Updates - Express Writers

Our Membership Program Is In The Works!

December 31, 2020May 7, 2015 by Adam Oakley

We’re working on a way to cover clientele monthly content needs via a Membership Program for the past month. For businesses of all sizes, our Membership program is perfect to supply the ongoing content that readers share and Google loves. All you need to qualify is meeting a monthly minimum spend amount. No contracts, ever! Josh McCoy, our head hauncho CTO, has been working on development with his team for a while now. It’s a pretty shiny system! Everything we have ever built for our Content Shop is 100% custom—no one else out there has a design that’s similar—so, it takes a while to push through all the custom development steps. Here’s what we’ll be offering—and keep reading to get on the list access it as soon as we finish developing the platform! Our Membership Program Benefits for Content Buyers Our Membership clients will be able to access a specialized platform version of the Content Shop, built just for them, with fixed lower rates on all our products, easy and intuitive online ordering, and easier premium input form options. Perfect for the busy agency or business that needs to keep up a steady content delivery flow with minimal to no hassle. Our Membership Program will offer: NO membership fees! You just place a minimum deposit, which is 100% for use in content purchases Enjoy a unique, specialized Membership Platform just for our white label clients, with ongoing low fixed rates and intuitive ordering (just like our Content Shop, but specifically for membership buyers) Pricing at 10-20% below our Content Shop cover rate pricing A Content Manager available to assist at any time Input forms specialized to the white label client: easier, simpler for ongoing projects No contracts on our program, at any time How to be Eligible for Membership -Monthly minimum deposit of $1,000 or more must be placed -$1,000 must be spent every 30 days to maintain ongoing Membership qualification Discounted Rate Clarification By discounted Membership pricing, we mean a 10-20% lesser rate than what our new Content Shop cover rates will be once we re-launch. Many of our current rates will increase during the re-launch: we’re in the phases of auditing our own products, lowering the price on some and staffing better writers for other complex products, improving quality and adding staff, which necessitates rate increases. Quality in content is always our foremost goal, and increasing content rates will enable us to support our improvements, additions and enhancements. Taking this next step with us will bring you our new level of content. Why Is Our Content So Good (Why Should You Invest Here)? I’ll make this brief. Our clients are valued to us, and so is their content. We care about what we send you to publish on the web: and that’s why we will never just offer a cheap $15 article and call it quits. Every month, I take the time and trouble to re-create our training materials. My HR team hires new copywriters and trains them better every week. My content staff works about 60 hours a week to oversee our editors, improve the quality, answer client questions, and deliver the best content we can create. Every week we brainstorm together. How can we come up with amazing content on our own blog? How can we train our writers better? Simply put – when you order with Express Writers, you’re ordering with a dynamic, powerful team of people who really, truly care about your content. The Membership Program is Out! As of May 2016, our membership program is live! Sign up here and enjoy membership benefits with no hidden fees, contracts, or costs.

