Maybe you’ve already built a brand, but you’re simply breaking even each month and you’re not sure what step to take next.
Or maybe you’re working at an agency, dreaming of being the marketer your boss calls indispensable. But you’re going around in circles, highly skillful but needing a sounding board to take you to the next level of success.
If this is you, I understand.
You already have the skills. You have the experience. You have the drive and passion.
But you feel lonely.
You’re not sure why your efforts aren’t bringing in the success you dream of.
You long for someone to point you in the right direction. To give you that gentle push down the road that leads to change.
Or maybe you need real friends who share your struggles. People who are in the same place you are.
The good news is, I have all these packaged for you in G.R.O.W. with Julia, my new growth-focused community for entrepreneurs and marketers.
Want to check it out? It’s now officially open until Cyber Monday, November 30 at 11pm CST. Go here if you have that feeling in your gut it’s for you. ?
The Story Behind G.R.O.W. with Julia
Five years ago, I was just like you.
I’d picked up content marketing skills through four years as an entrepreneur.
I was running my content agency, Express Writers, and we were getting 500 visitors a day and turning up roughly $29k a month.
But it was a lonely road ahead. We kept hitting a glass ceiling, unable to scale and grow. I had no one to ask what I was doing wrong, what I had to change, what next step I had to take.
And yes, this story does have a happy ending. Fast forward to today, Express Writers is thriving. We’ve hit seven figures, and we grow 20-50% every year.
That said, the road wasn’t easy. And it’s not going to be easy for you.
That’s why I came up with the concept of G.R.O.W. one unearthly hour as I was trying to sleep (everything they’ve said about The Muse not running around at 3 a.m. is a lie ?).
What I thought to myself is this.
“Instead of offering my community another savings code for Black Friday, why not give them something new? Something I needed and longed for with all my heart back when I was a struggling marketer and entrepreneur?”
This is the concept behind G.R.O.W.
[bctt tweet=”.@JuliaEMcCoy’s new mentorship and training community is here! ? G.R.O.W. means Gather Round Our Why. It’s based on 2 pillars: ☝The frameworks she used to skyrocket @ExpWriters ✌The community she needed then but didn’t have.” username=””]
It means Gather Round Our Why, and it rests on two strong pillars.
Pillar #1: The frameworks I used to get out of the rut and skyrocket my content agency from a tiny $75 startup into a thriving seven-figure brand.
Pillar #2: The community I needed back then but didn’t have. This includes a coach and mentor, strategists and professionals to answer every growth-related question, and a group of friends and fellow content marketers and entrepreneurs who share your dreams and struggles.
G.R.O.W. is packed with the templates, guides, frameworks, and strategies you need to snag those quick wins.
It’s a helping hand when you’re down. The friends you need on your lonely content marketing journey. A LIVE coach to unravel those tough questions you deal with on the day-to-day.
It sounds complex, but it’s not.
Actually, it’s simple.
G.R.O.W.’s #1 goal is to help you grow online through content.
And my promise to you is that with hard work and passion, you will grow. We’ll grow together.
When you join G.R.O.W., I’ll give you LIVE advanced training on how to apply these frameworks to your own marketing. (Plus, you can send me your questions and I’ll answer them in our LIVE monthly group coaching calls.)
Here’s a quick rundown of my six frameworks for growth.
G.R.O.W. Framework 1: Know Your Brand Content Differentiation Factor
The first step towards growth isn’t building your audience…it’s knowing what sets your brand apart in a sea of online content. My goal is to help you set your content differentiation factor so you can build a following of loyal fans, even in a world where five million blogs are published every single day.
G.R.O.W. Framework 2: Get to Know Your Audience
As the saying goes, “It’s not about tricking people into buying. Your money isn’t worth anything to me if my product isn’t worth anything to you.” In this stage, I’ll help you in your journey towards getting to know the people who need you to change their lives.
G.R.O.W. Framework 3: Earn Traffic & Prospects
This is where everything comes together. Your amazing brand with its unique content differentiation factor, and your adoring audience whose lives you’ll change in amazing ways.
