Copywriting – Page 10 – Express Writers

9 Reasons Picking Up A Book And Reading It Today Will Help You Succeed As A Writer

December 31, 2020June 19, 2015 by Adam Oakley

There is nothing new under the sun. And guess what, I am not the first person to have said that. In fact, it was written in Biblical times by King Solomon. So if nothing was new back then, imagine how much more true that is today? No matter what you write, you are not going to come up with something that has never been said before in some way—unless you are talking about exclusive news, are Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, or What will make your content great is the unique spin you put on that old concept. When you read, you experience all of the things you want to express. And once you have experienced them, you are much better equipped to share with others. 9 Quotes from Literary Geniuses that Tell You Why Reading Makes Your Writing Better Reading makes you a better writer whether you are writing a novel or copy for your latest product. However, do not just take my word for it. I am going to prove my point through copious references to the words that have inspired me all from the mouths of the greatest writers and thinkers. You won’t be able to argue with me, because you have to admit they know what they are talking about. Which means all my reading has already paid off in writing this post alone. “Genius is one percent inspiration … “ – Thomas Edison So what if the other 99% is perspiration. Even Edison recognizes that to really be a genius, you need a little bit of inspiration. That is the purpose of books: to inspire the reader. When it comes to writing, reading a book does not magically make you a wordsmith. It does not have any actual magical powers. Writing takes a lot of hard work. If you want to be a genius writer, you are going to need to put in that 99% of perspiration that Edison suggests. However, while you are putting in that hard work, do not forget that one percent. Read a book, and be inspired. That is part of the genius formula. “Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.” – William Faulkner George Deeb wrote an article for Forbes that says mentors are one of the most valuable resources you can get if you are an entrepreneur. Well, if writing is your enterprise, then you have access to some of the greatest mentors throughout time. Take advantage of this. Tap into the resources of the masters and learn from them. Within the pages of a book, you will find all of the secrets of writing success. What other profession allows you that type of opportunity? “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” – Oscar Wilde Believe it or not, your reading preferences reflect on who you are. What do you enjoy reading? Sci-fi, romance, mystery? There is no right or wrong answer here, but your reading choices do say something about you. They should also say something about what you write. When you write what you like to read, you know that you are pleasing somebody. And since one of the things reading does is show you that you are not alone in how you feel or act, you know that if you please one person, you are likely to please many. So read to determine who you are, then write for that person. You will find that many other people want to read the same things as you. “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” – G.R.R. Martin One of the best things about reading is that you get to have an adventurous life even between all of your real-life adventures. As a reader, you get to discover things that non-readers never get to. Great writers do not just tell you what they want to say, they show you what they want you to feel. They put you in the shoes of their characters so that you are the one fighting the white walkers or becoming the mother of dragons. How does this translate into great writing? You have to be able to take your readers on an adventure. Whether you are writing the great American novel or you are selling sneakers online, you have to convince the reader that they are part of your story and that they want to continue on with you. In order to get to a place where your writing transports your readers, you have to have been transported yourself. So reading allows you to travel to other places and have epic adventures, which will help you bring your readers along on all of the thrilling sagas you want write about. “The more that you read, the more you will know.” – Dr. Seuss Reading is educational. When you read, even a novel, you learn. What you learn depends on the book. Maybe you learned about some theorem in a physics book. Maybe you learned about the Civil War in a history book. And maybe you learned about the strength of emotions between the pages of a Romance. Knowledge is never a bad thing. In fact, it is almost always a good thing. So, educate yourself. You cannot teach others anything unless you first learn it yourself. “Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.” – John Locke If you really get into a book, you cannot help but start thinking. Great writing challenges your viewpoints and makes you question everything that you thought you knew. Once you learn to start thinking … Read more