The Best Super Bowl 2015 Ads That Nailed Content Advertisement

December 31, 2020February 6, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Year after year, companies up the ante on Super Bowl advertisements. This year’s XLIX was no different in this respect, but the overall feel and content of this year’s ads were different. While predecessors used humor and wit to convey a message, more companies in 2015 used serious themes to grab the attention of viewers and overall, they were successful. Although the amount of money most companies pumped into developing their promotions remains to be seen, USA Today reports that each 30-second block cost advertisers 4.5 million dollars. In all, 61 commercials aired despite the premium rates, and more than 114 million people watched them, according to CBS Sports. Super Bowl XLIX is now the reigning King of Television Programming, securing the spot of the most-watched show of in US history. Ad Meter examined each of this year’s Super Bowl commercials to get a pulse from the community to see what most people thought of the ads. Each one was rated on a scale of 1-10 and the results were broken down by demographic, so trends could be easily identified. Best 8 SuperBowl Ads Conveying Awesome Content Marketing Here’s a synopsis of the top eight, who they were a hit with, and how they nailed content advertising. 1. Lost Dog by Budweiser. Synopsis: Budweiser tugged on heartstrings last year with their “Puppy Love” ad and they brought the same director back this year to help them create the sequel, “Lost Dog.” In fact, Jake Scott of Anomaly ad agency, gives a nod to his original golden pup piece by reusing a still image from Puppy Love as the photo of the pooch on the sign in Lost Dog. The 2015 ad features a tear-jerking rendition of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” as remade by Sleeping at Last, as it follows the four-legged adventurer while he tags along with his owner and equine BFF, then gets lost in the city. Score: Lost Dog scored an 8.1 out of 10 overall, and resonated most with those age 65 and older. How They Nailed It: Budweiser skipped the sales-pitch and went straight for hearts instead. Viewers were treated to an adorable animal, which is almost always a winner in advertising, and the company paired it with a full plotline and continuing saga. This was able to draw people in and give them a memorable experience, rather than pounding them with sales. Their focus was on building a relationship with their consumers and, based on their number-one rank, their strategy was a major success. 2. Like a Girl by Always. Synopsis: Always launched their female empowerment campaign last summer, and it was a huge hit. According to Time Magazine, Proctor and Gamble hired award-winning filmmaker Lauren Greenfield, who has a history creating memorable documentaries, to create the piece for them. The Super Bowl ad is a shortened version of the previous release, and it captures males and females of various ages explaining what “like a girl” means under different circumstances. Score: Like a Girl scored 7.1 out of 10 and, not surprisingly, was most popular among female viewers. How They Nailed It: The Always product line was not featured in the ad at all, nor was there any mention of anything related to it. Instead, the company focused on a message of empowerment. Much like the Budweiser ad, this piece was created to build a stronger relationship with their consumers. Viewers received a powerful message and were shaken to the core. Meanwhile, Always racked up loyalty points with their consumers, which will likely be returned in sales later, because studies show that purchases are emotional, rather than logical. 3. Blue Pill by Fiat. Synopsis: One of the few ads to utilize humor was Blue Pill, by Fiat. Without ruining the plot too much, it’s safe to say that the promo explains why the latest Fiat 500X is “more ready for action.” Score: Blue Pill scored 6.87 and was most popular with people ages 50-64, followed very closely by the 65 and older crowd. How They Nailed It: Like the others, Fiat used a full plot, instead of simply hocking their goods. This included plot twists, so the viewer was already mentally invested and wondering what would happen next, long before the 500X ever appeared on camera. 4. Braylon by Microsoft. Synopsis: The Braylon ad follows a young boy who needs prosthetic legs to walk. It tells his story, including how he was fitted for his first prosthetic legs at only 11 months old, and shows shots of him performing numerous activities. Score: Microsoft’s Braylon ad scored 6.4 and performed best for people age 65 and older, as well as among women. How They Nailed It: The full ad is a little over a minute long, and Microsoft isn’t mentioned until about the halfway point. Even then, it simply says they used Microsoft technology to measure the boy’s gait, and then they continue on with his story. Viewers naturally become emotionally invested in Braylon’s story, and by associating Microsoft with his success, the company becomes a champion too. 5. Middle Seat by Doritos. Synopsis: Frito-Lay ran a contest, offering up a million dollars to the person who could come up with the best ad possible to fill their Super Bowl slot. Scott Zabielski won the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest this year, by submitting “Middle Seat.” It follows the humorous story of a guy on an airplane who will do just about anything to keep the seat next to him empty until the right person comes along. Score: Middle Seat scored 6.71 and was most popular with people aged 21 and under. How They Nailed It: In an interview with CBS News, Zabielski explains that to do commercials well, you have to be able to tell a story in 30 seconds or less. Based on the top commercials, he’s absolutely correct. Middle Seat also manages to incorporate humor and speak to a wide audience. As … Read more

Express Writers Re-Launches: Our New Content Shop & How To Order

December 31, 2020December 30, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Since 2011, Express Writers has launched about 4 different website looks. Starting with a very basic HTML website markup and under 5 site pages, to a second new look that included a shadowed font for the logo; then a third new site that featured our revolution slider and colorful, pretty designs for the new website. Now today, our new site features a home page with a dynamic video background, a custom designed explainer video, over 80 website pages, and a fully custom designed Content Shop! Can you say we are 2015-ready? The Story of Express Writers 4.0 & The Content Shop It took us all of 2014 and the end of 2013 to get where we are—over 14 months of work. Our COO, Josh, was in charge of the design and development. He hired four different teams till he found the right development team for us. Our team of developers has hundreds of big projects under their belts, including custom development for some of the biggest brands in the nation. All the frustration of working with a bad team was finally solved early 2014 when Josh found them. Josh designed our entire new look, from the buttons to each individual page, with the input of our CEO Julia and management staff. Our updated logo matches our updated look, but is still true to our roots of vibrancy and professionalism, in color and professional appearance. When it came to the Content Shop, Josh was up in the wee hours of the morning working with development to figure out everything—from the 50 dynamic input forms that needed to happen, to coding and creating a WordPress hack to make some of the work happen. It’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Our Content Shop is built on Woo Commerce, Gravity Forms, & WordPress. Here are a few of our new site highlights: Our Content Shop: This is the biggest highlight of our new site! Our Content Shop is custom developed, 100% secure (SSL), and ready to take all your orders. It also features a backend where our staff can login and update your orders, attach your content and notify you that your order is ready to download, and much, much more. Over 80 Website Pages: From our huge (apologies in advance) Writing Services menu to each product description for all our 50+ products, we now have a massive website that Google will love—it’s 100% original, and all the site pages were written by Julia, with proofreading and input by various team copywriters. A Pretty Blog: Can we just say it—we now have a “pretty blog”? Please excuse us while we drool over it a little more. Josh designed the custom blog on our site that is responsive and dynamic, from the bouncing images to the beautifully designed page each blog brings about. Custom Designed Explainer Video: It took us about 4 months for our CEO Julia to write the script for and oversee the storyboard animation for our new explainer video, created by the guys at Explain Vid. Professional Stock Videography: We selected and purchased video stock footage, full rights, for the home page look. Testimonials and Case Studies: We now feature case studies and testimonials on our new website, from clients in various industries, showcasing some of our biggest brand clientele. How To Order With Us! No longer the archaic, boring system of ordering via email, sending and receiving your content via email. We’re now taking your orders via our state-of-the-art, custom-developed system—the Content Shop! All you have to do is visit our Content Shop, add your content orders to the cart, and order—much like you would on Amazon.com, Walmart.com, etc. It’s THAT simple. Dare we say, also, FUN? We are here to help you, too—just hit up our Sales Manager, Alecs, via chat, or send us an email. It’s the quickest way to get assistance over the holiday season. Special Content Shop Offer! Good till January 1st 2015, we also launched a coupon code for those who use our new Content Shop system. Call or email to get the code before you process your order!

