Tara Clapper - Express Writers

#HowToWrite Guest Blogging Content: 10 Keys

September 5, 2022June 12, 2017 by Tara Clapper

Here’s the scoop on guest blogging: Google doesn’t appreciate paid links or content published just so you can “win” a link. However, if your guest post is informative, genuine, and helpful, including a relevant link back to your website is a great way to improve your exposure and relevance. Is guest blogging a worthy investment? It no longer results in the skyrocketing SEO as it did before Google started evaluating placed links more thoroughly. However, guest blogging still affords some pretty sweet rewards: Exposure to the blog and brand’s audience (hopefully including promotion on their social media and email list). Increased authority and reputation. Opportunity to expand or blog just outside your niche. Possibility of capturing secondary or tertiary audiences where they live. 10 Keys to Writing Great Guest Blogs If you’ve determined the blog presents a good opportunity for you, it’s time to create your guest blog. Let’s cover the basics of how to get it done. Guest Blog Writing Key #1: Read the Guidelines Quite simply, your guest post has the best chance of being accepted if it conforms to all the guidelines set forth by the editor(s). Ideally, you should read the guidelines before you even pitch. Guidelines usually include rules about: Images (including acceptable sources). Author biography and headshot. How many links you are permitted to include in the post. Word count. Tone, style, and level of formality. The editor should also be able to provide you with stellar examples of content published on the blog. Surprisingly, guidelines are often vague – even when editors are picky. In this case, don’t hesitate to ask questions. Guest Blog Writing Key #2: Let Your Expertise Shine Expertise isn’t just about what you know – it’s about what you do with it. Through successes (and failures) in webinar presentations, I’ve learned that audiences respond most sincerely to application and innovation. Anyone can look up how to do something, but knowing how to apply it to a particular problem is especially important. The best content connects the dots and enlightens processes for readers. You don’t have to give away every detail behind your process or way of thinking, but provide a window into your world. I speak often about merging the personal and professional brand – something you can do carefully and successfully if you decide it’s the right fit for your business and your life. When I decided to merge my personal and professional Twitter accounts in a “Twitter wedding,” I documented the process and received positive feedback about the transparency of the post. Depending on your audience, you’ll need to display expertise through a combination of: Story (how you did it). Data (proof that you did it). Example (the final product). Each guest posting opportunity presents a challenge to find the right balance of story, data, and example, so make sure to communicate with your editor or point of contact to ensure clear expectations. Guest Blog Writing Key #3: Let It Flow When it comes to keeping the reader engaged, flow is what makes your post stick. Your entire post should read as though it was written by one person in one sitting (even if took you days to put it together). Each tip or idea should connect to the next, and if it’s a how-to post (like this one), the order of steps should make sense. [clickToTweet tweet=”Learn the 10 key steps to writing an awesome guest blog post over on @ExpWriters!” quote=”Learn the 10 key steps to writing an awesome guest blog post over on @ExpWriters!”] Guest Blog Writing Key #4: Apply Search Engine Friendly Structure Google prefers a certain structure for blog posts. Best practices are as follows: Do not use H1 header tags except for the post title – use H2, H3s, and so on to neatly organize your post. Use short, clear paragraphs. Bullet point for clarity when applicable. Number your how-to instructions or recipe steps when appropriate. This also saves your editor time. If they can copy and paste your formatting, it makes their job much easier. Guest Blog Writing Key #5: Focus! While many copywriters are accustomed to writing for “keyword density,” you’ll find a more natural inclusion of a desired keyword occurs if you strive to use a focus keyword. Use your focus keyword in your: Post title. First paragraph. Body copy (a couple of times). Meta description. (Note: As a guest blogger, you may not be required to submit a meta description, but it’s a kind gesture and only takes a few minutes.) If you’re writing for a general keyword, consider using a more specific long-tail keyword as well. For example, this post focuses on “guest blogging” (a very general, high-competition keyword) and “how to write a guest blog” (a specific question or search phrase). Guest Blog Writing Key #6: Add Appropriate Backlinks While you want to put a link back to your own site in the piece, don’t forget to link to other authoritative sites, especially those with a high domain authority or Alexa ranking. Chances are you know some reliable resources on your choice topic, and including credited statistics and other citations with links back to those sites will help. It’s also best practice (and kind) to include an internal link – that is, a link to another blog post or page on the website for which you’re creating the post. Guest Blog Writing Key #7: Include Images Editors are used to receiving walls of text. Even properly formatted copy can start to blur together when it’s the tenth piece an editor has seen in a day. When guest bloggers provide visuals, however, it helps their copy stand out and shows they put some extra time into the presentation. Furthermore, it creates less work for the editor (as long as the images work in their approved format or layout, and come with all necessary permissions). Ideally, you should have some sort of visual break every 300 words or less. That can mean a custom image, a stock … Read more