G.R.O.W. Framework 4: Build a Content House
The truth is, you won’t grow by scattering all your good content pieces anywhere they’ll land online. You need a solid content house. That’s your website, which you build and polish with awesome content. The stronger your content house, the more visitors, leads, and buyers you’ll get.
G.R.O.W. Framework 5: Consistency, Quality, & Time
Building your brand through online content is not a get rich quick scheme. If you think that’s it, stop right now. Because in order to grow the healthy way, you need to produce consistent quality over time. But don’t worry. Start today, and your G.R.O.W. community will be there for you during the hard times.
G.R.O.W. Framework 6: Creating a Brand Ecosystem
Solo wins won’t do it. You need to create and build a living, breathing ecosystem for long-term success. In this training, I’ll show you how I did it and how you can do it too, consistently over time. This is where the real big wins happen.
Join Us Today, And Let’s G.R.O.W. Together
Dear marketer,
If you’re exhausted with struggling day in and day out for growth…
…if you’re hitting a plateau each year, unsure how to scale…
…if you simply need a friend to encourage you to keep going…
…you’ll LOVE G.R.O.W. with Julia.
As a member, you’ll have an all-in-one recipe for success. LIVE training. Coaching. Answers to all your questions. All the guides and templates you need for quick wins. Like-minded people to back you up.
I know, you are destined to grow.
But who knows how long it will take you to figure out how?
G.R.O.W. is the fast forward button to your success.
Get it here before we close on Cyber Monday, November 30 at 11pm CST.
Your brand is a beanstalk. ? If you want it to reach the clouds, you must prepare your garden wisely.
There’s a lot of chatter out there in marketing when it comes to branding. It seems that branding is essential in business. Without it, you have no hope of standing out.
Good branding is a key to success, but “build your brand” is bad advice.
Why? Take a moment to make a list of what it takes to “build a brand.” If you’re like most people, you’ll probably include things like:
Tagline and logo
Colors
Content topic clusters
Your USP
Maybe even market positioning
Figure all that out and you’ve got a brand, which equals success. Right?
Hammering out the details of your brand is only one part of the equation, but it’s one that entrepreneurs often focus on at the expense of the other part.
What is that part?
The brand ecosystem. It’s comprised of everything your brand needs to grow once you’ve nailed down exactly what your brand is.
It looks like this:
Let’s explore exactly what it all means.
The 6 Key Ingredients Every Brand Ecosystem Needs
If your brand is a flower, then the ecosystem is the flower bed. You must take care of that, too, if you want your brand to grow.
Here are six things I’ve identified that all successful brands must have in their brand ecosystem. With them, you’ll have a beautiful flower that brightens the days of many. ?
1. Relentless Quality & Authentic Value
There’s a reason Google’s evaluator guidelines spend 175 pages discussing what quality and value mean when it comes to content. It’s because quality and value should be the first thing that all content producers strive to deliver – and content is how you build your brand.
Consumers overwhelmingly want high-quality, authentic, valuable content that enriches their lives. If you’re not delivering this, they’ll go elsewhere to get it and your brand will wither into obscurity.
2. Solid Maintenance Habits
Imagine wearing the same wardrobe for a decade. After a while, you’d start to look a little dated, right?
Content is the same way. It’ll start to look a little stale – and Google will notice.
To keep your brand fresh, you need to keep your content fresh. That means revisiting and updating it periodically to replace those statistics that are a few years old or those facts that used to be true.
I do it every few months with my brands, but once a year is a happy medium that will keep your customers and Google happy.
3. A Commitment Consistency
According to HubSpot, content creators that publish 16 or more times each month see their traffic tripled. Consistently creating and publishing content is the key to growing a strong, sturdy trunk.
Producing content three times in one week and not again for a month doesn’t cut it. At best, it reflects a lack of commitment. At worst, it damages the trust your readers have in you because they know they can’t rely on you to keep delivering.
Don’t be afraid to outsource to expert writers who know their way around a Word doc. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 80 percent of B2C brands do.
At this frequency, it’s almost like you’re running a business. Hmmm… Source: HubSpot
4. Rooted Reach
If you nail the top three, the next three will flow easily. It happens over time as your vine grows.
But your plant must remain rooted in order to thrive. Otherwise, one strong gust of wind could blow it over. Then, you’re starting over from scratch.
