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Content Strategy

How to Promote a Blog Post to Generate Traffic to It

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9 24 Blog

Blogging is only half the battle. Promoting it is the other half. While blog posts are valuable for nurturing existing customers and reaching new ones to bring in more traffic, effective promotion is necessary for content to be noticed. The greatest challenge lies in discovering robust strategies that maximize reader engagement and boost your content’s visibility. If you’re unsure how to promote a new blog post, these tried and tested strategies effectively generate more traffic for brands.  Email Marketing Email remains one of the best ways to communicate with your subscribers and potential customers, as well as promote your blog posts. A few tips when marketing content through email include: Teasing subscribers with snippets to pique their interest. Using eye-catching CTAs to encourage them to take action. Personalizing the email by including warm greetings and the subscriber’s name. Sending follow-up emails to remind them to check out the amazing content. When sending a teaser email, keep it simple. Short intros, non-distracting graphics, and a link to the blog post are more effective than lengthy content. Did you know you can also repurpose your blog post into emails? Split them into smaller topics for variety and link each topic to the original blog post. Marketing your blog post through email gives you direct access to subscribers via their inboxes. It’s also inexpensive, and the results are measurable by analyzing email opening rates and click-through rates. When using email marketing as a promotional strategy, let your readers choose a frequency for receiving mail that won’t overwhelm them. Also, segment your audience so that you promote your blog posts to the right audience and increase your chances of getting them read. Share on Social Media Platforms Social media platforms like Facebook, X, and Instagram are great avenues for networking, microblogging, and media sharing. If you’re wondering how to share a blog post on social media, an effective approach is to share teaser points along with a link to the full article. You can also take advantage of WhatsApp Status, Facebook and Instagram Stories, and Twitter Threads that disappear after 24 hours. An effective way to use these status and stories features is to break down your blog post into key points and turn them into multiple statuses, then include a link in the last status. YouTube Stories, on the other hand, last longer. They disappear after 7 days, but they’re only available for channels with 10,000 subscribers. If you’re not eligible, promote your blog post through a short YouTube video and include the blog’s link. With social media sharing, you’ll enjoy increased visibility due to a large audience. It’s also cost-effective since sharing is free unless you’re using paid ads. You also get real-time feedback through comments, likes, and shares, and gradually build a community as readers interact with your post. When choosing a social media platform, consider which suits your audience’s demographics. For instance, Instagram is popular with Gen Z while Facebook caters mostly to Millenials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers.   Share on Content Publishing Platforms  Content publishing platforms allow you to create and publish longer content than is possible on social media. Popular ones include LinkedIn, Medium, Blogger, and WordPress. Platforms like LinkedIn and Medium, which have numerous users, have inbuilt audiences where your posts are recommended to users, helping you reach a wider audience. They also contain engagement metrics such as shares, comments, likes, number of views, and average time spent by readers on your articles. Other platforms like Substack can integrate with email to further promote your blog posts to your subscribers. WordPress has SEO optimization features to help your blog post generate traffic. These content publishing platforms are user-friendly, making them easy to use for non-tech persons. They reach a wide audience and encourage community engagement, and you can monetize your content through ads or sponsored posts. When choosing the best publishing platform, consider your audience. For instance, LinkedIn caters to professionals seeking B2B content while Medium has a broad readership. Get Help from Influencers Influencers have a significantly large fan base, and they also have the power to influence their fans to make certain decisions. With their wide reach, influencers can promote your brand’s blog posts to reach a wider audience and generate more traffic.  Search your industry or niche to discover which influencers fit your needs. There are influencer search tools such as Upfluence and Promoty which make it easier to find them. When you find the right one, collaborate with them on ideas such as allowing them to take over your social media for a day, and helping you promote your content to your followers and the influencer’s followers. When seeking influencers to promote your brand’s blog posts, consider settling for ideas that benefit both you and the influencer. Therefore, your blog posts should be relevant to the influencer’s followers. Also, look out for influencers with a genuine connection to their audience and whether their previous collaborations with other brands were successful. Generate Backlinks to Your Blog Posts Links from other websites to your brand’s website are a signal to search engines that your content is credible enough to be referenced. That is a big boost to your visibility and has the potential to increase your website’s traffic. Here’s how to promote a new blog post by getting quality backlinks: Create valuable content that people want to link to as their point of reference, and ensure you also link to credible sources. Write for other reputable blogs (guest blogging) in your niche and include a link back to your website or a relevant article. Get on Quora, Reddit, and other Question and Answer sites. Answer questions expertly there so that when you leave a link readers will want to click on it. When using backlinks as a means of promoting your brand’s blog posts, remember to choose quality over quantity. A few quality links to and from reputable brands are better than many low-quality links that can harm your SEO. Promote Your Content Through … Read more

How Many Keywords Should I Use for SEO Without Being Penalized?

