Website Content - Express Writers

The 5 Do’s for Fresh Website Copy

December 31, 2020November 21, 2013 by Adam Oakley

Content is vital when it comes to online marketing, and many website owners understand this and take steps toward improving their web copy. Yet others are still just groping their way toward grasping this basic idea. Updating your web content on a regular basis might become a dreary job after a while, but it’s critical in maintaining your reader’s interest. What to Do, What Not To Do – For Your Website Copy Just as you don’t go to work wearing the same shirt every day, you need to refresh the content of your website constantly or people will steer away. Staying up-to-date may not be easy, but it’s not an impossible thing to achieve if you put in some discipline and follow a simple, common sense strategy. Nothing New Under the Sun: Socrates’ Method One way to approach your content repositioning is using the right questions to get the answers you need. Imagine you’re standing in front of a building with several entrances. You need to get in but you don’t know which door is the right one because none of them have an ENTER sign. You have to get in on the first attempt, otherwise you’ll be late for a potentially life-changing appointment. One way to figure this out is to adopt what’s known as Socrates’ method. It’s called maieutics. Behind the weird name there’s something pretty simple. Yes, greatest accomplishments often stem from the simplest ideas that stare you in the eye. Essentially, Socrates’ idea was that truth is somewhere in your mind, but to get to it, you need to ask questions. Good questions, smart questions, which will eventually uncover the truth, and provide you with the answer you’re looking for. It’s what you need to do to find your way into your reader’s mind in order to write fresh and effective web content. Why Is Fresh Content Mandatory for Websites? Although the phrase Content is king has become an underlying principle of quality copywriting, many still fail to grasp its real significance. Why is content vital for your business success? Because it makes the difference between staying on top and being left out. Because now it’s the most important thing that search engines, and this means Google, care about. If your content gets stale, your website will get discarded by Google, and although you may have a great offering for your clients, something they need and desire, you will become just another face in the crowd that Google won’t recognize because it’s not different enough to rank well. Therefore, fresh content is a must if you want Google to spot you and people to find you. Fresh content has become a mantra lately, is emphasized by Google, and taken seriously by business-driven website owners. It’s a rule of thumb that can make the difference between conversion and oblivion. Search Engines Buy Your Ticket to the Show, But Don’t Forget You’re Playing For an Audience When writing web copy you want to be visible to search engines so that your website or blog ranks well in searches, but don’t ever forget this is just a means to an end, not an end in itself. Your ultimate goal is hooking and mesmerizing your audience. To achieve this, you’ve got to take that leap and be them. Your content should always respond to your readers’ needs and desires if you want them to stick around. Quality web content that works has two outcomes: it helps and it entertains. Fresh content that is both useful and enjoyable is key for business success. But what are the must do’s for fresh website copy? Here’s the top 5: 1) Update Your Content Regularly By posting new content every week you will improve your ranking and let people know you are there, alive and kicking. 2) Always Use Images Adding images to your text will make it friendlier and more enticing. An appealing image can sometimes be as effective as a great headline, stirring people’s curiosity and prompting them to read. But make sure your text is at least as interesting as the picture. 3) Find Your Own Voice and Stick to It Coherence and consistency are essential if you want people to recognize and remember you. A pretty face may help you offline, but online you’ve got to rely on your voice—that is your writing—to draw attention. Be friendly and informal if your business allows it, and avoid sounding stuffy or uptight, whatever your niche. 4) Always Edit Your Content Your content may be fresh, interesting, and really valuable and beneficial to your visitors, but remember that poor grammar and punctuation can be a major turn off, and will undermine your credibility. Make sure you proof read everything before posting it. 5) It’s All About Sharing To increase your website traffic, write engaging content that people will feel compelled to share. Insert social media buttons on your website and blog, and urge readers to share content. Theirs and yours. By following these 5 simple do’s when writing your web copy, you will find it easier to create fresh content that increases traffic and boosts your Google ranking.