Merry Christmas from Express Writers!

December 31, 2020December 25, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Merry Christmas to our clientele from all of us at Express Writers! We look forward to what’s ahead in 2015 and hope your New Year holds every success you are planning! We are thankful this year for so many things. For a wonderful team, with our USA and European based staff to manage and coordinate effectively; for our team writers who stay dedicated and thorough in their quality and passion for writing; and for the ability to stay in business for more than three years now. Most of all, we’re thankful for you! Our clients keep us going, motivated, and our biggest reward is seeing your success happen from our content, that you (smart move!) decided to invest in. Really, though, we’re truly grateful to you—from the bottom of our heart. Express Writers Celebrates A Third Christmas In Business It’s been a great year. Our finest moments came from small successes, which led to our big successes. Check out our year in review blog. Express Writers celebrated three years in business in 2014, and launched exclusive new services, curating and auditing, this year as well. We saw our site have a huge popularity, traffic and incoming lead increase with the new Penguin update in November; and in December, our CEO was honored with an interview from Search Engine Journal, recorded via podcast. Finally, we celebrate the launch of our Content Shop for our end-of-year. We are thrilled to see this happen, and glad you’re along for the ride! Merry Christmas, To Each and Everyone! As Tiny Tim said (Mickey’s Christmas Carol, 1983): A Merry Christmas to us all, God bless us, everyone! We wish all of you a very merry Christmas, and a wonderful New Year!