What is LARP & 7 Ways It Made Me a Better Brand Storyteller

March 23, 2022February 10, 2017 by Tara Clapper

Like most writers and many content marketers, I’ve been a natural storyteller my entire life. Over the years, I’ve practiced my storytelling skills in a variety of ways: by earning an English degree some people branded ‘useless;’ through active participation in theater groups as an actor, crew member, and playwright, writing collaboratively with others I trust, and by creating and participating in LARPs (live action role playing games). Even as a recent college grad at a self-publishing company, I realized the thrill in completing and marketing work – especially when a long-term success pays off. It’s not just about having a story, but selling it. Each media – theater, collaborative writing, formal scholarship – has taught me something new about storytelling, but LARP is the culmination of these skills. The medium itself is also flexible enough to warrant explanation and innovation. Scroll past the infographic for the full story by Tara! What is LARP & 7 Ways It Made Me a Better Brand Storyteller (Infographic) What is LARP? LARP stands for “live action role play.” In this interactive medium, participants create a story collaboratively while representing a character in the LARP, sometimes to a very immersive degree. LARP covers a variety of genres such as medieval fantasy, sci-fi, western, and post-apocalyptic. Some games include boffer or ranged weapon combat; others focus on personal interaction and emotional intensity or a combination of the two. Styles vary greatly depending upon genre, region, and participants’ preferences. Like a consultant might encourage participants to role play sales and customer service scenarios, LARP is also a very effective educational tool. It’s used heavily in schools in Scandinavia and it can be very similar to military combat simulations. Depending on the LARP, you might do something similar to Model UN – or you may feel like you’re in Lord of the Rings. There are several ways in which LARP helps participants hone their storytelling skills: You drop any pretense of the ‘real world’ (except for physical and emotional safety). As adults, we’re often encouraged to focus on reality. LARP sparks your imagination and allows you to focus on building a story with others. This is not unlike how a marketing team can function at a brand of any size. As in real life, LARP worlds and scenarios often feature problems and solutions. Innovation helps you get things done, complete objectives, and reflect on your progress – almost like a more natural agile marketing process. LARPs do not always have a beginning, middle, and end format, but they can. Participants often reflect upon their role in that story. LARPs may provide the opportunity for you to be less rigid and confined in how you tell your story – and that’s a great lesson to take into the business world. By portraying someone else, you can become more empathetic (deliberately or not). Imagine if you could understand your readers this way – or your customers! I’ve been an active LARP participant for a decade – that spans most of my career in publishing and marketing. I’ve participated as a player, non player character (NPC – a scripted character who helps the game master tell the story), and as a game designer, marketer, and staff member. 7 Major Lessons for Brand Storytelling from LARP When it comes to storytelling, LARP has taught me seven major lessons that I deliberately apply to business: 1. Just Provide Setting: The Secret to Community Successful marketing brands like HubSpot know that building a community around your brand requires a long-term strategy and an investment of time and money. They do it because it works. While brands can and should provide spaces for enthusiasts and customers to discuss their brand, ultimately the community usually works best with guidance instead of harsh motivation. At Seventh Kingdom IGE, a medieval fantasy LARP in New Jersey, a small staff handles the logistics of events. But with extensive lore and an ongoing story, players also take responsibility by taking on leadership roles in game. In the real digital world, existing players are to credit for a great deal of recruitment, which usually happens by word of mouth and by players posting about their positive experiences on Facebook. While players love the game and its brand, what they crave most is the ability to be the hero (and villain) in the game world – similar to a video game or a tabletop RPG like Dungeons & Dragons. 2. Customers Invest in Experiences When you sell a LARP ticket, what are you selling? The game may include basics like lodging and meals, but people are really investing in the story and in the experience – and, if your LARP is particularly impactful, in a person’s transformation and education. Experience means you’re selling them the experience; transformation means you’re flipping non-fans into fans or even altering their worldview with their product. As LARP can be a very social and personal experience featuring high levels of immersion, participants often enjoy both the experience and the transformation. As internationally renowned professional game designer Claus Raasted said, “I’m not only an experience designer, but a designer of transformations.” That’s storytelling full-circle. What would change about your business and how you market it if you took this approach? 3. Play Your Own Story We all know that employee engagement is necessary and enthusiastic employees are the most productive advocates – but what about the management? Are you playing your own story? A LARP could be a week-long epic battle scenario or a two hour experience at a convention. One thing I’ve learned about successful game masters and game designers is that they play their own story. Sure, this happens out of necessity sometimes – just like a business, the game can be short-staffed or someone calls out sick and upper management needs to fill in. However, I advocate for intentional insertion into the game world (or business) you’ve created. With a small investment of time, you’ll possibly learn more about your LARP (or business) than … Read more

