content marketing tips - Express Writers

The Future of Blogging: Today’s Recipe for a Perfect Blog Post

April 4, 2023April 4, 2023 by Korilynn V.

A craveable, delicious, delightful blog post isn’t much different from a pastry. As long as you follow the recipe, steps included, you will create a post your readers are hungry to devour – and might even return for more. The good news is you won’t make a special trip to the grocery store to get started on the perfect blog post. Everything you need is in your virtual pantry – you just didn’t realize it. Writing a blog post, especially in today’s competitive market, is intimidating. Once you break it down and understand the ingredients, however, you can whip up these readable bits on the fly and stay up with the trends for the future of blogging in 2023. So, What Do You Need to Craft the Perfect Blog Post in 2023? The future of blogging has certainly changed. What worked last year doesn’t necessarily apply today. Therefore, staying up on the latest blogging and SEO trends is essential so that you know what Google expects – and, more importantly, what today’s reader wants. The Perfect Blog Recipe Before you start to type, you want to make sure you have the following essentials ready to add to the mixing bowl: 1 click-worthy title 1 attention-keeping introduction A pinch of creativity A few cups of informative, scannable subheaders A splash of succinct body copy A handful of authoritative research and your expertise 1 part formatting 1 delectable conclusion A dusting of enthusiasm for the topic A garnish of passion for your niche Putting it Altogether – How the Future of Blogging will Change How You Use These Ingredients As you can see, the ingredients haven’t changed, but how and when you use them has. We will break down each portion of this recipe so that you know how to mix it all in and get your readers to come back for more. Creating Your Title By far one of the most essential ingredients! Your title sets the stage for what the reader can expect, even determining if they ever get past the SERPs to read your blog. Spend time on this stage of your recipe. In fact, whatever you title it as your “working” title, be prepared to come back and rework it until it is just right later. Don’t hastily toss forth the first title you have in mind. Instead, let it sit and rest, and the flavors meld together. Think of title creation as a slow, steady simmer rather than a rapid boil. A good title mixes intrigue and information and is not too long. Yes, Google says there is no limit, and the length of your title will not influence your search engine results. Instead, it affects whether or not someone will click on it. The first 60 characters matter the most – so make those count even if you have a 100-character title. Whatever you do, don’t over-sprinkle in the keywords for your title – not only will it kill your readability factor and turn off any enthusiastic taster, but it will turn away Google too. Roll Out Your Introduction Your introduction supports your title. So perhaps you may not create it until you have solidified your intro – and that’s okay. An introduction requires time and patience. While you will mix up something short, sweet, and enticing, you will also want it to rest a few hours before you revisit and rework it again. While adding a keyword to the introduction is essential, ensure it is not the highlighting flavor. An introduction gives readers just a taste of what else is to come, but the full flavor doesn’t explode until the end. Of course, if your introduction isn’t tasty enough to keep reading, the end doesn’t matter much. So, take your time, rework it after the entire blog is done, and ask yourself, would I eat this up? Never Forget the Power of Creativity Too many recipes lack creativity. Think of those five-star restaurants – are they working with “vanilla” recipes used over and over again? Of course not. They are hashing out something unique that stays with their branding but still tantalizes the tastebuds. Never leave out a pinch of creativity in your content – all of your content. Creativity should be tossed in from the start; if you can’t taste it, add more. Start Rolling Out Subheaders Subheaders help your reader scan and understand what they are about to digest. They should go in an even flow, make sense, and inform. Ideally, subheaders are introduced every 300-500 words max (there’s nothing wrong with adding them in fewer words as long as the words in between pack a powerful punch). Subheaders are a great place for optimizing with secondary keywords but don’t overdo it. Time to Mix in Your Body’s Copy You have a working title, and you’ve rolled out the subheaders. Now comes the time to mix together your blog’s body. But before you add anything, do your research. You may be an expert in your niche, but that doesn’t mean you won’t need resources to back up what you say. Today, using authoritative, high-quality links is still a must-have for any recipe. Search Engine Journal states that every site needs credible, authoritative, and trustworthy content – and a reader can’t take you at your word without some citations. As you mix up that copy, make sure to spice it up enthusiastically. Nothing turns a reader away more than negativity. So, likewise, be as passionate about your niche as you want your reader to be as you create your blog – if you are not excited about it, why should they be? A few other things to keep in mind while you mix up your body’s copy: Optimize Gently. Optimizing your content is like working gluten. Too much, and it’s gotten too chewy, stiff, and undesirable. Yes, keywords matter in 2023, but how and where you use them has changed. Focus on Your Brand’s Authority. What Google praises more than keywords are brand … Read more

AI is Not the Tool for SME Content Creation – and Google Knows It

March 28, 2023 by Korilynn V.

