Five tips for writing kick ass marketing content

1. Focus on the why: Best thing to start with, is to ask yourself this question and ensure your writing follows the answers you give yourself.
2. Have one central idea: Makes your content more focused, hence almost always more relevant. Added benefits on searchability (if that's even a word) 
3. Moral of the story first: Yup, it's the digital world - bottom line's found a new position.
4. Be genuine: Puhleeeze dont hardsell what you do, write content to share your experiences / best known methods. Respect the reader's need / time - be respected for what you do.
5. Write engaging content: It doesnt get more cliche than this, but simple, crisp writing with appropriate examples is a good way to start. (this topic deserves a dedicated post by itself)

11 tips on working effectively with Marketing Agencies (Advertising, PR, Events and Design Agencies)

Here's my take on how to work effectively with outsourced marketing partners

1. Be clear, yourself - why are you doing what you're doing
2. Vet your partner thoroughly. Once chosen, respect them for the value they bring
3. Involve them in the thinking process - gives a sense of ownership
4. Support them in understanding your business – budget for required time; resources
5. Crystal clear brief - devil's in the details; overview, target audience, key messages, promise, value prop, competitive landscape,
6. Foster an open and mature sharing environment based on reasoning; acknowledge / appreciate the positives;
7. Give them the space to breathe, yet stay on top - walk in their shoes and understand/address issues;
8. Monitor progress - milestone based dashboard is a good starting point
9. Right set expectations - iterations; course corrections; decsion making unit
10. Post-delivery review – present your criticism here; be open to theirs too
11. Ensure satisfactory project delivery is two-sided; Close the loop with the payments as committed