copywriting infographic - Express Writers

What Is Copywriting? (& How It Creates Successful Online Brands)

June 19, 2024June 20, 2016 by Adam Oakley

If you work in online marketing or even set foot near the industry, you’ve likely heard the term “copywriting.” It’s everywhere right now. Copywriting this, copywriting that. There’s no escaping it. As popular as the term is, though, many people still don’t know the answer to the question, “what is copywriting?” When strangers meet someone who introduces herself as a copywriter, they often nod enthusiastically and then say without a hint of comprehension, “And what does that mean?” Or, they think it means you copyright legal songs for pay. Some people still conjure up images of journalists on a typewriter, or a reporter — while others think of tech or IT specialists. Unfortunately, none of these hit the nail on the head. So what is copywriting? And why is it such a big deal today? Read on to learn more. What is Copywriting? Copywriting is the art and science of strategically crafting and publishing targeted, reader-focused words (“copy”) online that get people to take some form of action. We took some inspiration from the classic copywriting resource, CopyBlogger, for this. “Copywriting” is a hard thing to pin down. Obviously – or everyone would understand it right off the bat! Luckily, it doesn’t have to be this obscure forever. Brands that work with copywriters hire these skilled professionals to create everything from blog and article copy to social media content and product descriptions — depending upon what they need at a given moment. Right now, the field of copywriting is exploding as more and more brands migrate to e-commerce and the development of an online presence. Because having a website also creates an immediate and pressing need for quality content, brands around the country and the world are hiring professional copywriters at shocking rates. [bctt tweet=”According to CopyBlogger, ‘Copywriting is the art and science of strategically delivering words (whether written or spoken) that get people to take some form of action.’ Read more on @JuliaEMcCoy’s post about #copywriting ✍️” username=”ExpWriters”] Why Does Copywriting Matter? Now that we’ve answered the question of “what is copywriting?”, let’s focus on why companies are flocking to it in droves. Right now, more than 27 million pieces of content are shared across the web every single day. That’s a big number, and it’s clear that it’s difficult to stand out when so much content is present at all times. Because of this, brands are increasingly turning to professionals to help them rank well in Google, attract more customers, and develop a stronger and unique brand voice. At its core, copywriting is a form of inbound marketing. Instead of going out and pursuing readers (although it’s not unheard of for copywriters to write PPC advertisements and similar outbound content), copywriting generally focuses on creating things like blogs, articles, and infographics, which are designed to pull readers in and provide relevant and valuable content. [bctt tweet=”Why does ‘copywriting’ matter? Today, 61% of internet users around the world head to search engines to research on products they want to buy before buying! ?” username=”ExpWriters”] Why is this important, you ask? Great question. Today, 61% of the internet users around the world head to search engines to research products they want to buy, before they take the financial leap and make a purchasing decision. Internet users currently conduct more than 12 billion searches each month – despite this, though, the click-through rate of paid advertisements is only about 2%. With this in mind, it’s easy to see why brands have been turning to copywriting. In addition to populating a site with quality content, copywriting efforts are also more effective than outbound advertising methods. By creating unique, relevant, and high-quality content on a webpage, blog, or social media account, a company with an on-staff copywriter can easily build an audience and develop a solid reputation quickly and easily. Copywriting Statistics You Need to Know By now, you know that copywriting is important, but do you know just how important? These statistics prove just how relevant copywriting is to brands. These can help you understand the big push for copywriters that have sprung up in recent years. 1. The top 3 results in Google earn 60% of all organic clicks. The top few places on Google’s SERPs are coveted. Ranking here ensures visibility for a brand and can significantly increase the number of leads and the amount of traffic that a brand receives in a given month. Unfortunately, many brands don’t understand how to get here. Luckily, professional copywriting can help. Through high-quality content creation, SEO optimization, unique topics, and a bulletproof content strategy, a professional copywriter can develop a plan for ranking well for a given set of keywords or topics – a skill that many companies need to grow their followings. [bctt tweet=”Do you know? The top 3 results in Google earn 60% of all organic clicks. ?️ Know more about the importance of #copywriting in @JuliaEMcCoy’s blog post.” username=”ExpWriters”] 2. 50% of all mobile searches are local. For brands with a local presence, copywriting may be a life-or-death matter. While the majority of mobile users are searching for local brands, most local brands don’t understand how to reach mobile users. This, in turn, results in a confusing and stressful experience for mobile searchers and lost revenue for local companies. Enter a professional copywriter. Professional copywriters are well-versed in local SEO and can help businesses make the changes they need to ensure that their content ranks well for and meets the needs of local searchers. This, in turn, can result in more traffic for the local business, and a more satisfying search experience for mobile users. [bctt tweet=”Do you know? 50% of all mobile searches are local. ? Know more about the importance of #copywriting in @JuliaEMcCoy’s blog post.” username=”ExpWriters”] 3. Leads gained from SEO have a 14.6% close rate. Leads that come to a company via means of SEO close at a much higher rate than those obtained through outbound methods like direct mail. This is one of the main incentives for businesses to hire copywriters. In … Read more

