certification course

I’m the CEO of a content creation agency that has completed over 17,000 projects in content services (blogs, web pages, content planning), since 2011. In my line of work forging and leading content creation to power many content strategies, I’ve heard just about every complaint and frustration you could possibly hear from content strategists, marketers, and content practitioners: “I’m not sure this content is worth it.” “Where do you recommend I publish my content?” “I’m not sure I can do more than one month of blogging. I’ll look at the budget and get back to you.” “I can’t afford an industry specialist writer.” This is a small percentage of the clients that come our way, but I’m still ready to pull my hair out, every time I hear these phrases. Why? Because I personally know the value that a great content marketing strategy, and consistent publishing, can bring. But I also know what it takes to get there: the path isn’t easy. It requires investment, time, and most of all, commitment. The skills involved in the workload of a content strategist aren’t easy to learn. But here’s the cool news… Content can truly bring you 100x what you put into it. I’ll talk more about that in a moment, but first, here’s a look at what I’ve managed to achieve here at Express Writers solely through high quality, original content creation. A Content Strategist Success Story: Express Writers, Fueled Completely By Organic Content [bctt tweet=”Content can truly bring you 100x what you put into it. Read all about @JuliaEMcCoy’s venture into #contentstrategy ” username=”ExpWriters”] Today, under my direction and content creation as a self-taught content strategist and CEO, my little self-funded content creation agency and staff of 40 at Express Writers has managed to outrank competitors that have $9+ million in outside funding, by an immense 3%+ higher visibility in Google. We rank organically for over 11,000 key terms, with a presence worth $57,000+ monthly in organic search. And we haven’t paid a penny in ads—across six years—to gain the majority of our leads and clientele. They’ve come straight from these rankings. Question… How well does this content convert? Because you can’t just have high-ranking content, right? It has to return. After optimizing my strategy and increasing my content investment this year, we hit the highest sales month we’ve ever had this January. Now, we’re on track to break our first seven figure year as an agency. 99% of our leads come through organic content marketing. I’ve never invested a single dollar in PPC. The secret is all in how you go about it (your strategy), and your commitment. It’s not an overnight game, and it’s a steady, slow, but sure process. It can feel like hard, low-return work in the beginning, but in the long run, content is the best marketing you’ll have ever done. Content Strategists & The Proven Worth of Content to Advertisers Today, SEO has basically merged as a part of the wider picture that is content marketing. When you do SEO, you’re optimizing your content for high rankings in the search results: in content marketing, you market your product or service through high-value, audience-targeted content campaigns. Optimizing your content for search (SEO) is a crucial, integrated part of content marketing itself. It’s a big part of the skillset of a great content strategist. If you have the right strategy, the right SEO and the right content consistency in place, take a look at these success statistics that can happen. Per dollar spent, content marketing generates more than 3x the number of leads than paid search does. (Kapost/Eloqua) Content marketing costs between 31 and 41% less than paid search, depending on the organization’s size. (Kapost/Eloqua) Website conversion rate is nearly 6x higher for content marketing adopters than non-adopters (2.9% vs. 0.5%). (Aberdeen Group) Content creation ranks as the single most effective SEO technique. (Marketing Sherpa) 61% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog. (FactBrowser) Small businesses that blog get 126% more lead growth than small businesses that do not blog. (ImpactBnd) A Content Strategist Skillset Wheelhouse: 7 Keys to Success  Your content strategy is everything in achieving high-performing, high-ROI content. Follow these critical steps, in order, for a baseline sense of how to navigate through and set up your strategy so that your content is knocked out of the park and you know you’re getting ROI when you publish content. (PSA: These steps take time. Don’t jump around or rush through them. PSA 2: This takes time. Don’t expect overnight success.) 1. Know your position of authority and differentiation in your field. It all starts here. Know where your expertise lies, own it, and ten find your Content Differentiation Factor so you can officially stand out in your industry. To get to that, ask yourself, “what would make a customer choose me over my competitor?” Your answer is your CDF. Condense it to one or two key sentences to showcase on your home page (you may need a conversion copywriter to help you express this perfectly). Brands that have a standout CDF in a variety of niches (scan their home pages—it should, quite literally, stand out there): Uber: ”Get there: Your day belongs to you” Stripe: “The new standard in online payments” Grammarly: “Your writing, at its best” Moz: “5 billion searches are performed every day. Be found.” Zuke’s Dog Blog: “Live life off leash” Better Bites Bakery: “All joy, no worries” My agency: “Better content in your marketing.” This is the first step of a true content strategy, and this step is a discovery that could take some time. But it’s absolutely worth it. Too many brands starting out don’t take the time to make sure they have a standout factor. To set yourself up for content success, you have to have a reason for the reader (buyer, audience member, lead) to choose you and your content. Don’t skimp here. Having a CDF will 10x the results you’ll get when leads start finding your content. 2. Know your content goals. … Read more