Citations: What They Are, And Why You Should Be Using Them

December 31, 2020June 18, 2015 by Adam Oakley

If you’ve been hanging around blogs over the last year or so, you’ll realize that citations are a big thing. Citation is a skill that bloggers need to learn in the twenty first century in order to see their pages rank well. Think of these like high quality backlinks that affect the overall rank of your blog and also create a pretty large impact on how your audience perceives your blog. What exactly is this citation thing anyway? What are Citations? Citations can simply be thought of as a means of presenting another website as a link within the body text of your own. The term stems from the academic field where extensive literature reviews usually result in citations that are lengthy and reference a large number of topics on the subject at hand. Similarly, citation in a blog or website references relevant topics so that readers who are interested in these topics can get further information if they so desire. Citations make up the major part of creating backlinks for your site in the modern era of search engine optimization. Why are Citations Important? Citations allow for the building of backlinks. The higher the quality of a backlink, the better your page ranks in search results and the more authoritative your own page is in comparison to others on the same topic. Citations are important for two major reasons. Firstly, they allow you to share contact with another, higher-impact blog. If enough traffic comes from your link to their site you may be able to form a suitable link sharing agreement, thereby increasing your traffic. Alternatively, and more importantly, a good backlink foundation allows your website or blog to rank well in relevant search results. The basis of your citations comes from proper use of something called the anchor tag. What is this “Anchor Tag”? Basically, it’s an HTML tag that replaces an actual HTML link with actual words. Thus instead of a URL, you can have a short description that, upon being clicked, sends the user to the URL hidden beneath it. Search engines utilize anchor texts to figure out the content of the site you’ve linked to. This means that proper use of anchor tags can affect both your linked-to sites and your own site. The use of the anchor tag represents a particular metric that search engines have taken to tracking termed link relevancy. Link relevancy is determined by what content is on the source page and what the anchor text attached to that source page represents. Link Relevancy Search engines cleverly utilize human beings penchant for linking relevant things to figure out exactly what the source page is relevant regarding search terms and keywords. Link relevancy indicators utilize this particular inclination along with complicated natural language processing in order to generate an idea of how relevant the link in question really is. Google’s Penguin update started being more specific in its determination of natural search terms and this allowed the algorithm to determine with a good degree of accuracy when it was dealing with non-organic links by determining if the same anchor text yielded the same link results each time. To this end, links should be made throughout the body of a page with as much variety as possible while still remaining relevant to the source page. How Does Anchor Text Affect SEO? As we said before, anchor text allows the building of links that raises the search rank of a page. After understanding search relevancy, we can now form a picture of what our anchor tags should contain to be proper examples of good SEO link building, from Backlinko. Remember that you’re trying to have different anchor texts that lead to your external page in order to create more organic content. To this end, what you should do is to brainstorm possible options that you may have for the creation of alternative anchor texts for your outbound links. It is important that you keep these thoughts in mind when developing your anchor tags: Do NOT create zero-anchor situations such as “Click Here…” Do NOT overuse anchor text. Overuse of anchor text makes a search engine look at your linking suspiciously and may actually hurt your search rank rather than helping it. 5 Types of Anchor Text Anchor text comes in many types and each type has their own particular use. The most common anchor types that you are likely to encounter during your time building SEO type links are: Zero Anchor Text: These are the text anchors that simply come with a “Click Here” appended to them via anchor tag. Not recommended at all. “Naked” URL’s: This also defeats the purpose of the anchor tag as some URL’s are usually made up of non-words and incomprehensible strings of letters. On the off-chance that the link is actually made up of good keywords (as is the case in many links from WordPress blogs), the link might end up helping itself out. Exact Match Anchor: One of the best anchor tags to use in a localized anchor tag strategy. These give a geographical area and a relevant keyword. In some SEO strategies, they allow for more localized searches which can lead to a much higher conversion rate. Partial Match Anchor: This depends upon the ability of a search engine indexing bot to determine the relevant location and other information from the surrounding words in order to rank the link. It has the benefit of allowing you to be freer with your anchor text and helps you create more natural outbound links. Highly recommended. Hybrid Anchor: These are a combination of links that associate different anchor tags with each other allowing for a more targeted strategy, while at the same time giving you the freedom to create links naturally. The links usually relate branded items with non-branded items and are also highly recommended. The flavor of anchor text that you use can make it more difficult for search engines to rank the link and therefore affect … Read more

How To Create Epic Content Titles & Headlines

December 31, 2020June 9, 2015 by Adam Oakley

When it comes to writing blog content, many people dedicate a lot of their minds to writing the body of the piece. This is great because you will be able to create some great content that way, however, many times when that is complete, the headline ends up suffering. You might not have the creative energy to think up a great headline and end up slapping up any old idea you can think of. This is not a great move at all. To get more people to click, you really need to make sure you spend a good amount of time crafting an excellent headline. How can you do this and just how important is a headline? I am going to explore this for you and give you some great, data-backed research. Just How Important is a Headline? Before I get into how to craft a great headline, I want to look at just how important a headline is. The following portion is going to cite great information from HubSpot’s infographic on the importance of headlines and how much effort you should put into them. Let’s take a look! 1. A Headline Could be the Only Chance You Get. Posting your content to social media is a great way to get clicks and shares. However, you need to make sure you have a great headline to catch readers’ attention. Your headline might be the only opportunity you will get for clicks, shares, and revenue, and you don’t want to pass that up. You need to give a decent amount of thought to your headlines so that people don’t pass you by. 2. Headlines Tell Readers What to Expect from a Blog. One of the great things about a headline is that it gives readers the chance to know what to expect from the blog. If your headline is ambiguous, it won’t give them any information, and they are likely to pass it. When you give them a small amount of information up front, they will be able to decide if it is something they would like to spend their time on. 3. Great Headlines Help You Stand Out on Social Media. If you create excellent headlines, you won’t only get clicks from your followers but you can also grab people’s attention that are friends with them. When you craft an excellent headline and put a lot of effort into crafting it, you will stand out from other blogs being shared. It can also help you stand out from your competitors. Five Ways to Write Truly Epic Content Headlines Putting effort into your headlines will truly help you have a successful content marketing campaign, but you might be wondering how to write them. I found some great points that I want to share with you to help encourage you to put a decent effort into all of your headlines. 1. Use HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator for Ideas. If you are looking for some great inspiration for a headline, or even a blog topic, head over to HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator. You just put in a noun or three (however many you have) and the generator will come up with some ideas to help get you off the ground. 2. Leave the Client’s Needing and Wanting More. While I said earlier that you want to let your clients know what to expect in your blog through a headline, but you always want to make sure you don’t give too much away. When you create your headline, keep your clients wanting and needing more. Ask or present a question in your headline and answer it in your blog. This will encourage more clicks, and can help improve your engagement. 3. Ask Questions Like What, Why, How, and When. A headline that asks a question is a great way to encourage people to click on your link and read your blog. If you’re talking about how to garden and save plants from birds, you can say something like, “Gardening How-To: How Can You Avoid Pesky Birds in Your Garden This Year?” This will drive many new gardeners to click on your link, taking them to useful information that could be what saves their garden this year. No matter what your subject matter is, you can always ask a vital question that people want to know the answer to. 4. Let People in On a Secret. A great way to encourage people to click on your headline is to let them in on a secret. All you need to do is write, “The Secret” in your headline followed by something that will be interesting to your audience. A secret is a powerful thing, and letting your clients in on one is a great way to encourage them to click on your link and head to your blog. 5. Create a List of Mistakes People Should Avoid. We all know that learning is important, right? Which means when it comes to anything be it writing content, washing a cat, or how to wash certain clothes, people want to know what mistakes to avoid. When you create a headline for a list of mistakes, you can use the words “mistakes to avoid” or something similar to get your point across. People will want to click on that to learn just what to avoid and make sure they do everything correctly. Just a Few Simple Words and People Will Click Creating a headline that draws people in is vital to your content campaign. Because of how important a headline is, you will need to put in a decent amount of effort into creating them. If you are looking for an effective way to come up with headlines and create content to match, then look no further than Express Writers. Our team of copywriters works to make sure each piece they create is high quality with great, intriguing headlines that are sure to capture attention. Contact us to see how we can help your content marketing campaign, today.