AI is here, and there is no denying it. While AI can share the workspace with a traditional writer and editor for content marketing, there is one thing it cannot do – SME content creation. The only genuine SME (subject matter expert) out there in your niche is, well, you – and the talented freelance writers out there that know your field just as well as you. More importantly, Google knows it and expects to see that in your content. What is AI Content Generation? It seems like almost daily another AI content generation tool is launching. Some are free, others are paid, but are any of these tools able to truly replace a genuine expert? TechTarget lists 36 AI generation tools in their 2023 guide, and while there are loads of tools to choose from, they are all based on the GPT-3 model. AI content generation is content that is created by a platform utilizing the GPT-3 model. The content is generated and while marketed to be “new,” it really is not. Think about how AI generators work. Generative AI tools take keywords, themes, and even voice/tone preferences, and it works to generate a blog, web page, or even a social media post, but it is not creating them out of thin air or using any expertise in the field to offer unique opinions and insights. Instead, AI generates your content by pulling information from the internet. It searches and scours the thousands of web pages and blogs already out there to piece together information and generate copy. But, AI Doesn’t Understand What it is Creating…. While it is fascinating to watch AI work, AI has no clue what it is writing. It is solely based on an algorithm pulling data based on your input. Only a Genuine Industry Expert Knows the Content for their Industry AI is incredibly fast and can write a blog post quicker than any writer, but because of its limitations in terms of understanding and having any expertise in the niche, it is not a specialist. Here is where you may hit a speed bump or two, if you are using AI generation for your content marketing: Let’s Talk about E-E-A-T and How AI Falls Short for Industry Professionals Seeking SME Content Creation In Google’s February release, they mention guidelines for using AI generation in your content, and make it clear that they reward high quality regardless of how it is produced (whether human-made or AI-generated). Many took that as a green light to go ahead with AI, but that is not what Google conveyed. Let’s go back to the double update released in December 2022 when the extra “E” was added to the E-A-T standard, making it now E-E-A-T. Image Source: Google Update, December 2022, Page 26 What was that extra “E” for? Experience… Trust is crucial with Google. Some websites may fall short of the bar, no matter how experienced, professional, or even authoritative they are if they don’t have the reader’s trust, and one example given from Google within their update reveals the most consequential sentence that websites need to pay attention to: “…the content creator lacks adequate experience” means they will have a low E-E-A-T score. For example, if the content creator reviews a restaurant, but never ate at the restaurant, they are not experienced or trustworthy, which means they have a low E-E-A-T to Google. Let’s break it down further by looking at each component of E-E-A-T. Experience Experience, in Google’s eyes, offers another level of dimension they can use when evaluating content. Content must demonstrate it was assembled with a degree of experience – after all, a reader will value a person’s content more if they have life experiences on the topic and they are not basing it exclusively on research. AI has no experience with your topic. Let’s take a look at divorce law, for example. You want to write a blog for your law firm on the latest guideline changes for calculating child support, but you will find a few speed bumps along the way using AI to do so: AI typically doesn’t access the latest data – so it may not even know or find the latest guidelines for calculating child support. Worse, it could create a blog on outdated guidelines that it notes as “updated.” AI has no actual understanding of handling child support cases. AI hasn’t had to calculate what a child support payment would be based on your state, the local laws, or the parent’s income. It has definitely never filled out the child support worksheets – but you have. If you go off the premise of why “experience” was added by Google, you can see why AI might not meet the mark. AI is not an attorney or a financial expert, and therefore, there is no SME content creation happening when you use AI to draft your blogs. Expertise SME content creation comes down to one important factor: credibility. A person without qualifications should not be writing a topic out of their realm of expertise. Period. Why? Google is unlikely to rank a website with content not written by a credible source over a website they know has content written by a believable source. In areas where a subject matter expert is required, such as healthcare, Google has a higher level of scrutiny than things based more on personal opinion and less on facts. Authoritativeness Authority means you have proven you belong in the niche your website represents. Sure, backlinks to relevant and authoritative sources will help build that authority, but only so far. If you only have quality backlinks, but don’t meet the other areas of E-E-A-T – well, you don’t have much to go on. There’s not much more to say there. Authority is a building block, and it requires more than one block to finish your foundation. Trustworthiness Now, we’ve already covered where AI falls short for SME content creation, but the biggest area you are going … Read more