How To Write Cornerstone Content

December 31, 2020December 19, 2016 by Tara Clapper

I’m here with another installment of our ongoing #howtowrite series, sharing a guide to cornerstone content. When you started your first blog, did you know about cornerstone content? I didn’t. As a more informed SEO blogger, I’m now transitioning my digital property to include cornerstone content strategy. When I started my blog in 2013, I grew it naturally: I wrote about the niche I liked, interacted and promoted in my niche, and enlisted other writers to grow the site. In 2015, I started to clean up and improve my SEO; I also began using the Yoast SEO WordPress plugin. This plugin told me all about cornerstone content and how to more effectively structure my site. What is Cornerstone Content? Cornerstone content is strong, informative content on a keyword or key phrase relating to your site’s niche. This is the page you want to carefully, naturally, and deliberately rank in SERPs (search engine results pages), and most other content points to it (via links) and relies on it for sustainability. According to Marieke van de Rakt, Partner & CSO at Yoast: “Cornerstone content should be the content that is closest to the mission of your website. I think you should take some time to think about what it is you are doing and which posts or pages on your website are the most important. If you are to point three or four texts on your website, which texts would that be? I think you should extend and improve upon those pages and posts and really make the most out of these pages. Your text and the ideas in your text should be totally unique. Of course, keyword research is essential. You just have to make sure you are using the words that your audience are using.” I couldn’t run an effective WordPress blog without the Yoast SEO plugin. When I blog and schedule posts on my site, Yoast frequently suggests choosing a different focus keyword because the one I have selected is already being used as a focus keyword, often for a post that ranks well. Yoast advises me to check out their piece on cornerstone content for more information. This has caused me to rethink my content strategy – but it’s raised more questions than answers. If I’m going for a comparatively low-competition keyword like “LARP,” should I really diversify my focus keyword selection? I’ve since started paying more attention, and although I haven’t mapped out a detailed strategy, I’m going for long tail keywords like “LARP tips,” “LARP interviews,” and “LARP costumes” as they apply. I created my website about women in geek culture before I got serious about my SEO game. I wrote SEO copy well – and naturally – but was using a free WordPress theme with lots of bugs and limited tools. Every week, I spend time writing and revising titles and meta descriptions that the Yoast SEO plugin identifies as nonexistent, weak, or duplicate. Little by little, I improve my SEO. However, there’s another SEO problem: I didn’t build my site from the ground up with cornerstone content in mind. Yoast SEO encourages me to think about this whenever I use an existing strong keyword on my site. Van de Rakt offers some advice about this situation, since many looking to improve their sites are in a similar situation: “Cornerstone content is the content you would like to rank the highest with. The content you’re the most proud of. But in order to make sure that it’ll rank the highest you should make sure that the internal linking structure of your site is awesome. We are working really hard to get more features in Yoast SEO which will help people to improve their site structure. In our Yoast SEO 4.0 update, we’ll start with adding such features and we’re planning to do much more. I hope these features will really help people to get their most precious content to rank highest!” Example of Cornerstone Content and Related Topics 1. Resource Libraries Keep your keyword strategy in mind as you build out resource libraries. Your on-site resource libraries are excellent inbound marketing strategies, so your on and off-site blog posts on related topics should direct readers to them. 2. Article Series If you’re like me, you may think that building out a huge content strategy is a little intimidating when you don’t have many resources. However, even a solo act can focus on cornerstone content via an article series. This #HowtoWrite content series, for example, is written and created by a small team. In the future, we’ll point back to this useful content, hopefully helping the #HowToWrite series pages rank as cornerstone content. 3. Evergreen content While it’s always best practice to update your content as things change, evergreen cornerstone content is a solid strategy. If you’re going to invest time in pointing search engines towards specific content, you want it to hold value in the long run. Should You Compete With Your Own Content for a Keyword? What if your niche is pretty specific? What if you already dominate it? I rank pretty well for specific niche keywords, and the Yoast SEO plugin always tells me to rethink my focus keyword because one of my existing pages already has that focus keyword. I kind of want to be greedy. Why settle for the top search result if I could get more than one on that first SERP? I asked Van de Rakt if it’s better to rank multiple pages in a long tail niche keyword, or expand into ranking a more competitive keyword using cornerstone content. “I think you should do both. If you are dominating, you could aim to rank for more ‘head terms.’ Long tail niche keywords remain important though,” advises Van de Rakt. Long Tail or Short Tail for Cornerstone Content? This depends on your business goal, your content spend, and the amount of competition in your niche. A careful analysis can help, but ultimately, you know your business and field better than anyone. … Read more