20 Marketing and Business Books That Will Actually Change Your Future

December 31, 2020June 8, 2015 by Adam Oakley

The world is full of great business books by awesome authors. I want to specifically look at the bookshelf of someone who’s involved in marketing and business and recommend the best-ever books they could put on their shelves. I’ll admit to not reading each of these cover-to-cover (yet they are all on my must-read list), BUT I know plenty who have benefitted from reading them, and recommended them; plus, I am familiar with each of the authors . I hope you find this book list helpful! Get Ready To Change Your Life With These 20 Business Books Many entrepreneurs and captains of industry started off as regular people, but the books they consume changed who they are at a fundamental level so that they were able to make the decisions that put them into the positions they are today. And, a book is like an insight into another person’s mind. People inspire people. Want to be inspired by someone? Read what they write and understand where they’re coming from. Business coaches, self-starters and entrepreneurs all write books detailing their thinking and the model of their success. By reading their books, you can pattern your thinking around theirs and reap similar results. Here’s a list of the twenty most influential business books I’ve come across that are very likely to change your future. 1. See You at the Top – Zig Ziglar: Originally rejected by over thirty publishers, this particular book is one of Zig’s greatest works. Although it’s a bit dated (it was published in 1974) a lot of the principles it teaches regarding your own personal motivations and how you get what you want are still relevant. Through a series of steps based around your own, honest self-evaluation, he develops a method for changing your outlook on life and your aims of accomplishing what you believe needs to be done. It’s not new information, but it’s a brand new way of looking at yourself. 2. So You Think You Can Write? – Julia McCoy: Authored by yours truly, this is a summary of all the lessons I’ve learned on how to craft successful, winning online copy after 5+ years in the field learning it on my own. I left nursing school and built a multi-million dollar company around online writing. Now, I’m sharing all the lessons I know so you can change your life by a) writing winning online copy for your brand that gains you rankings and reads or b) make a career out of online copy. It’s on Amazon as print and Kindle. 3. Maximum Achievement – Brian Tracy: As far as motivational manuals go, this one is among the best available. Brian Tracy is a self-made-man. He outlines his tactics in Maximum Achievement and creates a roadmap for all of his readers towards success. Although the things that Tracy propounds should be obvious to anyone, the way in which he presents them makes you think critically about your goals and your results. It delves into the idea of result-oriented tactics. Even if you don’t follow what he says, his writing will forever change the way you look at a task. 4. The Art of SEO – Rand Fishkin: This book is a must-read for marketing professionals, simply because of how well laid out it is. Fishkin and company outline and define the important aspects of SEO, ranging from the basics to the extremely advanced approaches. And when I say it covers everything, I do mean everything. Anyone, at any level of SEO knowledge can pick up this book and learn something from it. It’s obvious that as time goes on, SEO will be even more relevant to everyday life, which is what makes this book an investment in understanding the future. 5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen. R. Covey: You’d be hard pressed to find someone in business and industry who hasn’t read this book. It belongs on the shelves of everyone because it helps you to get your mind focused on your tasks at hand. Covey developed a methodology for personal effectiveness that is as important today as it was the day it was published. Another oldie (this one was also published in the 70’s), the book goes back to the roots of what drives success and makes you think about your character first and your personality second, something that many books of the period seem to do in reverse. It’s definitely one of those business books that will affect the way you look at life. 6. Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki: Kiyosaki, a self-made multi-millionaire, explored the differences in conditioning between a rich parent and a poor parent and explores the differences between the thought processed between the two social classes. It’s semi-autobiographical and reads extremely easily. By applying Kiyosaki’s lessons to your own financial situation and change the way you perceive value. That’s a lesson that tends to follow you all the years of your life. 7. Ogilvy on Advertising – David Ogilvy: This particular book has helped many entrepreneurs figure themselves out. Ogilvy focuses on big-picture thinking, proposing that your most important ideas are the ones that are huge. Those ideas are the ones that drive your success. He also writes about dealing with negativity and always having your facts to hand, two things that serve you very well in day to day life. Although the book is mostly aimed at advertising professionals, everyone can glean some form of inspiration or insight from it. 8. The Magic of Thinking Big – David Schwartz: Schwartz deals with the mind-over-matter phenomenon. It’s a book that has changed the lives of many people by teaching them a time-honored lesson: “don’t sweat the small stuff”. It’s mostly self-motivational in content, but it does help you to overcome hurdles that your own mind erects for you. Most importantly, it has something for everyone, no matter what level of business you find yourself at. From employee to owner, everyone can benefit from reading this book. 9. Switch: How to Change Things When … Read more