How do we measure reach? Beyond customers and sales, you’ll know you’ve got the brand ecosystem down when:
You’re finding more and better products or services to offer your customers
New markets are becoming visible that you’d never considered
People are actively seeking out your advice or thought leadership
You’ve become more engaged with your community or industry than ever before
5. Decisive Scaling
Freelancers wear hard work like a badge of honor, and many of us will take that attitude into business. It’s a good attitude to have, but it’s even better to know when to bring others on board to help you continue to grow. There are a few ways you can do this.
Sometimes, handing off parts of a project to a third party is better than trying to DIY something in which you’re not an expert.
Bringing on employees can lighten your workload and keep the business running.
Contracting and subcontracting. Keeping freelancers in your back pocket is a good way to ensure that you have the firepower and expertise to take on large projects at a moment’s notice.
6. Established Authority
Once you’re known in your sphere – via brand reach and content quality – you’ll develop authority. That means people will listen to you when you speak up, you’ll have a better chance to nab the top spots in the SERPs, and you’ll inspire stronger loyalty from your customers.
Authority is the foundation of your success, as it’s what will help you sustain your success over time. It’s also what you develop only after you’ve built the other five elements of your brand ecosystem.
G.R.O.W. Your Brand Ecosystem with Us!
Building a brand? You need a solid brand ecosystem. I’ve shared the six things that every successful brand has in common.
But while you’re creating your brand ecosystem, don’t neglect your own. Surround yourself with motivated, likeminded entrepreneurs to share encouragement and real-life experience that works.
Hey, business owners in the educational business space – tired of publishing blah posts that you wish were blog posts? This one’s for you.
Believe it or not, but writing an education blog doesn’t have to be boring.
Yet, mention that you maintain a blog about education, and you might see some eyes glaze over.
That’s because learning has a bad rap. In fact, if you pull up the word associations of the verb “to learn” the top three results are: memorize, teach, horrify.
That’s the exact opposite of the goal of a blog: to delight, entertain, and educate.
Here’s how you do it … starting with ten tips from our very own education blog writers on how to level up the quality of your blog. (We’ve ghostwritten hundreds of web pages and blogs—one of our educational business clients is McKissock Learning.)
Let’s go! ???
[bctt tweet=”Believe it or not – writing an education blog doesn’t have to be boring. ? Learn to delight, entertain, AND educate your readers with 10 tips for hiring the best education blog writers ??” username=””]
10 Tips to Level Up The Quality of Your Educational Blog
Starting an education blog can be a great way to further your career as an educator – an increasing number of professionals are doing it (Edublogs boasts 4.3 million blogs alone).
However, if you’re new to the world of blogging, you might not know where to start. That’s okay! Here are ten tips from our own expert educational blog writers to help you get the most out of your blog.
1. Niche Down and Specialize
Education is a broad, broad topic. That means simply starting an educational blog isn’t going to cut it. On Edublogs alone, there are blogs by…
School libraries
Universities
Teachers
Homeschoolers
EdTech professionals
Educational philosophers
So, what are you? That’s going to have a big influence on what sort of content you craft. However, niching down and specializing also helps you stand out. (Niche content is totally in and will stay in for a long time.)
Consider it. There might be 4.3 million educational blogs out there, but how many of them are run by middle school science teachers who focus on collecting unusual experiments and labs to conduct in class?
Specialization is your biggest advantage.
Afraid of running out of ideas? Topic clusters can help you get more content out there. Source: HubSpot
2. Look for Writers With Mad Research Skills
If you browse through lists of topic educational bloggers online, you might notice something: they all seem super well-informed. Why? They load up their blog posts with links to research and relevant statistics.
That’s because one of the easiest ways to develop your own authority is to recognize the authority of others. That means citing them and dropping references to numbers where possible.
Authoritative content is something that both Google and your readers want to see, so give it to them! The best education writers:
Back up claims with relevant scientific research ?
Provide links to original sources of statistics wherever possible ?
Use Alexa to identify high-quality sites (the lower the rank, the higher the quality) ?