Why & How You Should Create Infographics for Your Company

February 2, 2023January 6, 2014 by Adam Oakley

2014 could be your most profitable year yet! How? Well, we’re loading you up with vital content and marketing information, all designed to increase your company’s exposure and profitability during the New Year. And one of the hottest tools is our topic today—infographics! One of the marketing tools currently said to be marketing gold is the infographic. Have you heard of them and wondered just why and how it might be of use to your company? We’ve dug into the infographic trenches and even tried using a couple of them ourselves. Let’s take a look as just why you should do more than think about trying them out, and how you should implement infographics as a marketing tool. What is an Infographic and Why It Matters for Your Marketing Efforts You’re educated regarding information and graphic marketing. These two marketing types are practically the bread and butter of every successful marketing campaign launched by every successful business for decades. But what exactly is an infographic? It sounds like a combination of information and graphics, doesn’t it? Wikipedia provides the simplest infographic definition. According to the online user-generated encyclopedia, infographics, also known as information graphics are graphic visual representations of data, knowledge or information, created with the purpose of presenting complex information in a quick and clear manner. A great example of an infographic is the weather report, which is a visual graphic depicting information about the weather. Graphs and charts presenting statistical data are another type of infographic. Think of an infographic as visual storytelling; it packs a strong and strongly memorable visual message. Infographics took on a dramatically new meaning for the marketing world with the advent of social media sites. Thanks to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, infographics can be seamless and rapidly shared from a single user or business to an audience—and potential customer pool—of millions, worldwide. Why Use Infographics? Forbes sums up the top reason for creating and using infographics using the headline, “Use Infographics to Boost Your Credibility and Traffic.” Business owners are always looking for proven ways to boost credibility and traffic, but just why do infographics get the job done? Let’s take a look: Catering to short attention spans. Let’s be painfully honest, our attention spans are not what they used to be. We live in an information age. It’s streamed to us all the time; on the television, on the web, over our smartphones, on our tablets. We’re constantly bombarded with tons of useful information. How do we sort this information between our “must read” and “it can wait” lists? Simple! We look for the most captivating presentation. An infographic relays a complex message in a short, capturing format. Visualization caters to the brain. Forbes points out an excellent fact. “Human beings are highly visual.” It’s a fact that we absorb visual information faster than written information. We also retain is more easily. Ease of understanding. When infographics are properly created, they allow the audience to absorb and understand complex information in a fun and engaging format. When done right, this is why infographics can boost a company’s profile and website traffic. Going viral. The goal of every serious business is to create a marketing tool that goes viral, meaning it explodes onto the web grabbing thousands of views, tons of new exposure and converts to sales. A good infographic can accomplish this goal effortlessly while simultaneously inspiring writers and bloggers to chatter, creating backlinks, and further company exposure. Our highest converting email campaign of 2013 was our infographic campaign. It generated the most clicks and stirred up the highest amount of excitement and interest in our company to date. Why not tap into this proven marketing tool in 2014 and make it a year to remember as you gain record exposure? 10 Popular Ways to Use Infographics Larger amounts of data and content are the latest trends in online content marketing. According to a TNW Blog article on top ways to use infographics “the biggest question surrounding [this trend] has been figuring out the best way to interpret it all.” Infographics have been like the superhero flying to the rescue. These super powered creations pack a punch. Let’s review the ten most common uses of these power packed creations: A recruiting tool. Designers have used infographics on resumes for years as a way to visually simplify their careers by highlighting their specific skillsets with their own design style. Somewhere along the way, recruiters realized the genius of this strategy and started using infographics as a way to recruit for project management positions. Today infographics are used to effectively communicate the facts about a company and who they seek to hire. A data presentation tool. Statistical and numerical data have long been a bear to present. They have the ability to put the audience on snooze or baffle them completely. Thanks to infographics, data is easier to present in the form of easily readable and understandable graphs and charts. Simplifying the complex. As mentioned earlier, the primary goal of an infographic is to simplify a complex idea or complex information. Infographics are incredible educational tools, particularly when attempting to present an overview versus an in-depth analysis. The visual basis of the infographic helps students and audiences alike grasp complex topics through memorable and easily understandable visual collages. Explaining operations. Not only can an infographic simplify the complex, but it can also reveal the mechanics behind an intricate object with precision simplicity. For example, skilled designers utilize infographics to pull apart and demonstrate how complex products like clocks, cameras, computer components and smartphone work. Such creations can be great additions to user manuals, showing consumers how their product is built and the mechanics at work on the inside. Making startling comparisons. When we compare our business or product to something, we separate points into categories: likeness and uniqueness. Infographics provide an innovative way to display such a comparison in graphic form by creating visual parallels. Sometimes comparisons are difficult to express. Where words … Read more