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9 17 Blog

You probably know how essential keywords are to your website traffic. Keywords help search engines crawl your website and rank it highly, letting your website appear on the first page for search queries related to your website content. Considering this, it only sounds logical to stuff your content with as many keywords as possible.  However, this goes against SEO best practices and may lead to your website being punished and ranking lower. This might sound counterintuitive, but there is a method to the madness. In this article, we help you understand the intricacies of keywords and how to avoid ending up on the second page or, worse, being removed from the search engine’s index.  Understanding Keywords: What Are They? There is little to take away from the literal meaning behind the word “keyword.” It might be misleading to some. As the name suggests, a keyword is essential to website content. However, keywords can sometimes be “key phrases.” By definition, a keyword is a word or phrase that defines the topic of your content.  In other words, a keyword is a word or phrase that users would use to find information in your content. For example, the keyword that might have brought you to this article would be “How many keywords should I use for SEO?”  How Many Keywords Should You Use in SEO? When it comes to search engine optimization with keywords, how many are too many? There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution to how many keywords should be in any content. As a general rule of thumb, it is largely accepted that SEO keyword density should amount to between 1-2 percent of the total content word count. This translates to around five keywords for every 500 words.  However, it is essential to remember that content quality trumps keyword density. Search engines prioritize the human experience, so keyword stuffing should be avoided.  For highly technical articles, it may be impossible to try to avoid heavy keyword usage throughout the length of your content. This is because they may often be descriptive or integral in conveying the critical intent of your chosen topic.  In such cases, as a marketer or website owner, you should focus on writing high-quality and engaging content that effectively answers the user’s search query. This will indicate to search engines that your content is relevant and consequently avoid hurting your ranking and visibility.  How Many Keywords for SEO Count as Keyword Stuffing?  Keyword stuffing is a practice that manipulates search engines into ranking content highly simply because it is chock-full of keywords. This black hat technique could lead to your website being punished.  You might have encountered content that barely sounds logical while attempting to find an answer to your search query. “Are you looking for a home in NY that is more than a house in NY? Then this home in NY is just what you need.” The previous statements target the keyword “home in NY,” but they make no sense to the reader and are an excellent example of keyword stuffing.  Consequently, keyword stuffing is less of a numbers game and more of a technique that prioritizes keywords over the user experience. The consequences of keyword stuffing are explored further in this article.  Keyword Diversity: Exact Match vs. Variations Keywords funnel users to your website through search engine rankings. However, several keywords exist depending on their relationship to the search query. Exact match keywords match the search query verbatim. Exact match keywords appeal to search engines by signaling high relevance for a specific search query.  One downside of exact-match keywords is that the user’s search query must match your keyword’s meaning, translating to a narrow reach (the very high relevance may offset this).  On the other hand, variation keywords may retain the SEO keyword’s meaning with slight changes in article usage, contain similar phrases, or be closely related to the keyword. Variation keywords have the advantage of having a broader reach with a slight compromise on relevance.  Keyword Diversity: Best Practices Exact-match and variation keywords have their shortcomings. Pairing both keyword types ensures your website content ranks highly without over-optimizing, which may contribute to keyword stuffing. Additionally, your content reads naturally, which helps with SEO and prevents your content from sounding generic, which may be off-putting to users.  Keyword Semantics vs. Keyword Synonyms As you might have noticed, an SEO strategy is the safest way to ensure you stay on the right side of search engine rankings. Understanding the differences between keyword semantics and synonyms is crucial to drafting a winning strategy. So, what is the difference between the two? Keyword Semantics  Keyword semantics are variations of the keyword that meet the user’s search query. Taking this article as an example, the keyword “how many words for SEO” can be replaced with keyword semantics such as “keyword density,” “keyword optimization,” or “keyword count.” In simple terms, keyword semantics target the same idea with different languages.  Google and other search engines have extremely advanced algorithms that can identify keyword synonyms and semantics with pinpoint accuracy. These algorithms allow you to create high-ranking content for your website without risking keyword stuffing.  Keyword Synonyms Keyword synonyms are SEO keywords with the same or nearly the same meaning as the search query or the target keyword. For this article, the keyword synonym of “SEO keywords” could be “SEO terms.” Keyword synonyms allow you to diversify your content and rank for multiple search queries without overusing a single keyword.  Why Over-Optimizing Can Lead to Penalties Search engines crawl websites to determine their relevance to users when answering a search query. Consequently, they tend to prioritize user-friendly content while punishing any attempts at keyword stuffing. Google and other search engines use complex algorithms to determine keyword density and can pick out keyword stuffing by referencing keyword usage with other high-ranking content.  Additionally, keyword stuffing tends to increase a website’s bounce rate and engagement, indicators that are picked up by search engines for low-quality content. Ultimately, this causes … Read more

Competitive Gap Analysis: What Is Your Competition Telling You?

