Mid-year already? Wow!

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These are the most-read posts from the second quarter:

3 content marketing tips from #ThinkContent: What I learned at NewsCred's #ThinkContent Summit, including how content marketing is evolving and why we need to use better metrics to measure the customer and business impact of our work.

How to write a fundraising letter: What makes a fundraising letter successful? Take a few cues from the American Shakespeare Center's appeal for a new properties room. This mini case study has examples and actionable tips you can use in your own appeals.

Write a better "we want you back" letter: Almost every business, nonprofit or association has need for a "we want you back" letter. Doing them right yields positive results, but getting them wrong can have the opposite impact. Here are four ways to personalize automated marketing to win back customers, donors or members.

A marketer's reading list: There's so much content to consume. How do you pick? I choose based on measurable value to my work. That's how I came up with this short list of must-read marketing, business and news blogs and publications. Enjoy!

And two-top performers YTD:

Content Marketing: How to fill writing skills gaps: Improving the skills and capacity of your content marketing team with custom in-house training, off-the-shelf external training workshops and classes, or with writing coaching. Here's how.

Visual content marketing: how to create moreProduce visual content marketing assets quickly with casual photos, word art, user-generated content and more. Here's how.

One more piece of news from the quarter!

This is a cool picture of the cover of Be A Better Writer by Steve Peha with Margot Carmichael LesterOur book for young writers, Be a Better Writer, is getting fantastic reviews and is a category leader on Amazon.com. We are beyond proud. Get your copy here!

 

 

 

Black-and-white image from NY Public Library via Flickr Commons.