Blog Writing: How to Keep Your Readers Engaged

January 1, 2021November 20, 2013 by Adam Oakley

Blog writing is just part of the equation. Keeping your readers on your blog long enough to engage, come back and share is the most difficult side of the equation. Ideally, you should be able to keep readers on your blog so they are encouraged to explore more, leave comments, share your content, subscribe and ultimately buy from you (if you’re selling). To do all of that, you need to keep your readers engaged. Powerful Blog Writing Techniques That Will Lock In Your Readers Keeping readers engaged involves more than just blog writing about what they want to read; it’s about going the extra mile for your readers and going a little outside of the box. There are plenty of blogs in your niche category, so you need to stand out among the rest. By looking for ways to step outside of the norm you can have the hippest blog on the block. Adhere to the Three Principles Those bloggers with naturally engaging topics have it easy — such as the guy who travels around the world or the woman who tests out products to see if they’re worth the hype. But, even if your material is inheritably interesting, you could find yourself in a mundane trap that turns readers off. To write a successful blog and keep readers engaged, you need to adhere to the three principles of blog writing: Create a style and tone that is appropriate for your material. Post often and be predictable. Invite reader interaction. Defining Your Style and Tone Your content ultimately drives the style and tone in your blog writing. If you’re a health insurance agency with a blog and you’re targeting elderly individuals, you shouldn’t use slang or youthful language — they won’t appreciate it. If you’re blogging for techies, you need technological speak in your blog. If you’re blogging about food, you need a fun, upbeat tone that speaks to your fellow foodies. It doesn’t matter how flashy your website is, if you don’t have a solid style and tone, your blog is going to suffer. Always remember that a blog is more like a conversation. Sure, it can be informative, but approach that information like you’re sharing it with a friend — not a robot. If you can, read your blog entry out loud and ask yourself if it sounds conversational-like. Try writing your blogs with a friend or family member in mind. This technique might help you approach the conversational tone a little easier. Your audience should be your number one concern. You’ve addressed your audience while developing your content strategy (or at least you should have) so you know your target audience. Use your target audience to select your tone and style, because this is ultimately the person that will read your blog. Post, Post, Post Be a frequent, predictable poster — not a random poster. Not only will this help with search engine rankings, but it will entice readers to come back for more. Try to post three times per week or up to once a day if you can. When readers know there is more to come, they will keep coming back for more. Play with Your Audience — Not literally But, you need to engage your audience as if you’re physically in front of them hanging out. It doesn’t matter how boring the topic, there are ways to get your readers to interact with your blog posts, which ultimately encourages them to come back for more. So how do you get your readers to play along? Ask Questions – You’ve shared your experience and case in your blog, so why not shoot it out to the readers and ask for their opinions. For example, you’ve posted about whether or not you should work from home. Now direct the question to your readers asking for their thoughts, experiences, etc. This encourages comments (always great for search rankings) and engages the audience instantly. Be Visual – Readers could use a break from text. So add a picture or video for them to enjoy along with your post. Insert a Poll – Readers love polls. They’re anonymous, fun, and it encourages the readers to come back later to see the results. Open Up a Debate – Pick a topic and put your opinion in there. Then direct it to the readers for debate. Debates can get heated though, so make sure you’re there to moderate. Remember Don’t Be A Dull Dud Your content strategy should lay out what you’re blogging about and when. Avoid writing about the same topics over and over. If you notice you’ve written on a similar topic a few times in a single month, it’s time to revisit your content strategy and change it up. Use catching headlines. Readers love lists, such as “10 Tips for Writing a Killer Blog.” Make sure you have something compelling in your headline that makes a reader want to click and continue on. Make your content scannable. Break it up with subheaders, use short paragraphs and keep your sentences tight. A wall of text can discourage readers from reading further — even if you added a few photographs to break it up. Engaging your readers isn’t hard as long as you keep it conversational, fun and interesting. Take some time before you write your posts and never write just to rank a keyword. Have a friend or family member read a post before it goes live for an objective opinion. The more natural your writing is, the more engaged your readers will become.