[bctt tweet=”The best education blog writers: 1️⃣ Back up claims with relevant scientific research 2️⃣ Provide links to original sources 3️⃣ Use @alexainternet to identify high-quality sites to link to ?” username=””]
3. Reach Out to Your Community
Unless your educational blog content focuses on things like EdTech or the government’s education policies at a very high level, much of your content will likely be influenced by your local community. That’s a huge advantage because your own community is a goldmine of content that can help you grow your readership and your thought leadership.
Don’t be afraid to reach out. Your community can be a rich source of:
Guest bloggers
Blogging topics
Helpful resources
Tips and tricks
Stories
Newsworthy current events
Readers
4. Collect Helpful Resources
For many sites, a blog is an additional feature that serves to deliver value and help a company grow its brand. As an educational blog writer, you probably won’t be selling anything (although you might). Your blog is all you have, and that might not be enough for some readers.
Collecting and distributing helpful resources related to your topic can help with that. For example, the middle school science teacher above might have a section of downloadable files for other science teachers to use. Likewise, you might consider reading lists or links to online groups that your readers might be interested in joining.
The more pages you have on your site, the more opportunities your writers will have for internal linking. Doing this will not only help keep visitors on your site longer (which signals quality to Google), but also help build your authority as someone who’s in tune with your niche.
Tips on how to monetize your blog abound and many of them work quite well. In fact, most articles that are tips to monetize an educational blog will include affiliate marketing on that list.
However, affiliate marketing is easy to get wrong. Don’t be tempted to fall into the trap of spamming up your page with Google Ads, or linking to affiliate products at every single chance you get.
[bctt tweet=”Blog monetization tip ☝: Affiliate marketing is easy to get wrong. Don’t fall into the trap of spamming up your page with Google Ads, or linking to affiliate products every single chance you get. ?” username=””]
Instead, choose products that:
You’ve used and stand behind
Are immediately relevant to your readership
Have good reviews
Don’t require additional subscriptions or involve other strings
6. Give Writers as Much Information on Your Readers as Possible
Demographic information is gold for writers, and it’s part of why we ask so many questions when we onboard your project.
Of course, that requires you to do a little bit of homework. ??✏️
At the very least, study your target audience and build an audience persona. While a solid education blog writer will already have a sense of who is reading your blog, specifics on your exact readers will help create richer, more custom content and provide fresh inspiration for topics.
7. Avoid Pointless Arguments on Pedagogy and Politics
Teaching styles differ as much as approaches to education … just look at the traditional versus homeschool debate, or the online versus on-campus divide.
Don’t get into it.
Keep your blog content focused on what works, what’s backed by research, and what’s important to the topic at hand. Save the squabbling for the less-than-professionals in the education blogosphere.
You’ve got better things to do than to get into it. Source: XKCD
8. Get Savvy with SEO
While you’re focusing on the latest and best in your educational niche, don’t forget to nail down your keyword game to ensure that the most interested people find your blog.
Good SEO is as critical as good content – and by SEO, I don’t just mean your keywords (although those matter). Also make sure that you:
Pay attention to on-page (keywords) and off-page (technical) SEO
If you’re following the above steps, then your readers are E-A-Ting high-quality content that’s expert-level, authoritative and trustworthy. But did you know that educational blogs often also fall into the YMYL category?
That stands for “Your Money or Your Life” and it’s one of two major quality standards that Google uses when ranking your site.
Simply put, if your content can potentially impact a person’s health, finances, or future happiness, Google will scrutinize your content extra-hard to make sure it’s only the top quality. ?
Make sure you’re of the caliber that the search engine expects by:
10. Consider an Expert Blog Plan to Keep Things Consistent
Last but not least, blogs take a lot of time and energy, even if you’re not the one writing them. You might not have the resources to chase down a new writer every week or two if you’re teaching six classes of fifty students each or actively involved as a policy maker in your community. However, once you commit to blogging, you need to keep doing it.
Posting three times per week then not at all for another month isn’t going to cut it.
If you’ve already got your hand in a lot of projects, consider an expert blog plan. You’ll get a hand-picked writer as well as researched topics done for you. All you have to do is click publish each week.
