Korilynn V. - Express Writers

What is Evergreen Content and How to Use it to Build Your Brand

April 1, 2024 by Korilynn V.

Search engine optimization takes time. It’s like building a house where each new addition strengthens your construction. Every blog post you write, and website page you add gives you more authority and ranking potential. Today we dive into strategies to build your evergreen content. Covering trending topics and the latest news and stats is vital for remaining relevant, but those topics don’t rank in search engines for very long. Those topics receive a considerable boost initially, but you’ll see traffic die down as people move on to the next greatest thing. Evergreen content is the opposite of that. This is a cornerstone topic that doesn’t go out of style. It just keeps generating more traffic. It ages like fine wine, becoming stronger the longer it’s alive. But, like fine wine, evergreen content requires care to hold its value. We’ll explore what evergreen content is and how you can use an evergreen content strategy to build a solid online brand. What Exactly Is Evergreen Content? Evergreen content remains relevant and doesn’t go out of style. It’s the exact opposite of breaking news and trending topics. It doesn’t expire, and people don’t lose interest in the topic over time. Here are a few examples of evergreen content: Educational Guides: How-to articles, tips, and steps for completing tasks are all examples of evergreen content. People consistently need tutorials for completing assignments and ways to sharpen their skills. Fact Articles: Facts remain relevant for a long time unless new information emerges. For example, a post on the history of newspapers won’t change much over the years since no one is taking time machines to the past and changing history. Think about encyclopedia articles. People continually consult this content to learn more about a topic or cite research in an industry. Industry Resources: Industry guides, case studies, and glossaries are necessary for employees to understand their industry and find solutions. Here are some examples that are NOT evergreen content: Current Events: If something is breaking news, readers will probably lose interest as soon as the next big event occurs. Suddenly, that article sounds outdated. Reviews: People and businesses change over time. Just because Suzy loved a restaurant in 2014 doesn’t mean that the restaurant still offers the same quality food ten years later. People who want reviews on businesses, media, and products are usually only interested in recent reviews and testimonials. Statistics: Statistics have a varied shelf life. For example, statistics from medical research studies done five years ago can still be relevant today because research studies are costly and don’t receive regular updates. However, social media usage statistics from five years ago are outdated and usually have a shelf-life of a year or two because that’s a fast-paced industry. Technology: Content referencing technology usually has a short life because technology constantly changes. Something as simple as an image or mention of a smartphone can date an article since smartphones receive annual updates in appearance and function. References to how you can use technology and what technology is available will start an expiration timer ticking. Most of your content will usually be evergreen, as that will be your primary traffic driver. How to Turn Trending Topics into Evergreen Content Here’s an insider’s tip on evergreen content. You can turn your trending content into evergreen topics through regular updates. In each update, check statistics, technology changes, and current event mentions so you’re referencing the most recent updates. Here’s an example of an article Backlinko published in October 2019. Backlinko updates the article with the new year each year, updating any out-of-date statistics and adding new facts to the post. Does this work? The article’s search traffic says it does. You can see where those updates happened, as each update caused a jump in website traffic each year, keeping it relevant. Trending vs. Evergreen Content Examples Let’s look at examples of what evergreen content isn’t, followed by examples of what evergreen content is. Here’s an article that appeared in February 2022 when the Rams won the Super Bowl. Now, let’s look at this article’s traffic trends over time. You’ll notice the immediate peak when Fox Sports published the article. It was breaking news, fresh, and exciting. People everywhere were searching for Super Bowl results. However, just a few months later, it nearly flatlined. You’ll notice again that the columnist updated the article in 2023 in preparation for a new wave of searches as the next Super Bowl arrived. That update was delivered when another spike occurred. However, a year later, the article nearly flatlines again. This is not evergreen content. This is trending content. Trending content is crucial for showing you are relevant, connecting with new traffic, trending term searches, and being an authority in your field. However, trending content won’t bring in consistent website traffic. That’s why most of your website should be evergreen content. Let’s take a look at an example of evergreen content. You’ll notice first that there are no dates or breaking news information in the title. It’s a topic that has stayed relevant through the years because people are still coaching sports teams today, just like in 2015, when this article first came out. And the numbers don’t lie. The organic traffic grew after Harvard Business Review published the article in 2015. It peaked five years later! It wasn’t until it had been out for five years that you saw a traffic dip. Even in 2024, nine years later, the article still brings in a trickle of traffic. What Is the Best Evergreen Content Format? Evergreen content can appear in any online format other than social media. Here are the most popular ways to publish evergreen content: Blog Posts: Blog posts will be your SEO’s primary strategy. They usually appear on a resource or news page on your website. Visitors can search for specific topics, share posts on social media and emails, and see these articles appear in search results. You will also link to past blog articles through internal links. … Read more

The Content Marketer’s Guide to Content Writing Pricing

February 20, 2024 by Korilynn V.