A Year in Review: 2014 At Express Writers

December 31, 2020December 23, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Can I sum up the year with two words? Extraordinary. Real. It’s extraordinary here, daily. A team of now 70 writers, editors and staff come together and deliver content. Written words that impact lives as real people read them online. Blog posts, web pages, visual infographics, tweets, and so much more. Our writers create, our editors proofread; and our staff delivers the content on time, maintain relationships, bill, notate, confirm, contact. It’s real. Our content is real, tangible, and written by real authors. Our writers have real expertise and diverse backgrounds that give an opportunity to our clients for content success. Our content is real in today’s SEO world. The biggest proponent of content, Google, doesn’t allow machines and spam to enter the world of highest-ranking content. No, the best ranking content must be real, genuine, well researched, and original. And this year, we’ve had an amazing base of clientele to serve, in a variety of countries. We’ve delivered enough pages to drown a person (no one was harmed because they were published online, not printed, thank goodness); and we’re going to get ready for some hardcore growing in 2015, with the launch of our new Content Shop this Christmas. 2014 was our year. We said that in 2013; and I hope we’ll say it again in 2015. Content is a big need and a foundational point for online marketing. With the Internet only growing, I really don’t see that changing. What Express Writers Was Up to In 2014 Here’s a short overview. This sums up what we were up to—we’ll explain more and give you some highlights below. Over 1.5 million words written 30,000+ combined pages (blog posts, web pages, press releases, brochures, ads, social media content, sales pages, product descriptions, etc.) 1,078 clients served in 35 countries 65 team writers, 5 staff members Developed new services content curation and auditing 2013 to 2014: How Much Did Express Writers Grow? In 2013, we hired our first team manager, helping me take over some of the many hats I was wearing as company owner, manager, editor, etc. By the end of 2013, we had four staff members. Staff: Today, we have the same amount of staff, which means these same wonderful people haven’t budged and are still with us today. We’re getting ready to add more sales people and a new hiring staff department in 2015. Writers: Last year, we ended the year with about 50 writers. This year, we end the year with 65 writers, several of whom we hired for their specific expertise. We’ve added a writer who is an Attorney at Law; a writer with an MBA in Business; an author with a Master’s in Politics; a tech blogger and salesperson for Intuit and IBM; and other highly qualified copywriters with specific expertise. Clients: In our client and content output department, we grew quite a bit. In 2013, last year, we served over 800 clients, and crafted over 23,000 pages for the year. This year, we served about 1,078 clients, and delivered over 30,000 pages (from press releases to blogs, marketing letters, brochures, whitepapers, and more) for the year. That’s over 1.5 mil words, my friends. This year, our customer map looked like: I was amazed when the data said we serviced 35 countries! (Yes, the map is a screenshot of our actual customer base.) This included 3 customer from Azerbaijan; 1 from Cyprus; 1 from Taiwan; 3 customers from Brazil; 6 from Russia; 46 from Australia; 8 from India; 1 from Uganda; 1 from South Africa; 48 from Canada; and over 1,000 from the US. Express Writers: Biggest Moments of 2014 When I asked Annie, our Content Manager, to summarize our busy year, she gave me this beautiful letter. I don’t think she could have put it any better: The biggest moments of the year? It is a very difficult task- to single out a list from a year that was filled with great moments. High-quality deliveries that made a client happy, new additions to the writers’ body that instantly became wonderful members of our team, unexpected thank you notes from a client or a helping hand from one of our writing experts on a difficult job- these were all moments that made me feel great about being a part of this breathing and kicking live organism that is Express Writers. A content creating machine that became a way of life and a daylong friend for me- Express Writers stands for a group of people that have been brought together by a single common goal- to prove quality IS possible. I cannot single out just one moment or ten. I am proud to say that I have had at least 365 such moments along the past year. Every day brings at least one- moments when I thought everything was lost, that an order was going to be late, or a client would be unhappy for some reason and one of my colleagues unexpectedly came out and said: let me help, I can do it and what they delivered was nothing short of excellent. Moments where you open a document and have the surprise of discovering a piece of exquisite writing, where craftsmanship is doubled by wit and a professional voice. In those moments, you feel so proud for being a wordsmith, part of this organic and fully talented group of people that Express Writers is. Besides Annie’s beautiful words, here’s a short list of some of our 2014 highlights: When our salesperson first hit a five-figure weekly goal (early in the year) We celebrated our 3-year-anniversary in May When our CEO had her first baby, on May 25 We were pretty sad when Robin Williams died in August When we created our exclusive new services, content curation & auditing, and launched them November 25 When we saw a steady traffic increase and ranking increase from the Penguin update in early November When Julia had her first podcast … Read more

What Exactly Is The Internet Slowdown? How Will It Affect You?