Get Expert Education Blog Writers Today
Educational blogs occupy an interesting spot in the blogosphere. There are simultaneously over four million of them in existence, yet it’s one of those niches you don’t often hear about unless you’re also in education. That can make finding an expert education blog writer tricky.
Hopefully, I’ve given you some tips to empower your writers to craft customized, creative content. Whether you’re working with a specialist writer to craft YMYL content or a passionate expert in education, you’re now empowered to go forth, entertain, and educate with expert, authoritative, and trustworthy posts.
Everyone’s doing it, to a point where good ecommerce blog writers are in demand.
Maybe it’s because 61 percent of people are more likely to buy from a brand that produces unique content. Or perhaps it’s the fact that 34 percent of buyers will make an unplanned purchase after being convinced by a piece of content. ?
A blog means more traffic, more eyeballs, and more opportunities to sell a product or many – if you nail it.
Always easier said than done … right?
Nailing ecommerce blog content can seem mystifying … and finding an ecommerce blog writer worth their salt can seem even more difficult. If only there were a set of skills that ALL good ecommerce blog writers had in common…
You’re in luck!
Here are five of the best-kept secrets that our specialty blog writers use to craft content for the likes of Shopify, BigCommerce, and many other SaaS brands.
[bctt tweet=”61% of people are more likely to buy from a brand producing unique content (@smallbizgenius). A blog means more traffic ?, more eyeballs ?, and more chances to sell your product(s) ?. Learn how to craft ecommerce content via @juliaemccoy” username=””]
Let’s go!
Here’s Why Your Ecommerce Store Needs Blog Posts, Too
It’s a lot of work to set up an ecommerce site. I know, because here at Express Writers, we’ve done it. Our ecommerce platform is literally how we sell our content services to our clients.
However, an ecommerce site isn’t just a website full of product pages. Unless you’ve got a killer marketing strategy, you’ll find that simply building a site isn’t enough anymore.
That’s where having a blog comes into play. A blog earns:
More indexed pages on Google. Some 434 percent more, in fact, than your competitors without one.
The opportunity to better connect with readers. Product descriptions aren’t the time or place to connect with your readers and grow a community. That’s what a blog is for.
A way to grow your brand authority on your turf. You might have a strong social media presence, but what are you going to do if Facebook or Twitter suddenly shuts down your account? If it’s on your website, you control it.
Those reasons might seem simple, but don’t underestimate them. Blogging has been shown to increase site traffic by up to 300 percent.
Your blog may be one of the first points of contact that future customers have with you brand. That’s why it’s important to make a good first impression. Source: HubSpot
5 Secrets Ecommerce Blog Writers Know to Make Your Store Stand Out
By now, you know an ecommerce blog is a powerful step to growing your brand.
Now, you need to nail the execution. Here are five secrets crowdsourced from our own expert ecommerce blog writers to help you deliver delightful, engaging, conversion-oriented content.
Without further ado, good ecommerce blog writers…
1. Emphasize Storytelling
Think telling stories is just for creative writers? Consider these two examples where you’re trying to sell a pair of sneakers:
Blog Post A. The Windy Sneaker is a lightweight, comfortable shoe designed for performance athletes. With a contour perfectly designed for your foot, you’ll barely feel it’s there while you seize that gold medal at your next marathon. Buy now!
Blog Post B. Winning a marathon seemed like a pipe dream for Jane. At 38 and struggling with chronic foot pain, she had tried dozens of specialty shoes only to get the same results each time. A friend told her about the Windy Sneaker. She was skeptical, but within moments of lacing them up, her foot pain vanished. Read about the shoe that helped Jane win a marathon.
Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal for growing a brand. People don’t always react well to being told outright to buy something, which is exactly the end goal for ecommerce blog writers.
In contrast, storytelling helps your readers connect with your brand on an emotional level while sidestepping the bad vibes associated with a lot of sales tactics. Make sure your writer is up to speed on this and knows how to tell stories.
The first “blogs” were full of stories. Source: Wrong Hands
2. Pay Attention to E-A-T and YMYL
SEO, PPC, CTR, EAT, YMYL … Google likes its acronyms.
But what do those all even mean???