How Low-Quality Website Copywriting Services Kill Your Website

January 1, 2021November 4, 2013 by Adam Oakley

You’ve heard the saying “you get what you pay for,” but if you’re not taking that literally when it comes to your website copywriting, you’re throwing your brand’s valuable resources away. Quality Copywriting Not Your Concern? Well it Should Be. Websites with thin content, repetitive information or irrelevant content won’t rank high with Google and other search engines and it certainly won’t go over well with readers. Back in the day content didn’t matter. Instead search engines cared about links and keywords. Websites could sprinkle a few keywords (or stuff them depending on their tactic) and rank high without much effort. Today, however, search engines have raised their expectations and there’s no tricking their robots anymore. Once Google’s Panda and Penguin came around starting in 2011 and 2012, how web pages were ranked fell heavily on strong website copywriting. If the content is low-quality, search engines don’t want it and they certainly won’t recommend it to users. Understanding Poor Content Search engines rank your website based on what content you have on it. Two major areas search engines look at include: Length – If you only have a few sentences per blog post or on your web pages, search engine spiders will think your content is too thin. While there’s no minimum or maximum word count, you want at least 200 words or more. Originality – If you’re just rewriting what’s already on the web, you’re not original and search engines won’t think so either. Review your content and make sure it has some personal touches even if you got your ideas and research elsewhere. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to run your articles and website copywriting through a plagiarism checker just to make sure you’re not featuring what is elsewhere on the web. So Does High-Quality Content Matter? High-quality website copywriting is crucial. If you fail to invest in quality services, you’ll not only risk your brand, but your revenue too. Want to know some other ways poor-quality content hurts your business? Poor Quality Website Copywriting Kills Your SEO You’ve poured plenty of money and time into your SEO, but if your content is thin, you copy other sites on the web or you’ve stuffed your content with keywords you can be flagged or penalized by search engines. According to Brafton, 89 percent of consumers use search engines to find products, services and companies. If you’re flagged and not showing up on search results, you’re losing out. Even worse, the top three search results are the highest clicked by users—about 60 percent of clicks go to those top three according to Search Engine Watch—so risking your ranking does a lot more damage than you might realize. You’ll Lose Your Rep If you don’t check the facts or you copy your content from someone else, you risk losing a portion of your customer base. Once those customers are gone, it’s pretty hard to get them back. You Won’t Have Much of an Audience Consumers love to find stuff on social media. When friends, family and acquaintances are recommending something, consumers jump all over it. Low-quality website copywriting is rarely shared with social media and since social media is a hot way to gain a bigger audience, your website is missing out. You’ll Lose Trust Consumers rarely purchase from a company or listen to what that company has to say if they don’t trust them. Can you blame them? Low-quality content isn’t trustworthy content. You Don’t Increase Loyalty—You Might Even Lose It It’s said that 50 to 60 percent of customers put trust into businesses after they read high-quality content on their website. From a business perspective, it’s more expensive retaining customers than getting new ones; therefore, you need to ensure brand loyalty through the content you post on your website. How Do You Find High Quality Website Copywriting Services? Just about everyone these days calls themselves a copywriter, so how do you pick out the quality ones from the average ones? While some copywriting services offer general writing services such as: blogging or article writing, others are copywriting specialists who offer customized website copywriting services. Look for an Eye for Detail Website copywriting services should be perfectionists. They want to represent your brand in the best way; therefore, they should provide you with error-free, interesting content. If you’re looking at a larger agency, look for one that employs in-house editors in addition to their writing staff. That means a second set of eyes can review and proof the work before you see it. Hire Someone with Experience Great copywriters know how to write and can tackle a variety of industries and topics. Whether you’re looking for an entire website, a few blogs or sales copy, an experienced copywriter can get the job done better than one just starting out. Not sure how to tell if they have experience? Ask for references and a portfolio. And, don’t be shy about asking for a sample to prove their expertise. Quick Turnaround There’s nothing more annoying than a copywriting service that takes months to get the job done. If you’re looking for lightning fast turnaround times, you might want to consider an agency rather than a single copywriter. An agency has multiple copywriters on staff that can accommodate rush orders. Extra Bang for Your Buck A website copywriting service that offers multiple services in one gives you more options than a company that just writes for one industry or specializes in one section. For example, sales copywriters are excellent, but limited to only sales copy such as: landing pages or advertisements. If you needed general blogs or specialty copywriting services, your sales copywriters might not be able to provide you with those things. Look for copywriting services that offer SEO writing capabilities and consulting services. Often they can look over your website, help you devise a content strategy and even offer search engine optimization tips.

