Or, pull up your knickers and get to work. Here’s what you need to do, no matter what:

The Basics

Psychographic targeting? Awesome! Machine learning for search? Cool! Unless your creative is crap, your landing pages suck, and you can’t write a title tag.

Stay up to date. Try the new stuff. First, though, make sure you’ve nailed the basics because they impact every other digital marketing-ish thing you do:

1. Compress your frickin images. Don’t roll your eyes at me. I’ve looked at your site. Do it. Try Squoosh. The name alone makes it worth it. Shave off a half second and watch what happens. If you tell me “Oh, my pages load fast enough already” I’m going to fill your inbox with passive-aggressive networking requests: “I know you’re probably busy, but I wanted to make sure you saw my message…”
2. Stop asking me if page speed is a ranking factor. It’s an everything factor.
3. Using Google analytics? Make sure all your pages are tagged. Tools like GAChecker make it easy.
4. Make sure your site returns the right response codes. If it doesn’t, ask your developer to fix it. If they say, “Oh, it doesn’t matter…” my recommendation used to be to slap them in the face and tell them I told you to, but it’ll just get you in trouble. Instead, I’ll do the verbal equivalent for you if you cover travel expenses and put me up in a nice hotel. That’s with an “h,” not an “m.”
5. Buy PPC ads for your brand keywords. It’s cheap. It protects you from reprobates like me who buy ads for your brand keyword that say my client’s products are better than yours.
6. Make sure all pages on your site have meta description tags because yeah, they’re still important. The ideal description tag sells the page. It makes me want to read it. A good description tag doesn’t include the site navigation and “about us.”
7. Run the Moz Link Explorer. Look at the Top Pages report. If a top page returns a 404 or 30x response, put the page back. Don’t redirect it. Don’t shrug. Put. It. Back. Otherwise, you’re treating authority like a dead goldfish and hurting your SEO. Yes, I linked that to our services page. No need to click.
8. Get Grammarly. Because I don’t care if I’m a snob: Bad spelling makes me sad. Bad grammar bugs me.
9. Make sure your site’s SSL certificate works. Otherwise, Google Chrome users who visit your site will see all kinds of dire warnings with a teeny, tiny link at the bottom of the page that lets them see your site. Because Google protects us. Google loves us. Enter the warm embrace of Google. Mmmmmmmmmm.
10. Put content on your product and service pages. Don’t quarantine it on the blog like it’s a piece of e.coli-laced romaine lettuce. Add one sentence to each page that offers advice, further information, or a bit of entertainment related to whatever’s on the page.
11. Look at the most frequently asked questions you receive via email, phone, or in person. Make sure you answer them on relevant pages. If you shove them into a 5,000-word FAQ page, you get what you deserve.
12. Use Moz Keyword Explorer and/or AnswerThePublic.com to find every question asked about whatever it is you offer. Answer those on relevant pages.
13. Use bullets or numbers for lists. Anything else is too much work for the reader, first because you’re still trying to read this, second because now you’re considering giving up, and third because if you’re still reading this one you have far better mental fortitude than I.
14. Log into your Google Ads account. Go into your campaign settings. Unless you know what they mean, uncheck “Display Network” and “Search Network.” The alternative can be embarrassing.
15. Set up a separate campaign for the Search Network. Only use the Display Network if you know what you’re doing. Or if you’re high. Or if you’re handling someone else’s advertising and they’ve treated you like Montresor.
16. Insert obscure literary references into your content. It livens things up.
17. Run paid ads on Bing. 5–10% of the entire internet-using public is still an awful lot.
18. If you share something on Facebook, pay to boost/promote it to your followers. Otherwise, they probably won’t see it. By “probably” I mean “definitely.” There are lots of nuances and best practices, but for now, splurge: Spend ten bucks when you post something you want folks to see.
19. Before you use that stock image, search for it. See who else is using it. The brand you save may be your own.

Intermediate

Did the basics? Time to dig deeper.

20. Yeah, yeah, you’re brilliant. Unless you ignore the basic stuff. Then you’re a bit of a goober. Read Basic, above, and get to work.
21. Put Google Tag Manager on your site and take random-ass tracking JavaScripts off. Join us in the 21st century and take control of your tracking as a marketer (from Portent Analytics genius Michael Wiegand).
22. Learn to use LinkedIn Advertising. This is more of a beginner thing, but there’s a learning curve. Knowing Facebook does not prepare you for using LinkedIn.
23. Use Facebook for some B2B marketing. Your B2B customers are on there, too.
24. Use this tool to test content accessibility on your site. You don’t need to score 100%. You do need to take the report seriously and fix the obvious stuff (from front-end dev and H1-level nerd Jeremiah Bratton)
25. Learn what server-side caching is. Turn it on. Or use a service like Cloudflare. Otherwise: Inbox. Networking requests. Again with the don’t-ask-me-if-it’s-a-ranking-factor-thing. See above.
26. Google Analytics again: Enable Smart Goals.
    Separate your campaigns by device type.
27. Set up Bing Webmaster Tools. It’s the best SEO tool you’re not using right now.
28. Install the Facebook Pixel Helper Use it.
29. Use the “capping” system on paid media platforms when bidding on anything from CPM, to clicks, to conversions. It’ll prevent those late-night fiscal apocalypses and help you figure out where you’ve left money on the table. (from Portent’s overall marketing and social media nerd Alex DeLeon)
30. Be careful with Gutenberg
31. Even if you’re “not a designer,” learn some basic web typography. If reading your content makes my eyes bleed, I won’t be back.
32. Get Screaming Frog’s SEO Spider and learn to use it. It’s sooooo easy.
33. Still starved for content ideas? Find your most-popular, most-linked pages that are more than one year old. Update them.
34. Break up blog posts into social posts. Use them to drive traffic to the blog posts.
35. Break up ebooks into blog posts. Use them to drive traffic to the ebooks.
36. Don’t change content URLs when you update!!!!

Advanced

Now, do your nerd yoga:

37. Think you’re too good for the basics? You’re not. Go to the top of this page. Do the basic stuff. Then the intermediate. Then start on advanced.
38. Once you’ve got Google Tag Manager in place, enrich your dataLayer using an IP lookup service with JSON return. http://ip-api.com/docs/api:json (from Portent Analytics genius Michael Wiegand – great googly-moogly, Michael shows up here a lot)
39. Go into Google Search Console and read the URLs listed as “Crawled – currently not indexed” in the Coverage report. Identify which pages are important and need to be indexed. Fix them (from Portent technical SEO Evan Hall, who hasn’t written anything on our site yet but will be shortly).
40. Use googly-moogly in at least one piece of content per quarter. It’s refreshing. Or just write with some personality. Your choice.
41. Get Screaming Frog’s Log File Analyser and learn to use it. Your log files are the most accurate source of raw site usage data. Assuming your dev team set them up correctly. If they didn’t gently ask them to please kindly bring your web servers into the 21st century.
42. Objectively assess whether you need to use a client-side javascript framework for content delivery. What’s the reasoning? It’s like fruit compote on perfectly good pancakes. Tell me why I need this. Otherwise, it’s unnecessary adornment. I want an ironclad justification that doesn’t include “I just learned React.”
43. Prune the house email list. No sense ruining it by getting tagged as spam. I made this “advanced” because there’s a learning curve. Be careful.
44. If you’re going to throw around words like “artificial intelligence,” learn the difference between narrow and general AI. Unless you think you’ll enjoy the day you end up in a room pitching your marketing services, and some wiseass says “Really? AI?” and takes the entire conversation off the rails.
45. Try creating some content using Github and Markdown. For me.
46. Learn code coverage. Javascript is expensive. Again please don’t ask me if this is a ranking factor please I beg of you and when you do just to be a smartass I’m going to ban you from commenting until the end of time so there.

For The Win

47. Change your WordPress password. If you don’t, you might spend two days smacking yourself in the forehead while sifting through your site looking for links built by marketers who are too lazy to do real outreach. I have a good friend who just went through this experience. Someone else. Not me. No way. I’m too smart for that. Cough.
48. Don’t rely on this list. Build on it. Make your own. Because I don’t know you, I don’t know your brand, and I’m just a ranty marketer in Seattle who wrote this while stressed out about holiday shopping.

The post The Digital Marketing List: 48 Things You Should Be Doing But Probably Aren’t appeared first on Portent.

I wrote a recent post on Inman.com about a proposed change to the National Association of Realtor’s bylaws. The purpose of that post was to discuss the proposal, weigh the risks and rewards, and give my opinion.

