creating content - Express Writers

#ContentWritingChat Recap: How to Create Content That Builds Community & Generates Leads with Kathleen Burns

December 31, 2020February 3, 2017 by Rachel Moffett

Did you catch #ContentWritingChat this week? If not, there’s no need to worry! We have a recap of our latest chat and it’s filled with amazing tips to help you take your content to the next level. If you’re ready to learn how to create content that builds community and generates leads, keep reading! #ContentWritingChat Recap: How to Create Content That Builds Community & Generates Leads with Kathleen Burns Join us for #ContentWritingChat on Tuesday, January 31st at 10 AM CST with @katbu! pic.twitter.com/AnoEdAtpm2 — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) January 24, 2017 For this week’s chat, we were joined by Kathleen Burns. Kathleen is the Community Manager the United States Blog Editor for our friends over at SEMrush. She joined us to share her tips on creating content that not only builds community for your brand, but also helps you generate leads. Q1: How can you create content that appeals to your audience? What steps do you need to take? One key element in creating successful content for your brand is appealing directly to the people you’re trying to reach. Without creating the content that speaks directly to them, you’re going to wind up attracting all the wrong people or worse… No one at all! Here’s what you need to know about creating content your audience will love: A1a: Talk and listen! Learn questions/issues by reading reviews, forums, blog comments. Develop reader personas! #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/XOhp0XjGw9 — Kathleen Burns (@katbu) January 31, 2017 A1b: Content must answer what’s in it for them. Talk about how you can address their pain points and get to it fast #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/tzgmuzKIcc — Kathleen Burns (@katbu) January 31, 2017 As Kathleen said, the first step in creating content that appeals to your audience is talking to them and listening to what they have to say. You can learn so much about the questions they have and the issues they’re facing by just asking them. Reviews, posts on online forums, and comments on your blog are also great sources of feedback from your audience. She recommends creating a reader persona so you know exactly who you’re writing for. It always helps to address your audience’s key pain points. Not only will they appreciate it, but it’s the best way to provide tremendous value to them. They’ll want to keep coming back for more and more after that. A1 ? Listen to your audience first! Just like in a real life relationship, you can’t get to know someone w/o listening. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/6s5BpYdC0g — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) January 31, 2017 Julia agrees! Listening is key to getting to know your audience and understanding their needs. Treat it like a real life relationship and start making those connections through conversations and listening to what others have to say. A1 – Step one is always the same: Know your audience. I mean KNOW them. Know what they care about and motivates them #contentwritingchat — James Ellis (@thewarfortalent) January 31, 2017 James said step one is always to know your audience. Without truly knowing who you’re trying to reach with your content, you aren’t able to create the content that will speak to them. Get to know and understand your audience before you move forward with creating blog posts and social media content. A1a: Know your audience. What are they talking about, what have they liked of your content so far? #ContentWritingChat — Kristi Kenyon (@kkenyon86) January 31, 2017 Kristi agrees that knowing your audience is the first step to content creation. She suggests determining what they’re talking about, but also what they have liked of your content so far. For example, see what your most popular blog posts are because it’s likely a good indicator that your audience would love to see more content that’s similar. A1 Understand your audience, first and foremost. If you’re not learning their preferences and pain points, it’s like… #contentwritingchat pic.twitter.com/NJHZ5r6w22 — Bill Skowronski (@BillSkowronski) January 31, 2017 Bill’s advice is to learn the preferences of your audience as well as their pain points. When you know they’re preferences, you can determine what content formats they like the most and which topics are their favorites. Understanding their pain points gives you the opportunity to solve their biggest struggles. A1 Understand your audience. That means get out and talk to them. Ask what they need, where they struggle and then serve #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/uh6AScoVuj — Cassandra Schwartz ⭐ (@MWestMillennial) January 31, 2017 Cassandra’s advice is spot on. If you want to get to know your audience, it helps to get out and actually talk to them. Strike up a conversation in your blog’s comments, on social media, or within your email newsletter. The options are endless. Figure out what they need and what they’re struggling with and then deliver exactly what they need. @ExpWriters A1: Understand their problems, desires, or wants. Know what they are looking for and answer how you can provide it #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/N2JMRjS5QA — Jacob Rouser (@J_Rouser) January 31, 2017 As Jacob said, you want to understand the problems, desires, and wants of your audience. Once you have that figured out, you can create the content they need the most. Q2: Why is it important to set goals for your content? Discuss goals to set for community building and lead generation. The content you create should always serve a purpose, whether it’s a blog post, a video, a podcast, or something else. In order to determine if you achieved what you set out to do, you need to set goals that you can actually measure and track. Here’s what some of the participants in Tuesday’s chat said about setting content goals: A2: Content goals provide direction and depth for content dev. Make it measurable. Define success. Align to biz goals #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/7jWZA2j0CS — Kathleen Burns (@katbu) January 31, 2017 Kathleen said content goals provide direction and depth for content development. Here advice is to make your goals something measurable and define what a successful piece of content means for you. That could be … Read more

#ContentWritingChat Recap: The Value of High-Quality Content for Today’s Brand Audiences with SPROUT Content