7 Ways To Be A Successful Writer, No Matter How New You Are

December 31, 2020May 27, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Call me biased, but writing is one of my favorite things. It doesn’t matter if I am writing up web copy, blogs, book reviews, or short fiction, writing is something I deeply enjoy and I am not alone. There are many people out there who love writing, but there are also many out there who want to get started to see just what it’s all about. However, it can be tricky when you’re a new writer, and looking for advice is one of the first things you do – hence why you’re here, right? If you’re new to writing, then this blog is perfect for you because I will be going over some great, first-time writer tips that can help you create excellent content, no matter what. Many of these are things I’ve learned over time and want to share my little bits of wisdom with anyone making their way in the writing world. 7 Ways A New Writer Can Be Successful There are many ways to be successful when it comes to writing, but there are a few that I think stand out from the rest. Let’s take a look at what you can do to have a successful writing career whether you are writing a book or focusing on blogging for your business. Write One Word, and Then Another and Another. This is incredibly common sense, but many new writers get so caught up trying to “be the best” in writing that they forget. When you are starting out as a writer and are looking for excellent tips, the best one to start with is simply to write. Write one word, then another and another until you have a sentence and so on. This is something award-winning author Neil Gaiman is known for saying, and it is incredibly helpful and true. When you focus too hard on getting the best short story, wanting the next Harry Potter franchise or having a stellar content campaign like Disney, you will get discouraged easily. However, if you just start to write and keep writing, you will find that you are able to come up with great content no matter what it is you are writing. Know Your Resources and Follow Them. Writers all need to have resources, no matter if they are writing fiction, non-fiction, or focusing on writing web copy. Resources help give direction for content and give great, useful information. If you don’t use resources, you can end up saying things that aren’t true or writing something incorrectly. For example, if you are writing a story based in the 1940s, you need to make sure you know the lingo they used. In addition, if you are writing web copy and want to rank with great SEO, you need to know what to do.Following SEO resources like Moz or Copyblogger can help provide you with the information you need. This will help keep you informed about SEO changes, as well as helping you create excellent content for your website or blog. No matter what you are writing, you will be able to find resources and you need to make sure you have access to them. Don’t Stress if Your Writing isn’t Top Quality Right Away. Writing is like playing an instrument or learning a new language, it takes time to master it. Even then, there will always be something new to learn, and you can’t expect to know it all. When you first start out writing, it isn’t going to be near as good as it could be simply because you are out of practice. Think of this; if you know a small amount of French but never practice it, you are going to have a hard time going around France, aren’t you? However, if you practice French, you will have an easier time traveling the country and understanding the people. The same can be said about writing. Keep practicing, and you will improve over time. When you first write and read your copy, don’t get discouraged if you feel it isn’t top quality or if someone gives you constructive criticism. Keep writing, and you’ll be epic in no time. Set Aside Time Each Day to Write. When I first started writing, I made sure that I set aside time each and every day to write. This is important because it helped with what I mention in point one – getting in the practice of writing and improving. Before I became a copywriter, I wrote short stories and little prose poems each day just to write, and that helped me work towards a goal of awesome writing. This helped immensely once I started in the content field, and since I was already in the practice of writing every day, there wasn’t much shifting to my writing schedule. Now, I write several thousand words a day, and it helps to grow my writing capabilities. Since you’re just now starting out, consider setting aside thirty minutes each day and bump it up to an hour or more as you get used to it. Work out that brain and your fingers, and you’ll be incredibly happy with the results. Stream of Consciousness Writing and Writing as You Speak Can Be Excellent. Stream of consciousness writing is a style of writing that is was popular amongst authors such as Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf. It is even still a major part of modern American literature and is something you can expect to read when buying books or even reading blogs. While you don’t always want to write in a stream of consciousness manner, this can help you create excellent written work that flows and sounds natural. Another way to achieve this is simply to write as you speak. Basically, doing these two types of writing will help you write content that is easy to read, flows well, and makes more sense to a casual reader. However, if you do end up going the stream of consciousness route, always make sure to proofread … Read more