Turn Up the Volume on Your Call to Action

December 31, 2020October 14, 2013 by Adam Oakley

You’ve probably heard the term “call to action” a thousand times. Maybe you’ve even tried to write your own calls to action, but found them less than inspiring. If you’re like most marketers, you’ve often wondered if the call to action, or CTA, is just a fancy name for something that isn’t that important. The truth is, though, that your call to action is critical. By compelling your audiences to (you guessed it) take action, a great CTA can spell the difference between thousands of conversions and a few ho-hum reads. Lights, Camera, Call To Action! The reason your call to action is so important is that it performs a job that no other part of your website does. By inspiring your visitors to take a desired action, like clicking your content, filling out a form, or entering their email addresses, a great CTA helps make your content more compelling and interactive. Still not convinced CTAs are all that critical? Let’s look at some statistics. Unbounce reports that 90% of the visitors who read your headline will also read your CTA. As if that weren’t enough, WordStream reports that emails featuring just one call to action increased click-through-rate by 371% and sales by 1617%. HubSpot has also found that personalized CTAs convert a whopping 42% better than standard CTAs. The good news is that there are many ways to create a successful call to action, but you’ve got to create a good foundation first. This involves having enough web content to input a CTA, developing a quality product, and having some level of social following. Once these things exist, you can get to work optimizing and improving your CTAs. 10 Essential Ingredients for an Irresistible Call to Action Every call to action must contain certain elements. These elements make them more compelling, interesting, and exciting for readers. Here’s what each great CTA needs: 1. Images One dilemma many business owners face is whether to use text or graphics in their call to action. While text is critical to a good call to action, many people assume visuals aren’t. Wrong! Visuals are an essential part of the most effective CTAs. The human brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than textual information, so including a great visual in your CTA can be exactly what it needs to tip readers over the edge. For best results, look for an image that’s relevant to the CTA (a picture of the cover of the offered book or guide, for example, is a great option) and won’t be distracting to the reader. Remember: visuals should enhance rather than detract from your CTA. 2. A Powerful Color Scheme To be as successful as possible, your CTA needs to fall in line with the rest of your brand’s color scheme. For an example of what this looks like, check out this HubSpot CTA: HubSpot is known for its orange and white color scheme, and the CTA buttons throughout the site are generally blue. This CTA aligns with that color scheme and provides a sense of continuity and reliability for the reader. If your brand doesn’t have an established color scheme yet, now is a good time to consider how colors are used in marketing, and to pick a few options that convey the messages you’re aiming for. Once you’ve got your color scheme hammered out, be sure to integrate it into your current and future CTAs. Here’s a color diagram from HelpScout to help you decide: No matter what you choose, remember that color, like visuals, should accent rather than overwhelm your CTA. While you may love lime green and orange together, few people want to click on a CTA that looks like a mess of melted glow sticks. 3. The Right Words The wording of your call to action matters. The best way to do this is to use actionable language. Distinct and hard-hitting verbs like “find,” “download,” “discover,” and “get” will help improve your CTAs conversion rates and make it more exciting to readers. Don’t go overboard though: you want to use fewer than four words in your CTA to keep the reader’s interest. 4. The Right Placement Where you place your call to action can make all the difference. What if your page is already full of important information that you want your visitor to see? The general rule of thumb is to place the call to action in a spot that’s easily accessible, uncluttered, and highly visible. This enhances the likelihood that your readers will see it and that they’ll act, as a result. 5. An Understanding of the Reader’s Questions Regardless of what you’re selling, your visitors will be asking one thing as they make buying decisions involving your company: “What’s in it for me?” Your CTA should anticipate this and respond accordingly. When developing your CTA copy, think about what you’ll need to give your reader to justify their action. For example, would they be willing to share your Facebook page with 10 of their friends for the chance to win a contest you are putting on? Is the promise of a complete guide enough to win their email address? By tailoring your CTA offering to your CTA “ask,” you can make your material more compelling and exciting for your readers. What’s more, you brand your company as one that understands and cares about your customers, which makes you more appealing to work with. 6. A Consistent Tone Today’s customers are smart, and they’ll get confused if the content of your CTA is drastically different than the content elsewhere on your page or social profiles. With this in mind, keep the voice of your CTA consistent with that of the rest of your content. In addition to strengthening your brand perception, this will also help your visitors make sense of your CTA and take the action it’s proposing. 7. Personalization The more you can personalize your CTA, the better. When you think about it, CTAs are asking your reader to … Read more