What Is CRO? Your Complete Guide to Conversion Rate Optimization in 2020

January 13, 2024August 18, 2020 by Adam Oakley

This post was originally published in March 2014 and completely updated in August 2020. SEO, SMO, CMO, UXO, CRO… What does it all even mean? It’s another one of those alphabet soups that digital marketers love, but make the rest of us want to pull out our hair. However, if you look closely, you might notice something. Each of these acronyms has something in common. It’s one word: optimization… Something else that digital marketers love. Whether it’s the user experience, the search engine rankings, or the conversion rate of a website, savvy digital marketers will attempt to optimize anything and everything. We’re going to focus on that last one right now: conversion rates. According to research by Wordstream, the average conversion rate for a website hovers around 3%. But the top 10% of any given industry will demonstrate conversion rates of 11.45%. How do you aspire to that jaw-dropping percentage? You use one of the most powerful yet underrated tools in digital marketing: conversion rate optimization. Let’s explore! [bctt tweet=”What is CRO, or conversion rate optimization? It’s the process of tweaking your website & content to generate better conversions from existing traffic. In other words, convince them to ACT! More on the Write Blog ➡” username=”ExpWriters”] What Is CRO in Marketing? CRO stands for conversion rate optimization. According to HubSpot, it’s the process of adjusting your website and content to generate greater conversions from the traffic already landing on it. Most forms of marketing focus on improving site traffic, generating better quality leads, or positioning your brand in front of your target audience. These are all important activities, but they’re only half of the marketing puzzle. We’ve all clicked through to sites doing an amazing job marketing themselves with edgy social media posts, only to find ourselves not sold enough to commit once we’re on the landing page. This happens because the brand focused on external marketing and hasn’t optimized the user experience for conversion. Just because you’ve attracted an audience doesn’t mean they’re showing up with cash in hand, ready to buy. In fact, only a small percentage of people who land on your site will go through with a transaction, whether it’s completing a transaction or signing up for a newsletter: Lots of people will view your site. A handful of them will even put things into their cart, but only a sliver will go through with the sale. Source: Crazy Egg. CRO is all about bumping up that 3.3% to a higher number by taking immediate, metric-oriented steps on your site. It’s a simple, powerful, and overlooked strategy for generating greater revenue. No fiddling with keywords or social media settings required. What It Really Means to Convert Let’s talk about conversion real quick. In the simplest terms, a conversion happens when we turn one thing into another. In marketing, conversion specifically refers to people who engage in a specific desired activity that furthers your business goals. For example: Curious readers into avid subscribers Digital window shoppers into paying customers Early-stage buyers into account holders The mechanism by which you attract and convert your target audience into customers is called the sales funnel. Conversion is often considered the final step in the funnel, but you can have several smaller conversions along the way as a user moves from being a curious onlooker to a paying customer. However, not every action a user takes represents a conversion. Conversion is not: People clicking through from the search engine or social media to your site People clicking around on your website Although they’re both desirable actions, neither of these behaviors indicate that a user is moving closer to subscribing or purchasing from you. CRO vs. SEO SEO stands for search engine optimization. It’s the process of analyzing and optimizing your digital presence to improve your position in Google so your target readers can find you. Typically, SEO focuses on things like keywords, metadata, and content structure to boost site traffic and get noticed by potential customers. SEO gets mixed up with CRO a lot, but the two do have quite a bit in common. In fact, it’s a good idea to focus on both as they work well together. In both cases, you’ll focus on: Well-written, expert content that both elevates your standing in Google and improves conversion rates. Optimized headlines, meta descriptions, and technical SEO to entice potential customers and improve the user experience. Page layout. Well-designed pages are helpful from more than just a human perspective. They also help Google index your page and provide the most useful featured snippets. Why CRO Matters If You Want to Succeed Obviously, presenting a compelling user experience is important because it leads to more revenue for your brand. However, there are a few other reasons you should spend more time with CRO if you aren’t already: 1. Content Marketing Has Become the Dominant Form of Advertising Online If you’re relying on paid outbound marketing like PPC or sponsored posts, you’re at risk of falling behind. These days, pretty much all digital marketing takes the form of content marketing. That’s an approach to marketing that emphasizes the creation of helpful, engaging content that provides your target audience with the answers they’re already searching for in Google. It’s not enough to simply have a great product and assume your customers think you’re the obvious choice. Your customers have a lot of choices, and they want you to demonstrate your authority on the matter. Question: Do you know HOW to demonstrate your authority using incredible content marketing? It’s time to learn. Check out my Content Strategy & Marketing Course to get the serious skills you need to make it happen. 2. CRO Forces You to Study and Adapt to Your Customers The impressions you make on customers – often the first ones – heavily determine your conversion rates. That might seem like an obvious statement, but you’d be surprised as to how frequently this gets overlooked online. How many times have you ever clicked onto a … Read more

#ContentWritingChat Recap: How Brands Can be at Their Most Productive with Content Marketing with Jess Ostroff