But there’s a general discussion to be had about SEO, links and link schemes. This post is my own take on all that, as an old-fart SEO. It’s also my take as someone who never kept his mouth shut on the playground and learned some things the NAR needs to know:

• Don’t punch the big kid in the face. Punch them somewhere else
• Don’t pretend it’s an accident. It just makes them madder
• Don’t drag other people into it. It’s not fair
• Don’t expect them to negotiate. It’s too late

The proposal, and the problem

Remember: Don’t punch the big kid in the face.

We all know that Google despises manipulative linking:

Any links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site’s ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site.

Google’s notoriously vague about their terms of service. But they’re clear about arm-twisting link schemes. Here’s one of their examples of a link scheme:

Requiring a link as part of a Terms of Service, contract, or similar arrangement without allowing a third-party content owner the choice of using nofollow or other method of blocking PageRank, should they wish.

The proposal I reviewed reads:

Participants shall include…a prominent, followable, search engine indexable, plain HTML hyperlink…Participants shall not alter or manipulate any Link such that the Link is not readily recognized by search engines.

Translation: “To be part of our organization, you must provide followed links to certain content providers.”

Or: “We will require a link from you as a member, and you will not block this link from passing PageRank.”

I nearly coughed up my gallbladder. This is a hey-look-at-me punch aimed squarely at Google’s schnoz. You couldn’t have created a better example of a TOS violation.

Remember widgetbait? This makes widgetbait look like a love tap. Google is not going to let it go.

Yeah, NAR. This policy will punch Google in the face.

This is about attribution. Or is it?

Remember: Don’t pretend it’s an accident. It just makes the big kid madder.

I understand the non-SEO intent of this proposal. Redfin wants to provide attribution for people who create content. That’s a good thing. If you read my stuff, you know I feel pretty strongly about that.

If this weren’t an SEO thing, I’d be all for it.

Except this is an SEO thing. The proposal is crystal clear: It requires SEO-friendly links. Don’t pretend. Pretending otherwise insults everyone’s intelligence. It just makes them madder.

Google’s bad, and it doesn’t matter

Also important: Don’t drag other people into it.

Google sets my teeth on edge. Don’t manipulate links, they say. The next day I look around and find sites with laughable link profiles. They say provide a good UX and… well, you know how that ends.

They make white-hat SEOs look stupid on a daily basis. Their TOS enforcement is wildly inconsistent. Someone needs to call bullshit.

Right now, though, we’re talking about lots of people who have jobs and businesses that, for better or worse, depend on Google rankings. Unwittingly flinging them into a lopsided fight isn’t OK. There are other, more-impactful ways to do battle and keep everyone off Rocinante.^*

Don’t drag the entire industry into a fight you pick by violating Google’s terms of service. They didn’t volunteer, and it’s not fair.

Google won’t discuss this

One last thing: Don’t expect them to negotiate. It’s too late.

It’s tempting to think you can negotiate with Google.

Maybe you can, but not when you’re discussing a proposal that’s a perfectly-executed violation of their terms of service. You’re going to Google and saying “Hey, we’re going to stick a fork in your left nostril, is that OK? Can we talk now?”

The resulting “discussion” will be Google saying “let your realtors use nofollow, or we will bathe in the blood of your rankings.”

That’s a discussion you can avoid, by the way, with a simple fix.

Fixing this proposal

If your goal is attribution, there’s a simple fix for this proposal. Google’s going to object that this proposal requires followed links. So don’t. Permit nofollow, instead of forbidding it. Let folks decide for themselves.

It moves away from Google’s definition of a link scheme. It ends the fight before it begins and lets you pick a better one. So why not do it?

Pick another playground

For me, the last lesson was the most important.

I’m not suggesting you lie down and forget about attribution. I’m suggesting you pick a different playground.

Pick a situation where you’ve got a better argument, where you’re not directly violating Google’s terms of service, and where you can fight on behalf of your industry. That’s how you can win. Because like it or not, you’re the skinny kid on this playground.

^* Don Quixote’s horse. Also a spaceship in a cool TV show. If you’re heading for the latter, go for it. If the former, well, you know what happened in that story.

The post Pick Another Playground: Link Schemes & Lessons From The Skinny Kid appeared first on Portent.

It’s my beginner’s perspective on PPC and what not to do.

(It’s a lot of slides. Don’t worry, every slide has a single idea. No bullets. Because bullets kill.)

A Very Brief Sales Pitch

I don’t do this stuff, but my team does. They’re the experts. You can hire us for enterprise PPC and small business pay per click marketing.

The post PPC For Beginners: Learn From My Mistakes appeared first on Portent.

The post 5 Lessons For Entrepreneurs: 2018 Edition appeared first on Portent.

Intro: The problem
The Four Rules Of Content Workflow
Setting Up Your Tools
Getting Ready To Write
Writing
Committing (Saving) Your Work
Publishing
Repurposing
Resources

TL;DR We publish digital content. We write and create for the internet and screens. But our content workflow dates back to the days of desktop publishing. This post suggests a better way that uses Github and Markdown. It gets away from word processors and folders, helping you create content that’s ready for reuse. It uses readily available tools that won’t bloat your work or lock you into proprietary formats. Read on for a step-by-step walkthru. With a few stops for ranting and raving.

A couple years ago I measured how I spend time when writing. I wanted to see where/if I could tweak my content workflow. The result was so depressing I wore the same pair of cycling socks for a week:

It takes me about 90 minutes to write a 750-word blog post. In that time, I spend:

• 45 minutes writing
• 15 minutes editing
• 30 minutes doing… what exactly?

Wait. What? That can’t be right. I spend a third of my time on a writing project not writing.

What. The. Actual. Fucklebucket.^*

So I checked my notes.

33% of writing time is sucked out of me by time-wasting stupidity:

• Flailing around, trying to clean up a formatting problem in a blog post
• Troubleshooting software problems
• Digging up the second version of my intro, which I think I liked better than the fifth and sixth, but I honestly can’t remember because I usually just delete and type over stuff
• Trying to figure out how the hell I create a smart quote
• Reformatting a whole Word doc because the editor wants it in Google Docs format
• Recapturing images because they’re all embedded in the document, and they look like poo

All these examples fall into two groups: Formatting and version management. Both are our jobs. Even if we have our own editorial and design team

HAHAHAHA DID I JUST SAY THAT BECAUSE YEAH SURE I HAVE 3 PEOPLE AT MY BECK AND CALL JUST TO MAKE SURE MY STUFF LOOKS GOOD HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA cough sniff

we’re responsible for the first pass. Formatting and version management is part of our job.

And we suck at them.

We worry about flinging the next blog post over the wall, instead of creating versatile content that we can publish anywhere and reuse anytime.

We’ve Got Problems

We think about decoration first, structure second.

We worry about flinging the next blog post over the wall, instead of creating versatile content that we can publish anywhere and reuse anytime.

We save five minutes now and cost ourselves hours later.

We spend our time on writing, editing, and publishing. But we ignore the stuff that moves content between those steps: Workflow. So our workflow is riddled with potholes and broken glass. We still have to move from writing to editing to publishing. But instead of helping, the workflow slows us down.

An Outdated Workflow For Outdated Tools

We’re working on the internet, but we use tools created for desktop publishing in the 1980s. Yes, even you fresh-faced youngsters with healthy backs and no ear hair are using the software equivalent of antiques.

I’m talking about Word Processors. Word processors weren’t designed for writing. They were designed for typing and decorating. Word, Google Docs, and their devil-spawn relatives were designed to bring bold type and Comic Sans to the masses. They are not designed to help writers create, manage, and publish structured content.

I’m also talking about storage. Files saved in folders—online or off—are a metaphor for paper and filing cabinets. They’re about as useful as the corded phone I now use as a doorstop. They were created so that one person (maybe two) could work on one piece of content at a time.

Sure, there are tools out there that claim to update all of this, streamline workflow, etc. They all become bloated, expensive versions of the word processors and dated storage metaphors they try to replace. Fancier potholes. Prettier broken glass.

So poof. A third of my time gone because I’m spending my time in Dropbox and plinking away in Microsoft Word and Google Docs.

We need a better way to do this.

Find A Better Way

This is what I’ve worked out: A workflow that creates structured, reusable content. It lets me manage versions across devices and multiple writers. And it works well for 750-word blog posts as well as chapter books.