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8 27 Blog

You’ve planned and prepared and put in the work on your unique product. You’re aligned with customer needs. You’re on top of your game. Then… you’re knocked out by a competitor you didn’t even see coming.  One of the universal business owner experiences is losing to the competition. Maybe they released a new product before yours was off the production line. Or they launched a stellar marketing campaign that won over some of your customers. The trailblazing tennis champion, Billie Jean King, once said, “For me, losing… isn’t failure, it’s research.” If you are losing to the competition, put down the tissues and voodoo dolls. And do some research instead. Use your losses to gain some competitive intelligence and refine your business strategies.   Here are three words to give you a jump start — competitive gap analysis. What Is Competitive Gap Analysis?  Most businesses conduct some form of strategic analysis. The most common practice is standard gap analysis. This process compares your business’s expectations to its results. It can help you close the gap between them.  Competitive gap analysis expands on this tactic by factoring in competing businesses’ results as well.  Analyses can center on many aspects. These include product design, business structure, advertising, and website performance. Based on your needs, competitive gap analyses can be broad or focused. Refining your analysis by focusing on either a content gap or a product gap can help you pinpoint your weak spots. A content-focused competitive gap analysis looks at competitors’ SEO advantages. In comparison, a product-focused analysis shines a spotlight on how a competitor meets their customer’s needs.  Why Does It Matter to Your Business? The 2023 State of Competitive Intelligence Report found that over half of stakeholders said their industries are growing more competitive. They also said that competitive data is vital to their success. Competitive gap analysis is a key method in gathering competitive data. By examining competitors’ successful tactics — things like product, process, market share, marketing strategies, and customer experience — you can gain crucial insights into your industry and unlock opportunities to improve your performance. A competitive gap analysis can support key business tasks. Here are a few: Proactive Risk Mitigation: More data allows for more informed decisions. By assessing your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, you gain crucial insights. This can help you plan for risks and divide resources better. Long-Term Strategic Planning: Comparing your performance to competitors shows your successes and areas to improve over time. Understanding your competition’s successes can help you build a better planning framework. Adaptation to Industry Changes: Studying other businesses in your industry helps to identify market shifts and stay ahead of changes. A competitive gap analysis can reveal opportunities like untapped demographics and unmet needs. It’s important to know what competitive gap analysis is and why it matters to your business. But, before you can do any competitive research, you must identify who to research. That is, you need to know your competition.  Identifying Your Direct (and Indirect) Competition You can’t conquer an invisible monster. To win, you must know who you’re up against.  Identifying your competition is the prerequisite to performing a competitive gap analysis. In the business world, there are two main types of competition — direct and indirect.  Knowing the distinct types of competition can help you identify them in your market:  Direct Competition: Direct competitors are businesses that target the same audience and sell comparable products and services. For example, if you run a local movie theater, your competitors are nearby theaters.  Indirect Competition: Indirect competitors sell different products and services than you but serve the same customer needs. A prime example of a movie theater’s indirect competition is at-home streaming services. Other indoor venues, like bowling alleys and skating rinks, are also in indirect competition with movie theaters. A Google search with your business’s keywords will show top competitors. Use tools like Google Trends and SEMrush to discover who’s ranking for similar keywords. Studying social media influencers and trending topics in your industry can also help you target your competition. Understanding direct vs indirect competitors helps you tailor your analysis strategies to yield more deliberate results. Ensuring you gather data from both types of competition helps you finely hone your competitive edge and top the competition.  5 Steps to Performing Competitive Gap Analysis Gathering effective competitive intelligence requires a systematic approach. Here are five steps to help you get started. 1. Understand Your Customers’ Needs Using a competitor’s product as your only metric for what the customer wants will get you somewhere… But it’s like trying to decipher an entire cake recipe by eating one slice. You’ll get an idea of what’s needed, but it will be impossible to isolate specific details. Truly knowing what a customer needs will only come from one place. The customer.  Talk to your customers and get their direct feedback. What do they like or dislike about your product/service? What do they think of your competitors? What would they most love to see from you?  Offering surveys on your website and social media accounts or sending questionnaires to your virtual mailing list are excellent ways to collect this valuable data.  2. Gather Your Competitors’ Data You already understand the types of business competition and how to identify them from the previous section. Once you find a competitor, it’s time to start gathering intel on them.  Focus on the following areas: Website and SEO Analysis: Evaluate their website design, user experience, and content strategy. Use tools like SEMrush or Google Analytics to assess organic search traffic, keyword rankings, and backlink profiles. Product Analysis: Pull product data from item description webpages and technical manuals. Study the company’s past sales trends and market share. Use the Statistics of U.S. Businesses website to find applicable information. Social Media Presence: Analyze their social media engagement, follower counts, and content strategies. Which posts generate the most engagement? Are they dominating any platforms? Customer Opinions: Explore reviews on platforms like Yelp, Google My Business, and social … Read more

Does Your Company Have a Personal Business Writer?

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12 18

Your published content is your business’ ambassador to the world. The way a company communicates — whether through a blog, a brochure, or a website — shapes how customers perceive its brand. Yet, many businesses struggle to create compelling content that connects with their audience and drives valuable action. Most of these are likely lacking one thing in common — a dedicated business content writer. Recent content marketing data illustrates a growing demand for professional writing expertise in various forms of business content. Companies publishing 16 or more blog posts per month generate 4.5 times more leads than those publishing fewer than four. Moreover, long-form content — typically between 1,500 and 2,500 words — consistently ranks higher on Google than shorter pieces. However, if you’re currently getting your business content out by asking team members to wear a writer’s hat a few hours a week, these are challenging hurdles to clear. But dedicated business writers don’t just churn out words to a requested volume — they craft messages tailored to engage, inform, and persuade. They make your content feel authentic to the audience you actually want to reach in a format representative of what your brand stands for. Having a professional business writer behind your content is an investment in your company’s growth. In today’s saturated content market, someone who can translate your vision into effective, targeted messaging will help your business stand out against a drab background of generic fluff. Why Businesses Need Content Writers If you’re unconvinced your business would benefit from a personal business writer, consider the following details. 1. Challenges of Creating High-Quality Content The publishing pace and length of competitive business content can easily become a grueling death march for many small to medium-sized businesses. Without a dedicated resource, content creation typically becomes a side task for employees juggling other responsibilities. And the result is often rushed or inconsistent messaging. In their own words, 84% of B2B businesses report that creating quality content at scale is a significant persistent challenge. Over time, these gaps and inconsistencies hurt branding efforts and cause missed opportunities to connect with potential customers. 2. Business Writers Elevate Branding A professional business writer focused exclusively on crafting compelling, consistent content will help you define and refine your unique brand. By aligning all written materials — blog posts, website copy, white papers, and social media updates — on a common axis of intention, a business writer ensures your customers know what to expect from your brand. In today’s information-saturated market, consistent branding is indispensable for success, as 60% of B2B buyers say well-written, informative content across media types significantly influences their purchasing decisions. Beyond messaging, a skilled writer will also adapt content to different platforms and mediums, helping you communicate your message in the most engaging manner for each context. 3. The Importance of Professional Communication Clear and professional communication establishes trust and credibility. Conversely, sloppy or poorly written content will likely make your customers wonder what other important details you skimp on or ignore altogether. In today’s world where almost nothing is written without at least the assistance of auto-correction, the potential pitfalls of poorly written content include far more than just trivial typos or an occasional errant apostrophe. You won’t strike your customers as professional and authoritative if your content contains inaccurate technical terminology. Nor will you seem casual and warm if your writing is stilted and dry. Regardless of the image you wish to project, there are many more potential mismatches of medium and message than there are glove-like fits. Types of Projects a Personal Business Writer Can Handle A dedicated business writer can do more for you than just write blogs. Important content projects you can hand off to your writer include the following content types. 1. Website Content Many of your potential customers get their first impressions of your business from your website. And they do so with alarming haste. Studies have shown users begin to form positive or negative first impressions of websites in less than half a second and most will navigate away from pages in just five seconds if they don’t like what they see and read. As such, homepages and service pages need clear, engaging — and search-engine-optimized — language to capture attention and communicate effectively. A dedicated business writer ensures the tone and style align with your brand while delivering content that drives visitors to take action, such as making inquiries or purchases. 2. Blog Posts and Articles for Thought Leadership Regularly publishing high-quality blogs and articles is one of the most reliable ways to establish authority in your industry. A professional writer crafts informative, well-researched content that resonates with your audience and boosts your search engine rankings. Thought leadership articles help build trust by addressing customer pain points, offering solutions, and positioning your business as a go-to resource. 3. Marketing Materials: Brochures, Emails, and Sales Pages Marketing materials play an important role in acquiring and retaining customers. Brochures, email campaigns, and sales pages require a compelling copy to convey your unique value proposition. A skilled writer will know how to balance persuasive language with professionalism, giving you diverse materials to drive conversions and develop customer loyalty. 4. Social Media Content and Campaign Strategy Social media demands concise, attention-grabbing content tailored to the highly specific user preferences of each platform. You can give your business writer a single message or concept and they can tweak the core content to match the highest performing length, formatting, style, and tone of different social media. With professional writing, your social media presence becomes a powerful tool for increasing visibility and interaction. 5. Internal Documentation Clear, well-written internal documents enable effective communication within your organization. Policies, employee handbooks, and training manuals created by a business writer ensure that employees understand expectations and procedures, reducing confusion and keeping everyone on the same page. 6. Whitepapers, Press Releases, and Reports Whitepapers, press releases, and reports require meticulous research and a polished presentation. A dedicated writer will deliver … Read more

