In a world where more than 27 million pieces of contentare shared on a daily basis, it can be difficult to stand out from the “content sea” long enough to get noticed by new readers.
This is complicated by the fact that every business has competitors, and every single competitor wants to be stand out just as much as you do.
So, you’re in a field where other businesses are likely looking to cover the same topics, news, and events as you are.
That’s a tough deal.
So, how do you ensure that your content is what stands out from the crowd, and you’re the one rising above field competitors?
Let’s explore.
Why Study Your Competitors? “Only the Paranoid Survive”
If you’ve been in the management world for awhile, you’re probably familiar with Andy Grove’s famous book Only the Paranoid Survive.
While Grove’s book title might seem dire, it’s actually a good lesson for anyone looking to outperform their competitors.
The truth is that, in today’s world, content is competitive and in order to gain a cutting edge on the other companies in your industry, you need to be able to foster and engage a deep-seated curiosity about what your competitors are doing and how they’re doing it.
Here at Express Writers, we’ve done just that.
While we wouldn’t call ourselves “paranoid” by any stretch, we’ve dedicated ourselves to outperforming our competitors.
Our Blog vs. Theirs: How We Outdid the Competition
As a content creation company, we pride ourselves greatly on being able to write amazing content.
Heck, check out this massive case study I just published on the fact of the matter: we outrank other writing companies by a whopping 5% on Google. We’re talking companies with literally 100x more funding than us. (Come on, guys, it’s as simple as using the service you provide! Actually…it’s a lot harder than that just sounded.)
So, one small facet of our overall content marketing picture is to look at what our competitors are talking about, and how to do it a lot better.
Check out how we did just that.
Here’s a real case study of how we’ve outdone our competition:
Them (Competitor): An agency in our industry field recently wrote a <500 word, general piece on “how to do content marketing for boring industries.” There was no formatting, sub headers, and it was written by a non-native English speaker (which would be okay if the writing flow wasn’t significantly off in a few sentences). Us: We took the idea we saw from our competitor as inspiration, went a step further, and first researched a long tail keyword with a viable opportunity. Using SEMrush and KWFinder, both of which are our go-to SEO tools, we found out that “guide to writing for boring industries” gave us both a great long-tail keyword and an idea for a topic. We handed this to one of our full-time copywriters, Ashley. She put a piece together for the Write Blog that was more than double the length and offered practical points that every business owner could put to use on how to create content for their online presence even if they were in a “boring” industry. Ashley talked about the actual writing content part instead of the broader content marketing picture, as our competitor did (we got more nitty-gritty): she showed our readers how to develop a metaphor, use statistics, and more. The piece included much more research, outbound/relevant and high quality links, and practical solutions.
Here’s what the us vs. them looked like in the end. (Domain name removed from the competitor screenshot.)
Them: Under 5 social shares. No comments. No rankings.
Us: 91 social shares, a couple comments. Ready for the cool part?
We be cool cats. #1 ranking for that keyword. Heck, we outdid Moz!
So as you can see, in the end process we don’t just “copy” topics from others when we do study our competitors. (I don’t condone that.)
We’ll go deep and look at what questions they’ve left unanswered in their content, or what’s missing from the value in the content, and how we can do it better. Sometimes, we’ll even look at the comments on the piece with questions from readers. And, we might back that up with checking to see what people are asking about on Quora in the topic; then we’ll write blogs to provide a fuller, clearer picture on the topic.
As mentioned earlier, because of strategies like these, we have more content ranked in Google than any of our copywriting competitors, by an entire 5% visibility on average. In Google, 5% is a big deal.
How’s that for a solid strategy?
While you don’t need to lose sleep over what your competitors are or aren’t doing, it will serve you well to pay careful attention to what they might be missing within their content and how you can do it better.
Here are five tips to get you started.
5 Key Ways You Can Write Better Content Than Your Competitors
When it comes to scoping out your competitors’’ content, there are a few key places you want to look. These tips will help give you a structure you can develop further as you progress.