December 31, 2020September 19, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Image source: Battleforthenet.com Did you notice anything strange on Wednesday, 10th September? Maybe spinning objects kept appearing before your eyes? Were you inundated with messages asking you to contact your congressman as a matter of urgency? Don’t worry, we weren’t under attack from outer space, you were merely experiencing the Internet slowdown. Have you ever stopped to think about how important the Internet is? It’s changed the way we communicate with each other, and the way we buy our goods. It’s also changed the way that smart businesses attract and retain customers. Is your advertising budget spent on pieces of paper, or ads on television or radio? If you want to attract the millennial generation, you’re much better off attracting them with up to date blogs, or exciting and content rich articles. Put simply, the Internet has revolutionized business in a way that would have been unimaginable just 20 years ago. Yes, we sure have a lot to thank the Internet for, and it’s only going to keep on getting better and better, or is it? The Internet slowdown was a coordinated attempt by some of the web’s biggest players to highlight plans by the FCC that could have a devastating effect on the Internet as a whole. So what was the Internet slowdown, what are they protesting about, and what effect could it have on your business and your content? It’s a battle over net neutrality, so let’s put our tin hats on and head on out to the front line. 1. What Is Net Neutrality? The Internet slowdown was essentially about net neutrality, and what some companies saw as an attack upon it. Neutrality isn’t something we’d normally get excited about. Think of neutrality and you think of Switzerland. They had 500 years of neutrality and all they came up with was the cuckoo clock and cheese with holes in it. I’m tipping my hat to Orson Welles there of course, but the point I’m making is that maybe we shouldn’t think of net neutrality, with the negative context that brings, but net freedom? It’s the concept that federal governments shouldn’t interfere with what’s traveling along the Internet highway, but should instead let the content providers regulate themselves. Many content providers say that this allows everyone a fair playing field, and encourages innovation and development. This in turn helps the end user, as well as businesses who use the net for advertising and promotion. 2. What Exactly Is the FCC Proposing? The Federal Communication Commission has proposed radical changes to the way that the Internet is operated within the United States. The main thrust of their proposal is that ISPs (Internet service providers) will be allowed more power and flexibility to charge what they like to content providers who use the ISP. What do I mean by content providers? Well, just about everybody. Netflix, Digg, Vimeo, Etsy, Kickstarter and Reddit are just some of the companies who have been vociferous in their criticism. It also affects us. It affects you, if you have a blog or business website. And, of course you do. Under the FCC proposals the ISPs would be able to charge these content companies to provide faster access to their content. If you have enough bucks, you’ll be able to jump the queue. There’s nothing more irritating than waiting at the back of a departure lounge, while a handful of priority passengers walk smugly on board the plane. That’s what could be about to happen to the Internet. The fear is, of course, that this new Internet fast lane will inevitably create an Internet slow lane, and lead to the end of net neutrality as we know it. 3. Is the Net Neutral Outside of the United States? The USA isn’t the first country, or group of countries, to grapple with this controversial concept. The European Union looked at this issue earlier this year, and eventually decided to enshrine the concept of European net neutrality in their law. European ISPs had lobbied the decision makers in the same way that American service providers have been, arguing that the new restrictive rules would impact on creativity and Internet growth. The ISPs didn’t explain how rules that guaranteed equal and indiscriminate access to the Internet could be regarded as ‘restrictive’, but then Europe is the continent that gave us George Orwell and his ‘newspeak’. The EU have effectively made it illegal to create Internet fast and slow lanes in Europe, but most of the world’s Internet traffic comes via the United States. Don’t think that you’re safe because your business is based in Berlin, London, Tokyo, Sidney or anywhere. If the FCC proposals are enacted, Internet traffic across the globe will be affected. 4. How the Internet Slowdown Could Have Affected Your Content The Internet slowdown was a well-planned attempt to raise awareness of the effects that a long-term slowdown could bring. The sites involved showed what a slowdown would look like, by including images of the ‘page loading’ symbols across their pages. Whilst they were not seeking to slow their services down for the day, some people did feel that their content access was slower than it usually was. Did it affect you? If so, the effectiveness of your content could have been compromised. We live in a fast paced world, and people want things to happen immediately, whenever they want it. This applies especially to web content. People hate to be sat waiting for pages to load up. That’s time that could be spent doing something useful, like having a cappuccino, or perfecting a minecraft strategy. Web content and blogs are a great marketing tool, but if your content becomes too slow, no one will want to read it. Just think of all the hard work spent putting your thoughts into words, only to see it shunted down the Internet priority list to make way for more videos of cats riding Roombas. 5. Have We Had an Internet Slowdown Before? So what’s new about … Read more

Calling All Creatives: We’re Hiring Writers (And We Want You!)