Blog Content Writing Doesn’t Have to Reinvent the Wheel

January 5, 2021October 10, 2013 by Adam Oakley

Any blog content writing expert will tell you that sometimes, it can feel as though every piece that you write is your first. What’s most baffling about this is that any writer can experience this phenomenon, whether they’ve written the same type of content 10 or 1,000 times. And while we can’t explain why this happens, we can tell you that blog content writing doesn’t have to begin from that unknown place, or make you feel like an amateur. But simplifying this process may mean trying more than a few things before you find one that works for you. How to Simplify Your Content Writing Techniques 1. Calls to Action Aren’t Just for Sales Letters Believe it or not, that seemingly short and tiny blog post has more parts to it than you may think. In addition to the title, which it goes without saying, should do enough to inspire the reader to keep reading, a blog post also needs a call to action, which usually appears at the bottom of the post. What’s interesting about the call to action on a blog post is that you have far fewer chances to get the reader to perform the desired action than you would with the call to action in a sales letter. A long-form sales letter may have 5, 6, or even 7 calls to action, each more insistent in their urgency than the last. But with a blog post, you may only be able to reiterate a call to action twice. A common type of call to action used on blog posts is to ask a question that’s relevant to the content the blog post discusses. So for example, if your blog posts talks about the benefits of Internet access for businesses, you might end your blog post with something like: “How has internet access benefited your business? Are there any advantages you’d like to add besides the ones listed above? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please post your comment below!” Your call to action can also take a different form, such as with a banner or sidebar. 2. A Photo Speaks a Thousand Words If you want to make sure that as many people as possible not only see, but also read and retain your blog content, consider including an image in your post. Images can cause a number of things to occur in the mind of your reader. Not only can they help clarify the points you make in your post, but they are also a convenient way to visually sum up of the ‘mood’ of your post. 3. Headings Matter Just when you thought that headings were only for sales letters comes the news that they are just as important in your blog content writing. This is due to the fact that headings add to page structure, which is vital for successful search engine optimization. Headings serve to illustrate your content’s most important parts, as well as illustrating how one part connects to another. Not only that, but there are rules to follow as far as headings in blog posts go. First, there is only room for one H1 heading on any page. But which part of your post should contain this heading? The part that carries the most importance, say the experts. Second, any subheading should be an H2, a subheading under that an H3, and so forth. In addition to being the proper size and indicative of the importance of your content, headings should also include those keywords that you consider to be valuable. By not including keywords in your headings, you are wasting many SEO opportunities. Finally, keep in mind that headings also offer convenience to your readers, as they can use your headings to skim through your blog post to find the information they want. 4. Use More SEO As well as entering keywords into your headings, it’s important that search engine optimization tactics be incorporated into the your blog content writing. Google is the biggie here, and getting found by the heavy search engine hitter requires knowing a few things about how it works. Those who can be considered experts can score big with Google. Ensure you have at least a few guest post articles published so they can link your name with your post. Formatting is another thing that Google looks upon favorably — so headings and structure are king. And although a photo is a good thing, try not to overdo it with the images. The freshness of your content is also important, so keeping it as current and relevant as possible will only help you. Accessibility is another way to please Google. This means doing all the things that make your site understandable by those with seeing, hearing or developmental challenges. Telling Google where you are located is a great way to get noticed. Where possible, also include outbound hyperlinks, as well as links on your blog page to the other pages on your site. 5. Add Design Elements The beautiful blog is one with design that not only pleases the eye, but serves both the reader and the search engines. And there are certain design elements that will help your blog to realize success. Among them, buttons to allow reader to instantly share your posts on social media, the encouragement of comments on your posts and “flat site architecture.” The latter means to reduce the number of clicks it takes for readers to get to your blog content. Other elements that can greatly influence your blog’s page views, bounce rate and conversions include ensuring that the best content is located ‘above the fold’, or at a point on your page before the reader has to begin scrolling. 6. Get in the Zone Finally, it’s important that you are in the right mindset for blog post content writing. Whether inspiration hits you while you’re driving, walking or even sleeping, ensure that you have the tools you need to get your ideas down before you forget … Read more