December 31, 2020September 30, 2016 by Rachel Moffett

Did you miss #ContentWritingChat this Tuesday? We’ve got you covered with a recap of our latest chat where we talked all about content marketing. #ContentWritingChat Recap: How Brands Can be at Their Most Productive with Content Marketing with Jess Ostroff Join us for #ContentWritingChat on Tuesday, September 27th at 10 AM CDT with @jessostroff from @convince! pic.twitter.com/OwqAYlYFgl — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) September 20, 2016 Our guest host this week was Jess Ostroff. Jess is the Managing Editor at Convince & Convert as well as the CEO & Director at Don’t Panic Management. She joined our chat to share her tips on productivity when it comes to content marketing. Q1: How do you maintain productivity in content marketing? What are your best tips? Chat participants shared some amazing tips on Tuesday. Check out some of the ones that were shared: A1: People don’t spend enough time planning their #contentmarketing efforts. Planning is key to productivity! #contentwritingchat — Jess Ostroff (@jessostroff) September 27, 2016 Jess knows just how big of a difference planning can make. When you take the time to plan your content marketing efforts, you’re going to see a huge difference in terms of your productivity. A1 Dedicated time for planning. Don’t let anything distract you then. And an editorial calendar. Track ALL your ideas #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) September 27, 2016 Julia agrees in the importance of planning. Set aside time to plan your content marketing strategy and don’t let anything distract you. Just stay focused! A1) Well honed processes/communication are key! We’re fortunate to have @jessostroff keeping us productive/accountable. #contentwritingchat — Convince & Convert (@convince) September 27, 2016 The Convince & Convert team knows well-honed processes and communication are essential. They rely on their team member, Jess, to keep them accountable. @writingchat A1 Brainstorm effectively, use a content calendar, and always have clear goals and metrics to measure them #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/eDvt8GCLAO — Digital Natives Cast (@DgtlNativesCast) September 27, 2016 Brainstorm ideas and then move them into your content calendar. Having a content calendar is the best way to plan everything in advance. You should also set clear goals for your content so you know which metrics are most important to track @writingchat A1 – Automate the tasks that don’t require a personal touch. Use tools like @Buffer and @IFTTT. #ContentWritingChat — globalHMA (@globalHMA) September 27, 2016 Automating certain tasks can definitely be helpful. Use social media scheduling tools like Buffer or create time-saving recipes in IFTTT. A1: Want to be productive? Set a schedule and stick to it. Hard to keep yourself accountable otherwise. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/5yAh26S5L2 — Jeff Reno(e) (@Renoe) September 27, 2016 Jenn’s advice is simple, yet effective. Set a schedule and stick to it. Lists are good but don’t let them stop you from catching an unusual and worthwhile story that doesn’t fit the list. #contentwritingchat — Christoph Trappe (@CTrappe) September 27, 2016 While planning is great, Christoph knows that you shouldn’t let it stop you from catching an unusual and worthwhile story that doesn’t fit the list. Q2: How can you hone in on where your ROI sweet spot is in content marketing? How can you figure out what that ROI sweet spot is? Read these tips from the chat: A2: Re: ROI. Always figure out what you’re going to use to measure BEFORE you even start. #contentwritingchat — Jess Ostroff (@jessostroff) September 27, 2016 A2: Don’t just look at RETURN. Consider the INVESTMENT as well. That’s where #productivity really comes in. #contentwritingchat — Jess Ostroff (@jessostroff) September 27, 2016 As Jess said, before you start you need to figure out what you’re going to use to measure. She reminds us that you shouldn’t just look at the return, but you should also consider the investment as well. A2) Listen to your customers. Know their pain points and FAQs. Winning content ideas lie there. #contentwritingchat — Convince & Convert (@convince) September 27, 2016 It’s important to listen to your customers. Know their pain points and address them with your content. a2: Check metrics, run tests, ask your audience. Create a clear picture of your goals and align them with target ROIs #contentwritingchat — Jobs2Careers (@Jobs2Careers) September 27, 2016 It all starts with having a clear picture of your goals and aligning them with your target ROIs. A2) Finding the ROI in content starts with understanding the overarching business goals. Don’t create without em. #ContentWritingChat — Ross Simmonds (@TheCoolestCool) September 27, 2016 Ross said it starts with understanding your business goals. You need to know what they are in order to create. A2: Test and keep testing. A/B pages and take higher outcomes and improve #contentwritingchat — Andy Drinkwater (@iqseo) September 27, 2016 Andy knows you have to keep testing. Running A/B tests is a great way to see what your audience is responding to. Q3: How do you begin the process of creating worthwhile content? Tips on planning/mapping? The content creation process isn’t always easy, but our chat participants shared some awesome tips on Tuesday. Check out what they had to say and implement them for yourself: A3: Of course, you can’t create anything without defining your audience and figuring out what stories THEY need to hear. #contentwritingchat — Jess Ostroff (@jessostroff) September 27, 2016 A3: Think about what your launch date is and work backwards from there. How much time do you need to write, produce? #contentwritingchat — Jess Ostroff (@jessostroff) September 27, 2016 Jess said you need to start with knowing who your audience is so you can figure out what they need to hear. She then recommends considering your deadline and working backwards from there. It’s a great way to keep you on track. A3: Here’s an example of a slide deck/ebook creation timeline. You can re-work this for any type of content. #contentwritingchat pic.twitter.com/rRVKNHOgCc — Jess Ostroff (@jessostroff) September 27, 2016 Jess even shared a helpful timeline for creating slide decks or eBooks. This is sure to come in handy! A3: It all starts with knowing and understanding your … Read more