I’ve covered EAT and YMYL before, so here’s a quick rundown of what those two mean:
Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. Those are Google’s watchwords when determining the quality of your content (and thus your rank in the SERPs – another acronym. Hah!) You need to nail all three to rank well.
Your Money or Your Life. A special set of quality standards for pages with content that could potentially impact a person’s health, finances, or future happiness. Good ecommerce blog writers are aware of YMYL in the event that they’re writing a blog for a company that sells products which may fall into one of those categories.
All sites should pay attention to EAT, but not all sites need to remain mindful of YMYL. For example, a fashion ecommerce site probably won’t impact the health, finances, or future happiness of users … a site selling herbal supplements, however, might.
If you do fall into the YMYL category, make sure you’re:
Everyone knows that it’s best practice to include CTAs in blogs. According to Marketing Sherpa, 90 percent of the people who click on your headline will also click through your CTA.
It’s almost a no-brainer to include one … but that shouldn’t be the only actionable bit in your writer puts into your blog post.
If you spend some time haunting the blogs of your ecommerce competitors, you might notice something: almost all of the blogs show the readers how to do something. Whether it’s using a product or teaching a basic skill, actionable content provides better value for your readers and encourages them to keep coming back.
Need more tips to make your content marketing — and thus your brand and store — irresistible? Check out this free download: The Profitable Content Marketer’s Cheat Sheet!
If you’re struggling with ideas for actionable blog topics, here are a few to get started:
Teach your readers how to use a product, or an unexpected use for a product
DIY tips and tricks for common problems that your target audience might encounter
Recipes that use your products
Simple stretches or home exercises (if fitness is a parallel interest)
Lists of recommended freebie resources that align with your target audience’s interests
(By the way, did you know we also do content strategy? Expertly chosen headlines, topics, and keywords all done for you.)
Brandon Gaille once found that certain topics are always popular. How can these fit into your blog? Source: Brandon Gaille
4. Craft Keyword-Rich Posts That Entertain and Educate
Keyword stuffing is bad. Post an article with it, and you’ll sink faster than a drowning fish in Google. ?
However, neglecting keywords is also bad. (SEO will be dead when search engines are dead.) Blogs still need keywords, and ecommerce blog writing is no exception.
The trick is striking a balance. You need to have enough keywords that the search engine crawlers will know what your site is about and categorize it accordingly. But you don’t want content using so many that your readers think you spun out this content with AI.
Good writers make sure that keywords:
Flow naturally. They don’t try to force keywords into sentences that don’t work. Readers can tell … and they’ll stop reading.
Are suitably specific. Longtail keywords are veritable gold mines. They’re usually cheaper, have less competition, and zero in on exactly what your audience is looking for.
Occur throughout the piece. They’ll put them in the introduction and conclusion, as well as the H2 header and wherever they fit in the body of the content.
Appear in meta and alt tags. Double check that the meta data you get back includes them.
Reflect search intent. Nothing is “set it and forget it” in the world of SEO. The best writers know that search intent can change as Google learns what people mean when they type in a set of words. Failing to use keywords correctly can cause you to plummet.
Keyword pyramids can help you identify new keywords to include in your blog posts.
5. Don’t Oversell
When starting an ecommerce blog, the force to load up on content about your products can seem strong.
After all, you’ve got fancy new products to sell! ? And they’re amazing! ✨And you want the world to know about how amazing they are! ?
Pump the breaks for two quick seconds before you hand over that topic list.
Like I mentioned up above, the last thing people want is an in-their-face salesman telling them to buy a product. They will run away like they’re all wearing Windy Sneakers.
Remember: Your product descriptions are for selling the product. Your ecommerce blog content is for growing your brand.
Focus on telling your story, and let your readers think that purchasing from you was their idea. ?
[bctt tweet=”Get 5 secrets to ecommerce blog writing, crowdsourced from EW’s vetted experts ? (#1 – emphasize storytelling! ?) More this way ??” username=””]
Manage Your Business, Not Your Blog: Get an Expert Writer to Convert Readers to Raving Fans
Ecommerce blog writing might seem simple on the surface, but it’s not a walk in the park. Not only must you remain aware of Google’s SEO requirements, but you’re also dealing with the added challenge of selling without seeming like you’re selling. Good ecommerce blog writers know how to walk that tightrope and can help you navigate this space in a way that tells your story and grows your brand.