Most important, it lets me spend more time writing.

There’s a nice benefit to all this, too: Your writing looks better on the web. Let’s face it: Most of us write for the web. We’re publishing blog posts day in, day out. Use this workflow and your writing is web-ready (I hate that phrase, but it works here). It looks better, loads faster, and gets view source-ing HTML geeks like me nodding with approval.

Feel free to try all or some of it.

Also feel free to hunt me down on LinkedIn or Twitter: @portentint and https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianlurie/

The Four Rules Of Content Workflow

First, a successful workflow has to follow these four rules:

Structure > Format And Design

Structure matters more than format or design: The fact that you have say, a level one heading is more important than exactly how that level one heading looks, because it may look different on various platforms.

You can pour well-structured content into lots of different formats, from Microsoft Word to HTML. You can easily change the design of well-structured content using CSS or any other templates, including Microsoft Word and Google Docs.

You can also easily repurpose well-structured content, adapting it from prose to presentation to script.

So a good content workflow has to support structure first, format and design second.

Proprietary Tools Are Traps

Tools—word processors, for example—trap us with proprietary formats. They also trap us on specific devices.

Yes, I can open a Google Doc or Word file on my phone. Yes, I could edit it. But I won’t, because it’s awful.

I need a cross-platform process that’s as tool-independent as possible.

Repurposing Is Inevitable

Smart content creators re-use their work.

• E-books become blog series
• Blog posts become slide decks
• Transcripts become blog posts
• Word documents become Google Docs become HTML

I’m going to repurpose content. My workflow has to support that.

Good Writers Are Orderly Hoarders

I always seem to delete an old file moments before I need it. Or I forget why I made an edit. Or I edit in circles, ending up back where I started.

We need to keep everything for every project:

• All revisions and drafts
• All image files
• All other supporting files
• The full change history for all of the above

And we need to keep it in an organized format.

Setting Up Your Tools

You only have to do this work once. If you’ve never used these tools, there’s a learning curve that feels pretty short if you’ve been using desktop software.

Still, it takes a little patience to install new stuff. Take the extra time now, and you’ll save hours later.

Install Markdown Tools

First, you’re going to work in Markdown. I’ve already written about why, so I won’t waste too many words on it here. Markdown is a super-simple markup language that’s perfect for writers. Everything you’re reading right now started as Markdown.

There’s also a great tutorial here and a syntax cheatsheet here.

You can write Markdown using a plain text editor, then preview and export it to other formats, like HTML.

But there are a few Markdown-focused editors that make it easier. They still use plain text—no proprietary formatting—but they flatten the learning curve. My favorite is Typora.

Typora

Typora runs on OS X, Windows and Linux. Type in Markdown and Typora gives you an instant preview. So if I type:

# Typora

It instantly turns that into a level one heading “Typora.”

Download it here: typora.io.

Note: When you install Typora, go to Preferences or Settings (depending on the operating system). Find the Markdown tab/settings. Make sure you uncheck “Smart Quotes:”

Turn off smart quotes in Typora

Typora is filled with all sorts of other niftiness, like key combos to add links and set headings. Be sure to explore it.

Other Options

I also really like:

• Dillinger.io
• iaWriter
• Ulysses

And my longtime favorite, atom.io. Atom is a pure text editor, so it’s not as friendly, but it’s fast as heck and easy to customize. If you want to get nerdier, that’s your best choice.

You can use a standalone preview and export tool like Marked 2, or automate advanced templating and batching with Pandoc (very steep learning curve, very powerful). But for 99% of your work, Typora’s export features will work just fine.

Set Up Version Control With Github

Rule of Content Workflow Number Four: We need to be orderly hoarders. To do that, use Github.

Developers built it to support developers. But what do developers do? They type stuff into files. They save the files. They manage versions of those files while lots of other developers edit and contribute.

So this tool they built is perfect for writers, too. And while it looks scary, it isn’t that hard to learn.

1. Install Git on your computer. You can get the Windows installer here and the OS X installer here. If you’re on Linux, I’ll assume you know what you’re doing.
2. Go to github.com
3. Set up an account
4. Download the Github desktop client

You’re all set.

Git will let you track changes with far more detail than Microsoft Word, and pass your work around for simultaneous revisions or contributions by lots of other people.

It’s also close to bulletproof, which you’ll really appreciate if you’ve ever used the revision tracking in Word, Google Docs and other tools.

One Last Gadget

Go get TextExpander. Yes, it costs a little money. It’s worth it.

After you install it, subscribe to this snippet group:

HTML Entities

It’s where I keep the shortcuts I use to create smart quotes and such. They’re handy if you’re in a hurry or can’t remember the HTML entity for a smart right quote (like me).

What You’ve Got

You’re ready to follow all four rules of content workflow:

• Markdown and Typora help you create structure
• You’re not using any proprietary formats
• The resulting content will be easily repurposed from one format to another
• Thanks to Github, you’ll be an orderly hoarder

Hopefully, this whole process didn’t take more than fifteen minutes. If it did, I apologize. Please throw empty beverage cans at me the next time you see me. Empty ones. It’s not like I stole your car or something.

Getting Ready To Write

I’ve got lots of steps here, but this takes about five minutes, start to finish:

Step 1: Create Your Work Folder And File

Your work needs a home. Create one in advance. I’m writing this to prep for Learn Inbound. I’m going to have images and some supporting files.

Now, create your markdown file.

1. Create a folder where your work will live. I’m writing this to prep for Learn Inbound. I’m going to have images and some supporting files. I create folders accordingly
2. Open Typora
3. Click File >> New
4. Save the file in your work folder. You can name it whatever you want. I’m not feeling all that creative, so I’ll name it “post.”

You’ll end up with this:

For bonus points, in Typora, click View >> Outline and you’ll see a nice heading-based outline of your work as you write. It’s a structural view of your content. And structure is what we’re all about, right?

Outline View In Typora

Step 2: Create Your Github Repository

Git is pretty intimidating until you break it down into steps:

1. Open Github Desktop
2. Click File >> Add Local Repository
3. Choose your work folder
4. If Github Desktop asks, click create a repository here
   

   Create a new repository in Github Desktop

5. Click Create Repository or Add Repository as relevant
6. Github does its thing. If you look in your folder and can see hidden files, you may see some stuff like this. They belong there. Let them go on with their lives:
   

   Ignore these

7. You’ll also see the repository appear on the left, much like this:

Git repository, added to Github Desktop

It won’t have the lock until you push the repository to Github.com.

Now that you did all that, here’s a tip: You can also create a repository by dragging a folder into Github Desktop. But if you do, I deny all responsibility. I’ve had very odd results with drag and drop. Which is reasonable from a tool built by folks who probably haven’t used a mouse in 20 years. I say that with the utmost respect and awe.

Step 3: Put Your Repository On Github.com

So far, you’ve got a Github repository on your local computer. That’s not all that helpful. Now you need to “push” all of this up to Github. That way, your files are backed up, you can retrieve them anywhere, and you can have other folks work on your writing.

1. In Github Desktop, click the Publish Repository button. Here’s what it looks like on OS X:
   

   Publish repository from Github Desktop

2. Check Keep this code private
3. Unless you’ve set up a Github organization or have an enterprise account (you’ll know if you do), don’t change any other settings
4. Click Publish Repository
5. If you’re not logged into Github, you’ll get a login prompt.
6. Github desktop pushes files up to the cloud and creates a repository on your Github account

Done. If you want to geek out, log into github.com. You’ll see that your new repository is all comfy and cozy:

Your content project, on Github

Large Projects

Github kicks buttocks if you’re creating something large and complicated. If you’re working on a big project, you’ll want to do a couple other things:

1. Add a readme.md. it’s a special file that Github will show as part of your project’s “home page.” It’s an excellent place to make notes for the rest of the team
2. Invite others to the repository. Sharing is caring (the kind of thing I write on a Sunday when I’ve rewritten this post five times)
3. Learn how branches work. I wrote a very short bit about that below. Someday I’ll write a separate post

What You’ve Got

You should now have:

• A home for your work, both on your desktop and on Github.com
• Your first files

Between that and a few bathroom breaks, you’ve spent about ten minutes.

Now you can write!

Writing

You know what to do. Write stuff. Add images and whatever else you need. A few time- and sanity savers:

Structure

Remember Rule Number One: Structure is more important than format.