I think we can all agree content is essential. You can’t go anywhere without coming across content. Content is everywhere, from the emails your favorite brand sends to that meme your dentist posted on social media. However, budgeting to create all that content is another beast you might not be ready to tackle. We have some good news for you. Content marketing doesn’t have to be an overwhelming beast that will gobble your budget. You can take it in levels like tackling a video game. You won’t need to graduate to the next level of content marketing until you defeat the one you’re at and receive the profits. Those profits allow you to scale up, creating more content and generating even greater rewards. Content marketing doesn’t feel so daunting anymore now, does it? Let’s break content writing pricing down to see what costs to expect and how to fit them into your budget. How to Craft a Content Marketing Budget Before diving into the numbers, it’s crucial to understand your budget and what factors play into content marketing costs. Sure, Suzy in HR says she likes to blog in her spare time, but can she give you the content you need to achieve your marketing goals? Use these factors to evaluate where you are at as a business and what content writing pricing you can afford. Understand Your Target Audience Content is for your audience. You’re writing to the people you hope will eventually become clients. So, the first place to look when deciding your marketing budget is your target audience. Ask yourself: Who do I want to reach with my content? What do I want my content to tell that audience? What action do I want my audience to take? Where can I reach that audience? These questions don’t just tell you which content marketing channels to prioritize but also tell you what level of content you need. HR Suzy might be able to craft a fun social media post, but can she also write an authority piece for financial leaders? While everyone’s content needs vary, the average monthly content marketing budget ranges between $5,000 and $10,000. You’ll be on the higher end if your target audience has higher educational levels or is in a complex industry like the medical field or cybersecurity. You will fall on the lower end of that range if you’re a B2C business in a more common industry like fashion that doesn’t have too much industry-specific jargon. Factors Impacting Pricing What might make a project or freelance agency cost more than another? Writer Experience: You will pay more for subject matter experts with more experience. Industries like the legal industry, finances, and tech usually charge the highest prices because they require significant niche knowledge. Research Requirements: Topics requiring more extensive research will also be more costly to account for the extra time the writer needs to find that information. Search engine optimization (SEO) research is also an additional charge. For example, Express Writers charges $10 for a meta add-on and $60 for keyword research if you want to optimize your content for search engines. Content Volume: If you order content in bulk, you can often receive a discount, which makes creating regular content more budget-friendly. Turnaround Time: Do you need content by yesterday? Expect to pay more for rush orders. Express Writers already prides itself on our fast delivery, with delivery times ranging from 3-10 days, depending on the content’s complexity and length. But, if our delivery is still outside your window, we also offer rushed orders for an additional fee. Managed Options: How much help do you want with your content creation? Adding on services like Express Writers’ Managed Content will increase your costs but will also decrease the time and mental load of content creation. To find the right package for your marketing needs, you need a careful balance of cost and quality. Investing a little more in content today can increase your rewards tomorrow. Investing in consistent quality content over time will significantly boost your web traffic and conversions while saving you hours of valuable time. Budgeting for content marketing comes down to how much your time is worth and what rewards you hope to achieve. The value of those items will define your budget. Average Content Writing Pricing Based on Content Format Now, it’s time to dig into the actual numbers behind content marketing based on average industry prices. Use our freelance content writing pricing as guidelines to budget for your marketing strategy. 1. Average Blog Post Cost Average Cost: $640-$3,600 monthly for eight blog posts. Web content and blog posts will comprise the bulk of your content. Aim to create two to four weekly blog posts to maintain a consistent, high search engine ranking. If you’re posting twice a week, that’s eight blog posts a month, which you can order using a volume discount to make it more budget-friendly. How much will that cost you? A quarter of businesses pay between $500-$1,000 for a month’s blog content. Content marketing pricing varies greatly depending on the business. The average includes different blog post lengths and quality levels. You can easily spend much more than that in a niche industry. At Express Writers, a month’s worth of general blogs will cost $640+ for a basic package with minimal research or expertise. If you’re looking for a month’s worth of high-quality, authoritative content, expect to pay $3,600 for eight highly researched, 1000-word posts crafted by subject-matter experts with experience in your industry. 2. Average Case Study Cost Average cost: $140 per page Case studies require a different skill set than general writing and are often more expensive than what you’d pay for a blog, quickly reaching over $1,000 per case study. What you’re paying for is the marketing experience of crafting a story that highlights your best features while showcasing previous wins. At Express Writers, single-page case studies start at $140 with a $125 design add-on available. Each additional page increases the price by the … Read more

How to Review Your Content for Efficacy and Quality

February 20, 2024February 15, 2024 by Korilynn V.