Some Content Writing Tactics to Avoid

January 1, 2021October 7, 2013 by Adam Oakley

As with every job, career path or even calling, there are some things it is always better to avoid as content writers. As Google improves its search technology, there are many previous habits that are no longer going to be useful. 4 Content Writing Avoidable’s The Internet is a constantly adjusting entity. It is hard to choose a word to accurately describe the technology that continues to amaze generation after generation. The older generations, like the Baby Boomers, are still wrapping their minds around the instant access to so much information. The younger generations (is that you?) still find a moment when they stop and think, “Wow, I didn’t know I could do THAT.” We all have a lot to keep learning from the world around us. The Internet is now a huge part of that world. It continues to change and create new things for the next generations to learn. For now though, we’ll come back from the cosmos that is the potential of the Internet. We’ll focus on the changes in SEO writing now and the previous successful tactics that no one liked, but they knew were useful to make money. These can (thankfully) be left behind now. 1) Don’t Write Low Quality This is good news. Any low quality writing, low quality guest posting sites and article submissions of basically fluff pieces, won’t be of any use in the future. So the writing that is done for pennies won’t even be worth that anymore. Better quality writing for better quality sites will again be the order of the day, while cheap and useless will be relegated to the past. Writers take pride in their work, much like an architect or a NASA scientist after a successful shuttle launch. That pride has been taking a huge hit because people don’t understand the effort that goes into creating good quality writing. Writers have been on a level with fast food workers or under appreciated workers in foreign countries – particularly since those workers in other countries can work for less than writers in the U.S.A. and feel like they are making a remarkable wage. Now, English as a second language – writing is not going to cut it for high-ranking results from Google. It’s back to paying for quality to get what a business needs, so avoid doing low quality work and prepare to reap the benefits of your time well spent. 2) Avoid the Ones Building Reputation the Wrong Way Building links quickly to compete with long-standing brand names or companies with impressive histories will also be something you won’t see anymore. Those who are willing to take the time and build the right image through the right processes will see the success they aim for in business. As a writer, recognize that the shortcuts previously implemented won’t be making you the money anymore. Google techies are getting smarter. Their programming is written to make sure those shortcuts and poor quality efforts to draw in customers will disappear into the dregs of the search engine results, buried in thousands of pages of more attention-worthy content. Get yourself, as a writer, back onto those pages with your writing efforts. Links will need to viewed for the quality of information they provide. Your writing, with adequate research, will be the forefront of the success of new and improved link building. Sound good? It should sound fantastic. This is the way information in print was shared previously, with care and attention to veracity and use. 3) Avoid Fluff Writing I’ve been seeing this warning more and more from companies searching for a writer to blog for them or handle their outsourced projects. Previously, as long as the SEO keyword was repeated enough, the rest didn’t matter. Next, it looked like a well-put together piece, but actual research on the topic was a waste of time. Companies wanted to give the impression of effort without paying for actual quality. Now, the quality is once again the important aspect. According to a humorously titled piece, “Friends Don’t Let Friends Write SEO,” the truth comes out. Great writing is not about the words incorporated into the set-length piece. Instead, the important part is the ideas shared and retained after the piece has been read. The great writers know this. The benefit now is that others are once again recognizing that. So writing for the Internet can go back to the level of quality it should present. 4) Never, Ever Forget the Audience From this infographic for SEO writing tips for 2013, an important Don’t is gleaned. When you write to fit in a set number of keywords during a set number of words overall, you have forgotten the main point of any piece of writing. What does your audience care if you say the company name six times? The bots may care, but they AREN’T the ones you should be thinking of as you write each piece. Remember those classes? It doesn’t matter if they were in high school or college. Even in elementary school, your English teacher talked about the audience. Remember to answer the questions the audience might ask. Give detail and share new ideas it hasn’t already seen multiple times. Well, the repetition of that keyword is not meeting the goals the audience sets for you, the writer. Remember those goals instead. As a website content writer, you know the essentials to creating a memorable piece. The classic novels, all the way to a news article or a magazine piece that will be discussed and used in future classrooms, all meet the same expectations. They improve the reader in some way once that piece, novel or article has been read in full. So don’t let your writing be dragged to the lowest level with the least respect. Take heart in the knowledge that things are turning around again, and writers will be expected to write quality work once again. Now, the battle turns to … Read more