Infographic: The Copywriter’s Brain

January 1, 2021September 17, 2013 by Adam Oakley

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<a href=”https://staging.expresswriters.com/infographic-copywriters-brain/”><img src=”https://staging.expresswriters.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/copywriters-brain.jpg” alt=”Infographic: The Copywriter’s Brain” title=”Infographic: The Copywriter’s Brain” width=”539″ height=”2894″ /></a><br /><small>Like this infographic? Get more tips from <a href=”https://staging.expresswriters.com/”>Express Writers</a>.</small>

Writers use their right brain, copywriters use both!

Infographic: A Timeline History of Google’s Major SEO Content Updates (An Actionable Retrospective for Users, Publishers, and Content Creators)

December 31, 2020August 13, 2013 by Tara Clapper

This post, a full history on Google’s SEO content algorithm updates, has been updated by our team in May of 2017. Infographic: A Timeline History of Google’s Major SEO Content Updates (An Actionable Retrospective for Users, Publishers, and Content Creators) We’re used to Google updates and announcements now, but do you recall the old days of improved search? Panda, Penguin, and even Mobilegeddon really shook things up for content creators, publishers, and Google users. Content writers have had to adapt considerably: not only do we have to know about past and upcoming changes, we must advise our clients on inbound content strategies that benefit the end user in current times. About Our Google Updates Timeline This timeline shows not only the Google SEO and algorithm updates, but how they affect content creation and content marketing. This list also includes unofficial updates, during which users noticed fluctuations, but there was no official Google statement or announcement. Users affectionately branded these updates “ghost,” “zombie,” etc. Perhaps we’ll get vampires and werewolves soon, too! I did not include each and every unconfirmed update, though I did mention them in some instances. 2017 February-March: Fred What: Analysts noticed search engine ranking changes, but Google remained quiet on the details. Google’s Gary Illyes said the update targeted aspects of already published guidelines, but observers specifically noticed the targeting of low-value content. Other algorithm updates preceded Fred, but details are sketchy and it’s unknown whether they are related to Fred. Users: Better quality search results. Publishers: As always, you need to be on top of your content game. Now is a great time to go back through some mediocre content and improve quality. Content Creators: Work on restructuring and improving previous content to maintain or improve ranking. January 10: Intrusive Interstitial Popup Penalty What: This Google update penalized sites with intrusive pop up ads. Users: Google is more likely to lead users to sites without annoying pop ups. Publishers: Publishers must reconfigure sites to function and funnel traffic without pop up ads. Rely on persuasive content to meet your goals. Content Creators: What is the purpose of the ads formerly appearing on the site for which you’re writing? Consider this strongly when you construct calls to action (CTAs) and the content itself. Use streamlined graphics to accomplish this task. 2016 September 23: Google Penguin 4.0 What: Google’s algorithm began updating in real time and providing page-specific analysis, which was more specific than its previous incarnation. Users: Outdated site changes and website hacks will affect