June 19, 2024July 4, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Yes, you heard right: Express Writers is hiring writers as we speak. Whether you adore the written word, are an aspiring scribe, or are knee-deep in the trenches of content creation, we think you should join us. We’re hiring writers who are superb at sentences and on-point with punctuation, but, more importantly, we want you if you have a passion for writing. There are plenty of reasons to submit your resume right now. But first, a little about us! All About the Express Writers Team (And Why We’re Hiring Writers Like You) First things first. Some of the most important things to know about us: Our team is totally remote (we work anywhere and everywhere). We adore good writing and quality content (naturally). We don’t hire just anybody (because quality matters). [clickToTweet tweet=”Want to join an amazing #copywriting team? Learn how you can work for @ExpWriters!” quote=”Want to join an amazing #copywriting team? Learn how you can work for @ExpWriters!”] The Perks of a Remote Team: Pajamas at Work? Sure! Let’s be honest: working in your pajamas is pretty awesome. What’s even better about working remotely with our team, besides wearing your bunny slippers to the “office”? We respect your schedule. We’re hiring writers for both full- and part-time work. This means you can come aboard to make some extra change on the side, or settle in for a real, long-term writing gig that pays. Quality Content Starts with Quality Staff Here are some of the friendly faces you may get to work with if you join us. Say hi to our management team: All of the content we produce begins and ends with them. They get the deets from the clients, and that information is passed to the writer (this could be you!). When you submit your work, it’s reviewed and edited, and then sent back to the client. Plus, everything is facilitated through our totally online, custom Teamroom. Together, we all work as a unit to produce the best possible end product for our customers. We pride ourselves on quality, and it’s evident in everything we do. If that doesn’t make you feel warm and fuzzy, we don’t know what will. The Ups, Downs, and In-Betweens: The Express Writers Story If you want to work with us, you should know a little of our history. Express Writers started with our CEO and founder, Julia McCoy. She was a young copywriter who started getting more work than she could handle on her own. Out of this personal success, the idea for her company was born. Imagine a team of writers who are passionate about their craft, who offer a one-stop-shop for all your writing and content creation needs. That was the dream, and, six years later, that dream is still growing. Join our team, and you could be part of it. Hear the tale, straight from Julia herself, in her entrepreneur story video: Yes, We’re Hiring Writers – Here’s What to Do Next At Express Writers, we are constantly hiring writers. Out of any given month, we are interviewing at least half the time in order to find just the right candidates to add to our team. Read more about us, including our company values. If you like what you see, submit your resume for one of our open roles! Who We Hire We interview lots of different candidates. Not everyone makes it through, but if you have the skills, the creativity, and the passion, you’ve got a shot! Here’s who we’re looking for: Copywriters (for general topics) – 5+ years of experience Expert copywriters (for intensive, authority content) – 8-10+ years of experience, solid portfolio, specific field expertise – from legal to medical Social Media Experts (social media copywriters) Designers (for ebooks, social media images, and more) Copy editors If you want the inside scoop on what it’s like to dive into one of these roles and work for us, here’s what one of our full-time copywriters, Alyssa, has to say about it. A Day in the Life at Express Writers: Full-Time Copywriter Alyssa There is one thing I’ll say about working for Express Writers full-time: it’s never boring. I roll out of bed around 8:00 a.m. each day. Depending on how well I slept, I either stumble or zombie-shuffle to the kitchen to make iced coffee or tea. Caffeine in hand, I grab the rest of my breakfast and head to my computer. Usually, I’m sitting down to work by 9 a.m., ready to roll up my sleeves and write. (And, yes, I do get the luxury of working in my pajamas, thank-you-very-much.) When I log-on to the Teamroom, a few assignments will be waiting, including an ongoing project. I hone my focus and bang out whatever is most pressing, then move on to other deadlines. As the day progresses, I get more assignments from Katria, the team content manager. My work varies – sometimes I’m writing web copy for a fresh company, sometimes I’m penning fun product descriptions, and much of the time I’m writing SEO blogs on a rainbow of topics. I love the variety – it keeps me on my toes. I continue plugging away steadily until lunchtime. I break for a bite to eat and a quick walk with my dog. When I return to my desk, I turn on some music because I can start to drag a little. My top choices are Dario Marianelli, Debussy, and Chopin (instrumental music gets my brain humming but doesn’t distract me). Usually, 5:00 p.m. is quitting time, but sometimes I work later to get ahead. I want to produce work that clients will love – every single time. Interested? Submit Your Resume Today and Join a Successful Writing Team We’re always hiring writers. If you’re skilled, creative, and motivated, we want you on our team. To write professionally and work in your pajamas (what? It’s really great!), then get on board and submit your resume and writing samples. The writers’ application is here. Editors, … Read more