Use the handy outline on the left side of Typora for an at-a-glance structural view of your content:

Outline view shows me where I'm at in the content structure

If you’re working on a large, multi-file project, you can change the outline to a file tree. Then you can see all text and Markdown files. I’m an outline fan myself.

Syntax

This isn’t a guide to Markdown. You can find that here.

But follow these guidelines:

Headings

Headings are the core of good structure. Web browsers, search engines, word processors, presentation software and most other content tools convert headings into content blocks and outline elements. You must use them.

When you create a heading, use this syntax:

# Heading 1

## Heading 2

### Heading 3

And so on. That creates real, structural headlines.

In HTML, that markup becomes proper markup for each heading level:

<h1>Heading 1</h1>
<h2>Heading 2</h2>
<h3>Heading 3</h3>

And so on. In Word, it will become a proper Heading 1, 2, 3. In Powerpoint, proper headings become the outline of slides and slide headings.

Psst: Typora also has a handy key combo to set headings. On OS X, CMD+1 creates a level one heading. CMD+2 creates a second level heading. And so on. On Windows, use CTRL+1, etc.

Lists

Lists are the next-most-important structural element. Lists in HTML are a pain in the butt. Lists in Markdown are easy:

* List item 1
* List item 2
* List item 3

Becomes:

• List item 1
• List item 2
• List item 3

For numbered lists, replace * with numbers.

When you export to HTML, Typora will convert the Markdown list to correct HTML markup:

<ul>
 	<li>List item 1</li>
 	<li>List item 2</li>
 	<li>List item 3</li>
</ul>

It will also generate a proper list in Microsoft Word, RTF, etc., applying any styles you’ve created for lists.

Tables

This is a good reason to use Typora. In Markdown, tables look like this:

| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
| -------- | -------- | -------- |
| Row 1    |          |          |
| Row 2    |          |          |
| Row 3    |          |          |

I take one look at that and my brain throws up in its mouth.

Typora has a nice WYSIWYG tool that lets you create and manage tables the same way you would in—dare I say it—a word processor. Hey, Microsoft Word is good at a few things.

Those tables convert directly to HTML, .doc, etc.

Images

Since Markdown files are text, you don’t embed images directly in them. Instead, you use some code to point to the image:

Adding an image in Markdown

When you convert your work to .doc, Google Docs or PDF, the converter embeds the images. But if you’re converting this all to a blog post on, say, WordPress, you’ll have to insert the images again.

Bummer.

You should still insert the images. That way you can see them and get an idea how they’ll look in the final document. And, when you generate formats other than HTML, the images will come along for the ride. Yes, you’ll have to insert them again in WordPress. But it’s fast since you already have all the images in a nice, neat folder on your laptop.

Again, Typora makes inserting images quite a bit easier: Click Format >> Image and it inserts the code, as well as a nice file dialog so you can select the image.

Links

Links use the same code as images, but remove the “!”

[Link text here](https://www.eigene-homepage-erstellen.net)

Becomes

Link text here

Note that Typora automatically previews the link for you, hiding the code and replacing it with the link text.

TextExpander, Smart Quotes And Entities

This isn’t a structure thing. It’s all about Rules Two and Three: Proprietary tools are traps, and repurposing is Inevitable.

There are dumb quotes:

" A dumb double quote

' A dumb single quote

And there are smart quotes:

‘ A smart left single quote

’ A smart right single quote

“ A smart left double quote

” A smart right double quote

There are hyphens and en and em dashes, ellipses, and all sorts of other smart symbols. They look a lot better than straight quotes, and they’re easier to use than hand-coding trademarks and long dashes.

To correctly show smart characters In HTML, you need to use entities. For example, ‘ shows a smart left single quote. Entities will convert correctly from Markdown to HTML, to Word, and to all other formats.

But I just hit 50 years old. I can’t remember that ‘ is the entity for a smart left single quote. I can’t remember where I left my bike helmet.

That’s where TextExpander comes in handy. If you grabbed the snippets collection I linked to above—here it is again—then you have a shortcut.

If you need a smart left single quote, type .ldq+TAB. TextExpander will turn that shortcut into “. It will do the same for ellipses (.ep) and a bunch of others. You can browse the snippet collection to see what’s available. If you need something else, let me know, and I’ll add it.

You can use TextExpander for other stuff. Go read up on it. It’ll save you more writing time.

I wrote a post way back about little things to make your content better. Smart quotes were part of it. Have a look.

What You’ve Got

You’re creating structured content without proprietary tools or formats. It’s ready for publishing to multiple formats. You’ve nailed every rule of content workflow.

Time Saved

Because you’re writing for structure, you can type your brains out, creating headings and such, without worrying about how your content will look. Your work will apply whatever template or CSS is waiting for it when you publish.

My rough math: Working in Markdown saves me about 10 minutes for every hour of work on a writing project.

Committing Your Work (Saving, Sort Of)

Remember, all good writers are hoarders.

The cool kids call it “committing,” not “saving.”

Set whatever editing tool you use—Typora or something else—to autosave, of course. But that just saves your work to the original file.

It doesn’t do any nifty cool version management, and it doesn’t push it to Github, where the file can hunker down all nice and safe with all the related image files, support files, etc. etc.

Whenever you finish a section, or a draft, or take a break, use Github Desktop to commit your work. Committing saves a snapshot of every file in your project, including your Markdown.

I just finished writing this section. One of my cats is demanding a tummy rub. Before I give that tummy rub and she flays me alive (which she will), I commit my work:

1. Open Github Desktop
2. Make sure you’ve selected your project as the current repository:
   

   The current repository

3. If you’ve been working and committing changes for a while, you’ll see all sorts of neat stuff. A list of changed files (1), notation showing text you’ve deleted (2), text you’ve added and older changes (3):
   

   Current Repository

4. Look at the lower left corner of the Github Desktop window. See the field that reads “Summary (required)?”
   

   Entering a summary into Github

5. Enter a label for this snapshot. I usually use a short phrase that indicates where I stopped, like “Just finished first draft of committing work section.” You can enter a description too if you want.
6. Click Commit to master. “Master” may be a different word depending on the branch (another concept for later). 99.999% of the time, it will read Commit to master.
7. Github Desktop saves a snapshot of every file as it exists right now, with your label.

That’s it. I go pet my cat, then use Neosporin after she tries to rip my arm off, then get back to work. Next time I take a break, I’ll commit those changes. And so on.

Here’s why you do it. And pay attention, because this is freaking awesome. I can now see every commit in Github Desktop, down to the individual edits I made. I can zip up and down the History, going all the way back to the very beginning of my writing.

How Github Can Save Writers Time

I wrote a whole funny metaphor about monkeys and cork and rocks. I crack myself up. But it has no place in a written piece that’s already too long, so I delete it.

I do want to use it in a talk I’m giving at Learn Inbound. So I delete the whole section, then commit the change:

Deleting a section, then committing the change so i don't forget

I can retrieve it later and, if anyone else ever reviews, they can see what I did and why.

I can also recover files that I may have deleted.

Pushing Your Changes to Github

You’ve got everything committed on your computer. That won’t do much good if:

• Your computer goes flying out of your backpack while you’re biking home (happened)
• That ONE TIME you decide not to take your laptop on vacation, you suddenly remember you need to add a section to your piece (happened)
• You want someone else to have a look, but you can’t email a copy to them (happened)
• You hate what you wrote, decide to start over, delete everything in a fit, then have regrets (never happened)

You need to “push” your changes to Github.com:

1. In Github Desktop, click Push Origin:

Push origin

Actually, it’s a one-step process. You’re done.

Every change you’ve committed is now uploaded (“pushed”) to Github.

At the very least, it’s the best backup ever.

But it’s a heck of a lot more than that. These are a few things you can do. I won’t go into the procedures for each. Knowing they’re available is enough for now:

• Provide three copies of your work to three people, let them edit independently, then compare and merge changes
• Retrieve your work anywhere, work on it, and then check it back in
• Recover an image you deleted a month ago
• Automatically publish when you push to Github (ooooohhhh ahhhhhh)
• Automatically push to Github when you publish (ooooh ahhhhhh)
• Publish entire books on Github

Neat.

Showing Off: Team Workflow With Github

Say you want to hand your blog post to the rest of your team for their review. What do you do?

Most people cut-and-paste the blog post into Word or Google Docs. The other writers make their edits using Track Changes or Recommendations mode. Then you review and accept/reject each change and make the corresponding change in your original HTML, text, or other format.

Eesh.