Take the Cyber Monday E-Commerce Website Content Readiness Test

March 23, 2022November 25, 2016 by Tara Clapper

Cyber Monday is the one of the biggest sales days of the year for most e-tailers. On Monday, November 28, e-commerce is expected to generate billions in sales in the US alone. Is your online business ready to compete? 3 Simple Tests You Can Do to Help Your E-Comm Site Prepare for Cyber Monday 1. Check Your Product Descriptions: Are They Unique? Unique product descriptions are essential to your success. If your site includes manufacturer descriptions, Google will view those as duplicate content – and you may be punished in Google search rankings. While it can take time for Google to adjust rankings based on content depending how often it crawls your site, that margin is closing. What you can do now: Check Copyscape to determine whether your product descriptions are unique to your website. Perform a word count: are your descriptions 200 words or more for each product? Ask a friend for an objective evaluation of your product description copy. Is it helpful to the consumer? Does it contain phrases or keywords people would look up to find your product? A solid product description will include specifications about the product in a clear way. It should help assist the buyer in making a clear decision. Here’s a look at a Christmas light product, from Christmas Lights Etc. They provide basic details about the product with a link to technical specifications in a lightbox: Solution: If your product description copy failed these tests, consider an immediate rewrite of your product description copy. 2. Is Your Web Copy Compelling and Competitive? Effective web copy draws your customers in through inbound marketing practices. The best web copy isn’t just searchable, but informative and relevant to your prospective customers’ interests and queries. Google loves providing searchers with relevant information. People want a behind-the-curtains look at your business, and they’re looking for a hint about the humans behind the site. This personal touch is something you can accomplish with warm and informative copy: it’s essential for building trust with your new customers. 3. Does Your Copy Answer Questions? How do users find your site? If you’re like most e-commerce sites, it’s likely a combination of: Paid advertising on other sites and social media Word of mouth or recommendations on social media Web browser searches (organic search) If you’d like to get a glimpse of what sort of questions you should answer, check out Answer The Public. Just select your region, enter your niche or industry, and submit. That crotchety old guy on the front page will reveal what types of questions people ask about your provided keyword. It’s a very powerful content generation tool most effective for useful blog ideas. Here’s a look at the results: With an online presence of any size, you should never underestimate organic search potential. The holiday seasons is a great time to start answering questions in the form of blog posts. If you do this well enough, Google may even use your answers as a Knowledge Graph source. In the below example, Wikipedia is the source of information. Has your e-commerce site passed our Cyber Monday readiness tests? If not, there’s still time to invest in the quality of your site’s web copy before Cyber Monday hits! At Express Writers, we offer a 72-hour turnaround on most services, and we’re here and ready to assist you with great content. Check out in the Content Shop, and use coupon code holidayshop5 for an instant 5% off.

Infographic: A Timeline History of Google’s Major SEO Content Updates (An Actionable Retrospective for Users, Publishers, and Content Creators)