7 of the Hottest Headlines & How to Create Your Own

December 31, 2020May 7, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Bombarded with tons of low-quality, unremarkable stories that are constantly flooding the Internet, readers have become quite selective to their time and energy when it comes to reading blogs or content online. Whether you’re ready for it or not, they use your own headline as their first selection criterion. Just like a book is still being judged by its cover, each content piece that you produce gets evaluated by your readers in a few seconds based on its headline. 7 Headline Formulas That Will Convince Your Readers to Take Action Simply because their originality and unique, totally recognizable style should be their most valuable trademarks, writers can seldom afford the luxury of relying on existing patterns to make their content piece seem more interesting in the eyes of their readers. However, when your goal is to create magnetic headlines, you can always turn to a few foolproof formulas showing you the direction that you should follow to make more people take a glance at your article. Here are the 7 golden headline formulas that you should have in mind as soon as you decide to put pen to paper. “The Secret” to [Something]. You simply cannot go wrong with a magic keyword followed by a promise. People can’t always keep a secret, but they would definitely like to hear one every half an hour. Secrets give them the power to stand out from the crowd and prove their superiority in their circle based on a very simple principle: “knowledge is power.” When that secret actually supports one of their most ambitious goals, things get even better. Let’s consider this example: “The Secret to Losing 10 Pounds in 2 Weeks the Healthy Way.” How could you ignore this headline, when all you want to do is stop eating donuts and achieve a gorgeous beach body without getting on the treadmill? “X Ways” to [Achieve Something]. The “X ways to do something” proves once again that readers love specialists and their expert insight. They want to take the easy way out and avoid unnecessary stress or expenses by following the advice of someone who has already dealt with this challenge and knows what he’s talking about. This is why a title such as “5 Ways to Revamp Your Career Rapidly and Stress-Free” will always deliver excellent results. “Little Known” Strategies/Ideas/Methods That Will [Support a Goal]. For the same reason why we love secrets, we are also very interested in “little-known” things. Yes, we want to get the latest scoop before anyone else. We also appreciate informative content pieces allowing us to show off our knowledge in front of our friends, from time to time. “I bet you didn’t know that male ostriches roar just like lions!” Following this simple idea, it becomes obvious why headlines such as “Little-known methods to develop a profitable home-based business” can guarantee your success as a writer. Here’s the Simplest/Most Rapid/Cheapest Way to [Solve Your Problem]. It’s no secret that most of the individuals who are surfing the Internet to find the best solutions to their daily problems and challenges are looking to save time and money. These two values always end up influencing their decisions. In this context, a concise title reading “Here’s the Easiest Method to Get Hired after Your First Interview” will most convince job seekers to read the entire body copy with greater attention; after all, it holds the key to getting a nice job rapidly and hassle-free. What more could you ask for? Grow/Build/Succeed in/Have Something Desirable. Sometimes, we need an extra push to get things done. Headlines such as “Build Your Own Website and Start Selling like a Pro” or “Grow Your Own Vegetable Garden in 5 Easy Steps” act like a powerful stimulus, reminding people of their ambitions; plus they also put the reward right under their nose. In other words, it’s like telling your readers that if they want to strike gold, they’d better start digging. “X Mistakes” That Could Bury/Destroy/Compromise [Something That Means a Lot to You]. When something means the world to you, you focus your entire attention on the good and the bad that your object of desire is exposed to. This is precisely why you would also read an article highlighting risk factors, such as your own actions, which could threaten your career, relationship, health and every other aspect that you care about. Let’s face it: a title reading “10 mistakes that could instantly terminate your relationship” is automatically associated with an article that you may want to read entirely, whether you’re single and still looking for your soulmate or happily married for more than a decade. A Reinterpretation of the Classic “How to” Headline. Truth be told, “how to” headlines can be quite boring. The good news is that you can amplify their power of seduction by introducing the reward, as explained above, or through associations with individuals or groups of people who have already reached a certain target. For example, headlines like “How to Take Care of Your Skin like a Dermatologist” or “How to train like a Navy SEAL” may stimulate the curiosity of your segment of public and get them to spend some (quality) time on your page. How to Create the Ideal Headline in 5 Easy Steps When it comes to writing killer headlines, putting theory into practice doesn’t have to be a challenge. Here are the 5 key steps that you should take to come up with the perfect title for your next content piece. Identify the Needs, Demands, Problems, and Expectations of Your Audience. Get to know your audience before anything else. In this phase, proper keyword research, a good social media strategy and tools designed to help you come up with interesting blog topics, such as Hubspot’s Blog Topic Generator, can simplify your mission. Brainstorm with Your Team. Your coworkers may just have what it takes to inspire your next masterpiece. By putting themselves in your readers’ shoes and relying on their empathy, they could offer … Read more

How 9 Great Authors Almost Failed & Why You Shouldn’t Throw In The Towel Just Yet