Your website reflects you and your business. It’s not enough to have an aesthetically pleasing site design. You also need to make sure you’re publishing impeccable content that Google will rank highly and that your readers will enjoy. Part of that is learning how to review content for efficacy and quality so you can put your best foot forward with everything you publish. This way, you always give off a great first impression. But how exactly do you conduct a content review? That’s what you’ll learn how to do in this post. What is a Content Review and Why is it Important? A content review is essentially like the final piece of the puzzle before hitting publish and sharing your work with the world. It’s your opportunity to look everything over and make final changes that will allow you to polish your draft to perfection. Here’s why it’s so important to learn how to review content: It Ensures You’re on Track to Reach Your Goals: As you look over your content, you’ll be able to ask yourself whether it’ll get you closer to reaching the goals you’ve set for yourself. If not, you’ll have the opportunity to make tweaks before publishing. It’ll Encourage Consistency With Content: Consistency is key but can sometimes be tricky if you have multiple people writing content for your brand. With a content review, you can catch those inconsistencies and correct them. It’s also possible to turn the review into a learning opportunity as you sit down and talk to your team about how to better meet brand guidelines. Any Mistakes Will be Spotted and Corrected: Content riddled with issues (whether typos or inaccurate information) is a major turn-off for your readers. You want to make sure you spot them and get them fixed to avoid hurting your brand’s reputation. While it may sound tedious, it’s worthwhile at the end of the day. When you take the extra steps to polish your content to perfection your readers will truly appreciate your efforts. They’ll keep coming back to your site because they know they can count on you for great content. Don’t hesitate to take your review beyond your blog posts. You can apply this process to your website’s homepage, landing pages (such as for products and services), and more. How to Review Content for Efficacy and Quality Your content review process could look different compared to other creators, and that’s okay. It’s important to make this step work for you and your team. However, there are some basic tips you’ll always want to implement to ensure success. Here are a few of our top suggestions: 1. Keep Your Goals Top of Mind As you move forward with these tips on how to review content, you always need to remember your goals. You cannot measure the efficacy of your content if you don’t know what you intended to achieve with it in the first place. So, what do positive results look like in your content? What results indicate that you’ve seen a return on your investment? For instance, your goal may have been to increase traffic, engagement, and conversions. To determine whether you’ve been successful at making that happen, you’ll want to dive into your analytics. Measure things like page views, traffic sources, and conversion rate to help you decide your goals and how to move forward with them. 2. Bring Someone on Board for Your Content Review The best thing about conducting a content review is that you don’t need to do it alone. After all, sometimes we get too attached to our content, and it makes us unable to spot mistakes or quality issues. By having someone else step in to look over a piece of content with fresh eyes, they can see things we’ve overlooked. Ideally, you’ll want to choose someone who is meticulous and has impeccable spelling and grammar skills. You never want to rely solely on spell check. It’s even better if that person is willing to offer constructive criticism that you can use in the future. If you work alongside a team, you can assign a specific person to this task. Having a team of creators and editors to help you bring your content to life is an amazing asset. So, if you can afford it, it’s worth it to have a content team that can tackle these tasks. There’s nothing wrong with having to tackle these tasks on your own. If you have to work alone, don’t be afraid to ask a knowledgeable friend or colleague for assistance. 3. Ensure Everything Meets Your Brand Guidelines Part of learning how to review content is determining whether a piece of content aligns with the vision you have for your brand. To start, you need to create brand voice guidelines and make sure you share them with anyone on your team who will be writing or editing content. This way, they can refer to those guidelines when conducting the review. They should encompass details such as tone of voice, who your target audience is, and even go over your brand’s quality standards. Then, you won’t have to worry about content that’s below your standards getting published. Instead, it’ll only be top-notch content your readers will love. 4. Take the Time to Fact-Check Claims and Data Misinformation can spread around the internet like wildfire if you aren’t careful. You can avoid being pulled into an issue by taking some extra time before publishing a piece of content to fact-check any claims or data you include in your article. This way, you can feel confident knowing that what you’ve published is 100% accurate. As you do this, make sure to include links to cite your sources. Then, you can back up any statements you’ve made. It may seem time-consuming, but it’ll be worthwhile because your readers will view you as a trusted and informed source of information. 5. Check for Proper Optimization If you hope to see your content at the top of Google’s … Read more

Uplevel Your AI Content Game with the Human Touch

September 11, 2023 by Korilynn V.

Uplevel Your AI Content Game with a Human Touch AI is here, and while it has generated thousands of pieces of content already, those pieces of content are still not quite up to the standard you would expect (or Google for that matter) when it comes to expertise. If your company is using AI-generated content, you may want to consider hiring a Subject Matter Expert (SME) writer to follow up and help you optimize and more importantly, humanize your content so that you do not sacrifice your position in the SERPs. AI-Content Generation Doesn’t Understand E-E-A-T, But a Writer Does AI creates content by pulling words together based on the prompts you provide. It can optimize content with keywords, but not in a reader-friendly way. Likewise, the tool provides outdated stats, which means you could be quoting something as much as two years old – and in the content marketing world, that might as well be 10 years. Content marketing trends come and go more than the tides, and now that Google has made it clear E-E-A-T is the standard, quickly generating content with AI and not following up with human AI content optimization is a risky chance to take. What is E-E-A-T? E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. This was designed for Google’s quality search result analysis and helps feed into the infamous algorithm that every website owner is trying to attract. While E-E-A-T doesn’t directly impact your rankings in the SERPs, it is a strong SEO factor that you cannot ignore and E-E-A-T is more likely to increase conversions, according to SEMRush, because if a customer trusts your site, they are more likely to use your service. Examining How AI Struggles to Meet the E-E-A-T Expectations AI content is written by a computer, and while the technology can perform tasks such as intelligence, learning, reasoning, and even decision making, there is a lot that it cannot do. From the content marketing side of things, AI lacks significantly in terms of creating personalized narration, building character, establishing trust, and even being factually correct. Right now, ChatGPT3.5 only has data back to 2021. Asking it how many blogs there were worldwide created this response: As you can see, its knowledge goes back to September 2021, and worse, it didn’t even have an answer then. In case you’re curious, there are more than 600 million blogs as of 2023. AI doesn’t have the ability to pull statistics, and statistics build two very important components of E-E-A-T: Authoritativeness Trustworthiness If you cannot prove to your audience what you are saying is factually correct, where is your authority and how can they trust you? Easy, they can’t. What is AI Content Optimization? AI-generated content has its flaws, but it definitely is cheaper and faster than your average writer. That said, despite AI automating numerous processes in our lives, it cannot go unsupervised – especially when it comes to content. Instead, you need content that has a human touch, essentially human-optimized AI content, so that your message gets across and leaves a profound impact on the reader. 5 Reasons to Consider AI Optimization Done by a Writer In most cases, you can generate hundreds of blogs for free, but you still want to optimize your content using a human. At Express Writers, we do offer human optimization for AI-generated content, and quite a few clients have used this service so far to help amplify their AI-created content without sacrificing their SERPs. For human optimization, we recommend using our General Blog service. It is affordable, has a human optimize for SEO, rewrite for flow, add branding and personality, and most importantly, infuse your content with up-to-date statistics. Still not sure? Here are some reasons you need to use a human to optimize your content. Humanized AI Content Offers Personalization AI is repetitive, robotic and has no personality, but it is a computer, so you can’t expect it to have a personality. Your marketing copy, however, and those who read it, do expect to see some personality in the words you provide. We are overwhelmed with dozens of marketing messages, emails, blogs and social media posts each day, so you need something that stands out, and AI content cannot do that alone. Instead, it needs that human touch. AI might automate generating your blogs for you, but you still need a human to help that piece of content resonate with your audience and offer authenticity. AI Has Writing Flaws AI is by no means perfect, and while they continue to learn and release new versions of AI-generation tools, they still have too much missing. AI does understand basic grammar, but the output sometimes repeats itself and doesn’t read well. For example, I had ChatGPT3.5 write me a 100-word paragraph for a blog on “reasons to start running,” and requested it to write a catching intro. Here is the intro it came up with: Not awful, but also, not really catchy either. It tends to ramble, it doesn’t understand flow, and some of the text feels more like fluff/filler than something that hooks. Speaking of, where is the hook? Do you see a profound hook that makes you want to continue reading a blog based on this intro? A human needs to go through these paragraphs and pick out what matters, refine points brought up, and here is the perfect opportunity to add an interesting fact or stat that catches the reader’s eye. A Human Writer to Help Infuse Stats into Your Content Stats are crucial for content. Not only do they provide backlink opportunities – yes, backlinks are still important to SEO, but they also help you satisfy the Authority and Trustworthiness requirements of E-E-A-T. When you have statistics to back up statements or claims within your content, the reader feels more confident in what they’ve read rather than just making a statement and offering no insight or high-value resources to back it up. Offering Accuracy Checks You can use AI to generate … Read more

