So you’ve realized the benefits of having a kick-ass blog. Now what are you going to say on that blog? You could go the route of taking all that carefully-prepared corporate branding, and using your blog to put out press releases about things that you want your customers to care about (but really only matter [...]
Articles by Isla McKetta
As a copywriter, Isla is a creative pen for hire. Most days she uses her MFA in creative writing to dash off stories for the internet.
The Life of Pi Part Deux: What Does an Internet Marketing Firm Do? (In Vines)
Back in November, we detailed the (Real) Life of Pi from pre-dawn breakfasts at the train station to lights out. In honor of International Pi Day, we decided to pull back the curtain again so you can see how each department contributes to the Internet marketing expertise here at Portent. Account Strategists @portent Account Strategists [...]
The Secret Backstory of Portent’s Content Idea Generator
”There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.” – Audre Lorde At SearchFest on Friday, Ian Lurie debuted a fantastic new tool, the Content Idea Generator. I could tell you about how amazing the tool is and how influencers like Jonathon Colman shared it all over social media: How [...]
The Viral Video Manifesto: How to Make Content Shareable
“I want this to go viral.” If you are a client, you’ve said it. If you’re a marketer, you’ve heard it and (most likely) cringed. We want your content to go viral as badly as you do, but the public can be fickle and there are no guarantees. Or are there? The Viral Video Manifesto [...]
7 Ways Inbound Marketing is Like a Snowball Fight
On Saturday, January 12, the people of Seattle will gather for Snow Day, the world’s largest snowball fight. Dump trucks will deliver 162,000 lbs. of snow to more than 5,000 people attempting to set a new Guinness World Record. Plus it’s a fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County. What on earth [...]
Sneak Peek: How Content Strategy Will Save the World
Last night, when most of Seattle was at a holiday party or stuck in traffic on the way to a party, a group of intrepid souls filled the Portent presentation room to discuss using content strategy to save the world. The event, Content Strategy Forum 2012 Redux: Out of Africa, was part of an ongoing [...]
Is a Kick-Ass Blog Worth the Trouble?
You’re reading this post for one of two reasons: 1) You’re thinking about starting a blog and wondering if it’s worth the time and energy, or 2) You’ve already invested time and energy in blogging and are not seeing the return you imagined Let’s start at the beginning. Should I blog? Sometimes when you’re having [...]
Black Friday Gives Retailers a Black Eye
Stop the Madness! Thanksgiving weekend used to be the best of times for retailers. The official start of the holiday season had merchants seeing green in their registers and black on their balance sheets. But between store stampedes, parking lot violence and protests by over-scheduled workers, Black Friday has become bad news. It’s time to [...]
Editing for Creativity: How to Enhance the Writer’s Voice
In a world of endless content, innovative copywriting is a great way to catch and keep the attention of the customer. While a creative approach will often draw a bigger audience than simply following best practices, it can be tempting for an editor to change the writer’s style to fit an assumption about what sells. [...]
Why I Hate the Twitter Follow Limit
We wanted to flip the tables on internet marketing this week and take a look at one of the limitations of Twitter from a user perspective. You may not know this yet, but there is a limit to how many of your fellow tweeters you can follow. I found out the hard way. As a [...]