January 10, 2023May 1, 2015 by Adam Oakley

There are times where no matter what we do, it just seems like things aren’t working. You can implement everything you’ve learned from marketing and SEO, yet you don’t seem to get anywhere. This is a frustrating reality. However, here’s the good news—you, my friend, are not alone! Did you know there are several incredibly famous authors and creators that were in the same boat as you at some point in their career? These great authors and creators, at one point or another, were considered “failures” by themselves and others. Once you get through failure, and don’t allow it to drown you but rather make you stronger, you will achieve greater success than you’ve dreamed of! How 9 Incredible Creators & Authors Got Discouraged & Kept Going I am going to take a look at a few incredible authors and creators that we all love today, and look at just how they failed before they succeeded. Let their failures and inevitable success we see now be an awesome inspiration to you, today. Walt Disney Was Told He Lacked Imagination. The man who created many stories, an epic empire, and worldwide theme parks was once considered to not have much imagination. That’s right; the creator of Mickey Mouse was believed, and told, he lacked imagination. Can you conceive of where we all would be if he listened to that and didn’t create the empire we all know and love today? He also had multiple other failures including best friends leaving Walt Disney Studios for competitors and competitors even stealing his original work, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It was after Oswald was stolen that he created Mickey Mouse, who is definitely the most popular mouse in the entire world. Albert Einstein and the Problem of Traditional Learning. While Einstein is not a fiction writer, his works have brought about an amazing advancement to the field of science. We have many of our theories and even proof of various scientific aspects because of him. However, Einstein was terrible with traditional learning and many thought he wouldn’t go very far. This speaks loudly to those who might have a hard time with traditional marketing, understanding how to make their business a success, and even young children who are having a hard time learning in school. If he had let his problems get in the way, we wouldn’t have much of the scientific advancements we have today, nor any of his incredible academic work. J.K. Rowling Wrote Harry Potter Without Much of a Plan for Success. When J.K. Rowling first wrote Harry Potter, she was living as a single mother on welfare. It was a difficult life for her, but she decided to start writing. She created the Wizarding world, but, according to her, she was rejected “loads” of times by different publishers. She kept going, however, even though she didn’t necessarily have the finances she needed to send off so many manuscripts. I am especially glad she kept going because we might have never met the Boy Who Lived, experiencing an incredible fantasy world just a few miles away from normal life. In addition to rejections for Harry Potter, Rowling also faced several rejections as Robert Galbraith, her pen name for The Cuckoo’s Calling. What a great example of “keep on trying.” Now Harry Potter is a goliath in the marketing world, offering writers and businesses alike incredible marketing inspiration. Charles Darwin Was Considered Average at Best. Evolution has had a long, contentious past with many people arguing over its reputability. What many people don’t realize is that the father of evolution, Charles Darwin, was considered an average student at best and dropped out of a degree and career in medicine to become a parson. However, he found a significant interest in nature and began traveling the world to understand it better. As he did so, he came up with his theory and published the now popular and infamous Origin of the Species. Regardless of one’s stance on evolution, it is hard to deny that this “average” student made a huge impact on the world of science and helped bring about a different view of nature. Dr. Seuss Had His First Book Rejected 27 Times. We all love Dr. Seuss, don’t we? We all have that one book that helped us get through difficult times or at least one that was our childhood favorite, but did you know Dr. Seuss’s very first book was rejected 27 times? That’s right. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street was rejected 27 times by different publishers. It took a while for this book to become published, but eventually it was and Dr. Seuss became a tremendous part of the literary world. He even has an entire literary day (his birthday) dedicated to him and his amazing work. Stephen King Threw Away Early Drafts of Carrie and it was Rejected 30 Times. Have you read Carrie? If you’re a horror and novella fan, then chances are you already have. It is a great, scary story that is definitely a classic in the horror world. Before it became the success it is today, Stephen King got very frustrated with it and threw away early drafts of the novella. In addition, when he finally finished it, it was rejected 30 different times. It is unlikely we would have the an epic horror empire King created if it weren’t for his wife. She made sure to help get Carrie published, and we can all thank her for the wonder, and horror of a Stephen King universe. Margaret Atwood Failed Writing a Novel On Holiday. Margaret Atwood is a definite goddess amongst fantasy and science fiction writers, and we might never have received the wonder of The Handmaid’s Tale if she hadn’t failed writing another book. She went on a bird watching, book writing holiday and only one aspect of that holiday was successful – watching birds. She struggled to write her novel and eventually stopped. It was … Read more

5 Ways to Avoid Becoming Boring & Trivial With Your Content

December 31, 2020April 28, 2015 by Adam Oakley

How often do you stumble across low-quality written material with no real message or meaning while surfing the net? How long does it take you to dive in the pool of diverse web content to bring the most original and inspiring ideas back to the surface? The truth is that the Internet is flooded with the worst kind of writing: uninspired, thrown-together, no-originality content. We’re talking about the really boring, trivial content that could only stimulate you to shut your computer and take a nap. Boring, Trivial Content Is Your Brand’s Worst Enemy Low-value content will never support your marketing goals for a number of reasons. First of all, today’s prospects are savvier than ever and know how to differentiate thought leaders from players who share the herd mentality and have nothing new of exciting to say about their company or their products. Secondly, they have a short attention span and a zero tolerance for writing that fails to answer and address their needs, questions and demands and only makes them waste time in front of their computer screen. How do businesses entirely avoid this pitfall? How do they get creative with new stuff? 5 Ways to Kick Trivial and Boring Content Ideas to the Curb If you’re striving to find the simplest answers to the questions I just asked, keep reading. I’m listing the 5 easiest ways to replace unremarkable concepts with written gems that will boost your readers’ interest and loyalty. Write with Your Audience in Mind. The truth is that you don’t have to waste all your time trying to craft content pieces that are loaded with bells and whistles. Sometimes, the more you try to adorn your writing, the more you lose your focus and get farther away from the real substance of the message that you’re trying to convey. Therefore, as Hubspot points out, even when you’re working on educational content, you can upgrade your copy by making it respond to the questions and concerns of your audience. For instance, let’s assume that your services have been contracted by a company selling automotive supplies. By answering a very mundane question related to a popular topic, such as vehicle maintenance for example, you would actually be creating high-value content that would be assimilated with great interest by your targeted audience. Let Social Networking Websites Be Your Guide. When it comes to crafting interesting content, social media platforms are your number one ally and one of the most amazing sources of inspiration that you could ever ask for. Just think about it: social networking websites represent the natural habitat of thought leaders and influencers who are constantly recruiting faithful virtual ambassadors. This is the place where companies go from small and obscure to big and successful in record time. Need another reason to poke around Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn? In this case, think about the fact that these websites are the major platforms where quality, relevant and original content can instantly become a viral sensation. Some of the freshest stories shared through these channels can inspire your writing and help you stay far away from boring, trivial content. Use the Best Tools to Get Inspired. Sometimes, the most trivial concepts are born out of excessive boredom, apathy and a dangerous lack of inspiration and motivation. What can you do when you’ve struggling to overcome a case of writer’s block? Should you still be praying for inspiration after your fifth cup of coffee? Here’s a simpler alternative that can help you put pen to paper and let those clever words flow smoothly: use a wide range of free and almost free online tools designed to inspire your new content pieces. Content Marketing Institute has recently published a long list of such aids that can take your writing to a whole new level. Options such as Ahrefs Content Explorer tool, Topsy, Hubspot Blog Topic Generator or Ubersuggest are the best choices that you should explore to come up with exciting topics for your blog and avoid uninspiring ideas that could only make your readers yawn or raise an eyebrow while bouncing off your page. Plan Ahead. Last minute decisions and successful content creation shouldn’t be a part of the same sentence for a very simple and logical reason: as a goal-oriented small business owner, you should know how, when and how often you should satisfy your readers’ cravings for premium content. In other words, proper planning and a smart, well-balanced editorial calendar are everyday essentials that can tighten the bond with your audience, while also optimizing your content flow. These two key elements will also help you avoid the tension, confusion and sense of powerlessness that could make you resort to cheap, yawn-inspiring content, which you may be tempted to use as time-fillers to give your audience something to chew on while you’re working on a new recipe for content success. There are several prominent content strategy tools, such as keyword research for example, that could offer you the expert insight you may require to start and follow a detailed editorial calendar that would ultimately enable you to achieve a rich online presence and a deeper connection with your content-hungry audience. Don’t forget that brainstorming with new staff members could offer you the finest food for thought that you could ever dream about adding to your content menu. Ask your client manager to attend these sessions to find out what kind of topics they would like to add to your editorial calendar. After dealing with clients all day, client managers are the team members who usually come up with the most spectacular content ideas that have what it takes to please and stimulate writers, readers and clients at the same time. At the end of the day, it becomes obvious that good old teamwork will never go out of fashion, especially when it comes to organizing brainstorming sessions revolving around creative concepts that can be rewritten and reinterpreted in countless ways. Employ Expert Writers. At some point, … Read more