Steps for Creating Content that Connects with Your Audience

May 16, 2023 by Korilynn V.

Content that connects with your audience is worth every penny. Having a single piece of content that speaks to your desired audience, and connecting to your audiences meaningfully, often results in a higher ROI. It is essential, whether you are a small business or large corporation, that you know how to connect with your audience emotionally, and often that requires a special type of writer to do so. Not just anyone can connect; simply putting words onto virtual paper will not do the job. Instead, you need to know what your audience needs, their pain points, their reasons for seeking out your business, and when to offer help – timing is crucial here. Today, we will review a few ways to create content that makes a genuine connection and how to implement it into your content strategy for blogs, web pages, and even social media posts. Is Written Content Relevant for Today’s Audience? The age of YouTube has certainly changed how we all interact with search engines, and often we opt for a video over a blog to learn about something, but that is not the majority. Written content, specifically blogs, is still in high demand. 77% of internet users read blogs, according to Social Media Today – so obviously, there’s a market. 7 Steps Every Company Needs to Use to Create Content that Connects with the Right Audience Creating and maintaining a connection with your audience is crucial. Whether your target audience is B2B or B2C, you have a target audience, and you need content that speaks to them. So, how do you do that when your “audience pool” masses in the thousands? Easy…by following these key steps. 1. Embrace Empathy The pandemic has certainly taught us a lot and restructured the way a lot of us communicate or even work today. However, one of the biggest lessons from the pandemic was empathy. Thinking about your audience using compassion and your emotional intelligence is critical in your content. 2. Write As You Talk You want to connect to the person reading your content. What is a better way to connect than conversation? For some reason, being conversational in blogs and even landing page content got a bad rap somewhere but shouldn’t have. Being conversational is precisely what a reader needs to feel as though you are speaking to them. The robotic, encyclopedic text has its uses but rarely is that content that is designed to create a connection. Instead, that is created to educate. Social media posts, blogs, and sales pages need to connect to the reader, or the conversions will not happen. So, as you write out your text, think of how you would talk to a friend, explain something to a colleague, and use that as your muse when crafting your “voice” within the text. 3. Use Media Words are powerful, but so too is imagery. You want to use different media types to help you connect with your reader. While the personal tone is equally important, include a picture of yourself in your bio on each blog, that way, the reader can picture who they are talking to. 4. Picture the Ideal Reader Just like you want your reader to picture you, you need to picture them. You know your target audience – if you don’t, that’s an entirely different topic – so now you can picture one member from your target audience as you create your content. Pick them from the crowd, and pretend you are conversing with them. When you picture yourself talking to a real person, rather than them reading what you have written, it helps you be more conversational. You aren’t lecturing a group of students at the university – just an intimate conversation between two individuals. 5. Put Yourself in the Reader’s Shoes – Address their Needs You can’t truly connect if you aren’t in your reader’s shoes. What are their dreams? Fears? You need to know their pain points to bring them up in the copy and almost catch them off guard. You want the reader to sit there thinking, “Yes! That is me!” and not just going through the motions. The more connected they are to the writing, the more likely they are to take action you request at the end of the page – whether it is a contact, submitting email addresses, etc. You need to show that you can relate to their problem, then strike with the solution. If you don’t build up a relationship on mutual understanding first, you cannot offer a mutually acceptable solution. Often, copywriters will come out of the gates swinging. They don’t hit that pain point and instead just start talking about the solution while touching here and there on the issue it solves. That doesn’t grab a reader and keep them hanging on for the ride. Instead, they see that you have a solution, make up their assumptions, and bounce. So, instead, build up the rapport first, then offer your solution. Take the reader through your journey, showing your understanding and relativeness, then add your solution and call to action. If you offer the goods right from the start, you will lose the chance to build a relationship with your reader first. 6. Work with the Emotions You Want to Pique in Your Reader Picture your reader’s emotions as they go through your text. If you aren’t getting a reader to laugh at a joke, ask yourself if you would have laughed. Would you cry at the same instance of emotion? Would you yearn for the same solution as profoundly as they? Allow yourself to feel something, express it, and create that connection. You may be surprised at how willing people are to reach out to you when you occasionally open yourself up in your content, whether it is sharing a personal experience, a humbling moment, etc. 7. Avoid Third Person The third-person POV does not connect with the reader. After all, if you read something in a third-person point-of-view, … Read more

Revisions: Your Secret Weapon for Perfecting Your Blog Content

May 2, 2023May 2, 2023 by Korilynn V.