Instead, pass your Markdown file to your teammates. Let them edit it. Then check in their changes and accept or reject them in the original.

To do that:

1. Share your project with your teammates
2. Create a branch for each teammate
3. Let them do their work
4. Compare branches with flagged changes
5. Accept or reject them, branch by branch
6. Merge the branches back to the original “master”

No cutting-and-pasting to and from Word or Google Docs.

It’s a little more complicated than this. If you reach a point where you’re using team-based workflows, take the time to learn how branching works. For now, put a bookmark here. Understand that it’s possible, and that you’ve got the tools in place to support it.

What You’ve Got

You now have a rock-solid backup and save toolset. You can be an orderly hoarder, following Content Workflow Rule Four. You can support more complex team workflows later on.

Time Saved

Github Desktop lets me hoard every change I’ve ever made to any file in this project.

Yeah, I get a little excited thinking about it.

Time saved: I’ve spent an hour or two trying to track down a note or a change, or replacing lost images, video, or attachments. This ensures I never have to do that again.

Publishing

After all that, it’s time to publish.

If you’ve followed this workflow, you have content that’s structurally sound: You can drop it into any template in Word, Google Docs, InDesign, or on your website or blog. Your writing will adopt the template or CSS of the document or site. You can publish your content to many formats from a single source with no (or at least very little) time spent formatting.

Time saved: Gobs and gobs.

Exporting to HTML

You can export using Typora’s built-in tools one of three ways:

If You’re Publishing On WordPress (Or Another CMS)

If you’re publishing on WordPress or any other CMS that allows HTML input, you want to cut-and-paste HTML straight into the WordPress editor:

1. Select the entire piece. You can use Select All or whatever key combo selects all
2. Click Edit >> Copy As HTML Code
3. Paste the result into WordPress

You’ve just pasted in nice, clean HTML. Insert your images, and you’re good to go.

You’re going to ask about the new Gutenberg editor. It’s coming to WordPress. It doesn’t support Markdown all that well. But we’ll see: It’s still in very early Beta.

Saving HTML For Publishing Anywhere

If you’re publishing anywhere at all, you can export HTML:

1. Click File >> Export >> HTML (Without Styles)
2. Name the file
3. Poof. You have HTML. With images and all sorts of goodies:

HTML exported from Markdown, using Typora

The image is uncompressed and unsized because I left it that way. I know Repurposing Is Inevitable (Third Rule Of Content Workflow). For now, I’m leaving my images alone.

Typora generates stripped HTML: No CSS, no formatting of any kind.

Saving HTML With Formatting

You can also save HTML with CSS. Click File >> Export >> HTML.

Typora generates HTML using whatever theme you used.

“Themes” are different HTML templates you can apply to your writing right in Typora. Click Themes in the menubar. You’ll see different options. Try ’em. It won’t break anything.

If you export HTML with styles, Typora uses the theme as your template.

And yes, you can create custom themes. That’s a whole other post or six.

Advanced HTML Creation

If you want to get fussy, install Marked 2, then open your Markdown file in that and select Edit >> Copy HTML Source. That gets you the most pristine, publishing-ready HTML, complete with proper heading IDs and entities. So far the only person who’s ever noticed the difference was me, though. Unless you’re my kind of crazy, Typora will work just fine.

A Quick Note About Typora And “data-breakpage”

Typora inserts this weird bit of code into all H1s:

<h1 data-breakpage>

I’m honestly not sure what it is. I should probably know. I don’t. I don’t like loose ends, so I usually delete it. If anyone figures out what it’s for, let me know.

Exporting To Other Formats

Typora natively supports lots of formats. Click File >> Export and you can see a list. Notable formats include:

• PDF: Uses the theme you’ve selected. That’s rarely ideal, so I recommend exporting to Word. Apply whatever Word template you’re using, then save that as a PDF
• Word: Uses whatever your computer’s default Word template is (normal.dot). You can then copy-and-paste into another template, or use Word’s style management tools
• RTF (Rich Text Format): Great for pasting into Google Docs
• Open Office: If you’re a rebel
• Epub: Export straight to ebook format

Because your content is well-structured—headings are headings, bold is bold, lists are lists—you can apply whatever templates you’ve created.

Advanced Publishing With Pandoc

Pandoc is a super-advanced document converter. Here are a few things it can do:

• Publish to multiple formats at once: For example, you can generate PDF, HTML, and Word with one command
• Publish to Word using unique templates
• Publish to HTML using specific templates
• Publish lots of files to multiple formats

Here’s a quick example: I write lots of little documentation snippets for my team. These snippets are 5–10 sentences, with images. There are dozens, and I edit them all the time. I then provide them in Markdown, HTML, Word and Google Doc format. I use Pandoc to regenerate and export all four formats from a single set of files.

I also use Pandoc to publish to HTML and ebook format simultaneously.

Pandoc is complicated, though. It’s a command-line tool with a steep learning curve. Use with caution.

What You’ve Got

You’re now a publisher. From your single Markdown file, you can deliver HTML, Word, PDF and whatever else you need. You can do it without proprietary tools, and you can easily repurpose: Your publishing process follows Rules Of Content Workflow Two and Three.

Time Saved

Any time you move content from one format to another, you’ve got trouble:

• Publishing to HTML from Word, you have to resize images and clean up formatting
• Publishing to Word or PDF from HTML (it happens), you have to reformat and restructure your content to fit the target template

It’s a pain in the tuchus, and it wastes time. You save all of that by starting in Markdown and publishing to your various formats from there.

Repurposing

Beating this to death:

If I decide six months from now to publish this post as an ebook, I can do it from Typora by clicking File >> Export >> Epub or PDF. I won’t have to reformat anything.

If I want to republish on another website, I can do that, too, generating clean HTML that’s cut-and-paste ready.

I can generate a nice, neat outline in OPML.

I have pure, structural content I can move from format to format without breaking a sweat.

So What?

You just followed me down the nerdy rabbit hole, jumping from Markdown to Github and back again.

Why bother? Why not keep using Microsoft Word, and writing directly in WordPress?

Time.

No one gives us enough time to write. If they did give us enough time, we’d want more of it.

Once you settle into this workflow, you’ll be more efficient. You can write more and spend more time polishing what you write. You’ll create better stuff.

This is a content workflow that might take us from the Age of the Word Processor—the age of boldface and comic sans—to the age of digital-ready structured content. And it makes us better writers at the same time.

What’s not to like?

Get In Touch (Really)

I’m a digital marketer. I don’t earn a living setting up content workflows. Contact me with questions, and you’ll only get advice. No pitch: @portentint and https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianlurie/

Resources

Butterick’s Practical Typography
Little Things To Make Content Better
Markdown Syntax Guide
Typora

^* “Fucklebucket” is a rated PG version of f–k. I came up with it once when, in front of my six and eight-year-old kids, I burned my finger on dry ice and started to drop an f-bomb. It was a pretty good save, I thought.

The post Content Workflow Using Github And Markdown appeared first on Portent.

Sometimes, when I walk out of a meeting, usually a quarterly or monthly There-Is-A-Very-Important-Person-In-The-Room kind of meeting, I head to my car. I close the door. I crank up the radio. Then I punch the roof as hard as I can while screaming “fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.”

Most of the time, that’s because I failed to persuade the Very Important Person In The Room.

And most of the time, that’s because I provided a report about as consumable as a bag of 6-week-old broccoli you keep shoving further back in the vegetable drawer.

Face it: When it comes to reporting, digital marketers suck. We lecture clients about audience awareness. Then we create reports that ignore our own audience. We dive down into the details too fast, or we deliver no detail at all. We make it hard for clients to get more information. Our reports are backward. Upside-down and sideways. Mish-mashed. Cattywampus. Higgledy-piggledy.

Want to fix it? Stop dumping data in the client’s lap. Use progressive detail.

Progressive detail is layered. The top layers show metrics and KPIs most directly connected to overall business performance. Deeper layers get more and more tactical. They show metrics that support day-to-day decision making but may not mean much to executives who spend their time looking at overall business performance.

Progressive detail creates this layered presentation with multiple formats:

1. Dashboards start with the big picture and then deliver increasingly granular summaries
2. Detailed findings and recommendations explain dashboards and provide specific next steps. This is what usually call “the written report.” After you read this, you’ll know better
3. Tabular data provide the raw backup to support the rest of the report

Progressive detail helps digital marketers stand out, not as tactical nerds, but as marketers who understand the big picture. It means fewer roof-punching moments.