Just Say No to Duplicate Content

December 31, 2020April 16, 2015 by Adam Oakley

We all know how important content is to our websites. It helps bring people in, converts visitors to leads and brings in great revenue. There are many awesome tips out there to help people come up with excellent content. However, one thing I’ve noticed recently is how many people still think duplicate content is perfectly fine for their site. But this is a big no-no in the content world, and I am going to take a look at this issue to show you why you need to get rid of duplicate content. What is Duplicate Content? Simply put, duplicate content is any content that is the exact same as another. Let’s say you have your home page and about page, and you decided to create information only for the about. This may leave you wondering what to put on the home page, and while you really don’t need much on it, you still might think about copying the about section there. This seems easy and like it can help save you time and money, but the truth is, it can hurt your ranks on Google, drive customers away, and just be an overall problem for your site. Why Should You Get Rid of Duplicate Content? There are many different reasons why you should get rid of duplicate content. One of the biggest reasons is that you can become a less trusted source because you do not provide clients with unique, high-quality content. People want to see that you know your stuff and if you’re constantly duplicating your articles or content by others, you will look like you’re just making it up as you go. Some other reasons are: It Will Get You a Penalty from Google. Another really important reason to get rid of duplicate content is because you can and will, get a penalty from Google. When their algorithms scour Internet-land for awesome web pages and content, they make sure that websites with spam-quality material aren’t ranked. Duplicate content can make your site look like a spam-filled site, even if you are a truly legitimate business. Why would this happen? Because this is something spammers like to do – they see a website or blog, they copy that site or blog, and then they attempt to be successful. Google wanted to stop this and issued a decree that any content that looked manipulative or deceptive would be penalized. It Makes for a Negative User Experience. I briefly touched on this in the above paragraph, but when you have duplicate content, you’re creating a negative experience for your customers. When clients come to your site, they want to see something that they enjoy and that helps set you apart. If you have the same content on multiple web pages, it will become boring and be an overall negative experience for your readers. Take user experience into mind when you are creating content to help you avoid duplicating anything! It Doesn’t Help You Stand Out. When you write content, a major goal is to stand out from your competitors and become a trusted source. You want content that is useful and engaging for your readers to drive clicks, engagement, and revenue. However, if you use duplicate content, you are risking losing readers and not converting any leads. In fact, duplicate copy keeps you hidden and you won’t stand out from your competitor, especially if they have unique content on each page. Duplicate content does not only hurt you on ranking with Google, but it also hurts your overall revenue, so don’t be fooled into thinking it will save you money. How Can You Get Rid of It if Already Published? Now that I’ve covered why duplicate content is bad, you might be wondering just how to get rid of it. You may have intentionally used duplicate copy or you may be worried you accidentally duplicated content. Either way, there are a few things you can do to get rid of it. Delete the Duplicate Content. The first, obvious step, is to delete any duplicate copy you know about to get rid of it quickly. This can be troublesome if it is for multiple products or other necessary landing pages, but you can easily rework and rewrite it. You don’t want to leave it up there for much longer, as a precaution, so as soon as you can delete and replace, do so. Just how can you replace it quickly? I am going to take a look at that in my next point. Get New Content to Replace it. Before or after deleting the duplicate content, you should get new content to replace it. You don’t want to leave your landing pages void of content. However, you might not have the time to rewrite new content. A great way to get awesome, individual content pieces is to hire copywriters to help you create new content that will help you stand out from your competitors. Get a Content Audit to Find Accidents. Now, what about the unintentional duplicate content? It does happen, but it can be overwhelming not knowing what you should do or how to find it. A great way to find any duplicate content you may be missing is to have a content audit to take stock of your web pages and blogs. Once you’ve done this, you can start finding duplicate content and delete and replace it quickly to get your site back on track. Get Rid of Duplicate Content and Have the Perfect Site Duplicate content does happen, especially accidentally, and thankfully Google does seem to understand this. However, you need to make sure that you work hard to have little to no duplicate content on your website. If you are looking for great, unique content to share or to replace existing duplicates, then consider hiring a copywriting agency, such as Express Writers to help cover all bases. This will help you get expertly written content and help you get rid of duplicate content quicker than if you … Read more