1. Keep an eye on the competition
As is true with any sea, the content sea is always moving. Because of this, it’s important to stay on top of the game when it comes to monitoring your competitors. While we’re not advising that you install tracking software on their cars or anything quite that “out there”, we do advise that you use commonly available monitoring practices to keep an eye on their content creation efforts, especially in the following areas:
Links. Who is linking to your competitor and which posts are earning those links? It’s easy to monitor links by using a service like BuzzSumo link alert. This service will let you know every time your competitor receives a link to content they’ve published, so you can get a feel for what is performing well and what’s not.
Content performance. Of the content your competitor published in the last week or five days, which piece is the most popular and how many social shares is it getting? What topics did they cover in that same period? Which posts had the least interaction? BuzzSumo also offers content alerts that will allow you to see when your competitor publishes new content and how many social shares it has received.
Break-through content. Break-through content can be classified as any content that earns a high level of social shares or a high-profile mention from an industry influencer. Has your competitor published any and, if so, what sort of response has it gotten?
Social media mentions. How often is your competitor’s content mentioned on social media? Where are those mentions coming from? Not surprisingly, you can use BuzzSumo to track your competitors’ mentions, although you can also choose from a variety of other tools, including Google Alerts and SocialMention.
By monitoring your competitors’ content activity, you can get a solid feel for exactly what they’re doing and how you can do better.
2. Dissect their content
Now that you know where, how, and how often your competitors are publishing content, it’s time to get started dissecting it to find places that you can do it better. To begin with, let’s think about the following measurements:
Content length
Images/visuals in content
Content quality
Keyword optimization
Content Length
How long is the content? If you read the comments, does it seem like readers are hungry for more or are there questions that were left unanswered within the content? Is the article too short for such a broad topic or too long and drawn-out for a simple one? Could you do the topic more justice by shortening the length of the content or expanding upon certain ideas? While there’s no specific benchmark for content length, long-form content (around 2,000 words) generally performs best in terms of engagement and social shares. Keep this in mind as you seek to create your own competitive content. Images/Visuals in Content
Does your competitor use visuals in his or her content? If so, how many? Are the visuals well-placed and relevant to the body of the content? Are there other visuals you could include that would help enhance the readers’ understanding of the topic? Screenshots, for example, or charts? Would adding a custom infographic or a high-quality stock image enhance the feel of the piece. Conversely, would the piece do well with fewer visuals? While creating great content comes down to much more than just altering the visuals your competitors include in their pieces, it’s wise to take notice of another company’s visual strategy in order to enhance and outperform it. Content Quality
This is a big one. Is your competitor’s content lacking in quality? Are there factual inaccuracies, outdated statistics, spelling and grammar mistakes, or other such content sins? If so, it’s easy to outperform this content. More and more today, readers and search engines want quality, expert content. Creating content that is better-written and more relevant than the content of your competitors is a great way to get your foot in the door and begin staking your claim as a leader in your industry. Keyword Optimization
Is it obvious which keywords your competitors are optimizing their content for? Is it keyword-stuffed or are the keywords too sparse within the content?
Using a tool like SEMrush can help you gain insight into more than 120,000,000 keywords while also gaining access to analytics reports that tell you things like how your competitors are conducting their digital advertising, where their organic and paid search traffic is coming from, and how they’re using link building to enhance your content. This can help you glimpse the “bones” of their content strategy so that you can build up your own.
Here’s that screenshot I shared earlier, which was taken in SEMrush of the project we have set up there to analyze Express Writers against a few main competitors:
3. Create a new funnel
If you’ve noticed that there is a major piece that your competitors are missing (A social media outlet, for example, or an educational opportunity), it may be wise to create a new funnel.
This means creating content that operates from the standpoint of pre-established goals and is designed to be distributed on a very specific platform or in a specific format.
While this is often a labor-intensive approach, it’s a fantastic way to establish yourself as a leader in the industry and to create unique, original content that runs parallel to your existing website.
Here are a few ideas to create a new funnel for content:
Develop a course. Is there a distinct lack of a certain “how to” within your industry or questions that readers ask that nobody seems to be answering? Creating a course and an associated landing page can be a fantastic way to not only deliver this content to users by to establish yourself as the authority in the niche.