Now, you know how to spot a writer who knows what they’re doing in this space. These five tips are part of what set our specialty ecommerce blog writers apart from the rest.
So, instead of putting that next blog article at the bottom of your To Do List, why not have an ecommerce writing service handle it for you?
How is your business traffic growth and revenue doing amidst the pandemic?
Are you staying ahead of the curve and seeing the same (or even better) results in your content marketing since the onset of the coronavirus?
Or are you struggling because you lost a ton of loyal followers when the world suddenly and inevitably changed?
And if you’re seeing success, will it last?
What are the content marketing trends for 2021 you need to keep in mind as the year turns?
All these are great questions, and I’ll answer them in this blog.
I’ll show you:
5 content marketing trends for 2021 to keep you ahead of the curve
The #1 trend you need to focus on if you want to stay afloat, no matter how times change
Great examples of brands who made it (and excelled) despite the pandemic (and what you need to do to be like them)
Let’s dive in!
5 Content Marketing Trends for 2021
Trend #1: Amazing, Value-Focused Brand Content Will Always Win the Day
Trend #2: Meeting YMYL Standards in Tough Industries Will Be a Must for SEO Content Marketing Success
Trend #3: Video Content Will Bring More Trust than Ever
Trend #4: Voice-Search Savvy Content Marketing Will Rule the Roost
Trend #5: Be Ready to Pivot Your Value-Base and Topics
[bctt tweet=”Top content trends ? for 2020, via @JuliaEMcCoy’s Write Blog: ❶ Amazing content will win the day, ❷ Meeting #Google YMYL standards will be a must, ❸ Video content ? will bring more trust. Read all ❺: ” username=””]
Content Marketing Trends for 2021: Examining CMI’s Interesting Benchmark Study
The part I enjoyed most was where they talked about what brands did with their content marketing during the pandemic.
Here’s the thing: most of them had to pivot and alter their content marketing strategy to keep up with the times.
The data shows that 80-90% of content marketers made changes to their strategy, found those changes effective, and expected those changes to stay in effect in the foreseeable future.
I totally agree with them, because we did the same at Express Writers.
We did our best to stay current and avoid getting swept away and forgotten amidst the panic COVID-19 caused.
For example, I found out that the term “work from home” skyrocketed from 300,000 searches per month to a whopping 1.8 million searches per month.
To respond to it, pull in a ton of new readers, and help people who were scrambling to supplement or replace their income, I crafted a piece for the Write Blog with the keyword “work from home.”
At Express Writers, we don’t scramble for our content hats at the last minute.
Content is what we’re about. (We’ve grown from a $75 startup to a seven-figure business serving over 5,000 clients, without paying for a single ad!)
If you need content that surpasses Google’s E-A-T, has your readers craving for more, and ensures success for your content marketing in 2021, we’re here for you.
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Content Marketing Trend for 2021 #2: Meeting YMYL Standards in Tough Industries Will Be a Must for SEO Content Marketing Success
When COVID-19 first hit China last December, what keyword did you hurriedly type into Google?
If you’re like me, it was “COVID-19 news.”
As the virus spread and took over the world, you probably typed in things like, “COVID-19 prevention,” “How to keep healthy during COVID-19,” and “COVID-19 facts.”
And along with the quality content you found, there was a ton of misinformation and fake news, making you scared, doubtful, and confused.
The result?
Google started working extra hard to rate health information found on its SERPs.
Fact-checkers were also hard at work, with fact-checking rising 900% higher than usual.
What this means for you is if you’re in the health industry, you need to take the standard of your content a notch higher.
The same is true if you’re in the legal or financial industry.
The stakes have skyrocketed.
If you’ve heard of YMYL standards, you know how careful Google has always been in making sure readers’ lives aren’t ruined by misinformation.
In 2021, meeting and surpassing these standards will be a MUST for successful SEO content marketing.
Here’s a quick rundown of YMYL topics, according to Google.
If you’re worried your YMYL content doesn’t meet Google’s standards, we have the answers for you with our team of specialty industry writers. These aren’t just talented freelance writers, they’re industry practitioners like medical practitioners, lawyers, and finance experts trained in the art of writing.