Taking a Look at Copyblogger’s First-Ever Content Event

January 1, 2021May 29, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Image credit: Copyblogger If you are always all ears when it comes to receiving and filtering fresh news on traffic, conversions, content and design, chances are that you have already heard about Copyblogger’s May 2014 live training content event. Copyblogger succeeded in gathering some of the most prominent thought leaders of the moment under the same roof during its first-ever content event, called Authority Intensive. According to the host, this event was all about content marketing strategies and smart implementation methods, coupled with networking and great parties. Copyblogger’s 2014 Authority Intensive: The Who, the What and the Why Factors Several respectable influencers, including Seth Godin, Darren Rowse from Problogger, TopRank’s CEO Lee Odden, Brian Gardner, Bill Erickson, Ann Handley and Pam Wilson discussed the latest trends in design, marketing and content creation, highlighted the most important challenges in this department and provided key tips enabling the audience to identify and overcome them. All speakers managed to send a crystal clear message in the content event: in order to survive and become noticeable on overly competitive digital markets, all brands should strive to differentiate themselves by using powerful, inspiring, properly optimized content as their ambassadors. Thought leaders shared more than a few tips and helped marketers and content creators follow a bright guiding star and avoid dangerous pitfalls associated with predefined templates, lack of creativity and motivation, fluff and a counterproductive “me too” approach. According to Lee Odden, you can be the best answer wherever your clients may be looking, so why opt for a tiresome monologue when you can start a meaningful conversation with your prospects? Are We Witnessing the Decline of Vapid Content? All the speakers have agreed upon one aspect: vapid content is not helping companies evolve. On the other hand, low-quality web writing can actually stop business owners from attaining their boldest goals. After all, we all know that what lasts doesn’t come easy and comes easy won’t last. This rule also applies to content creation. This is precisely why marketers and content creators should intensify their efforts to think outside the box, resonate with their audiences and deliver content and strategies that are actually one-of-a-kind, people-oriented and designed to create a powerful positive impact on a certain segment of public. Cheap, de-humanized, irrelevant, overly optimized web writing is not doing us any favors and has a very short lifespan, so it represents a misguided investment. As more and more users are craving for premium web content, chances are that superficially crafted articles and blog posts without a real substance will soon become a thing of the past. 5 Free Content Lessons From Thought Leaders At Copyblogger’s Content Event In what content and marketing strategies are concerned, in order to find your own voice you should follow in the footsteps of those who have already managed to build their own empire. Here are 5 extremely valuable lessons that the speakers from this recent event have taught us: 1) Fluff Is Not Your Meal Ticket. As tempting as it may seem to create and post web content just because everybody else is doing it, don’t fall into this trap. It is useless to churn out frequency in an attempt to boost website traffic. According to Darren Rowse, speaker at the content event, this is not how it works. A plentitude of posts delivered religiously won’t help you make a name for yourself, unless you are actually providing real value to your readers. Is your content sharing fresh ideas, educating your public or solving pressing problems? If your answer is no, now would be a good time to come up with a brighter plan based on premium on-site content and blog posts with a reasonable frequency. 2) Every Single Content Piece Should Be Considered an Essential Component of a Balanced Ecosystem. In order to succeed, you must count on a solid plan. An editorial calendar paired with the highest dosage of creativity, tons of accurate, recent information and a pinch of inspiration are the main ingredients that you should mix to come up with a series of interesting, on-point, awe-inspiring blog posts that have to make sense not only as individual pieces, but also as a cohesive whole. According to Ann Handley, every single piece that you write should be a part of a well-balanced ecosystem that is powerful enough to withstand any series of changes. 3) Content Should Be Presented in a Meaningful Visual Manner. During multiple sessions, several speakers including Pam Wilson, Bill Erickson and Brian Gardner have accentuated the fact that content based solely on text is outdated and considerably less effective than its innovative counterparts reflecting a combination of text and video and audio elements, which ensure a superior design experience for all users. It seems that content creators and marketers who still embrace and promote poorly designed content will no longer be able to get away with it. 5) Write for People, NOT for Sake of Creating Content. Content is king, and still it still needs to be validated by a vast audience. After all, what would a king be without his people? This is the main reason why content should be built around the common needs, questions and concerns of a carefully delimitated public. In the absence of fresh ideas and a proper segmentation, content becomes a bent arrow that keeps missing its target. At the end of the day, all the thought leaders who agreed to attend Copyblogger’s content event have proven once again that they’re good at what they’re doing and even better at giving expert advice. They have predicted the fall of cheap, vapid web writing and encouraged the audience to put the user first on any occasion, while also anticipating the gradual ascension of on-point content that takes the reader on an exciting journey.

The Story Behind Express Writers (As We Celebrate 3 Years)

June 19, 2024May 23, 2014 by Adam Oakley

So, Express Writers has been around now for three years. This blog, by the CEO (Julia), takes a look at our crazy journey. I hope you’ll be inspired; I think you’ll be amused; if anything, it will be a fun read. I promise. And if you’re here reading our celebratory blog today, there’s probably a 95% chance you helped in our success somehow, from giving our CEO a handshake to buying our content or writing it. And since you’re probably a little bit invested (or a lot), it’s worth a read. Express Writers was launched mid-May of 2011; the launch was not funded, invested or marketed by a third party; total costs to launch were kept under $170; and the single person responsible was myself, a 20-year-old female who dropped out of college to leave a nursing degree and pursue her passion, copywriting. Who Is Julia? In 2011, our founding date, I was a typical broke college student, working overtime at McDonalds, a job I’d started in 2005; pulling all-nighters, working 10 hour shifts at a time. I was also a full-time college student studying nursing (RN), piling up more than 12 credit classes per semester, going through summer. In the middle of all that, I wasn’t happy. I didn’t like my restaurant shift; I was discovering in school that nursing, my golden “hope and dream” as a child, was not for me. Naturally, I was an inspired young person, with a natural talent in computers and writing. In a pastor’s family, and taught to be quiet in public, I loved to come up with ideas on my own and implement them. How did the change from what I was doing to what I love doing happen? I simply woke up one day and asked myself, “What does Julia love to do the most?” And I was inspired and motivated to find the answer—not just think about it. I knew the answer when I looked back. My passion was writing. To understand my passion, you’ll need a glimpse at home-schooled, four-eyed, 8-year-old me. I had started writing a novel that was 200 pages when it was completed by the time I was 12 (with a subsequent trilogy in the works). It was a medieval fiction tale about a knight, incorporating my love of the post-Dark-Ages and a lot of research I had done about that era. Instead of playing in the yard every summer afternoon, I was in the house drumming my ideas out on our Windows ‘95 computer when I was 11 years old. I dreamed, ate, slept that story. I created it; I loved my characters; sometimes I was too caught up in it. To get some outside expertise on my writing, I was involved at Writing.com, an awesome online community where writers can sign up and publish their own portfolio, feature their writing online, start networking and meeting fellow writers. (I would recommend this resource primarily for fiction and peer networking: you can’t earn anything from it.) I had an established account there and was getting book reviews for sample chapters, talking to people who were three times my age. They were reading my book samples and loving it. At least 10 people said they would buy it as soon as I published it. When the book was completed after countless stages of re-reading and revisions with my family and adult friends of my family, I started mailing copies out. I sent my book in to at least 20 writing contests, only to be rejected by all. (One sent a lovely letter saying their entire staff read the book and loved it, but I needed to be a little older than 12.) I lined up a publisher after researching over 100 of them: I was going to use Lulu.com, a self-publisher. I wanted to do this myself. (I had a really hands-on type of entrepreneur-mindset from that age.) The big morning comes—I woke up to work on last touches, my dad and mom are there in the room and they’re talking about my publishing goals. I insert my 3 ½ floppy, where my book was stored, in the drive: those horrible beep sounds erupt from the evil Windows 95 machine like a mad cow on steroids…and I read an error message that states, Floppy drive has failed. Reformat? Reformatting meant wiping the drive. My dad jumped to the computer; we both tried to work on every idea to recover the drive contents—but alas. It had failed. The book was gone. Fast-forward a little. To be accredited in homeschooling in Pennsylvania, homeschoolers had to take huge, long tests every 5th, 8th, and 12th grade. They included SAT and ACT content, and it took about 7 hours to sit down and get through them. I scored past-college grades on every English test, in each grade level, from reading comprehension to creative writing. I loved doing these tests. They weren’t a test; they were fun. When I took my entrance tests for college, I scored out of every single English class requirement except the mandatory one. Year 2005. When I was 14, I started two companies, a local cleaning services company and a computer repair company, employing myself. I walked door-to-door on summer days to market them. I did better with the computer repair company; I knew how to troubleshoot computers and fix just about any minor issue, from network issues to programs not installing. (Minor stuff.) With the computer repair company, I earned about $5,000 my first year, driving to local’s houses and fixing their computers. I only got one gig with the cleaning company before I decided to drop it. (I wasn’t the best cleaner in the world.) I also started working at McDonalds after I got a permit for underage workers (that little blue card). Year 2007. I was 16. I learned HTML code myself; I helped build my dad’s website; I was a moderator on several forums; and I started getting into paid surveys online, … Read more