Dominate social media. If you’ve noticed that your competitors have a very weak presence on a social media platform (or several social media platforms) don’t hesitate to establish your own presence there. This will help ensure that you’re meeting all of your followers where they choose to interact and that you’re providing valuable content for readers on all platforms. Plus, if none of your competitors are there yet, it helps you ensure that your content will stand out that much more!
Create some infographics. Infographics are a fantastic form of content for anyone who wants to go viral in a hurry. If there is data in your industry that could easily be turned into an infographic, it’s wise to consider the possibility. In addition to being highly sharable, infographics are also fantastically valuable for readers.
4. Focus more on human interest
Sometimes, the weak point of your competitors’ content is not that it lacks information, doesn’t optimize for keywords correctly, or is poorly written – it’s simply that it declines to focus on human interest.
If you think about it, every piece of content you create elicits some type of reaction from your audience.
With many companies, however, that reaction is simply boredom. It doesn’t matter how statistically accurate or well-written a piece is if it doesn’t resonate with readers.
In light of this, it may be wise to identify the places where your competitors’’ content simply misses connecting with its readers.
Is there a place you can answer their questions better? Get inside their heads more efficiently? Help them solve their problems? Help them identify their problems? Is there a place you can simply be funny and make them laugh? No matter what type of content you deal in, these simple questions can go a long way toward helping you connect more efficiently with your readers.
Empathy, human interest, and impact are powerful factors in the success of content and if you can harness them to work to your advantage, you’ll find that you have award-winning content in no time.
One great tool to help you do this is ContentMarketer.io. This simple tool can help you connect with influencers and reach out to people you mention in your content and posts. Fantastic for securing mentions from influencers and helping rocket your content into the spotlight, this tool will quickly become a go-to.
5. Keep your eyes on the horizon
Remember the content sea analogy? If you don’t know where you’re pointing the ship, it’s easy to wind up somewhere you don’t want to be. In light of this, it’s important to balance your content monitoring efforts with a healthy dose of anticipating what’s going to come next.
Fewer people will be interested in content on how to start a great blog, for example, than they will about Google’s huge new algorithm release.
Novelty is powerful and people want content that stays up to date on the happenings within the industry. While creating time-tested evergreen content is important for the overall health and well-being of your blog, keeping your eyes on the horizon of your industry and being aware of developing trends is a great way to become to go-to for readers who want relevant and timely content.
To help yourself stay abreast of what’s happening, use a tool like BuzzSumo to track trending content and get a feel for what’s earning the most shares in the industry.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, outshining your competitors’ content is as simple as paying closer attention.
By monitoring their content output, evaluating what gets shared and what doesn’t, and locating places that you can fill in gaps in their strategy, you can build a content strategy that will quickly outshine your competitors’ on every level.
Did you miss #ContentWritingChat this week? You can catch up with all of the amazing tips shared during the chat with our recap. Keep reading to learn about content writing for B2B and B2C!
#ContentWritingChat Recap: B2B vs. B2C Content Writing: Best Practices & Strategies with Sparxoo
Our guest host this week was Emily Culclasure from Sparxoo. Emily is their Content Marketing Specialist and had tons of knowledge to share with us!
Q1: What are the main differences between creating content for B2B and B2C?
If you aren’t already aware, let’s first talk about what B2B and B2C stands for. B2B means Business to Business. B2C means Business to Consumer. There are a few differences for creating content for each of these that you want to be aware of! Here are some tips from Tuesday’s chat:
A1:B2B content has a heavier focus on thought leadership to establish authority and trust. #ContentWritingChat
As Emily said, B2B content often has a heavier focus on thought leadership to help establish both authority and trust. She said B2C content emphasizes benefits to the consumer.
A1: It’s about their audience. Everything should start with your audience, and they are different btwn B2B & B2C. #contentwritingchat
Lexie agrees that one of the main differences is the audience you’re creating for. It can change the tone in which you write, the type of content you share, and more.
A1: B2B usually focuses on educational content and industry knowledge. B2C can focus more on emotion, etc. #contentwritingchat
When it comes to B2B, the content is usually focused on education content and industry knowledge. When creating content for B2C, it’s often more focused on emotion to draw in your audience.
@writingchat Understanding the needs of both audiences and adapting your content to provide value for each #ContentWritingChat
Keystone Click knows you need to understand the needs of your audience and adapt your content accordingly. You should always focus on providing value, no matter who your audience is.