Content Marketing Trends for 2021 #3: Video Content Will Bring More Trust than Ever
Imagine this.
You want to learn how to make your own sushi bake.
Do you:
Read five different blogs to learn the latest tips and tricks?
Watch a YouTube video that lists all the ingredients and shows you how to do it from start to finish?
I don’t know about you, but I always choose #2.
And I’m not alone.
In fact, 85% of Americans enjoy watching video content.
Video is an amazing trend that won’t go away anytime soon.
It’ll only grow.
In fact, I pull in a ton of Express Writers clients and course students through content on my YouTube channel.
It’s incredible how a single video can pull in 60,000 views, and how my subscribers’ list grows by 100 new people per week.
My advice on your video campaign?
It’s not about when to post and what platform to use. It’s not about posting on a Friday or using Facebook Live instead of YouTube. It’s about connecting with your audience. Trust me, show them your face and your smile. It’ll help them connect with your brand more than a hundred walls of text will.
Keep it professional. You can’t publish video just for the sake of doing what everyone else is doing. Make sure you prepare a logical script that’ll guide you as you deliver valuable, concise, entertaining video content. If you’re not sure how, hire one of our video script writers.
Content Marketing Trend for 2021 #4: Voice-Search Savvy Content Marketing Will Rule the Roost
Remember Joaquin Phoenix’s 2013 movie, Her?
It’s about a lonely man who falls in love with Samantha, his voice assistant.
And while you’re not likely to start a relationship with Alexa or Siri (unless Amazon and Apple get Scarlett Johansson to do their voices too, of course ?), you’ve probably already done a voice search by now.
Let me tell you, you’re not alone.
In fact, 50% of all Google searchers are done with a voice search!
So, if you haven’t optimized your site for voice search yet, it’s time to start right now.
Here are three tips that’ll help:
Get into Google’s featured snippets. Ask yourself what questions your target audience will ask their voice assistants. Then, answer their questions in a brief, direct way using relevant keywords. That’ll increase your chances of being the site Google gives people when they ask a question. Here’s the answer to: How tall is the statue of liberty?
Register on Google My Business. The #1 reason adults use voice search is to ask for directions. This means optimizing for local SEO is a great way to be found by people using voice assistants.
Create a mobile-friendly site. Use mobile-friendly plugins, go for speed and responsiveness, and ditch the text blockers and pop-up ads.
Content Trend for 2021 #5: Be Ready to Pivot Your Value-Base and Topics
Let’s go back to the beginning.
If we at Express Writers had ignored the pandemic and continued writing on our usual topics, would we have gotten a ton of shares, comments, and new followers?
No.
To be honest, we’d probably have lost some.
Because in the end, your content marketing isn’t about YOU and what YOU WANT.
It’s about your readers.
And if their interests and values shift somewhere else and you stay the same…you get the picture.
So, in 2021, be ready to pivot both your value base and your topics.
No, you don’t need new values.
You just need to highlight values you had all along, which are more in demand today than ever.
You’d think that with the pandemic raging throughout the world and tourism trickling to almost nothing, the home-sharing giant would have gone down into oblivion.
Right?
But it hasn’t.
It has just pivoted, catering to virtual field trips and tours instead of actual travel experiences.
Yes, the same values: adventure, connecting people around the world, learning different cultures.
But on a totally different platform.
Content Marketing Trends for 2021 and Beyond: How to Stay Relevant No Matter How Times Change
If you’re like every content marketer right now, you’re probably wondering what next year will bring.
At the end of 2019, as we sat writing down our predictions and “trends for 2020,” we had no idea what life had in store for us just a few months down the line.
And although we’re almost certain content marketing trends for 2021 will include video, voice search, and the rest…
…we never actually know what huge change will sweep us off our feet 10, or 5, or even 2 years from now.
The key to staying relevant is to know your audience and what they want and need at the moment.
Then, give it to them.
Once you nail that, you don’t have to worry about global changes wrecking your content marketing success in the future.
Need amazing content to match the content marketing trends for 2021? Our Content Shop has everything you need for a customized strategy.