25 Web Content Creation ROI Tips: Copy That Sells (Infographic)

January 1, 2021November 3, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Creating great web content online is the best way to help push site conversions and bring in awesome new clients. But, how can you create content that sells? In other words, have content ROI? Content that is crafted well has the ability to return on investment, or ROI, for your brand. In this infographic, we take a look at the top reasons you need great content, with 25 useful, fundamental tips to help you get knee-deep in the creation of copy that sells. Full transcript below. Enjoy! And if you like this, we’d love a share and comment! Transcript Why is Awesome Web Content Vital? You have approximately 8 seconds to convince someone to stay – after that, you could lose them. Around 96% of site visitors are not ready to buy yet, and content keeps them coming back until they do. If you create and publish around 31-40 landing pages, you’re likely to generate 7 times the amount of leads than those who don’t. And 40+ generates 12 times more. Visual content like product videos can increase purchases by 144%. Research shows that Google consistently ranks posts over 2,500 words. 25 Surefire Ways to Create Web Content that Sells (Content ROI) Here are some great ways to create wonderful content that can help boost your sales and bring you ROI. Emotions Help Motivate. Emotions are an incredible way to motivate clients to act. Peer pressure, self-improvement tips, and more are excellent motivators. Weave these in your copy. Create a Sense of Urgency. When writing your content, make sure you create a sense of urgency. Show that there is a demand for your product. Tie in brevity to urgency to compel your reader. Create a Case Study. 63% of UK marketers think that case studies are excellent marketing tactics. You can use them to show customers information about your company and product, convincing them to choose you. Create Evergreen Content. Well-researched, in-depth, long-form blogs that answer timeless questions are considered evergreen. These pieces can convert readers and rank you high in Google if done right. And, they’ll always stay relevant. Have Excellent Headlines. Half of your content creation time should be spent coming up with a persuasive headline. Make it useful, have urgency, be unique, and specific. Plug in power words and adjectives to transform an otherwise typical headline. Don’t Be Afraid to Have a Conversational Voice. Think of this like how you’d talk to a client who is also a friend over coffee. Enrich your content with a lively, fun, conversational tone. This can help immensely with building connections that will convert. Find Your One “Thing.” Each company has a “thing” that sets them apart – yours included. Find your “thing” and focus on it with your content. Research Audience Needs. Content that sells needs one crucial element – audience research. Know what your audience needs and create content they can use. Stay Authentic. Marketing now requires authenticity, especially if you plan to market to millennials. Be unique, for example showcasing pictures of your office on Instagram, and your daily grind—and have fun while you’re doing it. Your brand fans will love it! Create a Plan for Content. Plan out your content through various tools such as editorial calendars. You will find it easier to maintain a consistent content plan with one. Make Important Info A Focus. Simple tip, but a vital reminder. This goes for pricing, calls to action, and any other pertinent info. Don’t let it get lost on site or else you’ll lose visitors. Refine Your Approach. Compile a full list, or “brain dump,” of your ideas for content pieces. Next, narrow down and refine your approach. Create content on just a few of your narrowed-down, hot topics for impactful results. Make Vital Points Standout. People only read about 20% of all of the content on your page – make what you want them to see stand out from the rest. Remove Distractions. Too many choices can create higher levels of anxiety for visitors, which can negatively impact conversion rates. Focus on your highest seller or main pain point and dwindle down anything else. Make Your Content Easy to Scan. Only 16% of readers will read all of your blog content, but 79% of visitors will scan. Writing easy-to-scan content will help you reach out to every visitor and reader. Break your content up with sub-headers. Use the Power of One. The “power of one” helps you establish one big idea that you can focus on. This can often be your one “thing,” as well. Focus on one thought for every page or post. Know Which Content Types Work Well. Multiple content formats are excellent, but before you jump into each, make sure you know which ones will work the best. Test, analyze, and check the engagement of your content types; and tweak or change your habits accordingly. Utilize Visual Content. When an image is used, tweets see more engagement with 18% more tweets, 89% favorites, and 150% re-tweets. And Facebook saw a growth of 3.6x in the amount of videos used on the channel. Write Long-Form Content. Long content gives the perception of added value, making people more likely to trust and read. Posts over 2,500 words also do very well in the rankings. Create Relevant Content. You don’t want content that is outdated or doesn’t make sense to your audience. Instead, write content on trending topics within your industry as well as content you know your audience wants and needs to see. Bloggers, Include a Subscription Box. Email subscription boxes are a great way to give visitors access to content, eventually converting them into leads. (For every $1 spent on email marketing, average revenue is $44.25.) Test Different Calls to Action. Just by changing and testing the copy on their calls to action, Mozilla saw higher download rates for Firefox. They went from “Try Firefox” to “Download Firefox – Free”, and saw more clicks. Try and test actionable verbs and adjectives to convince people to click, purchase, and share … Read more