A1 Different tones, more intensive research. Talk to the audience in their language. Use the right voice (fun vs. dry) #ContentWritingChat
Our CEO, Julia, said the tone is often different when creating content for each. You want to make sure you’re speaking to your audience in a language that resonates with them.
Q2: How does user into factor in B2B and B2C content? What are the differences?
What are the differences between the two? Find out what some of the participants in this week’s chat had to say:
A1:B2B buyers are often further along the buyer’s journey and seek data or statistics that prove a brand’s authority. #ContentWritingChat
Emily said B2B buyers often seek data or statistics to prove a brand’s authority. Because a B2C buyer can be at any stage in the journey, brand awareness and relationship building is essential.
Lexie knows that both are looking for information, but they’re often looking for different kinds of information. B2B wants more in-depth information while B2C is more about awareness.
A2. a) B2B needs to be more direct- a reader often lands on your page looking for a solution for an existing problem. #ContentWritingChat
Cheryl feels B2B needs to be more direct. She said a reader will often land on your website looking for a solution for an existing problem. You need to be able to provide that solution for them.
A2. b) The ‘B’ doesn’t stand for ‘boring’ in B2B. However, the need to inform & educate overrides entertainment in B2B. #ContentWritingChat
You also want to keep in mind that the sales cycle for B2B is often longer. Make sure you’ve created content for your customer at every step of their journey.
Q3: What are some tips for creating an effective editorial calendar for your content?
We all know an editorial calendar is important. To help you create one that’s effective, keep these tips in mind:
A:Account for seasonality and timeliness. Balance content creation and curation, and always keep the user in mind. #ContentWritingChat
Emily said to make sure you account for seasonality and timeliness. Consider what’s coming up and adapt your content accordingly. She also recommends balancing creation with curation and keeping your audience in mind.
Annaliese’s advice is to plan for the upcoming month. Don’t leave your editorial calendar until the last minute. When you have your content planned in advance, it makes content creation so much easier.
A3. Know which dates impact your customers the most and plan ~1 month in advance if you can. #contentwritingchat
Lexie knows consistency is key! You want to stick to a schedule that works for you so your audience knows when to expect new content. It gives them something to look forward to.
@writingchat A3: Testing, testing, testing. Be sure to test different forms of content to find out what works #ContentWritingChat
Testing is a must! As Tracy said, you need to test to see which kinds of content resonate with your audience. It’ll let you know what you should create more of and less of.
a3: We love @trello!!! The boards make it too easy to move things around and make everyone aware of changes. #ContentWritingChat
With B2B content, Emily said to demonstrate your industry expertise and use industry jargon. She also said to make sure your USP is direct and clear to your audience.
For B2C content, she said to focus on building a relationship with your audience. She recommends focusing on aspirations, positive emotions, and storytelling.
Annaliese said to make sure you know what content you’re going to create for each stage of the customer’s journey when it comes to a B2B. You want to make sure they don’t get lost or abandon you.
@ExpWriters A4: Write what you would want to read. If you know it is boring, ask why you are doing it #ContentWritingChat
Jacob’s advice is to write what you want to read. If it’s something you’d enjoy, your audience might enjoy it as well. If you don’t enjoy it, they won’t either.
.@ExpWriters#ContentWritingChat A4b. Once you know your audience, craft relevant, persuasive and sticky content. Become a pro at that.
Emily said goals for a B2B include increasing lead generation, lead nurturing, brand awareness, and engagement. Goals for a B2B include increasing sales, audience engagement, brand awareness, and customer retention.
Lexie said your goals will vary based on your industry. However, she believes the overall goal is to create a relationship with your audience that ultimately turns into a conversion.
A5 Tailor your end goals to content + audience expectations. Tie in relevant CTAs, look for ROI/conversion from clicks #ContentWritingChat
As Julia said, you should tailor your end goals to your content and audience expectations. You should be sure to add relevant CTAs and track your ROI/conversions from the clicks you receive.
A5: Know you goal eg) get mailing list sign-ups, enquiries, online sales etc. The content can work to achieve said goal. #ContentWritingChat
Justine said your goal might be to get more sign-ups to your email list, more business inquiries, sales, etc. Make sure you just tailor your content to help you achieve those goals.
