By the year 2020, millennials will command more than US$1.4 trillion in spending power, and represent over one third of the population. Ignore them at your peril!

To attract millennials, marketers need to create concise, insightful campaigns that enhance the hectic lifestyles of this target audience. While trust, price and quality rank highly in the list of millennials’ priorities, there is a lot more work involved to reach this complicated niche than meets the eye. Maximize the effectiveness of your content marketing by employing these strategies:

What’s trending? That’s the question on every content marketer’s mind. It turns out utbound is out, and long-form, personalised content is in. One thing we all know is that customers are becoming increasingly disgruntled with one-sided content. They’re installing the latest adblocking software, fast-forwarding through marketing content and speed-reading articles to get to what they really want to know. Learn how to overcome these content hurdles with a few pointers from Wordsmith:

From 2000 to 2010, China's economy double in size, with consumption increasing from around US$650 billion to almost US$1.4 trillion. Despite China's recent cooling economic growth, depreciating currency and stock market volatility, resilient Chinese consumers are continuing to rock the boat of the global economy. Research conducted by McKinsey & Company study revealed that Chinese urban middle class families are changing the global economy on multiple fronts. So how can marketers better target the world's most lucrative consumers?

“At college most of us are encouraged to improve our vocabulary and to practice expressing complex ideas, but no one ever teaches us how to write with flair,” contends writing guru William Zinsser. The professor and literary critic tackles this subject with impeccable wit and insight in his book On Writing Well: The Classic Guide To Nonfiction, providing a wealth of timeless advice for writers. Here are Wordsmith’s top takeaways:

We’ve all heard that “good things come in small packages”, but is this still the case when it comes to writing? Every 60 seconds, 4 million search inquiries are made on Google, 2.4 million users share content on Facebook and 277,000 tweets are tweeted. This explosion of information has resulted in decreasing attention spans and an increasing need for instant gratification – leading audiences to prefer short, clear content that provides value upfront.

Veteran writing guru Roy Peter Clark claims that truly great writers now speak volumes in a spatter of short sentences and ultra-specific acronyms. Is your short game up to scratch? Learn how to embrace brevity by following these 9 tips:

Online shopping is becoming increasingly popular with today’s tech-savy, time-constrained and thrifty consumers because it offers unparalleled selection, convenience and competitive pricing. In fact, ecommerce is now the fastest growing online activity in China, currently reaching US$562 billion a year in sales. 

While establishing an online store has never been easier, it gets a bit trickier when it comes to convincing consumers to part with their hard-earned cash. How can marketers overcome window shoppers’ fear of online transactions and convert them into loyal consumers?

Maximising your productivity and sustaining it throughout the workday isn’t as hard as you’d think. Keep reading to see if one of our productivity hacks recharge your batteries.

Let’s get a bit meta and think about our brains for a moment.

The brain functions as the coordinating centre of sensation, nervous and intellectual activity. It is composed of approximately 100 billion neurons that constantly restructure themselves each time we learn new information. The organ is so strong that it can produce enough energy to power a light bulb.

But what exactly does this mean for writers? Neuroscientists, psychologists and writers are only scratching the surface on research into writing and the brain – so let’s take a closer look at what they’ve found so far.

Your content may be the product of blood, sweat and tears, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s guaranteed to convert consumers. If all marketers were blissfully unaware of the tools and analytics needed to attract and keep consumers, we’d all be in big trouble. 

Stimulating conversions through content marketing starts with increasing customer engagement, driving subscriptions, online traffic and encouraging brand loyalty. These are now the top priorities – or at least they should be – if you want to see your ROI skyrocket. Today, Kraft generates 4x more profit from content marketing than it does from targeted advertising, which definitely serves as food for thought. Check out our 5 top tips to master the art of conversion.

Although living in an always-connected, digitally savy world has its perks, marketers must face the harsh realisation that traditional marketing techniques aren’t working as well as they used to. In the age of social media, the power lies in the hands of consumers.

Recent research shows that consumers trust User-Generated Content (UGC) more than all forms of media. However that’s not necessarily bad news. Active influencers who share your marketing messages through customer referrals and reviews are not only building brand loyalty, but also increasing your conversion rates. So how do we leverage user generated content?