5 Keys To Choosing Your Content Writer Before You Start Interviewing

January 1, 2021September 23, 2013 by Adam Oakley

Over the past decade, the incontestable power of the Internet has brought millions of business owners from all parts of the globe together in investing their time and money in cutting-edge websites and suitable web content, elaborated according to their needs, specifications and expectations, with the pen of a content writer making their content happen. When it comes to articles that actually draw visitors and serve a higher purpose, most company owners spare no expenses and do everything in their power to identify the best content writer or team of writers available. Here are 5 important things that you should know about talented, active, sociable, Internet-savvy and creative freelancers who have what it takes to guide you towards business success. Your Ideal Content Writer Candidate Should: 1) Write On a Daily Basis We’ve all heard this lesson a thousand times: practice makes perfect. A content writer who spends more than a couple of hours a day writing informative, educational, entertaining materials for different clients with different needs and requests will always respond better to new challenges, unlike novices or other freelancers who only write every once in a while. 2) Be well-organized, do a lot of research and always Google before they tweet. Extensive research is part of the job and professional content writer always take this important phase very seriously. The worst mistake one could ever make is writing and distributing inaccurate, outdated, ambiguous content. In such cases, readers flag low-quality web material and start looking for trustworthy sources of information, so make sure you count on content writers who check and double-check the information before making it public. 3) Have an amazing, writing style which is audience-friendly and engaging Your content writers should make the most of their unique set of skills and their inexhaustible talent and creativity to promote your brand, services and products in an engaging manner, while embracing a truly accessible writing style. 4) Be great at social media. Would you really trust a freelancer who refuses to profit from amazing opportunities available on social media platforms? Would you hire a writer who doesn’t spend at least an hour a day on major social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn, where all the important elements go viral and all the most relevant trends are anticipated and widely commented? Make sure you hire a social savvy writer. 5) Is proud of their masterpieces, charges the right price Reputable content writers won’t hesitate to link their most relevant content pieces for you and promote their professional services in an effective manner. Perhaps in the near future business owners will be able to count on different ranking systems allowing them to determine the real value of a particular writer. Until then, Google Authorship will enable you to identify some of the most active, talented freelancers who might have what it takes to complete your writing assignments in a more than satisfactory manner. Make sure you pay the right price for unique content writer to create your pieces; an insignificant fee could trick you into opting for low-quality writing services – a big mistake which could impact the profitability and popularity of your online business for a long period of time. Neil Patel, a top Internet marketer, says that you should expect to spend $100-200 per post. Conclusion A content writer could be the biggest boon for your business this year and beyond. It’s the era of the Internet; and the Internet thrives on content. Don’t just throw this job on anyone. Make sure your writer meets the criteria above, and you’ll find yourself a good one. Hire yours today!