Here’s how to do it.

Ingredients Of A Kick-Ass Report

Short version: A kick-ass report combines dashboards, detailed findings and recommendations, and tabular data. Treat reports like user manuals. But read the rest of this section if you want examples.

I see marketers say “report” and mean one of these:

• A 70-page-long, in-depth written discussion of recommendations or findings
• A slide deck
• A dashboard
• A bunch of tables

Cow dung. Those are just formats, and a format does not make a meaningful report.

Kick-ass reports don’t follow a one-size-fits-all format. Instead, they use multiple formats to deliver information to various audiences: Dashboards (or slides), tabular data, and detailed findings and recommendations. These are the formats:

Dashboards

Dashboards are slides, graphics, web pages, or spreadsheets designed for at-a-glance consumption:

Overall KPI Performance

They can include annotation. Just avoid the blah-blah-blah this went up, this went down stuff. The graphics should already speak for themselves. Tell your clients something they don’t know:

Annotated dashboard - email marketing performance

Don’t learn dashboard design from me. Learn from the masters:

Stephen Few: Information Dashboard Design and Now You See It. This is practical stuff you can’t find anywhere else.

Everything ever written by Edward Tufte. Given a choice, I’d pick his brain over John Malkovich. Sorry, John.

I have a couple of practical rules, though. When you create dashboards:

• Assume paper. Someone, somewhere, is going to try to print the dashboard. Maybe they own stock in a paper company, or they want to hang up a cool-looking graph. It doesn’t matter. Just be sure your report is readable when printed on an 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper
• Skip the metaphor. They don’t need gauges and thermometers. Show them data with as little adornment as possible
• Annotate, don’t narrate. Explanatory text should add value, not repeat what the graph already shows
• Minimize text. Better yet, create a dashboard so amazing it doesn’t require annotation. That’s impossible, but it’s a good goal

Dashboards are great for illustrating conclusions and guiding the discussion. They aren’t great for details. Which is why you also need this next format.

Detailed Findings And Recommendations

Eventually, someone looks at the dashboard and needs two things:

• A closer look; and
• Next actions

That’s what detailed findings and recommendations are for. This is the deep dive, with full explanation of what you found, as well as actionable advice. It’s all the information you can’t put in a dashboard. Use this format to deliver the detailed narrative and step-by-step recommendations:

Detailed Findings and Recommendations - most people call this a "report"

If you want to create proper detailed findings and recommendations:

• Provide insight. Same as dashboards: Don’t just narrate the data. Computers can do that. Provide findings and actionable recommendations
• Chunk it up. Organize recommendations into meaningful units. When moving to the next recommendation, start a new page
• Learn to write. You don’t need to be the next Stephen King. You do need to string together coherent sentences. Anyone can. If you don’t want to bother, then don’t write the document

Divide detailed findings and recommendations into smaller chunks

Anyone looking at dashboards or the details may question the data. That’s what tables are for.

There are plenty of folks who will question the data no matter what you show them. Please read my yet-to-be-published post, “Dealing With Lunatics.”

Tables

Tables show raw information as tabular data. They’re not designed to explain. They’re designed to enable analysis and serve as a kind of data bibliography: They show readers the source of your analysis.

By the way: Tables can be annotated and used in a dashboard. I’m not a fan of this approach, though. Tables aren’t the best way to show change over time. They’re lousy comparison tools. Use them instead as a way to deliver raw, tabular data.

Tabular format shows unfiltered performance data

They’re any tabular presentation. Software doesn’t define a table. Want to use Excel? Sure. Google Sheets? If you must. But you might use HTML (gag), or a dashboard reporting tool that spits out information in a tabular format. It doesn’t matter if you use fridge magnets, as long as your client can read it.

Don’t get lazy! Don’t throw data into a table and fling it at the client. Tables are not reports. They’re the reference behind the report.

Phew! Made it! You now know the ingredients of a kick-ass report. It’s time to put it all together.

Putting It All Together: Progressive Detail

Short version: There isn’t one. Keep reading.

You have to assemble the ingredients—the dashboards, details, and tables—for your readers. That means using progressive detail.

A report uses ‘progressive detail’ when:

• The top layer of the report delivers the information everyone needs
• The bottom layer gives the super-detailed information individual practitioners need
• The intermediate layers increase in detail, allowing readers to opt out when they have what they need

All clients have at least three levels of readers. It might be a single person in multiple roles or teams spread across a large organization. A report using progressive detail delivers layers of information, each layer more granular than the last:

Layers in a progressively detailed marketing report

Your report may have more layers or more dashboards. This is just an example.

Different layers cater to different audiences:

Top Layer: C-whatever-Os

The very top layer is for the CEO/CMO/CxO. The board has hired them, or they own the business.

They’re hired to provide a long-term vision but get their ass fired (or go out of business) if they miss their two-month numbers.

The C-whatever-O needs to see overall business performance and the top one or two KPIs. They need a clear picture of the state of digital marketing at their company.

Show them one or two dashboards tied directly to their KPI goals:

Marketing report layers for the CxO

Most C-whatever-Os stop here. If they want more, they head “down” to the next layer.

Next Layers: VP-Director-Seniors

The VP/Director/Senior is stuck in the middle. The C-whatever-O wants More ROI or Whatever They’ve Read About In This Month’s Forbes. The practitioners want to know why the VP ignores their concerns about dev resources, why they’re forced to record their hours, and why the CEO just told them to switch to NLP AI Machine Learning Data Driven Virtual Paper Identity Persona Powered Enhanced Marketing (again, Forbes).

They need to see what’s working and decide what’s not and guide my team’s decision-making accordingly.

Show them two or three layers of data, from top-level business performance to channel-by-channel data. That drives their decision making.

Marketing report layers for the VP type person: Still dashboards

A masochistic VP-type person can always dive even deeper, looking at the practitioner data.

Bottom Layers And Tables: Practitioners

The practitioners are the doers. Week-to-week, day-to-day, hour-to-hour, they execute the campaigns.

I don’t think it’s plagiarism if I cite The Doors for that reference.

For them, it’s all about the tactics.

Show them everything: The dashboards for the C-whatever-O and the VP types, then all the detail that follows. Help them justify their existence. Give them the raw data, and specific findings and recommendations. Written reports. The whole shebang:

Practitioners want it all: Tabular data, detailed recommendations, and dashboards

Not Drill-Down. Progressive.

Progressive detail is not drill down.

Never provide “drill down” capabilities for C-whatever-Os or VP types. Drill-down means the user interacts with the report, selecting dimensions and filters to get more detail. Drill-down is helpful for practitioners, but the last thing I want is my C-whatever-O or VP getting frustrated as they try to find the right drop-down menu. They don’t have time for this.

So the first three layers of my report are pure dashboards. You might include a date range selector, but that’s it. Allow data exploration with successive dashboards and navigation.

It’s not because CxOs and VP types are dumb. Some of my best friends are CxOs. Heck, so am I. Give us simple navigation instead of drill down because we don’t have time or brainspace to do in-depth data exploration.

Make it easy for us.

Always Use Progressive Detail!

It’s tempting to cut corners. You may think “This is the monthly report. Only the VP will read it. I don’t need the top-layer dashboards.”

That’s a huge mistake. Reports always make their way up and down the food chain.

So every report should start from the “top.” The practitioner’s findings and recommendations should also include the most recent version of all dashboards. The VP-types’ channels dashboards should include the top layer dashboards.

And, every report should provide access to the next layers “down.”

Be sure the VP types can get access to the detailed findings and recommendations. Make sure the C-whatever-Os can see the channel dashboards. You could do that by delivering the complete report to everyone, or by linking to the lower layers. Whatever. Just make sure everyone has the option of getting progressively more detailed.

An Example Report

Here’s a walkthru of the final product. I’m delivering my monthly report to the Beets, Inc. VP of Marketing.

Why beets? Because I hate them. They’re freaky and strange, and they’re not food. They make more sense in a slingshot than a salad. If I can create a good report about beets, I can do anything.

I know they will pass it on to the CEO and the practitioners, so I’ve covered it all:

1: Basic KPI Metrics Dashboards

These are the highest-level dashboards. If you’re using 16:9 format, like slides, you should have no more than two. Everyone needs to see this stuff.