William Bernbach, creator of the groundbreaking Volkswagen “Lemon” campaign, claimed, “Word of mouth is the best medium of all.” And turns out he wasn’t far off. Nielsen research revealed that a whopping 92% of consumers trust referrals from family or friends more than any other type of advertising or referral. But if your reputation lies in the hands of consumer reviews, how can marketers get a word in edgewise? Luckily, new findings in lead generation and inbound marketing techniques are helping to eliminate the gap between corporate and consumer conversations. Interested in leveraging consumer goodwill and positive feedback? Read on…

Your head’s pounding as you stare blankly at an empty screen. Not even motivational Pinterest boards can lift you out of this writing rut. Mr Calt, one of advertising legend David Ogilvy’s clients, suffered from a similar writing disposition and asked the question on every writer’s mind, “Just how does he do it?”

Copywriters and magicians have a lot more in common than you think. Great copywriters are literary wizards, word hypnotists and masters of persuasion. Spellbinding audiences through carefully crafted phrases, closed-door techniques and psychologically designed situations are tricks that both magicians and copywriters keep hidden up their sleeves. The question is: how can writers use these methods to their advantage? Sit back and prepare to be amazed...

Growth hacking. Some believe it’s the new inbound marketing, while others say it’s simply a new twist on an old story. Whatever your take, it’s difficult to deny that growth hacking gets results. Leveraging social metrics and audience analysis, marketers are learning to create scalable ideas that generate solid growth in online followers, and ultimately in sales. A great way to begin is by analysing your content strategy. Here are 5 quick tips to get started:

Keep things short, punchy and concise. This is what Marketers have been consistently and relentlessly told to do for the past decade. No one wants to scroll for ages before they get to that juicy bit of blog content. 

But perhaps it’s time to think again. Contrary to popular belief, studies have shown that people actually prefer intellectually stimulating long-form content. Even Facebook and Twitter are jumping on the “slow content movement” bandwagon - and here’s why...

We live in an information-rich world that’s constantly evolving. Noticeable shifts from outbound to inbound marketing and short-form to long form content have seen the power of the written word skyrocket. With the daunting realisation that  Coca-Cola now spends more money on content creation than television advertis ing, how can other companies compete without breaking the bank? The answer: hire yourself a copywriter.

With the Chinese New Year approaching, we all have passports in hand and dollops of SPF 50 on our noses, ready to embrace that Southeast Asian sun. Capturing breathtaking pictures may be how most people like to memorialize their escapades, but for travel writers, it’s all about getting that colourful collaboration of facts, anecdotes and observations down on paper. Get off to a running start by delving into our top tips to truly inspire like-minded adventurers.

In 2016 the number of mobile devices is expected to surpass the world’s population, with over half of mobile subscriptions located in Asia Pacific regions alone. Content curators are now realising the importance of tailoring messages for mobile users, and it’s high time everyone followed suit. Hong Kong is quickly becoming the leading telecommunications hub for Asia, which boasts more than 30,000 public Wi-Fi access points. So how exactly can we utilise this medium to transform great content into truly great mobile content?

Recent research suggests that 3 out of 4 marketers now prioritise an inbound marketing approach. The main reason for this shift is because inbound campaigns achieve significantly higher ROI than traditional outbound marketing. Instead of relying on costly cold calling, email lists, direct mail and push advertisements (outbound marketing), professionals are now adopting strategies that focuses around content creation and distribution (inbound marketing). Take a closer look at our step-by-step process and learn how to seamlessly integrate your content strategy and inbound marketing approach.

Choosing between 195 different bedroom textiles may seem like a pleasant way to spend an afternoon for some, but most of us can probably find better uses for our time. While freedom of choice is a wonderful thing, living in an age where products are plentiful, adverts are unstoppable and options are infinite, it can all get a little bit suffocating. According to the Harvard Business Review, too many choices can lead to anxiety, confusion snf dissatisfaction; and can actually deter consumers from making a purchase altogether. So how can marketers make the decision process an easier pill to swallow?