@writingchat A5: Know what you want to do with your content – brand awareness, sales, etc. Then you can measure success #ContentWritingChat
Julia’s advice is to take the time to make sure it’s your best work. You don’t need to rush. It’s more important to take your time to create something that’s valuable and high quality. Before you hit publish on anything, ask yourself if you are happy with your work. Would you want to read it? If the answer to those questions is yes, then you’re good to go.
A6: You can test in the background (Your CTA, offer value, etc) or simply ask your audience for their input. #contentwritingchat
Annaliese said to test in the background. Measure results from your CTA and more to see how well it’s performing. You can even ask your audience for their input.
A6. Your content should always prompt someone to take action. #contentwritingchat
Emily’s advice is to share case studies, webinars, white papers, and blog posts for B2B. For a B2C, she said to go for branded and user-generated social media content. She also said photos, videos, and infographics work well.
A7: For B2B: white papers, infographics, webinars. For B2C: Fun blog posts, social posts, etc. Blogs are great for both! #contentwritingchat
When it comes to B2B, Emily said HubSpot does a great job. She said they offering certifications, best practices, and more that add value to their audience. For B2C, she said Taco Bell’s humor and bold branding are effective in attracting their younger audience.
A8: I think @HubSpot is great at producing marketing content of value. I’m a marketer, so I like companies that help me. #contentwritingchat
Cheryl shared an amazing list of brands that are all worth checking out!
We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM CDT for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!
Need help with better blog content, monthly topic planning, web copy and more? Visit the Content Shop!
Did you miss this week’s #ContentWritingChat? If so, you missed an amazing discussion! There’s no need to worry though. We have a full recap so you can catch up and learn all about how to write for difficult industries.
Do you need proof that Tuesday’s chat was amazing? Take a look at this! We trended at #11!
This week, our guest host was Kathleen Garvin. This was Kathleen’s second time guest hosting our chat and we always love having her share her expertise. As an editor for The Penny Hoarder, she has loads of great advice to share on writing.
Q1: What are some of the craziest/most difficult industries you’ve written for?
To start off the chat, we wanted to see what kind of writing experience our chat participants have had. While some of them haven’t written for any crazy industries, quite a few had. Let’s just say their answers didn’t disappoint!
Kathleen has had to write for an extremely niche healthcare product before, which she found to be pretty crazy. She also said that personal finance was the most difficult for her because she found it boring.
A1: The hardest web copy I ever wrote was for a rock hauling company. (Was writing small biz websites for @hibuUS). #ContentWritingChat
No matter what, you always need to keep the basics in mind. Kathleen said to ensure you have good grammar, correct spelling, and the right information.
A2: Write how people talk (no robot speak?), use images to break up text + interview interesting industry peeps. #ContentWritingChat
Kathleen and Alberto were on the same page with their responses. Remember that you’re writing for people. Write how people talk, not like a robot.
Kathleen also suggests using images to break up the text in your article and interviewing people in the industry you’re writing for.
A2: May be boring to you but useful and informative to the reader. Address their interests and questions. #contentwritingchat
Kathleen said to ask a lot of questions. Figure out what other people within the industry are asking and talking about. She also said to see what industry leaders are covering. Check out reputable publications to gather information.
#ContentWritingChat A3: Ask the client if they have memberships to any industry-specific publications. It can you find important docs.
— New Jupiter Media (@NewJupiterMedia) June 14, 2016
If you need to have a membership to access industry-specific publications, ask your client. They may have a membership already.
A3: Search industry-wide hashtags and influencers to view the type of content your industry is writing about. #ContentWritingChat
Take your research to social media! You can search hashtags that are widely used by the industry you’re writing for in order to see what others are talking about.
A3) Google Alerts gets me started, then I try to include at least two other sources to cite in the work. #ContentWritingChat#SEO
Jenn said Google Alerts help her with her research. Consider setting up Google Alerts for the industries you write for so you’ll be notified of the latest news.
A3: Identify an industry expert (with @BuzzSumo) and do research. Build this into your pricing structure. #ContentWritingChat
Amanda said to gather as much information as you can. Read news articles, case studies, and anything else you can find. Don’t forget to get information from your clients, too.
