It’s been too long since my last Top 5 post on June 29^th. I took almost 10 days off at the beginning of the month and felt like I spent another week settling back in. Between other work obligations and my responsibilities at home, I haven’t been able to draft a Top 5 post when I should have.

I know – excuses, excuses.

I am happy to report though that I did complete the Online Marketing Superstars book I’ve been raving about and posting quotes on my Twitter feed. Anyway, I have the summary on my to-do list and hope to have the first section online in the next couple of weeks.

Although I haven’t published a Top 5 post since the end of June, I’ve still been reading interesting pieces about value propositions, copywriting and more. Continue reading for my latest iteration.

#1 – 5 Tips to Craft a Better Value Proposition

A value proposition is basically a statement on what makes your company better and unique over your competitors. Most marketers, including myself, struggle to formulate good value propositions. This 5-step list from George Mathew and Crazy Egg helps cut through this common stumbling block. The first step for example is to understand what a value proposition is supposed to do – explain a problem, explain the benefits of using your solution and why it’s better than your competitor’s. Besides these key points, your value proposition has to be the first thing people notice on your site. Attention spans are lower than ever! Read more…

#2 – How Many Links Should You Build to Your Website?

Unless you’re completely new to web marketing, you know that links that are natural, authoritative, relative and not rich in anchor text are the ones you want to attract to your site. What isn’t so clear is how many links you should shoot for or what rate you should be building them. One big misconception is the more the merrier, but as I’ve seen in many places, quality is way more important that quantity. As Neil Patel explains though, don’t expect to see a wild jump in traffic immediately. It does take a little time for your new links to bring in new traffic from search. Read more…

#3 – 10 Rules for Writing First Drafts

If you think your first draft of anything has to be perfect, think again. Most writers live with the misconception that if it isn’t Pulitzer quality the first time, it’s a lost cause. Taking the first step, especially with writing, is the hardest – I know from personal experience. With that being said, there are 10 rules promulgated by Demain Farnworth of Copyblogger for every first draft. Chances are, your first draft will stink, but by the fourth, fifth or sixth revision, it will be transformed into a masterpiece. Check out the 10 rules below. Read more…

Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

#4 – How to Retweet the Right Way (With a Comment) on Twitter

Those of us who use Twitter likely use the “Retweet” function to share what we find interesting with our followers. Up until a few weeks ago, we could only share the post we found interesting or try and cram our comments in with the original tweet. However, a recent change by Twitter now gives a fair amount of space to add our own comments, which of course allows us to add context as to why we’re sharing a certain post and add even more to the conversation. This post from Hubspot explores this feature and how marketers can take advantage it, plus a few pros/cons of both options. Read more…

#5 – One Reason Our Brains Love to Procrastinate

Oh, procrastination – that age-old practice where we put off doing something until the absolute last minute. Want to start working out? Maybe next year. Need to cook dinner? Well, it can wait another hour. Back in 2006, two Harvard professors set out to determine why we procrastinate. Based on their experiment, the two researchers found that we tend to overly care about our present self and not care enough about our future. For example, if you skip a workout, the effects won’t show up for several months. But if you eat a donut, the reward is immediate. In order for you to quit procrastinating so much, you need to try and make your “…present self act in the best interest of your future self” according to this article in Entrpreneur Magazine. Read more…

As they say in show business, that’s a wrap!

I hope to prepare one more top 5 post before the end of the month, as well as a few thoughts on how to properly view keywords. I also can’t wait to share my review and summary of the Online Marketing Superstars book, so stay tuned.

Stay cool out there!