Content Creation Made Easy: 5 Benefits of Hiring an All-in-One Digital Content Marketing Team

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11 13

About 83% of digital marketers and content creators report prioritizing quality over quantity in their current digital content marketing strategies. Thanks to generative AI and other automation tools, mass content creation has never been easier. However, these recent strides in technology automation have not made it any less challenging to consistently produce valuable, engaging material.   If anything, the recent barrage of developments in digital content creation tools has left many in the field feeling overwhelmed and technology-fatigued. Already, nearly half — 45% — of sales and marketing professionals would prefer to reduce the sheer number of tools in their technology stacks. As such, an industry shift toward quality-over-quantity tactics makes the content creation process even more resource-intensive, requiring dedicated talent across writing, editing, design, and strategy. To meet these demands, companies are also ramping up their content marketing budgets, with 50% of marketers increasing their investment in content marketing this year. However, with rising investments comes the challenge of managing numerous moving parts. Many teams find themselves juggling various tools and platforms to coordinate efforts for a death march pace of daily publication across multiple channels. Express Writers offers a simple solution to this challenge. By centralizing all aspects of content creation — from strategy to final edits — in one capable agency, businesses can keep their teams on their primary tasks, while still ensuring timely delivery of top-quality content and dispensing outright with the hassle of managing separate contributors. The Complexity of Modern Content Creation  You probably know all too well how time and resource-intensive it is to manage content creation internally or with fragmented freelancers. Regardless of size and budget, all companies face the logistical complexity of coordinating multiple roles. For large corporate organizations, acquiring and retaining a diverse range of specialized content creation talents is at least feasible, even if it’s not particularly easy.  However, if you’re already outsourcing writing, it’s unlikely you’ve got the necessary resources to bring it all in-house. So, the familiar time and resource drain remains formidable. Marketing teams must dedicate substantial hours to briefing and managing separate roles — earning you repetitive feedback loops and increased project timelines in the process. Additionally, your already over-tasked teams still need to track individual deadlines, align multiple schedules, and ensure consistency across outputs that require ongoing administrative oversight. It’s altogether unsurprising that this patchwork process diverts focus from your primary business goals.  For companies looking to scale content, these operational inefficiencies only multiply with growth, limiting your ability to produce high-quality work quickly. What, then, does the alternative look like? What Do You Get from an All-in-One Digital Content Marketing Team? Here are some of the benefits you can expect from handing over your entire digital content creation process to an all-in-one agency. 1. Streamlined Communication When businesses work with Express Writers, they are assigned a dedicated content manager to serve as a single point of contact for all their content needs. This structure eliminates the need for back-and-forth with multiple freelancers or team members across different stages of your process. Instead, your content manager oversees everything — from initial strategy and briefing to coordinating edits and final delivery. With a single contact managing the entire team, businesses save considerable time and cut down on the casual miscommunications that plague processes requiring constant communication with multiple contributors. Your content manager keeps writers, editors, and designers on task, working cohesively toward shared goals and timely delivery. This setup improves efficiency and allows our clients to focus on what they do best. 2. Efficient Project Management Our all-in-one content team provides a structured, efficient approach to project management. At Express Writers, your content manager coordinates all phases of your projects, from initial planning to final edits. Having proactive oversight prevents common delays caused by independent contractors who typically work at varying speeds and create bottlenecks in the content pipeline. With each contributor aligned to the same timeline and quality standards, your team can transition from one stage to the next, with no accumulating downtime. Your writers, editors, and designers are always working with a shared understanding of your project’s priorities and deadlines. As a result, clients receive their content on time and consistently meet their marketing goals without last-minute rushes or missed opportunities. 3. Access to Specialized Talent and Expertise When clients sign on for our end-to-end content creation process, they gain access to a range of specialized experts across multiple content formats and professional fields. Rather than relying on a single generalist, our team includes skilled writers, editors, graphic designers, and video editors, each with extensive experience in their respective fields. As such, each element of your content — from written copy to visual media — gets the attention of an expert who understands the nuances of their field. For instance, our graphic designers create visuals with an eye for both enhancing written content and aligning with your unique brand standards and identity. Meanwhile, our video editors craft engaging video content designed to resonate with today’s audiences. By having a full roster of specialists, our clients don’t need to source talent independently. This saves them time and guarantees high-quality, polished results. 4. Consistent Quality Control In our experience, one of the most challenging parts of the digital content creation process to bring in-house is consistent quality control for every deliverable. At Express Writers, every piece of content we create for you passes through a structured quality assurance (QA) process, involving editors and QA specialists rigorously reviewing each detail for accuracy, readability, and brand alignment. We do more than just catch typos. We use the consensus of several pairs of eyes to guarantee your content exactly captures your brand’s voice and takes advantage of up-to-date insights into what appeals to contemporary audiences. When we create content for our clients, each piece undergoes a multi-step review. Writers bring their expertise to the draft, editors refine it for tone and clarity, and QA specialists confirm it’s polished, ready for publication, and free of any technical or formatting errors. … Read more