A3: Get client’s quotes/input – guide you in the right direction & keep them involved. #contentwritingchat
Kathleen knows Google Analytics is a must. She said to get to know your stats, data, and demographics. She also recommends Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush.
Kathleen said to get higher-ups to contribute content. It’s a good idea to get others involved and sharing their expertise. We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM CDT for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!
Did you miss #ContentWritingChat this week? You’re in the right spot, because I’ve put together a recap of some of the best tweets from Tuesday’s chat all about How to Level Up Your Content Writing Career. Ready to learn? Let’s dive in!
#ContentWritingChat March 1 2016 Recap: How to Level Up Your Content Writing Career
This week, our guest host was Tara Clapper. Tara is the Blog Editor over at SEMrush and the Senior Editor at The Geek Initiative. (She’s also a moderator on Julia’s Facebook group: Learn Online Writing.) She joined us to talk about building your career as a content writer. Our chat this week was amazing. We had lots of new participants and a ton of energy going during the chat. It was hard to keep up with all the participation! Some of the fun kudos shared:
At 11am EST, join #ContentWritingChat! w @JuliaEMcCoy and the team from ExpressWriters – the fastest minds and flaming keyboards on Twitter! — Michael Stricker (@RadioMS) March 1, 2016
Wow.. I’m loving the energy, thoughts and conversation today at #ContentWritingChat!! ??
Tara gave some great advice for anyone looking to switch to a freelance career. Don’t rely on just one employer. You never know how things will go and you want to make sure you have other options. As Kathleen said, you should get started NOW. Don’t quit your 9-5 job before you’ve established yourself in your freelancing career.
A1 I waited 1-2 months to ramp up writing gigs + income to replace my min.wage job, then I quit everything to write. #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) March 1, 2016
Julia, our CEO, didn’t quit her minimum wage job for writing cold turkey either. Build up your portfolio and start connecting with contacts first before you make the leap.
A1: Learn how to negotiate. Don’t undervalue your work. Be willing to walk away if not getting fairly compensated. #ContentWritingChat — Laura Powell (@dailysuitcase) March 1, 2016
Laura gave some sound advice on staying firm to your rates, too.
A2: If you <3 side gigs, you don’t mind managing the business end of things, and writing is all you do, it’s destiny. #ContentWritingChat — Tara M. Clapper (@irishtara) March 1, 2016
Q2: you don’t know Content Writing COULD be your career, you know it MUST BE your calling, your obsession! #ContentWritingChat — Michael Stricker (@RadioMS) March 1, 2016
A2. Simple: if you LOVE to write. Passion is #1, skills can be taught. Why I’m in content marketing = love for writing #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) March 1, 2016
If you’re wondering if content writing is the career for you, here’s how to tell: Make sure you’re fine with managing the business side of things. You are going to be responsible for finding clients and landing jobs. It’s all on you! And as Michael said, content writing needs to be your calling. You must have a passion for it in order to succeed!
A3: Content #writers should know: basic #SEO, 2-3 niche topics, how to format and edit in Word using revisions tool. #ContentWritingChat — Tara M. Clapper (@irishtara) March 1, 2016
A3: Necessary skills are self-editing, #SEO and how to engage people through storytelling #contentwritingchat — Ashby Strauch (@ashbystrauch) March 1, 2016
We got some great tips from people in the chat about what skills content writers need to have! As Tara pointed out, you need to know the basics of SEO. Taking the time to optimize your posts for search engines is so important if you want to make sure your content gets seen. (And you do!) Grenae said you also need to know how to research and be able to meet deadlines. And as Ashby said, a good content writer needs to be able to engage his/her audience through storytelling. Storytelling is key to great writing to keep your audience interested and reading until the very end.
A3 First, good writing skills (grammar, nuance, flow). Secondly, online & audience optimization (ie, SEO vs social) #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) March 1, 2016
A3 Writing a good headline is essential! Practice makes perfect. I’ve written 500+ and still learning best phrasing #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) March 1, 2016
Julia points out that great headline creation skills are important here, too.