December 31, 2020August 13, 2013 by Tara Clapper

This post, a full history on Google’s SEO content algorithm updates, has been updated by our team in May of 2017. Infographic: A Timeline History of Google’s Major SEO Content Updates (An Actionable Retrospective for Users, Publishers, and Content Creators) We’re used to Google updates and announcements now, but do you recall the old days of improved search? Panda, Penguin, and even Mobilegeddon really shook things up for content creators, publishers, and Google users. Content writers have had to adapt considerably: not only do we have to know about past and upcoming changes, we must advise our clients on inbound content strategies that benefit the end user in current times. About Our Google Updates Timeline This timeline shows not only the Google SEO and algorithm updates, but how they affect content creation and content marketing. This list also includes unofficial updates, during which users noticed fluctuations, but there was no official Google statement or announcement. Users affectionately branded these updates “ghost,” “zombie,” etc. Perhaps we’ll get vampires and werewolves soon, too! I did not include each and every unconfirmed update, though I did mention them in some instances. 2017 February-March: Fred What: Analysts noticed search engine ranking changes, but Google remained quiet on the details. Google’s Gary Illyes said the update targeted aspects of already published guidelines, but observers specifically noticed the targeting of low-value content. Other algorithm updates preceded Fred, but details are sketchy and it’s unknown whether they are related to Fred. Users: Better quality search results. Publishers: As always, you need to be on top of your content game. Now is a great time to go back through some mediocre content and improve quality. Content Creators: Work on restructuring and improving previous content to maintain or improve ranking. January 10: Intrusive Interstitial Popup Penalty What: This Google update penalized sites with intrusive pop up ads. Users: Google is more likely to lead users to sites without annoying pop ups. Publishers: Publishers must reconfigure sites to function and funnel traffic without pop up ads. Rely on persuasive content to meet your goals. Content Creators: What is the purpose of the ads formerly appearing on the site for which you’re writing? Consider this strongly when you construct calls to action (CTAs) and the content itself. Use streamlined graphics to accomplish this task. 2016 September 23: Google Penguin 4.0 What: Google’s algorithm began updating in real time and providing page-specific analysis, which was more specific than its previous incarnation. Users: Outdated site changes and website hacks will affect your search results less often. Publishers: Your pages may index faster when you publish or update content. Content Creators: Even if it doesn’t hit Google News, your timely content has more value. You’re still competing with social media, but you can create a live blog that updates as time goes on, just as news sites do during major events. This is creating a liveblogging trend on regular blog platforms like WordPress – it’s not just for microblog sites like Twitter anymore. In September of 2016, many site owners reported penalties and promotions in SERPs (search engine page results) May 12: Mobile Friendly (Boost) Update What: This boosted mobile-friendly sites in the SERPs beyond the existing preference. Users: If you’re on mobile, this will serve you more posts that will display well on your device. Publishers: There’s a further emphasis on mobile. If Mobilegeddon didn’t wake you up, this should do the trick. Content Creators: Mobile-friendliness includes a lot of factors, not all of which are disclosed by Google. Mobile-friendly content contains short paragraphs, bullet lists (when applicable), and immediate information. February 23: AdWords Update What: Google axed sidebar ads. Instead, you got another ad at the top when you search (total four). Users: Be aware of which results are ads (there’s still an ad box to the left of the result to indicate that it’s an advertisement). If you’re on mobile, ads will take up most of your screen initially after your search. Publishers: If you’re not pouring money into advertising, direct your content efforts towards appearing in the Google Knowledge Graph. Content Creators: Aim for the knowledge graph, find out what people are asking and answer their questions, and hone your keyword and content planning strategy. In January of 2016, it’s clear that Google was tweaking and updating their algorithm. This is called the “Ghost Update.” 2015 October 26: RankBrain Announcement What: Google announced that RankBrain has been active for half a year. RankBrain intelligently learned from searches. This artificial intelligence improved the algorithm to get users the information they need. Users: This helps you have a better search experience. RankBrain may not only learn about audiences in general, but you specifically, especially if you’re signed into Chrome as you browse. While that’s creepy, it’s also useful. Publishers: RankBrain means your site needs to be geared towards usefulness, even if you’re selling a product. If you’re selling gardening equipment, your free garden planner and your how-tos should be front and center – NOT your latest sale item. Content Creators: You’re officially writing for the people, not the search engine. You’re not in the race to rank unless you’re also taking the time to be the most useful. There may have been an update/incident on October 15. This was an indication of what was to come – and also of the new normal, which means small tweaks and unannounced algo updates every now and then. People call this one the “Zombie Update.” August: Local 3 Pack / “Snack Pack” Update What: Google began showing three local map results instead of a list of seven. Users: Google’s more integrated with its maps app now, so while you’ll get less results without having to scroll, you can click on any of them and easily navigate or call the business. Google will also tell you the hours of the business and other important info you need on the go. Publishers: If you have a local business and want to know where to spend your advertising … Read more