Happy Friday!

Thanks for taking a moment to check in with the Copyblogger community as you wrap up your week.

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I'm Stefanie, Copyblogger's Editor-in-Chief, and below you'll find killer writing tips and resources to strengthen your content marketing skills. Scroll on!

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52 Offbeat Inspirational Quotes for Writers about Craft and Business

I have to say, I have mixed feelings about all of the inspirational quotes for writers I’ve read over the years.

On one hand, I have fond memories of the meaningful phrases that have motivated me when I needed a little push to keep generating creative blog post ideas.

On the other hand ... I’m a little skeptical and have some questions:

• Did that person actually say that?
• What was the context?
• Was that quote intended to inspire anyone?

It’s often difficult to verify the sources of quotations, so you have to first account for misattribution, as well as sentiments taken out of context. Putting any person or words on a pedestal can be a distraction.

Ultimately, you just have to take inspirational quotes with a grain of salt — extracting the benefits we project onto them without getting too wrapped up in their significance.

Then, you can create your own inspiration for content ideas by living like a writer and developing a filter that helps you critically examine everything around you.

But since this post is about inspirational quotes for writers, I don’t want to act too uninterested, as if I don’t have favorite scribes whose work I enjoy and admire. 🙂

So, before we get into the 50 offbeat selections about the craft of writing and business I picked out, here are two quotes from two of my favorite writers ...

Keep reading: 52 Offbeat Inspirational Quotes for Writers about Craft and Business

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How to Build Referral Programs + the "Outlier Algorithm"

Are you planning a referral program to grow your audience? There’s a strategy that makes it work.

This week on The Copyblogger Podcast, Tim Stoddart and Ethan Brooks talk about lessons learned from the godfather of referral programs, Louis Nicholls.

Nicholls is the co-founder of SparkLoop, the app that powers 7 of the 10 largest newsletter referral programs in the world. It’s been used by major players like Tim Ferriss and James Clear to grow their audiences, and building the app gave Nicholls unique insight into what does and doesn’t work in referral marketing.

Tune in to learn:

• How big your audience should be before you start a referral program
• What kinds of engagement and conversion rates you can expect to see
• The psychology behind referral programs and how to target your “whales”
• How to choose prizes that work economically
• And more

The guys also dig into an interesting new framework called the “Outlier Algorithm,” which can help you identify and pursue rare, high-value skills throughout your career.

Listen now: How to Build Referral Programs + the "Outlier Algorithm"

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Who Are Your Favorites?

We all have favorites.

And the concept of “favorites” has evolved to expand beyond the movies, TV shows, and books that we find the most enjoyable.

Now, we have our favorite content creators — the blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels we subscribe to, in order to regularly consume what they have to offer.

If you create your own content for your own platform, you want others to regard it as their favorite.

You want others to stay interested in your online business, so that when they’re ready to make a purchase, they choose your product or service.

How do you make that happen? How do you get others to choose you?

• You have to transform great ideas into winning presentations.
• You have to offer a perspective your audience won’t find anywhere else.
• You have to evaluate your own work with a critical eye.

In my Content Marketing Bootcamp within Copyblogger Academy, I show you how to harness the power of language to attract (and keep) more clients and customers.

In this 5-part course, you’ll learn in-depth techniques you’ll be able to put into practice right away.

With the right content, your audience can turn into an engaged group of individuals interested in buying your products or services.

Are you ready to walk away with the confidence to produce the type of writing that builds an audience?

>> Start taking Content Marketing Bootcamp today.

Not a member yet?

>> Click here to join us inside Copyblogger Academy.

Talk with you again soon,

Stefanie Flaxman
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, COPYBLOGGER MEDIA