A4: Keyword stuffing is an outdated ‘skill.’ Most of your clients probably won’t know that and will ask you to do it. #ContentWritingChat — Tara M. Clapper (@irishtara) March 1, 2016
For the most part, everyone in Tuesday’s chat said keyword stuffing is OUT. Content shouldn’t be filled with keywords. They should be worked into the content in a way that sounds natural. Your readers don’t like articles stuffed with keywords and neither does Google.
A5a: Grammarly (especially for non-native English writers), @SEMrush for Keyword, phrase research, Soovle for Amazon KWs #ContentWritingChat — Michael Stricker (@RadioMS) March 1, 2016
We received a ton of recommendations for great tools to use in content writing. If you haven’t already, check out a few of these suggestions: CoSchedule’s headline analyzer, SEMrush, and Grammarly. But as Kristen said, you can’t rule out the good ol’ Thesaurus. It’s always helpful!
A6A: Referrals are the most genuine and easiest way to get quality clients. Go the extra mile and you’ll get referred. #ContentWritingChat — Tara M. Clapper (@irishtara) March 1, 2016
A6. Really get to know who you’re writing for + put extra effort into those relationships #contentwritingchat — Kristen Dunleavy (@KristenWritesIt) March 1, 2016
If you want to establish a good reputation as a content writer, take Tara’s advice: Go the extra mile. Clients will appreciate when you go one step further to create great content and build a relationship with them. Don’t forget to network with others in the community too.
A6. Respect deadlines, stay true to your craft, and participate in chats to network with others in the community. #Contentwritingchat
— Village Print&Media (@village_print) March 1, 2016
A6 Deliver quality content, respectfully communicate with editors, observe deadlines. #ContentWritingChat — Kathleen Garvin (@itskgarvin) March 1, 2016
Kathleen and Village Print&Media said it well, too: be sure you’re observing deadlines, and stay true to quality.
A6: Great work samples, overdelivering ahead of schedule, pleasant personality. #ContentWritingChat — Shayla Price (@shaylaprice) March 1, 2016
Shayla points a great key of client satisfaction: actually being ahead of schedule, as a few others said too.
A7: To get repeat work, sign up with an agency. Send periodic greetings, holiday messages to stay in touch with clients. #ContentWritingChat — Tara M. Clapper (@irishtara) March 1, 2016
To land repeat work, both Tara and our CEO, Julia, agree: sign up with an agency. (Like ours! We’re hiring writers and editors!) An agency can provide you with regular clients so you get more work. Tara shared a great tip about keeping in touch with past clients. Stay top of mind so they’ll come to you when they need more work.
A8: Content writing is increasingly intuitive. Answer qs people ask Google. Also: writing around embedded video content. #ContentWritingChat — Tara M. Clapper (@irishtara) March 1, 2016
A8: The average Google first page result contains 1,890 words – longform content rules #ContentWritingChat — Pat Whalen (@2patwhalen) March 1, 2016
Where is content writing headed in the future? Tara encourages you to answer the questions people ask Google through your content. And Pat reminds us that long-form content wins – Julia confirms that we create it constantly for clients!
We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Be sure to join us on Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 at 10 AM CST!
There is nothing new under the sun. And guess what, I am not the first person to have said that. In fact, it was written in Biblical times by King Solomon. So if nothing was new back then, imagine how much more true that is today?
No matter what you write, you are not going to come up with something that has never been said before in some way—unless you are talking about exclusive news, are Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, or
What will make your content great is the unique spin you put on that old concept. When you read, you experience all of the things you want to express.
And once you have experienced them, you are much better equipped to share with others.
9 Quotes from Literary Geniuses that Tell You Why Reading Makes Your Writing Better
Reading makes you a better writer whether you are writing a novel or copy for your latest product. However, do not just take my word for it. I am going to prove my point through copious references to the words that have inspired me all from the mouths of the greatest writers and thinkers. You won’t be able to argue with me, because you have to admit they know what they are talking about. Which means all my reading has already paid off in writing this post alone.
“Genius is one percent inspiration … “ – Thomas Edison
So what if the other 99% is perspiration. Even Edison recognizes that to really be a genius, you need a little bit of inspiration. That is the purpose of books: to inspire the reader. When it comes to writing, reading a book does not magically make you a wordsmith. It does not have any actual magical powers.