You’ve waited a few days, and you finally received your copy. You’re excited to get moving on with your project, open up the document, and realize that the tone is not correct, the keyword wasn’t used as you wanted it to, or the direction of the blog itself didn’t go the way you had hoped. You filled out the input form, so you know you had requested specifics for this piece, but you don’t feel the writer nailed it. Now, you have to send it back for a revision. You can feel a sense of annoyance creeping up as you click “Request Revision.” While you might think revisions are terrible, you are missing out on seeing the incredible value of requesting a revision. Clicking that button has just improved your investment in your content. How so? Four Benefits of Requesting a Revision from Your Content Writer Revisions are a good thing. Let me say that one more time…revisions are a good thing. It does delay your project another day or so, but you are investing in your writer, brand, and project by requesting a revision. Let me show you how that is… You are Not Revising It Yourself – Saving you the Time and Hassle Yes, you could save a few days by revising it yourself. But how much time did you save, really? You outsourced your content for a reason – because you didn’t have the time to write it yourself. So, why are you revising it yourself? Instead, you need to let the writer that crafted your content do the heavy lifting – that is why they offer revisions. Take advantage of those free revisions and send your piece back. While you wait you can get started on ordering your social media posts and your email copy for the blog post you are waiting to launch, while our team fine-tunes things for you. No matter what, you have saved yourself time. You are not spending 30 minutes, an hour, or maybe a few hours reworking your content. Instead, you have that done for you free of charge as part of your initial order fee. You are Working with Your Writer to Get that Tone/Style/Niche Perfect – Which Pays for Itself in the Long Run At Express Writers, we aim to have you work with the same writer, not just for this project but for all projects for that specific brand. Every time writers work with you, they learn more about your preferences, nuances, preferential stylistic needs, etc. These are things embroidered in your mind, but your writer needs to learn them to continue using them in future content. If you don’t request a revision, how will your writer know what you prefer them to do on the next order? What comes easy to us only sometimes translates well on paper. When you fill out an input form, what you see as a “casual” content tone might not be what a writer views as casual. When there is room for interpretation, there is room for something to be “off” slightly. That is why there are revisions – so you can help the writer better understand what you meant in your input form. You are Finetuning Your Wants and Needs (Some You May Not Have Realized You Had in the First Place) When you complete an input form, you convey what you want right down to the preferred style/tone, but as we said before, what you may think is “casual” is not how the writer interprets it. Or, you might request that a blog be written more academically, only to realize that doesn’t jive with your tastes. Revisions help you finetune what you actually want in your content because sometimes it takes seeing content that needs to be corrected to realize what you need to get it there and find what your style is. Sometimes you think your style is more “encyclopedic,” only to realize it is not after you see what that type of content is. We don’t want you stuck with a piece of content that doesn’t suit your style, so we offer the opportunity to revise and refine. You are Ensuring that the Final Product is Right – and Future Orders Will be Right from the Get-Go When you have a project that was a home run, you can request that same writer on future projects. If you work alongside that writer via revisions to fine-tune your content, future orders will go much smoother. The writer might hit it out of the park the first go around on assignment #2 – even if the first assignment required a few rounds of revisions before it was right. That is why we aim to have the same writer work on your same brand or projects – so that everything they’ve learned about your brand from those revisions is applied to future content. Not only will the writer be more on point, but you will notice that turnaround times decrease. Your writer no longer needs as much time to create your content because once they see the title, topic, and keywords, they know what you intended for them to create, and they don’t have to spend as much time researching background information to create it. You benefit from having an in-house writer without the hassle of managing them. You’re working alongside them to fine-tune your content today so future orders are much easier and more efficient tomorrow. How to Get the Most Out of Your Revisions Simply requesting a revision is not enough. You want to ensure that when a project goes back, it returns to you right. When you request a revision, here are a few tips for getting the most out of it: Be Specific About What’s Right and What’s Wrong: Saying “it is wrong” doesn’t point the writer in the right direction. So, be specific here. Let them know what was right and what parts specifically were wrong so they know a) what parts you do … Read more

The Future of Blogging: Today’s Recipe for a Perfect Blog Post

April 4, 2023April 4, 2023 by Korilynn V.