10 Benefits of Hiring a Content Manager to Support Your Outsourced Content Team

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10 16 (1)

The demand for consistent, high-quality content has never been greater. As businesses seek to grow their online presence and engage with customers through blogs, newsletters, and social media, many turn to outsourcing to meet these demands. Outsourcing offers flexibility and scalability, but it also brings challenges. This is especially so when managing large teams of writers, editors, and designers. That’s where a dedicated content manager becomes essential. A content manager can be the key to getting the most out of your outsourced content team by ensuring quality and efficiency. Let’s explore the top 10 benefits of hiring a content manager.  10 Benefits of Hiring a Content Manager to Support Your Outsourced Content Team In business, you don’t have to do it all alone. Your best bet is to build a skilled team that can lend their support as you build your brand. So, if you’re outsourcing content creation, you need a content manager to lead the way. Here are 10 reasons why you could benefit from hiring a content manager. 1. Ensure Consistency and Brand Alignment A major challenge when working with multiple freelancers or agencies is maintaining a consistent brand voice. Without someone managing the process, you may end up with content that feels disjointed or off-brand, which can confuse or alienate your audience. A content manager is responsible for ensuring that every piece of content aligns with your brand’s tone, style, and values. They create and enforce brand guidelines, ensuring consistency across all platforms, no matter how many different people contribute to the final product. By maintaining this cohesion, your audience experiences a unified brand presence that builds trust and reinforces your company’s identity. 2. Streamline Communication Between Teams  When working with an outsourced team, communication can easily become a bottleneck. Freelancers and agencies often work remotely, in different time zones, and on varying schedules. Without proper coordination, this can lead to delays, misunderstandings, or overlooked instructions. A content manager acts as the central hub for communication, ensuring that writers, editors, and designers all receive clear direction and feedback. This streamlined communication helps prevent mistakes, keeps the team aligned with your goals, and ensures deadlines are met without confusion. 3. Improve Workflow Efficiency and Organization  Content creation involves many moving parts, from initial brainstorming to writing, editing, revisions, and final approvals. Without proper oversight, this process can quickly become chaotic, especially when managing multiple freelancers or agencies. Alternatively, some teams don’t have enough people to lend a hand with many roles left unfilled. About 58% of B2B content creation teams struggle with a lack of resources. Not having the right people, the right tools, and an ample budget can create a lot of frustration. A content manager designs and implements an organized workflow that suits your business’s unique needs. By developing a customized content creation process, they ensure every task is completed on time, in the correct order, and with minimal issues. This efficiency leads to faster turnarounds and higher-quality content. 4. Provide Personalized Content Strategy One of the biggest advantages of having a content manager is the ability to develop a long-term, personalized content strategy. Rather than focusing solely on individual content pieces, content managers look at the big picture. They assess your target audience, business goals, and current market trends to create a content strategy that drives long-term results. This strategic approach ensures that your content isn’t just filler. Instead, it’s actively working to achieve your business goals. At Express Writers, we take this personalized approach seriously. Our dedicated content managers work closely with clients to build custom content strategies that address their specific needs and help them stand out in their industry. 5. Review Content and Quality Control   Quality is non-negotiable when it comes to content marketing. Whether it’s blog posts, social media updates, or email newsletters, every piece of content reflects your brand. With an outsourced team, you need someone who is dedicated to maintaining high-quality standards across the board. Content managers ensure every piece of content meets your standards for accuracy, grammar, tone, and style. They’ll also make sure your content is optimized for SEO so you can trust it’ll perform well in search results and reach the right audience. 6. Facilitate Scalability As your business grows, so does your content production. However, scaling content efforts can quickly become overwhelming without proper management. A content manager ensures that your team can grow without sacrificing quality or efficiency. They manage the influx of new content requests, ensuring that your team scales smoothly and continues to deliver top-notch content on time. 7. Save Time and Reduce Stress Managing content creation can be a full-time job. Business owners, marketing managers, and executives must often juggle content production alongside their core responsibilities, leading to burnout and reduced productivity in other areas. By hiring a content manager, you offload the day-to-day coordination of your content efforts. They handle everything from communicating with writers to managing deadlines, allowing you to focus on high-level strategy and business growth. 8. Facilitate Long-Term Content Success Content marketing is a long game and success doesn’t come overnight. A content manager looks beyond short-term goals, focusing on long-term success. They continuously monitor and analyze the performance of your content, adjusting as needed to improve results over time. This forward-thinking approach helps you stay ahead of trends, adjust to changes in your industry, and continually refine your content strategy to ensure long-term success. At Express Writers, our content managers are committed to building long-term partnerships with our clients. We adapt strategies over time to keep your content fresh, relevant, and effective. 9. Provide a Single Point of Contact When you work with an outsourced content team, you often have multiple freelancers or agencies involved in different aspects of the project. This includes writers, editors, designers, SEO experts, and more. Coordinating between all these individuals can be overwhelming. A content manager serves as your point of contact, streamlining communication and ensuring all team members stay aligned with your goals. This single point of accountability makes … Read more

Content Marketer vs. Marketing Content Writer: Which Is Best for You?