Writing takes a lot of hard work. If you want to be a genius writer, you are going to need to put in that 99% of perspiration that Edison suggests. However, while you are putting in that hard work, do not forget that one percent. Read a book, and be inspired. That is part of the genius formula.
“Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.” – William Faulkner
George Deeb wrote an article for Forbes that says mentors are one of the most valuable resources you can get if you are an entrepreneur. Well, if writing is your enterprise, then you have access to some of the greatest mentors throughout time.
Take advantage of this. Tap into the resources of the masters and learn from them. Within the pages of a book, you will find all of the secrets of writing success. What other profession allows you that type of opportunity?
“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” – Oscar Wilde
Believe it or not, your reading preferences reflect on who you are. What do you enjoy reading? Sci-fi, romance, mystery? There is no right or wrong answer here, but your reading choices do say something about you.
They should also say something about what you write. When you write what you like to read, you know that you are pleasing somebody. And since one of the things reading does is show you that you are not alone in how you feel or act, you know that if you please one person, you are likely to please many.
So read to determine who you are, then write for that person. You will find that many other people want to read the same things as you.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” – G.R.R. Martin
One of the best things about reading is that you get to have an adventurous life even between all of your real-life adventures. As a reader, you get to discover things that non-readers never get to.
How does this translate into great writing? You have to be able to take your readers on an adventure. Whether you are writing the great American novel or you are selling sneakers online, you have to convince the reader that they are part of your story and that they want to continue on with you.
In order to get to a place where your writing transports your readers, you have to have been transported yourself. So reading allows you to travel to other places and have epic adventures, which will help you bring your readers along on all of the thrilling sagas you want write about.
“The more that you read, the more you will know.” – Dr. Seuss
Reading is educational. When you read, even a novel, you learn. What you learn depends on the book. Maybe you learned about some theorem in a physics book. Maybe you learned about the Civil War in a history book. And maybe you learned about the strength of emotions between the pages of a Romance.
Knowledge is never a bad thing. In fact, it is almost always a good thing. So, educate yourself. You cannot teach others anything unless you first learn it yourself.
“Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.” – John Locke
If you really get into a book, you cannot help but start thinking. Great writing challenges your viewpoints and makes you question everything that you thought you knew.
Once you learn to start thinking for yourself, you stop spewing out facts, and you begin to write real, compelling material. If you do not first learn how to think, then nothing you have to say will have real value to your reader.
Readers do not want to read a list of facts unless they are reading the news. They want you to give them something to really ponder. But to get other people thinking, you first have to learn to think.
Sally Kerrigan, a writer for A List Apart, points out that writing is thinking. When you write well, you are not just creating noise. Read, then, so that you can figure out the signal you want to send to the world.
“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” – Lemony Snickett
Giving sources builds trust. Proving your statements shows you are not just making things up. Reading allows you to find the information that is going to help you prove to your authors you know what you are talking about.
In other words, if people do not believe you, nothing you say matters. So prove to them you are not just throwing up smoke and mirrors.
“Think before you speak. Read before you think.” – Fran Lebowitz
Reading helps you form concrete ideas. It allows you to see viewpoints you might not ever before have thought of. It helps you connect with people of all cultures, races, religions, and genders.
If you want readers to connect with you, you have to first connect with them. Find out what people are thinking and what makes them who they are. Once you have developed empathy, it will come through in your writing. People will listen because they will see you really get them.
“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” – Stephen King
Stephen King has created a name for himself not only as a writer, but as a writing coach. Josh Jones, on Open Culture, took away 20 tips on writing that he has gleaned from King’s own writing tutorial books and interviews. Basically, what Stephen King say you should do in order to be a good writer is what you do if you want to be a good writer.
There is no lesson here like educate yourself or learn who you are. The only point, and it is a huge one, is that Stephen King said if you want to be a good writer, you have to make time to read. And that is reason enough to go grab a book right this instant.
Pick Up a Book, and Change Your Writing
There are many reasons to go out right now and pick up a book. Your writing is only one of those reasons. Listen to the words of all the wise writers and thinkers before you. If you want to write successfully, read frequently.