A craveable, delicious, delightful blog post isn’t much different from a pastry. As long as you follow the recipe, steps included, you will create a post your readers are hungry to devour – and might even return for more. The good news is you won’t make a special trip to the grocery store to get started on the perfect blog post. Everything you need is in your virtual pantry – you just didn’t realize it. Writing a blog post, especially in today’s competitive market, is intimidating. Once you break it down and understand the ingredients, however, you can whip up these readable bits on the fly and stay up with the trends for the future of blogging in 2023. So, What Do You Need to Craft the Perfect Blog Post in 2023? The future of blogging has certainly changed. What worked last year doesn’t necessarily apply today. Therefore, staying up on the latest blogging and SEO trends is essential so that you know what Google expects – and, more importantly, what today’s reader wants. The Perfect Blog Recipe Before you start to type, you want to make sure you have the following essentials ready to add to the mixing bowl: 1 click-worthy title 1 attention-keeping introduction A pinch of creativity A few cups of informative, scannable subheaders A splash of succinct body copy A handful of authoritative research and your expertise 1 part formatting 1 delectable conclusion A dusting of enthusiasm for the topic A garnish of passion for your niche Putting it Altogether – How the Future of Blogging will Change How You Use These Ingredients As you can see, the ingredients haven’t changed, but how and when you use them has. We will break down each portion of this recipe so that you know how to mix it all in and get your readers to come back for more. Creating Your Title By far one of the most essential ingredients! Your title sets the stage for what the reader can expect, even determining if they ever get past the SERPs to read your blog. Spend time on this stage of your recipe. In fact, whatever you title it as your “working” title, be prepared to come back and rework it until it is just right later. Don’t hastily toss forth the first title you have in mind. Instead, let it sit and rest, and the flavors meld together. Think of title creation as a slow, steady simmer rather than a rapid boil. A good title mixes intrigue and information and is not too long. Yes, Google says there is no limit, and the length of your title will not influence your search engine results. Instead, it affects whether or not someone will click on it. The first 60 characters matter the most – so make those count even if you have a 100-character title. Whatever you do, don’t over-sprinkle in the keywords for your title – not only will it kill your readability factor and turn off any enthusiastic taster, but it will turn away Google too. Roll Out Your Introduction Your introduction supports your title. So perhaps you may not create it until you have solidified your intro – and that’s okay. An introduction requires time and patience. While you will mix up something short, sweet, and enticing, you will also want it to rest a few hours before you revisit and rework it again. While adding a keyword to the introduction is essential, ensure it is not the highlighting flavor. An introduction gives readers just a taste of what else is to come, but the full flavor doesn’t explode until the end. Of course, if your introduction isn’t tasty enough to keep reading, the end doesn’t matter much. So, take your time, rework it after the entire blog is done, and ask yourself, would I eat this up? Never Forget the Power of Creativity Too many recipes lack creativity. Think of those five-star restaurants – are they working with “vanilla” recipes used over and over again? Of course not. They are hashing out something unique that stays with their branding but still tantalizes the tastebuds. Never leave out a pinch of creativity in your content – all of your content. Creativity should be tossed in from the start; if you can’t taste it, add more. Start Rolling Out Subheaders Subheaders help your reader scan and understand what they are about to digest. They should go in an even flow, make sense, and inform. Ideally, subheaders are introduced every 300-500 words max (there’s nothing wrong with adding them in fewer words as long as the words in between pack a powerful punch). Subheaders are a great place for optimizing with secondary keywords but don’t overdo it. Time to Mix in Your Body’s Copy You have a working title, and you’ve rolled out the subheaders. Now comes the time to mix together your blog’s body. But before you add anything, do your research. You may be an expert in your niche, but that doesn’t mean you won’t need resources to back up what you say. Today, using authoritative, high-quality links is still a must-have for any recipe. Search Engine Journal states that every site needs credible, authoritative, and trustworthy content – and a reader can’t take you at your word without some citations. As you mix up that copy, make sure to spice it up enthusiastically. Nothing turns a reader away more than negativity. So, likewise, be as passionate about your niche as you want your reader to be as you create your blog – if you are not excited about it, why should they be? A few other things to keep in mind while you mix up your body’s copy: Optimize Gently. Optimizing your content is like working gluten. Too much, and it’s gotten too chewy, stiff, and undesirable. Yes, keywords matter in 2023, but how and where you use them has changed. Focus on Your Brand’s Authority. What Google praises more than keywords are brand … Read more

AI is Not the Tool for SME Content Creation – and Google Knows It

March 28, 2023 by Korilynn V.