The Top 60 Content Marketers You Should Be Following on Twitter

January 1, 2021October 27, 2015 by Adam Oakley

For any kind of marketer, Twitter is a hugely powerful tool. This social media platform has more than 304 million monthly active users: it’s a way for information to travel faster and broader than almost any other platform on the web. That said, within those 304 million users, who are the ones worth following as content marketing leaders? That have similar interests to us as marketers, and are leaders within the content marketing space? Let’s take a look! 60 Top Content Marketers You Should Follow (Today) On Twitter My list of these top 60 content marketers is made up of the crème de la crème of the industry. These content marketers specialize in everything from Content Marketing 101, SEO and how content fits into that, all the way to advanced branding techniques. I follow these guys and have engaged with them regularly. Good stuff will follow if you start following them today – you’ll probably learn a few things as you consistently see and read their content. Here you go (all their names are linked to their Twitter handles), in no particular order: 1. Rand Fishkin. Rand Fishkin is an author, blogger and founder of SEO Giant Moz. People who follow his tweets can look forward to ample marketing, SEO, technology and startup information. 2. Jay Baer. Author of the New York Times bestselling book Youtility, Jay Baer is a global keynote speaker, and digital media entrepreneur as well as being president the strategy consulting firm @Convince. 3. Brian Clark. CEO of Rainmaker Digital, Brain Clark is also the curator of several successful content marketing websites. 4. David Burn. David Burn is a content strategist, writer and brand specialist who assists content marketers in learning to distribute content effectively and write pieces that will draw readers in. 5. Michael Brenner. Michael Brenner is a renowned speaker, author and blogger with @MKTGInsiders as well as being Head of Strategy @Newscred. Brenner is also the former VP of Content Marketing with @SAP. 6. Mitch Joel. President of Mirum, Mitch Joel is a marketer, speaker, author and self-proclaimed “media hacker.” Additionally, Joel is a blogger at Six Pixels of Separation. People that can’t get enough of Joel via Twitter can check out his new book Ctrl Alt Delete. 7. Brian Fanzo. I enjoy catching Brian on Periscope as well as watching all of his keynote speeches. He’s an energetic social media advocate, going by the title “Change Evangelist”, has a huge following, and is behind the iSocialFanz site. Follow him for great insights on how to run your social media. 8. Sue B. Zimmerman. She’s the “Instagram Expert”, a successful entrepreneur, speaker, and Instagram coach. This lady is the go-to expert when it comes to Instagram, and she’s hot on Periscope too. 9. Neil Patel. Neil Patel is a renowned entrepreneur and blogger who has started two analytics companies: @CrazyEgg and KISSmetrics. He’s a top followed content marketer (I read and enjoy all his stuff). 10. Pamela I Wilson. Pamela I. Wilson is the owner of Big Brand System. She also manages the CopyBlogger blog and produces educational products for the company. 11. Jeneba Jalloh Ghatt. Jeneba Jalloh Ghatt is an attorney-turned-content marketer who was named one of the Top 50 Rich Media Influencers to follow. 12. Paul Roetzer. Paul Roetzer is the Founder of The Marketing Performance Blueprint & The Marketing Agency Blueprint as well as being the Creator of Marketing Score (@MKTScore). 13. Aaron Orendorff. Aaron Orendorff’s mission is to “save the world from bad content.” He is also a contributor for publications like @EntMagazine, @FastCompany, @BusinessInsider, @SuccessMagazine, @CopyBlogger and @Unbounce. 14. Lee Odden. Lee Odden is the CEO of @TopRank, where he specializes in online marketing. He is also a B2B Content Marketing consultant and a social media and PR specialist. 15. Bob Geller. Bob Geller is a PR and content specialist as well as being the president of Fusion PR. 16. Joanna Wiebe. She is the genius copywriter and Internet marketer we all aspire to be. CEO of Copyhackers and top-notch wordsmith, Joanna has been featured in numerous places and sites. 17. Jeff Deutsch. Jeff Deutsch is the VP of Marketing for @ptengine. He also contributes content to @HubSpot. 18. Ryan Hanley. Ryan is the host of the popular Content Warfare podcast and author of the book by the same name. 19. Amanda Subler. Amanda Subler is a former journalist turned public relations, content marketing and video production specialist. She is also a PR and Media Manager for @CMIContent. 20. Tim Ash. Tim Ash is the CEO of Site Tuners and author of the bestselling book Landing Page Optimization. 21. Meryl K. Evans. Meryl K. Evans is a writer, editor, social media specialist and content marketer. Her tweets are aimed at helping content marketers adapt to web standards and boost site traffic. 22. Doug Kessler. Doug Kessler is a content marketing, B2B copywriting, social media and tech marketing specialist who focuses on helping content marketers learn to promote their brand and write better content. 23. Matt Heinz. Matt Heinz focuses on helping B2B companies produce more revenue via focused marketing strategies. He also helps companies produce more demand from customers and hone their sales process. 24. Bernie Borges. Bernie Borges is the host of The Social Business Engine Digital TV Show & Podcast as well as being the CEO of popular B2B digital marketing firm Find and Convert. 25. Neal Schaffer. Neal Schaffer is an author at @MaxYourSocial as well as being the founder of @msocialbusiness and @socialtoolssmmt. 26. Bryan Eisenberg. Bryan Eisenberg is the founder and CMO of Ideal Spot. He is also a keynote speaker and author. 27. Rebekah Radice. She’s an award-winning social media author, speaker and strategist. She works at the uber-cool PostPlanner and is behind #InfluencerChat, as well as a co-host for #ViralChat from Post Planner on Thursdays. 28. Jay Acunzo. Jay Acunzo works on content at @NextViewVC, and is the host and producer of the Traction podcast, where he discusses and features super cool entrepreneurial stories. 29. Lisa Petrilli. Named one of the Top 20 CMO’s by Forbes, Lisa Petrilli is dedicated to empowering women in positions of business & leadership in the world of digital communication. 30. Andrew Davis. The founder of Monumental Shift, Andrew Davis teaches marketers how to find and target a niche in order to grow business and produce great work. 31. Heidi Cohen, Heidi Cohen is a speaker, professor and journalist. He shares tweets on social media, content marketing and how to create successful small businesses. 32. Henneke Duistermaat. She calls herself someone who’s on a … Read more