4 Reasons You Need Professional Content Writing Services to Reach Your Business Goals

January 5, 2021September 18, 2013 by Adam Oakley

This post was updated September 2019. Over 60% of all businesses agree their main problem is generating enough leads and traffic. But why is it so difficult? ☹ The days where you could throw money at ads and expect results are over. A staggering 96% of American users don’t trust ads, and they’re not alone in that. Clearly, you need a more organic approach to generating leads if you want to grow your business, which is where expert content can help. Websites that publish new content consistently increase their traffic by 3X on average. We’re talking 15+ articles a month, which is no small feat. That effect only compounds as you publish more and more content. Blogs with over 300 posts get 3.5X times as much traffic as those with fewer than 50, just to give you an idea. Here’s the problem though. If you run a business, your time has a cap. You can’t spend all your time researching and writing, or the rest of your business will suffer. Maybe you don’t even like to write, and that’s okay. After all, one key aspect of running a successful business is knowing what aspects of it to outsource and that’s where (professional) web content writing services come in. [bctt tweet=”Many businesses are having a hard time generating leads and traffic. Ads aren’t even helping too. The solution? Publishing new content — consistently. @JuliaEMcCoy explains why you need web content services.” username=”ExpWriters”] 4 Reasons Why Hiring Professional Web Content Writing Services is a Smart Business Move 1. Pro Web Writers Have a Strong Grasp on SEO Best Practices 2. Expert Voices Have Fresh Takes on Your Industry 3. Professional Content Writing Saves You Time and Money 4. Seasoned Content Writers Can Help You Develop a Content Marketing Strategy Right now, you’re probably asking yourself, “How can a web content writer for hire save me money?”. It’s true – hiring experts can be expensive, but the benefits of content writing are all too real. The numbers speak for themselves – businesses that take content marketing seriously get up to 6x more conversions than their counterparts. That’s because great content writers can help you find an audience, tap into their needs, and speak to them through your brand. In other words, the right web content writing service is worth their weight in gold. If you’re not convinced yet, that’s okay! Hiring expert services isn’t something you should do lightly. That’s why we’re going to dig deep and break down all the main benefits content writing can bring to your business. 1. Pro Web Writers Have a Strong Grasp on SEO Best Practices You’re probably familiar with SEO, at least in concept. Search engines use complex algorithms to determine which websites they show you whenever you run a search. Google alone weighs in over 200 factors in determining which results they’re going to show you and in which position they appear. We know what most of those factors are, but the precise formula search engines use is a secret as closely guarded as KFC’s mix of herbs and spices. Plus, search engines update their algorithms often so you can’t get around them. Here’s the problem – as a business, you want your web content to appear as close to the top of the search engine result pages (SERPs) as possible. On average, the first three results for any search get around 68% of all clicks within the first page. The first result alone gets 48% of all clicks, which makes it a goldmine. As if those numbers weren’t scary enough, 90% of users don’t make it past the first page of results. Your business might as well not exist if you can’t make it to those first spots. Getting there takes more than good writing, though. The competition for those top results is fierce across the board and popular websites are locked in a cutthroat game of optimization to outpace each other. To become relevant, your web content writer needs to follow best practices, such as: Targeting the right keywords and knowing how and when to use them Structuring and formatting content for the web Having a specific audience in mind and optimizing your content for them It sounds pretty simple when you break it down. However, SEO is a science, and if you want to publish content with a fighting chance of making it to the top of the result pages, you need expert writers in your corner. [bctt tweet=”The ideal web content writer needs to know how to target and use the right keywords, how to format web content for online readers, and how to optimize your content based on your target audience. – @JuliaEMcCoy ” username=”ExpWriters”] 2. Expert Voices Have Fresh Takes on Your Industry No one knows your business better than you do. That’s a fact. Whatever product or service you sell, it’s probably something you know inside and out. In theory, that means you’re the best person to write about it. When you bring a new writer into your team, they’ll need to play catch-up – there’s no way around it. However, a seasoned writer knows how to take your ideas and find the perfect words to express them. Sometimes, they’ll also have fresh takes on just what your audience wants to read about. Just being a talented writer isn’t enough, though. What you want are web content writing chops, and here’s why: Pro web content writers know how to get your business the attention it deserves. You know how to run a business, but writing is their business. A professional web content writing service will know how to take your products or services and find the right words to lead readers through your customer journey. Coming up with new content ideas is hard. Writing an occasional blog post is hard enough. Now imagine doing it twice per week or more, for months and months on end. It’s enough to burn anyone out, but a seasoned content writer for … Read more

5 Signs You May Need a Content Writer

January 1, 2021September 9, 2013 by Adam Oakley

If you’re like many small business owners, you may believe that hiring a professional content writer to create the content for your Web, blog, e-news, or any other advertising pieces you’ll be using is an unnecessary expense. Money’s tight, you have to cut expenses as much as you can, and unsurprisingly, many businesses are braving the great frontier of the Web without so much as a proofreader on staff, opting to take care of all content writing in house. It saves money, to be sure – but is it really the best choice for your business?

3 Tips For Web Copywriting To Dominate The SERPS

January 1, 2021September 7, 2013 by Adam Oakley

Back in the early days of the internet as we now know it, getting your website recognized by the search engines with or without web copywriting as an authority, was a simple process. All you needed was web writing — any web writing — and plenty of it. You decided what key terms you wanted to rank for, stuffed your web copywriting with as many instances of those keywords as you could, and called it a day. Quality wasn’t something that was necessary at all. In fact, you could post web copy that was barely intelligible and still easily rank, so long as it was packed with the right keywords.

Web Copywriting That Ranks – Gaining the Respect of Today’s “Smart” Search Engines