• Practitioners need to start at the top layer to make smart decisions and understand tactical direction from the VP types
• VP types need overall campaign performance to put channel performance in context
• C-whatever-Os want a yes/no indicator that their digital marketing is working or not

Digital Marketing Dashboard: Top Level

2: Channel Performance Dashboards

These are the next layer of dashboards. Two-thirds of your audience needs to see this.

• Practitioners use channel performance data to focus their day-to-day efforts
• VP types must see channel performance to make strategic marketing decisions
• C-whatever-Os don’t have time to look at this

If you’re using 16:9 format, you can have two, four, or four hundred, but remember progressive detail. Put the less-detailed, more-strategic stuff first.

Digital Marketing Dashboard: Channels

3: Detailed Findings And Recommendations

One-third of your audience needs to see this.

• Practitioners use detailed findings and recommendations to do the work
• VP types may give this a quick look, but they really don’t have time and usually stick to the channel performance dashboards
• C-whatever-Os would rather clean up after a geriatric cat (I had a 21-year-old siamese – I know whereof I speak) than read this stuff

Detailed Findings And Recommendations

4: Tabular Data

Tabular data backs up detailed recommendations, shows where the dashboards came from, and shows that you did your homework.

Tabular Data Backs It Up

Link It

With multiple formats, it’s hard to create a single document. Dashboards are usually 16:9-ish. Detailed recommendations are traditional 8.5 x 11. Tables are tables—they don’t fit anywhere.

Link ’em. Don’t get fancy. You can use PDF to combine it all, of course, but I like to use links and connect stuff where it makes sense:

This link connects detailed recommendations to even greater detail in a CSV file

And, of course, put it all in a folder somewhere so your client can access it.

Little Things

These are random things I frequently get right (or wrong) that may seem silly. But clients appreciate it:

• Use the same URL: Don’t change the address for your report. Every month should “live” in the same place. It’s easier to remember
• Provide a PDF version of the entire report. Learn to use Acrobat, Preview or another utility to combine dashboards and detailed findings. It’s a lousy way to deliver this information, but it mushes it all together into a single easy-to-distribute package
• Get good at data visualization. I already mentioned this above. Progressive detail only works if the client can read it. I’ve obsessed about data visualization since 2013. Check it out
• For dashboards and detailed recommendations, don’t require tools. Not even Excel. Clients should be able to browse and read using software they already have: A web browser, maybe a PDF reader

Why This Matters (And It Does)

Progressive detail is all about crushing our competitors. It’s about growing our industry, developing our careers and growing our agencies/departments.

Reporting using progressive detail makes data more consumable. It makes it less intimidating and draws even the busiest client into the story. It also helps clients independently understand the data and your conclusions.

That lets you spend more time talking about next steps and strategy. It lets your analytics team focus on opportunity analysis and integration. It moves us from report generators to bringers of value. So it increases client retention (or gets you a raise).

It also improves the perception of our industry as a whole. If you’ve read my writing over the last few years, you know I’m frustrated by the fact that digital marketers still struggle for relevance against big, traditional agencies. We should rule the marketing world. Progressive detail can help us do that.

Contact me with questions any time: @portentint

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NOTE: This is not legal advice. We are not lawyers. It’s also not the only thing you’ll need to do to reach GDPR compliance for your business. Cookie consent is only one portion of GDPR compliance. Please consult legal counsel before implementing this solution.

Another note: This solution works for cookies fired from inside the GTM container. It won’t prevent cookie placement for those placed outside the container.

We’ve already provided some GDPR basics for marketers. This post gets a lot more tactical.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the ideal cookie consent form will:

1. Detect your location and see whether you’re in the EU
2. Based on your location, display the cookie consent (or not)
3. Request cookie consent
4. If you consent, place analytics cookies as usual
5. By default, let you browse the site, but turn off analytics cookies, providing a seamless user experience
6. Oh, and since you have about 48 hours (GDPR goes into effect May 25th), require as little developer time as possible.

Ask, and ye shall receive: This step-by-step uses Google Tag Manager (GTM) to create a cookie consent banner that pops up at the bottom of your site only for EU visitors. The banner asks visitors to opt-in. If they don’t, they can still browse the site, but GTM will not fire cookies that require consent.

To set this up, you need to understand GTM and GTM configuration. When you’re done, you’ll get something like this:

See? A lovely cookie consent banner

Step 1: Sign up for an ipinfo.io account

First, you need a way to identify visitors from the European Union. IP Info provides an API to do just that.

IP Info lets you detect EU visitors

It’s free for up to 1,000 requests/day. We get more traffic than that, so we’re paying $100/month for up to 40K requests/day. Not bad.

After signup you get an API token:

Your IP Info API token. Write it down!

Copy that and hang on to it for later.

Step 2: Generate a cookie consent banner at Cookie Consent by Insites

At Cookie Consent by Insites, you can generate a Cookie Consent banner that matches the look and feel of your site.

A banner, courtesy of Cookie Consent by Insites

Link it to your privacy policy and choose the “opt-in” method under “Compliance Type.”

Set opt-in compliance

Once you have configured and styled your banner, copy the code in the box on the right-hand side and hang on to it for later.

Step 3: Configure Google Tag Manager

For this step, we’re assuming you know a bit about GTM variables, triggers, and tags work. This is where the rubber meets the road. If you aren’t sure what this all means, stop. Get your analytics nerd to help out.

Set up country lookup

Set up a Custom HTML tag with a JavaScript that will query the IP Info API and return the visitor’s Country Code.

Country Lookup Custom Tag

Use this code:

<script type="application/javascript">
  function callback(json) {
    dataLayer.push({'event': 'ipEvent', 'ipCountry': json.country});	
  }
</script>
<script type="application/javascript" src="https://ipinfo.io/?token=YOUR-TOKEN-GOES-HERE&callback=callback"></script>

Replace the YOUR-TOKEN-GOES-HERE portion with your IP Info API Token you set aside from Step 1.

Then create a data layer variable to pull the value of that Country Code.

Data layer pulls country code

Once the Country Code is available in the data layer, use a Lookup Table variable to look for each of the EU Alpha-2 Country Codes and return a “Yes” if they are in the EU and a “No” for all other Country Codes.

Lookup Table variable

That will inform a trigger called “IP Event – EU” which will show/hide the Cookie Consent banner based on location.

Show the cookie consent banner?

Add the cookie consent banner

Next, take your script from Step 2 and create a Custom HTML tag to fire that when the “IP Event – EU” trigger meets its criteria.

Custom HTML tag to fire criteria

If the visitor accepts, the banner sets a first-party cookie. Otherwise, no cookies for them.

Set a first-party cookie upon accept

We’ll also need a trigger that verifies the corresponding cookie values if the visitor accepts.

Verify cookie is in place

Once that trigger executes, we send a data layer event and trigger.

GTM data layer event and trigger

Data layer event and trigger

Here’s example code for that data layer event.

<script>
dataLayer.push({'event': 'cookieConsent'});
</script>

The “cookieConsent” Custom Event then becomes the trigger that you use to fire all tags for EU visitors.

Non-EU Visitors

Make sure this doesn’t impact any tracking you’re doing for non-EU visitors: Delay your tags to fire on Window Loaded (not Pageview), and ensure your “In The EU” variable equals “No.” That way, the Country Code process has a chance to run.

Make sure tracking works for non-EU visitors

Quality Assurance

Test! Test! Test! Test on staging or in Google Tag Manager’s preview mode:

Turning on GTM preview mode

Next, you’ll want to find a proxy service that allows you to view the preview mode URL from a server in the EU. We used Hide Me, a service that has options to proxy from Holland or Germany.

Hide Me

Be sure you test this on a mobile device and in every possible form factor. We didn’t, and our social share ribbon overlapped with the consent button. Luckily @_sebastiansimon was on the case and let us know. We’re fixing it as I write this.

Done! And A Question

That’s it! You now have a low-code cookie consent form in place.

We did grapple with one question, and we’d love your opinion: Should we display the cookie consent for everyone, regardless of location? That way if someone from the EU is, say, traveling in Canada, the would still see the form? We don’t want to litter our site with forms. We don’t want to get fined a few million Euros, either.

Questions or comments? Leave them below.

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I wrote this list while ranting about the various awful blog posts I’ve read by “experts,” and marketers’ tendency to try to game their way out of everything. You can’t game your way out of GDPR. It’s not like link schemes or content spinning. It’s a real regulation with real, ulcer-generating consequences if you violate it.

Here are my random thoughts, in a somewhat-orderly list:

I’m a marketer. What is the GDPR, in non-politician speak?