6 Incredible Ways You Can Create Content Worthy of BBC’s Sherlock

December 31, 2020June 15, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Storytelling is an excellent tool to use in your content marketing strategy, giving your brand personality and connecting you with readers. It can help boost your content and shares, but just how can you go about telling a story with your content? Where can you get excellent inspiration? In this blog, I want to look at the BBC’s Sherlock series, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as everyone’s favorite consulting detective and Martin Freeman as his loveable friend, John Watson. (If you’ve yet to watch this incredible series, it is available on Netflix and on DVD/BluRay.) Let’s take a look at some great lessons you can learn! How BBC’s Sherlock Wins at Storytelling Since BBC’s Sherlock is such a great resource for storytelling, I am going to look at what you can learn for your copywriting. These are some amazing things the show does, and it can help your content incredibly. 1. It Utilizes Excellent Story Symmetry. Symmetry is a great part of storytelling and can make a story more impactful. This could be whether in the framing on a TV show like Sherlock or a Stanley Kubrick flick. However, Sherlock illustrates symmetry not only in filming but also within the story. When we get to the end of the first episode of season 1, we see John Watson taking things into his own hands, willingly saving Sherlock’s life. He could have been caught and even charged with a crime, but his friend was more important than his criminal record. When we get to the third episode of season three, the same thing happens, only this time it is Sherlock saving John in a similar fashion. He knew he would get caught and punished, but he wanted to protect his friend, knowing Watson would do, and has done, the same for him. While you don’t have to create a symmetrical story like this, using symmetry in your posting can help to bring about consistency. Symmetry is soothing to many people and if you create symmetrical content, you could see more engagement and shares. You can create symmetrical copy with your writing or you can create images or videos that utilize it. Either way, it can help you stand out and make you look incredibly professional. 2. The Writers Utilize Emotion to Draw in Viewers. If you watch any season of Sherlock, you know that it can be an emotional roller coaster. What do you mean Moriarty did that and why is Sherlock listening to him? Who is this Magnussen and why is he threatening John and Mary? Whatever happens, people feel the anger, excitement, and sometimes extreme sadness due to the storytelling by the writers of Sherlock. One of the most intense episodes, The Reichenbach Fall, connected with many viewers and created a huge stir online. It still has an impact, even if you’ve watched it multiple times. Using emotion in your content can be a great way to draw in readers and convert visitors into leads. You can focus on a variety of emotions whether they are happy, sad, upsetting, or even cause anger. Always remember when dealing with emotions to do so respectfully, especially if you are going to write content on something people are angry about. Emotions can help you connect with your audience while also giving your brand a personal voice both on social media and within your copywriting. 3. We See What Sherlock Sees. The show lets us in on what Sherlock sees by going over a person’s body or items and highlighting aspects with words. We learn that someone owns a dog, has a wife in labor, and more just from Sherlock’s glance. When this happens, we are all transported into being Sherlock. This is a great way to connect watchers with the show and help them feel like they are part of it. Breaking the wall between viewers and a show isn’t always recommended in television, film, or stage productions, but many BBC shows, like Doctor Who and Sherlock break it. When it is broken well, people can really engage with the story. Just think, if you’ve watched Doctor Who, how terrifying is it that the Weeping Angles are still stone because you the watcher are staring at them? You can break that wall easily with your copy, and it isn’t as touch and go as it is with TV or stage. A great way to break it is to write in first or second person and ask your readers direct questions. It can be a rhetorical question like I did above about the creepiness of the Weeping Angels, or it can be an open-ended question that gives your readers the ability to answer with their own opinions and questions. Let people in on what you’re writing to build a great connection and relationship with them. Writing in something like second person can be a great way to draw your audience in and help them connect with your content. 4. The Show Repurposes the Original Stories to Create Something New. Sherlock is one huge example of just how you can repurpose a story and create more for further content. The show has a lot of great source material to work with due to the many stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the writers always make sure to create something incredible and unique. If they followed the typical storylines we all have memorized (see: The Hound of the Baskervilles) then it would quickly become a boring show. However, the writers make each episode different, adding their own twists to each and repurposing the content effectively to create a powerful story. You can do something similar with your content by repurposing your other blogs and copy to create something new and impactful. You can use your older content to help build a story and create storytelling that will connect with your readers while still using your existing copy. Repurpose content to see just how powerful it can become and how many clients and readers you are able to … Read more

20 Excellent Content Marketing Tips You Can Learn From Tide

January 1, 2021June 2, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Content marketing is such a fun, interesting part of creating a website that converts. It can be daunting at times, but there are some truly excellent places to garner inspiration from. Sometimes inspiration can come from unexpected places, like the laundry and cleaning products brand, Tide. Let’s look at how they approach content marketing, as well as what you can learn from them. I promise you’ll learn some excellent tips that can help clean up your content marketing approach and make it sparkle. 20 Amazing Tips You Can Apply to Your Content Marketing Tide is a great company with excellent product, and this company is one that knows it needs to focus on content marketing to bring in more clients—and creates great things in their content marketing space. Tide Creates Ads Based Off of Common Problems. When you head over to the Tide landing page, you will see a great section with different blocks of content. There are a wide variety of content pieces, and each one has a chance to answer a problem you have. For me, it addresses how to wash certain types of clothing, which is very helpful. For parents, it addresses things like how to keep your Tide products in an easy-to-reach place while also being out of reach for children. No matter what, Tide has made sure to answer your common laundry questions all on the landing page. Tide Personalizes the Landing Page To You. They do this by showing you a simple weather-in-your-area box. Heading over to Tide’s web page won’t just show you items that address your problems or needs. It is also personalized to show weather in your area. It is awesome to see my town’s name with a little weather widget on a huge brand’s website. Even though I know it is something built into the website, I still feel more of a connection with Tide by seeing something personalized. You Can Go Coupon Crazy on the Site. Who doesn’t like coupons? They help you save money on items you want and need, and we can all use some money saving techniques at some point. Tide knows this and the company makes it easy for you to click on a coupon box and be taken to a list of excellent coupons for your favorite Tide products. You can keep these coupons on your phone or print them off to take with you. Either way you are able to save money on products you need, which can really help lower that grocery bill when you’re checking out. Are You Washing Denim Wrong? As I mentioned in point one, Tide has many content blocks that help with problems you may have. One of mine is knowing just how to wash certain clothes, especially denim. Right there, on the home page, Tide links you to an excellent piece giving you tips and pointers on just how to wash your jeans and other denim products. I find this immensely helpful since washing jeans is something I do quite a bit of. It is great to find this, and while Tide would love for you to choose Tide products for washing clothing, the tips can work with other laundry detergents. This is a perfect example of giving your clients something useful instead of just focusing on selling your product. Tide Utilizes Multiple Content Formats. While perusing through Tide’s website, I realized that there isn’t just one type of content. Tide utilizes multiple content formats to give clients access to every aspect of the site no matter what the client is doing. The company shares videos, images, and written content for clients, which is absolutely perfect. This helps to give clients content they can consume no matter where they are and how much time they have. Help People Out and Look Great Doing So. People love to give back and help others in need, and Tide understands this desire. When you head to the website, you are given the chance to help someone out while getting an excellent, vintage-inspired t-shirt. When you buy a shirt from Tide’s Loads of Hope charity, $4 of your purchase will go towards helping people after a disaster. This is a great idea because it gives people something tangible to have while also helping others after terrible disasters take over their lives. You Get Even More Tips for Keeping Fabrics Safe. Remember how I mentioned that the landing page links to a great denim “how-to”? Well, Tide doesn’t stop there. In fact, the company has a whole list of helpful tips for washing any type of material. No matter if you are washing specific fabrics or need some help with how to de-clutter the laundry you have, Tide is ready with excellent, helpful tips for anyone. This is excellent because the company doesn’t always focus on the products, and readers who don’t purchase Tide products can still get help. This can eventually lead to those readers becoming clients simply because Tide gave them free help. Garment Stories Offer Excellent Advice for Style and Fashion. Tide also gives some fashion and style advice, because that is something clients will love. No, it isn’t specifically related to cleaning materials, but fashion obviously requires clothes, making this a great branch of content inspiration. You can see different “Garment Stories” from Tide, getting excellent tips for what to wear as well as how to care for your clothing. The Site is Laid Out in an Easy-to-Understand Fashion. Something that I really enjoy about Tide’s home page and landing pages is that it is all easy to understand. I can quickly find exactly what I am looking for, and not be inundated with a bunch of content that doesn’t interest me. My eyes scan over the site quickly and naturally, helping me skim until I find something I want or need. What a great example of how a website should be laid out! Tide Gives Helpful Tips for Parents. While not everyone who purchases and uses … Read more