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Content Marketing vs. Marketing Content Writer

Everyone who spends much time around words develops pet peeves around specific misused phrases. One of my pet peeves is when writers interchange use and utilize. For those who aren’t sure the difference, you aren’t alone. It is so subtle most don’t even realize the two terms are different. One of the key differences is that it requires a strategic, practical use rather than simply putting an object into action. Similarly, people can easily confuse content marketers and marketing content writers. Yet, one is more strategic, while the other has a more general use. Let’s dive into those differences with practical tips you can utilize (yes, that was intentional) when hiring another team member for your marketing team. What Role Does Each Writer Play in Your Marketing Strategy? While our main objective is to compare content marketers with marketing content writers, let’s take a step back because several other key players can also contribute to your overall marketing strategy. Take a look at the entire lineup. What Is a Copywriter? A copywriter is the most general term for someone who writes copy. This includes: Ad copy Blog posts Emails Product descriptions They understand the written word and how to use it to persuade and convince people. Copywriters are a crucial part of a content team that needs powerful words to move their strategies forward. While most content marketers are also copywriters, not all copywriters are content marketers, as that requires additional skills and writing superpowers. What Is a Content Strategist? A content strategist is a term I have seen floating around with variable meanings from someone who analyzes data to a strategic content writer. What differentiates a content strategist from a content marketer is that their focus is on the planning and strategy behind content. Content strategists may or may not be copywriters. In many industries, especially freelancers, content strategists do have copywriting skills. However, their primary marketing point is understanding the numbers behind copywriting. For instance, a content strategist understands the ins and outs of SEO. They research the best times of day for publishing content. They are experts on each platform and can list where you’ll most likely reach your audience. Strategists are great members to have on your team to ensure your content has a plan and purpose, and they can pinpoint the results from your content so each investment has the most significant impact. What Is a Marketing Content Writer? Now, we are getting into the more complicated terms that will sound very similar. A marketing content writer is a copywriter who has skills specific to marketing. When you hire a copywriter, you are hiring a broad skill set. However, when you hire a marketing content writer, they have experience in marketing-specific writing, such as conversion emails, newsletters, press releases, and ad copy.  They can craft content built around marketing concepts to ensure each project you complete moves you closer to your marketing goals. What Is a Content Marketer? The simplest definition of a content marketer is they are all of the above. A marketer understands the strategy and can create compelling marketing content. They are the whole package from start to finish, ensuring you have the most powerful results from every asset you publish. While 90% of marketers use blogs, that is only one of many marketing channels content marketers work with. Other common channels content marketers monitor and manage content creation for include: Emails Social media Ads Press releases Whitepapers and eBooks Guest posts Content marketers also work with more than the written word. They also craft images, videos, and even audio content. 4 Primary Differences Between a Content Marketer vs. Content Writer Are you still feeling confused? Don’t worry. We are about to take a much closer look at those last two because the subtle distinction is worth noting. 1. Experience Level Content marketers tend to have more experience than marketing content writers. They understand the deeper intricacies of the marketing world and can use that knowledge to craft insightful content. Many content marketers start as marketing content writers or even perform marketing writing in their current role. Others operate exclusively in a managerial role while they hire marketing writers to perform the writing portion of content marketing. Through that role, they can gain more first-hand experience with all parts of marketing beyond crafting content, helping them always see content in the bigger picture. B2C and B2B content marketing writers have the most experience with content creation. They know enough about marketing to craft well-rounded marketing content, but they haven’t always had that first-hand experience in marketing roles outside of copywriting. 2. Role in the Team Content writers create written content for marketing purposes, while content marketers use that content for marketing purposes. For example, a marketing writer will create email campaigns while the content marketer schedules and automates the email campaigns the writer crafted. Even though there is a distinction between the two, the terms are often used interchangeably because the two roles may overlap. Businesses with smaller marketing teams may have the content marketer as the marketing writer.  When that happens, the content marketer is responsible for: Planning and strategizing Creating content Distributing the content Monitoring results That’s quite the workload for one person!  That’s why if you hire a content marketer, you should consider outsourcing help for marketing writing or an entire content marketing team with someone for each role in the process. 3. Access to Resources This third difference does not apply to all marketing teams but is a common differentiating factor. Often, the writer acts in a silo apart from the rest of the marketing team. They may be a marketing writer crafting content for a specific marketing goal, but they don’t always have the same access to data as other team members. Picture marketing writers like that trust game in elementary school. One child had a blindfold, while the other led them around an obstacle course. That is how many marketing writers operate, relying on the … Read more