AI is here, and there is no denying it. While AI can share the workspace with a traditional writer and editor for content marketing, there is one thing it cannot do – SME content creation. The only genuine SME (subject matter expert) out there in your niche is, well, you – and the talented freelance writers out there that know your field just as well as you. More importantly, Google knows it and expects to see that in your content. What is AI Content Generation? It seems like almost daily another AI content generation tool is launching. Some are free, others are paid, but are any of these tools able to truly replace a genuine expert? TechTarget lists 36 AI generation tools in their 2023 guide, and while there are loads of tools to choose from, they are all based on the GPT-3 model. AI content generation is content that is created by a platform utilizing the GPT-3 model. The content is generated and while marketed to be “new,” it really is not. Think about how AI generators work. Generative AI tools take keywords, themes, and even voice/tone preferences, and it works to generate a blog, web page, or even a social media post, but it is not creating them out of thin air or using any expertise in the field to offer unique opinions and insights. Instead, AI generates your content by pulling information from the internet. It searches and scours the thousands of web pages and blogs already out there to piece together information and generate copy. But, AI Doesn’t Understand What it is Creating…. While it is fascinating to watch AI work, AI has no clue what it is writing. It is solely based on an algorithm pulling data based on your input. Only a Genuine Industry Expert Knows the Content for their Industry AI is incredibly fast and can write a blog post quicker than any writer, but because of its limitations in terms of understanding and having any expertise in the niche, it is not a specialist. Here is where you may hit a speed bump or two, if you are using AI generation for your content marketing: Let’s Talk about E-E-A-T and How AI Falls Short for Industry Professionals Seeking SME Content Creation In Google’s February release, they mention guidelines for using AI generation in your content, and make it clear that they reward high quality regardless of how it is produced (whether human-made or AI-generated). Many took that as a green light to go ahead with AI, but that is not what Google conveyed. Let’s go back to the double update released in December 2022 when the extra “E” was added to the E-A-T standard, making it now E-E-A-T. Image Source: Google Update, December 2022, Page 26 What was that extra “E” for? Experience… Trust is crucial with Google. Some websites may fall short of the bar, no matter how experienced, professional, or even authoritative they are if they don’t have the reader’s trust, and one example given from Google within their update reveals the most consequential sentence that websites need to pay attention to: “…the content creator lacks adequate experience” means they will have a low E-E-A-T score. For example, if the content creator reviews a restaurant, but never ate at the restaurant, they are not experienced or trustworthy, which means they have a low E-E-A-T to Google. Let’s break it down further by looking at each component of E-E-A-T. Experience Experience, in Google’s eyes, offers another level of dimension they can use when evaluating content. Content must demonstrate it was assembled with a degree of experience – after all, a reader will value a person’s content more if they have life experiences on the topic and they are not basing it exclusively on research. AI has no experience with your topic. Let’s take a look at divorce law, for example. You want to write a blog for your law firm on the latest guideline changes for calculating child support, but you will find a few speed bumps along the way using AI to do so: AI typically doesn’t access the latest data – so it may not even know or find the latest guidelines for calculating child support. Worse, it could create a blog on outdated guidelines that it notes as “updated.” AI has no actual understanding of handling child support cases. AI hasn’t had to calculate what a child support payment would be based on your state, the local laws, or the parent’s income. It has definitely never filled out the child support worksheets – but you have. If you go off the premise of why “experience” was added by Google, you can see why AI might not meet the mark. AI is not an attorney or a financial expert, and therefore, there is no SME content creation happening when you use AI to draft your blogs. Expertise SME content creation comes down to one important factor: credibility. A person without qualifications should not be writing a topic out of their realm of expertise. Period. Why? Google is unlikely to rank a website with content not written by a credible source over a website they know has content written by a believable source. In areas where a subject matter expert is required, such as healthcare, Google has a higher level of scrutiny than things based more on personal opinion and less on facts. Authoritativeness Authority means you have proven you belong in the niche your website represents. Sure, backlinks to relevant and authoritative sources will help build that authority, but only so far. If you only have quality backlinks, but don’t meet the other areas of E-E-A-T – well, you don’t have much to go on. There’s not much more to say there. Authority is a building block, and it requires more than one block to finish your foundation. Trustworthiness Now, we’ve already covered where AI falls short for SME content creation, but the biggest area you are going … Read more

How to Write Infographics: Your Complete Guide to Stellar Copy

January 13, 2024February 21, 2023 by Korilynn V.

How to Write Great Content for Your Infographics

Infographics are an incredibly popular online resource. According to HubSpot, they are the fourth most popular type of content used by marketers. The popularity of infographics comes from several factors: They’re visual and textual, making them a powerful vehicle for education. They’re easy to share and simple to skim, so they’re perfect for our instant-gratification digital world. If you haven’t used an infographic in your marketing before, now is the perfect time to get started. Today, we’re breaking down how to write great content for your infographics, so you can start developing custom visuals your readers will love to share. What Is an Infographic? Infographics are a visually appealing way to share interesting information. While their use has grown exponentially in recent years, it might surprise you to learn that infographics have been in use for hundreds of years. One of the earliest infographics appeared in 1626 and illustrated the movement of the sun. Today, infographics are used as a marketing resource to generate leads and build site credibility with backlinks. Consider this example below from a recent email we sent about Express Writers University While it might seem like an infographic is just an alternative way to deliver information, imagine how this information would look if it were simple text. It would be dense and wordy, and people might skip reading it. The addition of images makes the information much more effective and accessible. Researchers have found that about 65% of the population are visual learners. Beyond that, content with visuals is 40 times more likely to be shared than content without images. With these statistics, it just makes sense to add infographics as a resource in your content marketing strategy. Types of Infographics As infographics have increased in popularity, so has their versatility. With a graphic layout, there are near-infinite ways to present your information. Here are some of the most popular types of infographics: Timeline: A timeline infographic shares key moments from your subject in chronological order. List: This infographic shares important points about your topic. You should include some context to tie each point together. Flowchart: In a flowchart infographic, each point leads directly to the next. These charts often use arrows or other types of images to show the flow of information. Mixed Chart: A mixed chart infographic includes multiple types of charts like pie charts, bar graphs, and density maps. Your copy should concisely describe the data for each chart. How-To: This type of infographic explains a process in detail with as few words as possible. Hierarchical: A hierarchical infographic stacks information into defined categories. The information is commonly presented in a pyramid shape. If you use this type of infographic, make sure you organize your information correctly. 10 Steps to Writing Winning Content for Your InfographicsEven if you’re not a visual design expert, you can still write attention-grabbing text for your infographics. Here’s how: Strike a Balance Between Text and Visuals There are two parts to an infographic – data (information) and design (graphics). Both are important, so striking a balance between the two is imperative. If you have excellent text and boring design, or vice versa, your infographic won’t work. Creating a cohesive experience gives your infographic the chance to perform as well as possible, so make sure your visuals and text work together. Keep It Concise While infographics can be long, the independent elements within them don’t offer a lot of room for text. As such, you need to be careful with your choice of language. Writing copy for Infographics is a great way to learn to say complicated things in simple terms. Aim for small sections of copy that are no more than 100 words. Anything longer and your readers might lose interest. Be sure all the language you choose supports your main points and helps readers understand the “meat” of your infographic. Improving your concision is easier said than done. Here are two ways you can try eliminating unnecessary words: Rewrite your copy: Doing your work twice might seem unappealing but working through it again can offer impressive results. Once you finish your initial copy, walk away and come back later. Wait at least two hours or even overnight to give yourself a fresh perspective. You will likely notice small errors and make improvements in the clarity. Check each sentence individually: Every sentence in an infographic carries a lot of weight. Read each sentence separately and look for any words you can eliminate without affecting the meaning. These will be fluff words, like ‘really,’ ‘in order to,’ ‘very,’ and ‘that.’ Create a Narrative Arc Although an infographic might just look like random bits of information stuck together in a graphic, it’s anything but. In fact, all the best infographics have a narrative arc that helps the reader make their way through the information. This narrative arc may rely on sections, a series of chronological events, … Read more