7 Content Marketing Lessons Your Business Can Learn from Marvel’s Superhero Movies

January 1, 2021May 18, 2015 by Josh McCoy

Marvel is one of the biggest, and hottest, production companies right now. It is an incredible place to seek and gain content marketing inspiration from, too! This company has an excellent approach to content marketing, as we can all see with their ad campaigns for their films, including the latest The Avengers: Age of Ultron. (If you have yet to see that film, take the chance to go and have a fun, summer movie experience, all while learning from some of the top marketers and writers in the comic industry.) Just what can you learn from Marvel for your small business and content marketing? This blog is going to look at that and how it can help you create an excellent, effective content marketing strategy that will bring in tremendous success. 7 Tips from a Giant in the Content Marketing World: Marvel What are the lessons you can expect to learn from Marvel? There are many different ones, but I take a look at a few of the top ones that can really help to impact your business. Get ready to take some notes and learn just how to improve your content strategy, and bring in new clients with a superhero-sized plan! Marvel Builds Their Brand Through Content, Constantly. When it comes to the content marketing world, Marvel can’t be beat with their epic content strategy. Their main way of survival is to, obviously, create excellent content, and they make sure that they are always doing so while building their brand through it. The Marvel brand isn’t exactly as it was ten or twenty years ago and this is because they’ve taken the chance to build and grow their brand over the decades. Their superheroes have taken on different elements and have had mega life changes throughout the comic books, and when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we see even more changes to characters and their stories. Marvel has multiple universes with multiple hero and villain story variations, making their content very strong, which helps to make their brand incredibly powerful.How can you apply this to your content strategy? You can easily use your content whether for web, blogs, social media, or any other type to help build your brand and make it better. You can create an incredibly, strong company that people trust just through content, which is what Marvel has been and is doing with their client base. Start working on your content to help create and improve your brand to bring in more clients, as well as helping you keep your existing ones for many years. Marvel Provides Multiple Content Formats for Fans. I’ve mentioned this multiple times when it comes to creating content; multiple formats are vital to your content marketing, and Marvel understands this. If you aren’t a big fan of reading comic books, you don’t have to worry because you can easily go to many different Marvel films to watch superheroes battle it out with villains. In addition, if you prefer comic books to movies, then you are perfectly fine there. You can also watch various Marvel television shows ranging from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to Daredevil, and soon there will be even more Marvel television taking over the TV world. Marvel doesn’t just limit themselves to story-based content, however. They provide access to a variety of things including conventions for their fans and are constantly growing and evolving to meet the demands of the comic fan world.Providing different formats for your clients is a great way to not only give existing customers easier ways to consume content, but also to bring in newer clients. You will be able to reach a wider customer base by doing so, and you will see a significant increase in your views, clicks, and revenue just by providing different formats to your clients. The formats can be anything ranging from YouTube videos to social media content and infographics. Don’t limit yourself; be like Marvel and allow your content to develop in order to grow your client base and business. They Approach the Entirety of Their Universe. Marvel doesn’t just pick and choose which aspect of their universe they will promote and provide content for – they approach it all. They take a holistic type of approach, which helps make their various universes feel consistent. When you approach the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you will see an overlap of heroes and villains throughout several movies, bringing stories from different films together to create a larger, more impressive story. No matter which Marvel film you see, you will see reference to another and another. This is mighty impressive as they have a huge cinematic universe, but it helps make it an incredible experience for fans. This is a great example of what a holistic approach can provide to your content marketing strategy. You aren’t necessarily keeping stories together to create an impressive universe, but if you approach your marketing holistically, you will notice that you have a higher chance of being incredibly successful with your content. A great way to start approaching the entirety of it is to sit down with people in your business to brainstorm ideas across all content formats and fields, helping create a consistent strategy. Once you do that, you can then implement it and watch as the success starts increasing. Vision Isn’t Just an Awesome Avenger. The Avengers: Age of Ultron was an epic film that introduced a few new characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Vision. Vision is a pretty cool character, but his name is also a great example of what Marvel has. When it comes to making films for their cinematic universe, Marvel has an incredible vision and is planning all the way to 2020 and beyond for their releases. If you aren’t sure of just all that Marvel will be releasing, you can take a look at the full calendar. Remember, Marvel does keep releasing news about upcoming films in various phases, and we might just hear of more … Read more

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

January 10, 2023May 1, 2015 by Adam Oakley

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