your search results less often. Publishers: Your pages may index faster when you publish or update content. Content Creators: Even if it doesn’t hit Google News, your timely content has more value. You’re still competing with social media, but you can create a live blog that updates as time goes on, just as news sites do during major events. This is creating a liveblogging trend on regular blog platforms like WordPress – it’s not just for microblog sites like Twitter anymore. In September of 2016, many site owners reported penalties and promotions in SERPs (search engine page results) May 12: Mobile Friendly (Boost) Update What: This boosted mobile-friendly sites in the SERPs beyond the existing preference. Users: If you’re on mobile, this will serve you more posts that will display well on your device. Publishers: There’s a further emphasis on mobile. If Mobilegeddon didn’t wake you up, this should do the trick. Content Creators: Mobile-friendliness includes a lot of factors, not all of which are disclosed by Google. Mobile-friendly content contains short paragraphs, bullet lists (when applicable), and immediate information. February 23: AdWords Update What: Google axed sidebar ads. Instead, you got another ad at the top when you search (total four). Users: Be aware of which results are ads (there’s still an ad box to the left of the result to indicate that it’s an advertisement). If you’re on mobile, ads will take up most of your screen initially after your search. Publishers: If you’re not pouring money into advertising, direct your content efforts towards appearing in the Google Knowledge Graph. Content Creators: Aim for the knowledge graph, find out what people are asking and answer their questions, and hone your keyword and content planning strategy. In January of 2016, it’s clear that Google was tweaking and updating their algorithm. This is called the “Ghost Update.” 2015 October 26: RankBrain Announcement What: Google announced that RankBrain has been active for half a year. RankBrain intelligently learned from searches. This artificial intelligence improved the algorithm to get users the information they need. Users: This helps you have a better search experience. RankBrain may not only learn about audiences in general, but you specifically, especially if you’re signed into Chrome as you browse. While that’s creepy, it’s also useful. Publishers: RankBrain means your site needs to be geared towards usefulness, even if you’re selling a product. If you’re selling gardening equipment, your free garden planner and your how-tos should be front and center – NOT your latest sale item. Content Creators: You’re officially writing for the people, not the search engine. You’re not in the race to rank unless you’re also taking the time to be the most useful. There may have been an update/incident on October 15. This was an indication of what was to come – and also of the new normal, which means small tweaks and unannounced algo updates every now and then. People call this one the “Zombie Update.” August: Local 3 Pack / “Snack Pack” Update What: Google began showing three local map results instead of a list of seven. Users: Google’s more integrated with its maps app now, so while you’ll get less results without having to scroll, you can click on any of them and easily navigate or call the business. Google will also tell you the hours of the business and other important info you need on the go. Publishers: If you have a local business and want to know where to spend your advertising … Read more