Find the Blog Posting Frequency that Works for You

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You know having a blog for your business or brand is critical to drawing in new customers and keeping the ones you have. However, you likely have wondered what the right blog posting frequency is. Should you post once a week? Every day? Multiple times a day? What’s the ideal blog posting frequency for you? Of course, the answer depends on your needs, goals, and the size of your business/brand.  In this guide, we will answer these questions and help you craft the ideal content calendar for your blog. What Is the Ideal Blog Posting Frequency? At the end of 2023, there were over 1.1 billion websites. Of those, about 18% are active, which translates to over 200 million active websites on the web. Over these billions of websites, there are about 600 million blogs on the internet with millions of new blogs posted every day. With statistics like this, it can make you wonder how you could ever make an impact in your small corner of the internet. However, with the right marketing strategy and blog posting frequency, you are more likely to attract the attention of the customers you need. Knowing how often you should post blogs is a question that continually puzzles digital marketers because there is no single recommendation that fits every website. Smaller businesses may find blogging less often, like one to four times a week, works for them, while larger businesses may need to blog daily or even multiple times a day. There is also the consideration of what types of content you’re covering. If you operate in a small, niche area where information is stable and does not change frequently, you might find success with blogging less often. Another part of the blogging frequency puzzle is what your goals are for your blog. Most brands either want to drive organic traffic or increase their brand awareness. According to HubSpot, if driving organic traffic is your goal, you should blog more frequently, while increasing brand awareness doesn’t require as much content.   8 Considerations to Determine Your Frequency of Blog Posts While you can take a guess at the number of blog posts that works for you, you will have better success evaluating industry trends and considering your blogging goals. 1. Look at Statistics According to Orbit Media’s 10th Edition of the Annual Blogger Survey, blog trends have changed a lot in the past decade. While successful bloggers were previously posting every day, many of them are now posting less often. However, the difference is, their blogs are longer and more detailed. While a 500-word blog posted daily worked in the past, bloggers are finding longer blogs over 1,000 words posted less frequently get better results.  The survey shows the average blog post is 77% longer in 2023 than it was in 2013. As for how frequently bloggers post, the most popular responses were weekly and several per month.  2. Monitor Your Industry Just like any other part of your business or brand, it is a good idea to look at the competition. What are similar content creators doing on their blogs? Monitor 10-20 blogs in your niche and see how often they are updated. If you’re not posting as often, you could get left behind. This also means you need to keep up with any industry changes. If there are frequent updates in your industry, your blog posts need to reflect that new information. You can save time keeping up with this information by updating old content. 3. Consider Your Constraints A large multi-million-dollar company is going to have more time and resources to put into blogging than someone who is a solo content creator. If you try to keep pace with a multi-person team, you are most likely going to feel burnt out and the quality of your blogs is going to suffer. One option to increase your blogging output without overworking yourself or your staff is by outsourcing some or all of your blogging needs. Consider finding a high-quality writing agency or writer to help you expand your content calendar and keep up with the competition. 4. Focus on Quality Just like most things in life, it is better to deliver quality over quantity and Google backs that up. In late 2022, Google released an algorithm update that added an ‘E’ to the SEO acronym EAT. The new EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. You will get better Google results producing high-quality blogs, released less often than pumping out lower-quality blogs more often. If you can produce and publish a high-quality blog every day, that’s awesome. If your capabilities and mental load limit your blogging frequency to once a week, then that is ok, too. Just make sure whatever you publish is the best it can be. If you are struggling to produce high-quality content, hiring an experienced professional writer could be the best choice. Consider how much you could gain by publishing premium content on a regular basis. 5. Remember Your Goals It is easy to simply copy whatever your competitor is doing. However, that strategy may not give you the best results. Instead, you need to remember what your goal is for blogging. Why are you doing this? Consider the following questions: Are you prioritizing SEO? Are you trying to improve your brand recognition? Are you trying to get a higher position in your SERPs for specific keywords? The answers to these questions will help you refine your blogging purpose and frequency.  6. Focus on the Needs of Your Audience What does your typical customer/reader look for or need when visiting your blog? Are they looking for new information every day? Do they have specific questions that your blog can answer? Is there information missing from your website that would prevent them from moving through the customer journey? One of the primary functions of a blog, especially for a business, is to offer value. Publishing a blog that doesn’t add anything new, simply for the act … Read more

8 Signs Your Website Badly Needs a Content Update

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Since your website doubles as an untiring brand ambassador, your content must always be fresh, engaging, and relevant. Peppering your pages with attention-grabbing and compelling content entices readers to browse your offerings and engage with your brand.  Your brand may suffer if your online presence stagnates and no longer resonates with your target audience. It may lead to low engagement and conversion, eroding your bottom line.   At Express Writers, our crack shot can breathe new life into your website by making the existing content more compelling, persuasive, and well-aligned with your marketing goals. Dig in as we share our top 8 signs your website is due for a content update.  Outdated Information  Do you add the year to your blog post titles? If so, have you updated them to read the year 2024? Now is the best time to spruce up your content, including updating the year, before the holidays kick off in earnest. Blog posts with an updated year in the title command more attention Including the current year in your headings helps build the reader’s trust. It reassures them the content is current and up to date. Retaining outdated information on the website can mislead visitors and harm your credibility. Outdated information may also erode readers’ trust and dampen your brand authority. It also means a failed opportunity to portray current capabilities, offerings, and thought leadership. That may create the impression that you’re out of touch with the latest trends and innovations, dissuading prospects from engaging with your brand.   Dropping Traffic and Engagement Does a cursory look at your analytics paint a dull picture? Dropping organic traffic and engagement may indicate that your website no longer resonates with your audience.  Audience interests and preferences change over time. You must adapt your content strategy to evolve along with the changing landscape. Visitors are unlikely to engage with your website if the content doesn’t align with their interests.  When information becomes stale, it loses its appeal. You’re likely to disappoint visitors searching for fresh, valuable information. They may quickly decamp to the competition, saddling you with a massive drop in organic traffic and engagement.  A content update shows that you’re attuned to your audience’s needs and helps you demonstrate thought leadership. It keeps your content fresh and engaging while encouraging repeat visits.  Poor Search Engine Rankings  While Google has been on a roll this year, there could be more to your poor search ranking than wild algorithm updates. See, Google is on a mission to connect web users with the most helpful, most relevant content. Did you know the top three sites on Google search results get over 54% of the search traffic?   Your website will likely get no visitors if it’s not the first page of the search results. Google uses various metrics, including tracking user engagement metrics, to accomplish this feat. If your content doesn’t resonate with the target audience, Google picks up on it. Consequently, your website may experience a dramatic drop from the top of the search engine results.  A content update may help your website demonstrate topical authority, match user intent, and capture the reader’s attention. If you do a meticulous job, you can regain your lost rankings and even outrank your most fierce competitors. Peppering your website with quality content also helps you build a healthy and natural backlink profile.   High Bounce Rates If you notice a high bounce rate on your website, chances are your content doesn’t capture the reader’s interest. Bounce rate is a metric that captures the number of visitors leaving your website after viewing only one page.  Visitors will likely click away if the content doesn’t address their needs or fill their search query. Poorly written, difficult to read, and visually unappealing content is a sure turn-off.   When web visitors consistently click on your website only to quickly return to the search results, it hurts your search ranking. Google interprets such behavior as user dissatisfaction due to poor content, so your site isn’t worthy of a top spot in the search results.   Updating your content can help you reduce spiking bounce rates and entice visitors to linger on your website. It’s a proven way to enhance user experience, increase dwell time, and build subject matter expertise.  Low Click-Through Rates When your content ranks high on the SERPs but the click-through rate is abysmal, you may need to refine your content. It indicates that you’re targeting and ranking for the right keywords, but your content doesn’t resonate with your target audience.  Featured snippets drive click-through rates.  Visitors can see your content on the search results but fail to click through to your website. Your content isn’t compelling enough to capture their interest and attention or lacks crucial elements.  It’s possible that your titles and meta descriptions aren’t compelling, descriptive, or relevant. Visitors won’t click on your content if these elements aren’t enticing or accurately reflect the page’s content.  Your click-through rate may also suffer if your pages lack or have poorly optimized snippets. Featured and rich snippets help your site stand out in the SERPs and attract clicks.  A content update can help you optimize these elements to help you capture more clicks and drive more visitors to your web pages.  You’re not Converting Leads   Are you driving thousands of visitors to your offers, but conversion is dismal at best? A low conversion rate may indicate a disconnect between your content and audience needs. Ideally, your content should drive visitors to fill out a form, join your mailing list, or purchase a product. Website conversion rates in different verticals. While the average website conversion rate is 2% to 5%, the rates vary wildly between industries. The best e-commerce sites convert 6.25% of their visitors, while top-tier financial websites have conversion rates of almost 25%. Typically, you should gauge your site’s performance against your industry’s rates.  A content update can help boost your conversion rates if they fall below the industry standards. Your conversion rates may suffer if you don’t have … Read more

