERS – Send e-newsletters only to subscribers and always include opt-out or
unsubscribe options. Not following the rules is unprofessional and unlawful. All e-newsletters
should feature responsive design so they render accurately on desktop and mobile devices.

PRINT NEWSLETTERS – These are useful if your audience lacks regular internet access, such as
field technicians. The explosion in internet connectivity fostered by smart phones, Wi-fi and
tablets continues to reduce the number of organizations using print. This makes printed
newsletters stand out, so it might be worth the effort–particularly if your company is in the
business of creating printed communications!

MINI WHITE PAPERS – Many organizations have switched to shorter formats for white papers,
preferring to cover topics in papers of 2-4 pages each. High value white papers are great “lead
magnets”. At least some of your content should be “gated”, requiring visitors to enter their
contact information before allowing them access to the material.

WEBINARS/PODCASTS – A good way to get feedback from customers. Always record them so
those who registered can access the content at their convenience. It isn’t unusual for more
people to access the content through the recording than during the live broadcast. If you’re not
comfortable in doing a webinar on your own, bring in an industry expert to co-present.

CASE STUDIES – Usually 2-4 pages long, case studies are great ways to build credibility. Named
customers are best, but I have written many anonymous case studies for my clients that
describe a success story without revealing customer identities.

BLOGS – Make most of the entries brief and add new posts regularly, keeping to a theme. If you
allow comments on your blog, you may get valuable customer reaction to your thoughts. But
don’t count on it. I rarely see any useful comments in my blog. Because of frequent activity,
blogs are useful for improving your ranking in search results.

E-BOOKS – Marketers frequently use these popular publications as incentives to subscribe to a
mailing list. The topic of an eBook downloaded by a prospect can also suggest areas of interest,
useful for individual prospect follow-up. Over the last few years, my clients have been asking for
eBooks more frequently.

VIDEOS – Video content can communicate lots of information in a short period of time. You can
create videos that explain a process, introduce a concept, give a virtual tour of your facilities,
show off some new equipment, etc. Videos are also great for driving traffic to a landing page
where prospects can register to download a white paper or eBook. Establish a YouTube channel
or use another video hosting platform like Vimeo.
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
QUIZZES/SURVEYS – These are great ways to encourage interaction with your customers and
can be a gold mine of valuable information. Make them short and give feedback instantly if
possible. Incentives are useful for encouraging participation. Survey results can be sources for
blog posts, slideshows, videos, articles, and more.