12 Crucial Copywriting Skills Every Writer Needs to Succeed: Beyond the Basics

June 19, 2024February 14, 2023 by Korilynn V.

6 Of The Best Copywriter Skills: Every Copywriter Needs To Possess These

Being a successful copywriter requires a specific set of skills. Understanding those copywriting skills is important when you’re a business trying to hire a writer. Your goal should be finding a copywriter that can go beyond the basics of strong writing, creativity, and excellent English language skills. The Express Writers team knows what it takes to be a successful copywriter because we work with them every day. That’s why we’re sharing 12 crucial copywriting skills you should look for when hiring your next copywriter. With these 12 abilities, a copywriter can deliver creative, high-performing writing that can improve your conversion rates and keep your customers coming back for more. 12 Copywriting Skills Businesses Need When Hiring Writers The best copywriters work hard to turn their raw talent into incredible writing, earning money for every word they produce. A copywriter with these 12 skills will deliver the superior writing that your business needs. 1. Stellar Research Skills Most copywriters are writing experts first and may have one or two other areas of expertise. However, with stellar research skills, a copywriter can quickly learn the information they need to knowledgeably write about a variety of subjects as they navigate between clients and industries. To establish your business as an expert in your industry, you need a writer that knows how to find credible, reliable resources. Good copywriters can tell the difference between a high-quality, authoritative resource and an unreliable one. Plus, they know how to cite trustworthy studies and statistics to back up their claims. So look for copywriters that know where they need to look to find the right information, whether online resources or somewhere else. If you regularly interview subject matter experts, you’ll also want dedicated copywriters willing to interview them to improve their content. 2. A Good Understanding of the Target Audience Knowing the intended audience for a piece of writing can have a major impact on how it is written. For example, an article written for experts in your field will look very different than one written for beginners. When choosing your copywriter, make sure they know who your intended audience is. A good copywriter should have no problems adjusting the tone and language of their writing to fit your industry and audience. Consider the words of renowned copywriter David Ogilvy: “If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think.” 3. Adaptable Writing Skills Frequently, a copywriter has clients from multiple industries with vastly different content requirements. Being able to quickly adapt their writing style and voice for different clients and audiences is a crucial skill for any successful copywriter. Writers who lack this skill will find themselves frustrated with continually changing demands and strategies. The best writers can quickly pivot to new requests without breaking a sweat. 4. Knows When to Stop When a copywriter is unfamiliar with a topic, they can use their expert research skills to learn more. However, some writers may inadvertently research too much. They get caught up in learning every detail instead of focusing on what they need to know now. The best copywriters understand their limits and know when they have gleaned enough information to effectively write about your products for your audience. If you have tight turnaround times for your copy, you need a writer who knows when they’ve done enough. Knowing when to stop also applies to perfectionists. If a copywriter is solely focused on creating perfectly finished copy before submitting it to a client, they risk missing deadlines and losing a lot of sleep. You want a writer who takes pride in their work but doesn’t get lost in the minutia of creating industry-focused content. While most professional copywriters seek to create a career-defining, perfect piece, the best copywriters understand that the pursuit of perfection is fruitless. 5. Knowledge of Modern Marketing Principles Copywriting, unlike creative writing, is solely meant for selling or promoting something else. Some copywriters, especially when they are first starting out, may make the mistake of trying to add their own personality and unique style to their copywriting. They may try to add extravagant language or unnecessary creativity to their copy to make it seem more literary. This kind of writing distracts from the purpose of copywriting. On the other hand, copywriters have a firm grasp of modern content marketing best practices. They understand the short attention spans of readers, have a handle on SEO concepts, and realize their writing targets specific audiences who need a product. This allows them to save their creative efforts for projects outside of work. 6. Can Take Criticism Well To write is to create. When the times come to edit your creation, many writers struggle with the idea of “killing your darlings.” Doing this eliminates potentially self-serving language with the goal of improving the overall message. In the copywriting field, copywriters need thick skin to accept feedback from editors and clients. If a writer continually rejects criticism, their productivity will likely suffer and they won’t get repeat clients. The best copywriters understand that everyone thinks about ideas differently and know it’s important to work with your client to create a piece that matches their vision. Plus, keeping an open mind means leaving space to improve your own writing. Sometimes critiques can sting, but it’s part of being a successful team player and brand copywriter. Express Writers, for example, believes that feedback from our clients is the only way to improve and align writing style and brand vision. We don’t think it’s a negative and train our writers to be open when someone else has a different idea. 7. Is Confident but Not Driven by Ego While copywriters should be open to accepting criticism, you want them to know when their ideas are worth sticking up for. There are times when your writer will have a different way of thinking than you do, and … Read more