7 Ways to Write Awe-Inspiring Copy for Yawn-Inspiring Niches

December 31, 2020April 10, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Let’s face it: not all brands that we hear about are as hip, recognizable, popular and well-established as Old Spice, Coca Cola or Red Bull. As a content creator, you may have to craft killer copy with a real substance for plumbing companies, accounting firms and businesses selling construction supplies. In all honesty, such players operating on yawn-inspiring niches are far from being glamorous, so how could you use your mind and your pen to make these industries shine on their own? [Tweet “There are no boring subjects, only disinterested minds.”] How Do You Actually Define and Represent a Yawn-Inspiring Product? If you were to adapt G.K Chesterton’s statement to make it reflect the realities of the content marketing world, you would most likely reach the conclusion that there are no boring products; only boring content specialists who fail to capture and highlight the essence of the stuff that they have to market. Just think about it: no matter how generic, outdated or mundane it might be, any category of goods or services still manages to respond to the needs and demands of a narrow niche of potential buyers and yes, those people want to hear everything about them. How much do they cost? Are they really that good? How are they different from other available options and why should they actually buy them? These are only a few questions that a good copywriter should have in mind when it comes to promoting less trendy, innovative or interesting products in an effective manner. 7 Ways in Which You Can Resuscitate Your Copy for an Allegedly Boring Concept So now that we can all agree on the fact that there is no such thing as a 100% boring product, let’s assume that you’re stuck with a run-of-the-mill line of goods whose looks, functionality and promised benefits do not actually stimulate your brain cells. Your inspiration is long gone and you can picture yourself losing sleep, chewing on your pencil, drinking way too much coffee, praying for creativity, crying and pushing the intimidating deadline over and over again. How can you avoid such a dramatic episode, give 110% at work and turn the copy for those unremarkable products into one of your most notable written works of art? Here are a few ways in which you could do those yawn-inspiring businesses justice. Your Product Evokes At Least One of Four Key Emotions: Prove It! Have you ever wondered what separates viral content from the one that sinks into oblivion soon after its production phase? According to recent research made public by the University of Pennsylvania, viral content owes its popularity to a mix of four key attributes: surprising, awe-inspiring, emotional and positive. No matter how dull your product may be, chances are that it can actually be associated with at least one of the four characteristics listed above. If you can’t find the link between your concept and these adjectives, create it yourself. Add a surprise element to your copy to accentuate the uniqueness of your product; create a stimulating story around the things that you’re struggling to market in order to craft emotion-rich copy that convinces, converts and sells better than anything else. The possibilities are endless; you just have to learn how to play with the right mix of emotions to get to your readers’ hearts. Think Outside the Box. The mere thought that you have to come up with an original idea and become the creator of something that has never been said or written before can be quite frightening. How can you overcome your anxiety and report amazing results during this challenge? According to a recent article published by Entrepreneur, ironically, thinking outside the box implies following certain rules and guidelines. Did you know that too much creative freedom can actually kill your concentration? Neither did we. Here are three strategies that you can apply to guide your brainstorming session in the right direction. Set up Parameters for Your Brainstorming Process. Start by setting up a deadline for the overall process; this will keep you focused and organized. Next, strategize by putting pen to paper. Make lists. Enumerate the uses and benefits linked to your product. Circle the ones that could make your prospects’ hearts skip a beat and spend the rest of your time trying to figure out how you could emphasize them. Search for Inspiration in the Most Random Places. This way, you will stimulate your brain to make new connections that it wouldn’t normally establish. Put Quality over Quantity. You don’t need one hundred directions for your copy, so make sure you focus on one or two key aspects of your goods, rather than filling pages with unnecessary words that nobody has time or patience to listen to. Turn Features into Benefits. Here’s another shocking truth that you should be prepared to handle: prospects don’t really care about product features; they are all looking forward to hearing more about the benefits promised by the products that you’re representing. So instead of saying that a certain laptop has a rugged design, choose to highlight the fact that the gadget can withstand years on non-stop abuse. Disclose the fact that you can spill countless cups of water on it without suffering the consequences. You can drop it from a height exceeding 6 feet and expect to get it back in one piece. So basically, when you’re turning features into benefits you’re actually learning how to say the same thing in a different manner while getting the readers involved by stimulating their imagination. Find the Simplest Way to Electrify and Elevate the Ordinary Benefit. Let’s continue with the same exercise, shall we? You can say many things about a last-generation laptop. Its battery lasts for ages, its roughed design is pretty impressive, the laptop can withstand most stressors, yada yada yada, the price-quality relationship is also an advantage. By listing all these favorable things, you will most likely confuse or bore your readers and kill their focus. … Read more