Content Marketing

Jimmy Fallon Crowdsourcing for Ford, Emotional Content, Nook Media

The Strategist picks the day’s most relevant and interesting stories about the world of content from around the web. Here’s what you should be reading today:

Jimmy Fallon Crowdsourcing for Ad

Ford has set up SteertheScript, a crowdsourcing platform that asks fans to co-author an ad that will feature Jimmy Fallon, Todd Wasserman of Mashable reports.

The ad will be promoting Lincoln cars, which “has lost 63% of its sales since its 1990 peak.”

Making Content Emotional

CopyBlogger’s Demian Farnworth writes that marketers need to master four emotions in their content: love, greed, fear, and duty or honor.

He says, “If you’re a copywriter, then — by default — you should write to the emotions of your readers. You need to know the proper appeals to use in order to gain attention, stoke interest and push for action.”

Marketers should look to relieve their readers/consumers’ anxieties: “Give the reader the sense that you will bring him peace (financial, future, relational, future, security) … that you’ll solve his problems that keep him up at night … that you will give him a good night’s sleep … and you will win his attention.”

Barnes & Noble Focuses on Pinterest Users

A new video from Nook Media, a collaboration between Barnes & Noble and Microsoft, targets Pinterest users and scrapbookers.

The new platform, Nook Scrapbook, “enables users to rip and save pages in a personalized collection along with other chosen pages saved from catalogs and magazines.”

While Nook has been on Pinterest for six months, Barnes & Noble itself doesn’t have a page on the site.

Engaging Content in Every Industry

Sean McVey of Content Marketing Institute says that it doesn’t matter what industry marketers are in  engaging content can be created for anything.

Companies can always seek out issues that pertain to lots of people and write about how to solve them.

They can also ask different people to get involved and offer their own personal points of view. Content should be light, personal, and promoted on social media sites as well.

New York Times Offering Buyouts to Staff

The New York Times reports that 30 people in its newsroom are being offered buyout packages on a volunteer basis.

In a letter to employees, Jill Abramson said that a reduction of the number of people on staff was necessary. These severance packages have been offered before to workers in the advertising department.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman of the Times Company, said, “These are financially challenging times. … While our digital subscription plan has been highly successful, the advertising climate remains volatile and we don’t see this changing in the near future.”

Establishing a Freelance Writing Career

Miley Linden of The Work at Home Woman writes about what it takes to establish oneself as a freelance writer.

Aspiring freelancers should set up a support system of other freelancers and connect with them on LinkedIn, Media Bistro, and Freelance Writers Den. Basic research should be a part of the job (she suggests reading “The Urban Muse” by Susan Johnston and “The Well-Fed Writer” by Peter Bowerman) and a personal writing website is crucial.

“If you want to be taken seriously as a professional freelance writer, then you need to look the part,” says Linden. “You absolutely must have a website.  Without one, you will look like an amateur – especially if you are searching for online writing gigs.”

When Freelancing Goes Bad

Make a Living Writing reports on what to do if a freelance writing client is a nightmare. Writers need to set limits with their clients and not work during established times.

Contracts should always be given up front and negotiated upon if the job changes. If worst comes to worst, writers shouldn’t be scared to simply decline to do work: “When pushy clients want more and more, simply refuse to play. When they ask if you could bang out a couple of extra articles by Friday, tell them you’re fully booked. They can’t make you do it.”

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