World’s First Online Platform to Fight Internet Fraud Is Launched (In China)

December 31, 2020May 6, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Did you hear that the world’s first online platform designed to fight Internet fraud will soon be implemented in China? The new project marks the collaboration between the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau and Quihoo 360, a well-known provider of Internet security solutions and anti-virus software. This is a unique attempt to reduce the number of people who become the victims of skilled scammers who rely on viruses to conduct fraudulent activities. According to the Economist, China’s reputation has constantly been affected by major online fraud scandals; therefore its intention to put an end to Internet-based illicit activities is justifiable. How Does the New Scammer Trap Work? Fanzhapian.360.cn is the anti-fraud platform that will be accessed by users who will want to report a fraud. Net users are asked to file a complaint as soon as they stumble across a dubious situation that could expose them to a fraudulent action. Every single complaint will be verified by representatives from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. If the accusations are true, officials employed by this institution will take matters into their own hands by alerting all Net users and signaling the danger. The end goal is to identify and discourage scamming groups, by forcing them to invest much more money in viruses that would have to be updated regularly. All in all, this seems to be a good plan, created to target websites sending fake advertisements and spreading viruses to deceive users and make them fall into their traps. Moreover, China seems determined to reinforce Internet supervision. At this point, this nation plans to go against websites displaying sexual advertisements via pop-up windows. The circular released by National Office against Pornographic and Illegal Publications reveals that all forms of pornographic web content, including photos, text and videos will be removed in the near future. Why Is China So Determined to Improve Internet Supervision? In this context, one question seems to be on everybody’s lips: is this radical decision good or bad? In other words, how does this measure impact everyday people who are surfing the Internet to stay informed, make purchases, and get in touch with different categories of other users? Government + Internet = Good? The government staying NEUTRAL was a great thing for Europe. Net Neutrality ensures unlimited, indiscriminative access to online info for all categories of users and stops media moguls and institutions from imposing their dictatorship. When government regulates something – like this fraud regulator, governed by the police, one question comes to mind: why does it actually get involved? Does it take action because it wants to protect the users’ best interest of does it follow its own secret agenda? We are not big fans of conspiracy theories, but we can’t help but wonder: why has the Chinese government taken such a sudden interest in digital frauds and why does it feel the need to be the first to launch an online platform designed to fight Internet fraud? Is the Chinese government stepping behind the Internet good in any way? Only time will tell. In our last blog about Internet regulations, we saw that neutrality for the Internet on the part of the government was an excellent thing for our Internet freedoms. Clearly, Internet freedom should be listed as one of our basic rights, especially since the Internet belongs to no one and everyone at the same time.