It’s a pile of rules that politicians and lawyers call a “regulation.”

That means it’s not a “recommendation” or a “suggestion.” It’s more of a “follow this, or you’ll get beaten to a pulp” kind of thing.

1. The EU wrote the GDPR to protect their citizens’ data. It regulates how businesses can collect, use, and distribute your information
2. The GDPR is not another please-don’t-dump-records-off-the-back-of-a-truck-thanks law. Someone in the EU got one too many “greetings of the day” emails and decided to kick some marketer ass. It’s thorough and complicated
3. It’s official May 25th, 2018

Does it apply to me?

4. If you’re outside the European Union and EU citizens visit your site, the GDPR probably applies
5. An easy test: Would you be OK blocking all traffic from the EU? No? Then you had better comply with the GDPR

What’s all this “consent” talk?

6. In the GPDR, Personally identifiable information (PII) is anything that can be used with any other information to identify someone. If a CSI character could use it to track you down, it’s PII
7. You need to collect some form of consent for any PII
8. You need to collect explicit consent any time you collect sensitive personal data.
9. Explicit consent doesn’t mean someone stares at the screen and says “Yes, f–k you!” It means they opt-in to share information, allow you to use it as stated, and know what information they’re sharing. It also means dual opt-in or even an electronic signature
10. Sensitive personal data includes things like race, politics, religion, union membership, medical information, criminal proceedings no matter how they concluded, ongoing proceedings regarding alleged crimes, or anything around lifestyle, health, or sex life
11. Non-sensitive data includes things like cookies
12. Non-sensitive data does not require explicit consent
13. Want to be smart about it? Get consent any time you collect personal data. That’s name, address, phone number and such. When in doubt, get explicit consent

The following are not consent:

14. A pre-ticked box. Well, it might be, but it’s a serious schmuck move, so avoid it
15. Failure to opt out
16. Asking for consent later
17. Linking to a 900-word pile of verbal cud called “Terms and Conditions”
18. Any cute tactic you used to use to pad your contacts lists and get subscribers isn’t consent

And here’s what most folks can comfortably say is consent:

19. Ticking a checkbox
20. Configuring privacy settings
21. Providing opt-out ability on a case-by-case basis
22. However, GDPR compliance doesn’t require a crappy user experience. Read this Econsultancy article for some tips
23. One tip: Make it easy for people to delete their accounts/records from your databases. A nice form where they can say “please forget about me. It’s not me, it’s you” will go a long way

Corrections

I’ve heard some awful advice. So read these and hang them on your monitor:

24. No matter what folks tell you, IP addresses are personally identifiable information!!! GDPR specifically states this
25. Facebook, Google, et al. will not protect you. They consider GDPR compliance our responsibility. Don’t rely on them. Facebook is especially sensitive right now and has every incentive to distance themselves from the way we use their data

This is an outrage!!!!

You’re right! In the good old days, we could collect user data like candy and trade it at the corner store. I could stalk consumers around the internet in ways that make Hannibal Lecter look cuddly.

GDPR infringes on my rights.

I’m furious.

26. Yes, compliance will cost you money. It costs me money. And time. It’s a pain in the tuchus. It will cost a lot more if you don’t comply.
27. Yes, the EU might miss you. You’re thinking, “Oh, no one’s going to check my compliance with GDPR. I’m little.”
28. Yes, if they catch you, they can pound you out of existence. Penalties are absurd
29. Sure, you can fight it in court for years and years, bleeding money while lawyers argue. Let me know how that goes

The smaller you are, the easier it is. The bigger you are, the greater your risk. Just read up and comply, people.

PS: If you’re a masochist, you can read the whole GDPR here.

The post The GDPR: 29 Things ALL Marketers Must Know appeared first on Portent.

Hold on a second.

The Facebook privacy quake has already forced the social network to change the way they handle and collect consumer data. That’s changing their advertising platform. And there’s more to come.

But before you freak out and pull your clients’ dollars, stop and think. Carefully. Adjust and adapt. Don’t lop off a limb.

Here’s what’s changing, what’s not, and what you should do:

What’s Changing

We don’t know what Facebook will do after Zuckerberg spends a week getting grilled by Congress in an election year. Here are the changes we’ve seen so far:

Shrinking Audience Size Data

Depending on targeting options you select, you can’t see leading indicators. In this example, Facebook won’t show me audience size and potential reach:

I see this more and more.

If you want to see just how rushed Facebook is right now, check out their spelling of “avaliable:”

What to do. Think like a damned marketer and know your audience. Use real, data-driven personas. Look at search data. Look at your house list.

No More Custom Audience Size

Facebook removed custom audience metrics.

We can’t see custom audience size, for example. That’s annoying.

We probably won’t be able to see trailing indicators like audience overlap and demographics, either.

What to do. Shake your hands at the sky and scream “WHY DO YOU MOCK ME.”

No More Partner Data

Data from partners like Experian is still there, but Facebook is going to remove it in the coming months. So options like this will become a thing of the past:

What To Do. Stop building campaigns based on partner data. It was nice while it lasted. Learn to use personas (yep, again).

Gone: APIs

Any app using any API will require Facebook approval. The Groups and Pages APIs must do things like “benefit the group” and provide “useful services to our community.”

That’s Facebook-speak for “forget it.”

The only exception is the Events API, which, which will no longer be able to access guest lists or post to event walls.

The Instagram API Platform was on the way out, anyway. Now, expect it to disappear that much sooner.

What to do: Don’t build apps as opt-in data harvesting tools. The APIs are going to be in flux for a while, and you may find yourself recoding, or losing data altogether. Again, use data-driven personas and search data to drive targeting across networks.

Gone: Call And Text History

Messenger has a convenience feature that conveniently shares all of your Android call and SMS data (not content). Right now, Facebook is purging data older than a year.

They haven’t done it yet, but I suspect they’ll remove this “feature.”

What to do. If you’re using SMS and call data to drive and target messenger bots and behavior, find another way before Facebook forces you to. Write smarter bots that learn and adjust intentions based on questions and language.

What’s Staying The Same

Here are some things that won’t change.

Big Audience

In January 2018, according to Statista Facebook had 2.1 billion active users.

If they all stood on each other’s heads, they’d be 367,400,000,000 cm high. Facebook’s audience is taller than 26 Jupiters stacked on each other!!!!

The closest competitor was YouTube, at 1.5 billion.

After that comes WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Of course, Facebook owns WhatsApp. And Instagram, which comes in 7th with 800 million users.

Call me when Facebook falls below 1.5 billion users. Until then, keep buying their ads.

Targeting

Facebook targeting is still damn near miraculous. I can target geography, demographics, industries, job titles, and interests.

I’m sold.

What We Don’t Know

It’s the things we don’t know that hurt Facebook’s viability. Facebook will probably further reduce segmentation and measurement. That could result in:

• Lost KPIs. Take away our ability to track KPIs like reach or frequency, and we can’t measure performance. That would make life difficult
• Anonymization. Removing most targeting options would reduce Facebook to a second-rate programmatic network, at which point we wouldn’t be able to do much
• Serious audience collapse. Unlikely, but you never know. Maybe 1 billion people who happily turn over a lifetime of data for cheaper credit might suddenly decide enough’s enough and abandon Facebook en masse

So yes, there’s uncertainty. Don’t let that stop you, though. A little uncertainty is good for the soul.

Right Now: Keep Advertising On Facebook, But, Stay Nimble

Until we know more:

• Set budgets for months, not years. Build in adjustments and re-assessment on a weekly basis so that you can roll with whatever Facebook throws at us
• Don’t segment based on Partner Categories
• Don’t build bots that depend on integrated Android and Messenger data. Find another way to integrate, or simplify. Or use the integrations and hope for the best
• Create real personas and use those, instead of relying on reams of exposed user data
• Diversify. Look at LinkedIn. Learn advanced targeting and remarketing options in Adwords. The hard lesson here is never, ever depend on a single ad network or, even worse, a single feature on a single ad network
• Start learning about the GDPR and preparing to comply. Don’t count on Facebook to do it for you.

Whatever you do, though, do not panic. Continue advertising on one of the world’s biggest networks. Your clients will thank you.

We’ll update this list as events warrant. If you see something new, leave it in the comments, and we’ll post that as an update, too. Or tweet changes to me at @portentint

The post Facebook Marketing: What’s Changing, What’s Not, & What To Do appeared first on Portent.

Links coming soon.

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