Advantages of Working with Express Writers

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Did you know that the top three Google search results earn 68.7% of all clicks? This is why it is so crucial to continually deliver fresh, optimized content that will earn you those top results. To get these results, you need writers who understand the principles of search engine optimization (SEO), including how to write for a searcher’s intent. Unfortunately, not all writers have this expertise. You could take on all the work of vetting your own freelancers, determining if they have the skills you need, and negotiating pay. Or you can choose to work with Express Writers, and we will do all the work of hiring expert writers for you. Express Writers is committed to delivering superior content tailored to each of our client’s needs and specifications. We can even help you choose the best type of content along with the ideal traffic-driving topics and keywords to help you achieve stellar results in your SERPs. Still not convinced? Here are 8 advantages of working with Express Writers. What Is Express Writers? Express Writers is a professional, full-service content marketing writing agency that was founded in 2011. We serve a wide range of clients with a variety of content options, including done-for-you content marketing. Our business and writing process has grown and evolved with the times. We make sure our writers are always up to date with the latest SEO principles and practices including Google EEAT Guidelines and the importance of quality SEO keywords. We also know how crucial human-centered content is–our content is written by humans, for humans. Our content is never AI-generated.  Many of our clients reach out to us after being burned by poor-quality freelance writers or they struggle to find an internal writer who can handle their ever-increasing content needs. 8 Benefits of Working with Express Writers for Your Content Needs As an established writing agency, we offer the expertise and versatility you need to achieve impressive results with your content. Here are 8 reasons why Express Writers is your best choice for content creation. Express Writers Thoroughly Vets Its Writers  We understand the risks that people and businesses take when they hire freelance writers. At Express Writers, we know our clients can feel confident that the writer we choose for them will deliver relevant, expert content. We are always on the lookout for good writers. In fact, we only hire about 2% of the writers who apply to be part of the Express Writers team. These writers are thoroughly vetted and must pass multiple assessments and writing tests before they are accepted to the team. This ensures that we use only the best writers for our clients. Our vetting process includes numerous stages that many writers fail to pass. Before a writer receives his or her first assignment, they must complete the following: Native English test Background check to prove U.S. citizenship or residency Resume and portfolio check References, education, and background check by COO and Content Operations Manager Writing and/or editing test Onboarding and initial training Most of our writers have at least two years of professional writing experience, with many having over five. To do a vetting process like this on your own for every writer you hire, it would cost you a significant amount of time and money. We make choosing a writer a smooth, stress-free experience for our clients. Our Writers Receive Extensive Training  Once hired, our new writers are required to go through an onboarding training program that teaches them SEO basic principles along with everything they need to know about writing for Express Writers and our clients. Once they pass those tests, they receive their first assignment. We encourage all our writers to continue honing their skills. We offer extensive training and new learning opportunities with our custom Express Writers University. Here, our writers can polish their SEO skills, learn how to write marketing emails, and get refresher courses on advanced writing principles. Here is a glimpse of some of the courses our writers can take. If you choose to hire a writer yourself, there is no guarantee that they will have had any training like this or have the skills you need to create high-quality content. Our Content Comes with Free Revisions  While many of our clients are satisfied with their content after the first round of writing, sometimes we need to make some changes. That is why we include two rounds of free revisions with each piece of content. This helps us better match our writing to your unique content needs, tone, and style.  In addition, if you become a repeat customer, you can request the same writer every time, helping that writer become more familiar with your specific tone and style, reducing the need for revisions. Express Writers Saves You Time  Finding, hiring, and managing your own writers can be a time-consuming and stressful process. When you choose Express Writers, you can get publish-ready content in 75% less time. You don’t have to deal with the HR process. Instead, you get instant access to experienced writers, editors, QAs (quality assurance), and strategists.  We Deliver Our Content on Time  In our current world of lightning-fast internet, timing is incredibly important. What is trending and important right now might be irrelevant and outdated next week. That is why we prioritize delivering our content on your schedule. We pride ourselves on maintaining a 99.5% success rate in meeting our due dates.  No more having to muddle through weeks of back-and-forth communication and proofs to get the content you need. Get Scalable Solutions with Express Writers  Whether you need a single blog or a complete content strategy, we can meet your needs. We offer a wide range of content options in our Content Shop. Choose from options like: Expert Blogs Specialty Content Content Strategy Email Marketing Copy Social Media Posts Press Release Writing Case Studies Many of our clients start small and then are so satisfied with our results that they extend their partnership to include more content. Express … Read more

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