SOCIAL NETWORKS – Social networks can expand your audience. Posting links to blog articles or
other content drives new contacts to the material. It isn’t necessary to create content exclusive
for your social channels. Just re-purpose existing pieces.
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What to Write?
The quality of your material matters. This includes the subject matter, the depth to which you cover it,
as well as technical details such as spelling and grammar. Poorly-written content reflects worse on your
company than no content at all. If you are not a writer then outsource the task to someone who has
experience.
I don’t recommend relying on limited-featured grammar-checkers such as the functions built into
Microsoft Word. A robust editing program will improve your writing tremendously. If instance, I have a
bad habit of using passive verbs too frequently. They weaken the message. My editing software, Pro
Writing Aid, catches that for me, makes improvement suggestions, and checks for dozens of other
mistakes that can affect my ability to communicate. Pro Writing Aid has made me a better writer. I
suggest you consider using such software if you will create written content yourself.
Remember to keep the content focused on the customer, not on your company or your products.
Content marketing is not the same as product marketing. It’s not all about features and benefits. But it is
marketing. The pieces have a purpose beyond pure education. They should encourage a behavior or
action by the reader. Be sure you are clear about how the piece should influence the reader before you
start writing.
Don’t be afraid to express an opinion. Take a stand and you will get noticed. Entertaining or provocative
pieces are the ones that get shared more often through social networks.
Take a look at your organization as a rich source of content. Publishing articles written from the
perspective of staff members in technical support, research and development, or field service gives your
potential customers confidence that they will have an opportunity to work with high-quality and
knowledgeable people when they purchase from you.
“WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU’RE FRESH OUT OF CONTENT IDEAS”
Viewable by all Linked In Members – Click to access my profile
(If you are not on LinkedIn, join for free and send me an invitation to connect!)
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Should You Do It Yourself?
Most successful B2B marketers outsource at least some of their content projects. They are busy figuring
out how to bring products to market, sell them, and provide after-sale service. There is little time to
research, write, and publish articles that address the prospective customer’s informational needs months before the sale. Getting help from outside your organization is a smart move. Professional
assistance makes it unnecessary to distract key individuals in your organization from their primary
responsibilities.
Some companies can handle their content generation and publication strategies themselves. In my
experience, the companies successful with these tasks tend to be larger. Full-time resources are
dedicated to the marketing efforts of the organization–with no conflicting responsibilities. Sometimes
even those companies need outside help to “feed the content monster”. If you have the luxury of such
resources I encourage you to work with them to design and execute a content marketing plan using the
tools and advice I have shared in this book.
For smaller companies, the strategy of outsourcing content management to an expert is especially
valuable. In these organizations, subject matter experts with the knowledge to create informational
content also fulfill roles in product development, sales, installation, or technical support. Article
authoring is obviously not the best use of time for these valuable people.
Ironically, these key individuals are accustomed to doing everything themselves. They are often
founders or partners. The thought of turning work like this over to someone else may never occur to
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them. Consequentially, the task to write informative content is buried on a to-do list of substantial
length. Although they have good intentions, the writing never gets done.
The #1 reason I see for content marketing failure: Finding the right time to start!
The #2 reason? Inability to sustain a consistent effort.
Researching, writing, and editing may not be your strong suit. Where accomplished writers can whip out
several pieces per day, a blank screen intimidates others. They have a hard time deciding what to write,
or their writing skills concern them. Nobody wants to publish embarrassing mistakes where customers,
employees, and partners will see it, which frequently prevents non-writers from making progress.
Clients working with me know they will get the planned content delivered on time. They also know I will
make their content work for them by suggesting re-purposing opportunities or suggesting ways for them
to gain audience attention. Working with someone with a more objective viewpoint is often useful if the
outside experts can strengthen the weak areas in your content marketing strategy.
PROFESSIONAL WRITER AT WORK
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Is it for Us?
Content marketing can work for any B2B vendor of products or services. But if
any of the following conditions describe your organization or product, the
strategy can be especially effective:




Your marketing budget is modest.
You have no dedicated marketing resources.
Your competition includes large, well-known companies.
You have lots of competitors offering similar products and services to
your own.
 Your product has features and benefits that must be explained to be
appreciated.
 The subject matter experts in your company are engineers, not writers.
Evaluate your needs and resources and then start formulating a plan. It’s time
to get started!
Print/Mail Consultants helps businesses communicate with their customers and
turn leads into sales by working with them to create Content Plans and
generating custom content for them. Get more tips and helpful information at
www.pmccontentservices.com
Email: info@printmailconsultants.com
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Resources
Here are some tools, websites, and other resources I’ve found useful as I create and distribute content
for my own company and for my clients. I use most of these tools and websites frequently to create
content. Note that a few of the resources include “affiliate” links where I’ll earn a small commission
should you decide to sign up. I’ve not chosen products because they pay me. I selected them because
they have worked for me and they are affordable. I believe they will work for you as well.
PMC RESOURCES
Free Content Audit – Use this interactive tool to get a handle on the content you may already have on
hand. It’s a great way to get started in content marketing without creating everything from scratch.
Content Planning Calendar – Download this simple Excel spreadsheet for free. Schedule the content
you’ll be publishing as part of your content plan. Complete instructions are included.
Writer’s Block Cure – This free video on LinkedIn provides ten ways to get the creative juices flowing
again. I’ve used all these ideas at one time or another as I’m filling out Content Planning Calendars for
myself or my clients. While you’re on LinkedIn, be sure to connect with me!
90 Second Content Marketing Lessons – This podcast has been dormant for a while, but the information
is still valid. The material is presented in small bites. Check out the episode “The Secret to Building Brand
Awareness” for a quick overview about how content marketing works.
Customer Retention Now! – A free email newsletter where I cover topics associated with using content
to stay top-of-mind with your prospects, attract and nurture leads, and develop a reputation for thought
leadership. Sent to subscribers about once a month.
PMC Content Services Blog – Don’t want to subscribe to another email list? I can relate. Fortunately, you
can get the same informational content on our blog whenever you want it.
SOFTWARE, WEBSITES, UTILITIES
Vimeo – For video hosting, Vimeo offers some advantages over YouTube. I especially like the control you
have over what happens after a video finishes playing. You won’t be exposing your prospects to other
enticing off-topic videos or those of your competitors. Affiliate link.
Agile CRM – An integrated customer relationship management program plus automated marketing and
help desk management. This software does a lot for the price. I use Agile CRM myself as do some of my
clients. Use this software to track and score leads, administer email drip campaigns, segment audiences,
and more. It’s free to get started. You can set up your database, import data, and run some simple
automated campaigns before you have to start paying. Agile CRM is a SaaS product designed for small
businesses. Affiliate link.
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Pro Writing Aid – This tool is essential if you’re writing blogs, magazine articles, white papers, emails, or
other types of content. I’ve been using it since 2017 and wouldn’t want to be without the functionality
the software provides. I use the Word plug-in so I can check grammar, structure, and dozens of other
aspects of my content without leaving my go-to writing environment. Affiliate link.
Gimp – An alternative to Adobe Photoshop, Gimp is a free, open source, downloadable graphic imaging
program. It’s very powerful but it does have a learning curve. If you’ve used Photoshop before, you’ll
probably find similarities in Gimp. For newbies, look for tutorials on YouTube. Those have helped me out
on several occasions.
The Graphics Creator 7 – For simple graphics, consider this software. It comes with pre-made templates
and lots of graphic elements like people, symbols, fonts, icons, etc. Take the guesswork out of designing
things like YouTube banners or Facebook ads. I use The Graphics Creator most often for 3D images of
items like eBooks or white papers. I’ve also used it for call to action banners in emails or websites. The
software leans a bit more towards B2C marketing, but if you don’t have the time to learn Gimp or
another graphics design editor, The Graphics Creator 7 might be a solution for you. Affiliate link.
ShareX – This free screen-capture software has been working well for me. I find myself using it at least
once a week to grab screenshots I want to share with clients or plug into PowerPoint slides. You can
capture scrolling windows with this software, something that many screen grabbers don’t do very well.
The software also comes with useful utilities like color pickers or an image editor where you can draw on
captured images, add arrows, etc. I keep ShareX open in my Windows task bar all day.
Pixabay – A great free source for photos and other images you can use for blog posts, eBooks, slide
decks, and dozens of other types of content. Attribution is suggested but not required. Don’t download
images from a Google image search without obtaining a license from the image owner! I look for images
and video clips on Pixabay first. Sometimes selection is limited, so I have an alternate resource (see
below).
Depositphotos – Downloading images and videos from Depositphotos requires a paid subscription or
purchasing credits. They sometimes run special deals where you can buy credits at a discount. No
attribution is required when you use images purchased from Depositphotos and they have a large
collection from which to search. Affiliate link.
Co-Schedule Headline Analyzer – This free tool helps you build better blog titles. The software scores
your proposed headline and then tells you where it could be improved. Keep trying variations until your
score reaches an acceptable level.
Find Everything – Finding files on your computer can be a chore. If you have hundreds of folders,
searching with Windows File Manager can take forever. After I installed the free Find Everything
program it’s the only program I use to locate the files I’ve lost.
Missinglettr – This program lets you schedule social media posts that drive traffic back to your blog. My
clients have been seeing a growth in web traffic attributed to the campaigns I’ve set up for them.
Affiliate link.
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