December 31, 2020August 19, 2016 by Rachel Moffett

Did you miss #ContentWritingChat this week? There’s no need to worry! We’ve put together a recap of this Tuesday’s chat so you wouldn’t miss a thing. #ContentWritingChat Recap: The Value of High-Quality Content for Today’s Brand Audiences with SPROUT Content Join us for #ContentWritingChat on August 16th at 10 AM CDT with @debwilliams23 from @SPROUTcontent! pic.twitter.com/Nd1ey9b1Ys — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) August 9, 2016 Our guest host this week was Debbie Williams. Debbie is the Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer at SPROUT Content. Q1: Why is it important to create the highest quality content for your audience? You hear people say all the time that you need to create high-quality content for your audience. Why is it so important? Here’s what some of the participants in Tuesday’s chat had to say: A1: #Content is your 24/7 sales team & direct conversation with your customers #ContentWritingChat — Debbie Williams (@debwilliams23) August 16, 2016 Debbie said your content can act as a 24/7 sales team. It helps you to directly connect with and provide value to your audience. A1: High quality content can establish you as an authority figure. It also builds trust & keeps people coming back. #contentwritingchat — Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) August 16, 2016 High-quality content helps to establish you as an authority figure in your field and can also build trust. @ExpWriters A1: Because high-quality content keeps your audience coming back for more! #contentwritingchat — MioDatos (@MioDatos) August 16, 2016 If you provide quality content for your audience, they’re going to keep coming back to you for more. A1. You want to educate & excite your audience. Present content that’s meaningful. Something of value they can apply #ContentWritingChat — Alesia Hendley (@thesmoothfactor) August 16, 2016 Alesia said you should aim to educate and excite your audience with your content. How can you provide value to them? A1) Time is our most valuable resource. Don’t waste readers time w/ irrelevant content. If you do, they won’t be back. #ContentWritingChat — Jeff Reno(e) (@Renoe) August 16, 2016 Great answer from Jenn! She said time is our most valuable resource and we shouldn’t waste the time of our readers by sharing irrelevant content. #ContentWritingChat A1: Your audience is looking for guides, news & new takes on things, so high-quality content = credibility. — New Jupiter Media (@NewJupiterMedia) August 16, 2016 High-quality content can help build the credibility of you and your brand. A1 Your online content is YOUR BRAND. What you publish represents you, in reputation & level. So, put out your best #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) August 16, 2016 Our CEO, Julia, knows the content you publish is a representation of your brand. Make sure you’re putting your best foot forward by sharing only the best with your audience. @writingchat A1 I feel because they deserve the best when they visit my website. #ContentWritingChat — Atulmaharaj (@Atulmaharaj) August 16, 2016 As Atulmaharaj said, he feels his audience deserves the best. Your audience does too! Make sure you provide top-notch content every single time you publish. A1: I guess my question would be, why wouldn’t you want to provide highest quality content? Strive to be the best! #ContentWritingChat — Zachary Fenell (@zacharyfenell) August 16, 2016 Why wouldn’t you want to provide the highest quality content? Zachary said you should strive to be the best. Q2: How can your content position you as an authority in your field? As you build your brand, you’re likely seeking to become an authority in your field. How can your content help you do that? Let’s find out: A2: A solid #Contentstrategy helps you plan for, optimize, share & govern your message #ContentWritingChat — Debbie Williams (@debwilliams23) August 16, 2016 Debbie said you should create a content strategy so you can plan and optimize the content you’re sharing online. A2: By being a resource…helpful…credible…shared/engaged with…something that’s referenced #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/FDecRrm7Jh — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) August 16, 2016 Sarah’s advice is to become a resource for your audience. Be helpful and credible. A2 If your content answers someone’s question or solves their problems, you’ve earned the authority to be a resource. #ContentWritingChat — Bill Skowronski (@BillSkowronski) August 16, 2016 Aim to answer the questions your audience is asking or solve the problems they’re facing. This will help you become an authority in your field. A2b. Great content = actionable tips, detailed examples & explanations that go above + beyond. #contentwritingchat — Kristen Dunleavy (@KristenWritesIt) August 16, 2016 Kristen feels great content is filled with actionable tips, detailed examples, and explanations. When you go that extra mile, it really helps to build your authority. A2. Go deep. Show your expertise with solidly-written case studies. Provide answers, become a go-to source. #contentwritingchat — Ecreativeworks (@ECWseo) August 16, 2016 Consider sharing case studies with your audience. Not only does it show off your expertise, but it helps establish you as a reputable source. Q3: How can you figure out what kind of content your audience is looking for? Now that you know why it’s important to create high-quality content, how can you figure out what you should create? Here are a few tips to find out what your audience is looking for: A3: Talk to #sales teams & find out what prospects are asking & need to know #ContentWritingChat — Debbie Williams (@debwilliams23) August 16, 2016 Great advice from Debbie! She suggests reaching out to the sales team for your brand to find out what prospects are asking. Create content that addresses those concerns. If you don’t have a sales team, you can still tune into your audience by checking responses you receive on email or social media. A3: At first, trial & error. Then, w/data, you look at what’s engaging/converting them & do that #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/pekcaI1kXt — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) August 16, 2016 Sarah knows that it can take a little trial and error to figure out what your audience is truly interested in. Make sure you’re keeping an eye on your analytics to see what people are engaging with and where … Read more

ContentWritingChat May 3 2016 Recap: How to Create & Promote Shareworthy Content

December 31, 2020May 6, 2016 by Rachel Moffett

If you missed this week’s #ContentWritingChat, no need to worry! We’ve rounded up some of the tweets from this week’s chat so you can get caught up. Check it out and learn all about creating and promoting shareworthy content! There were so many great tips shared: you’ll want to start implementing them today to grow your online presence. ContentWritingChat May 3 2016 Recap: How to Create & Promote Shareworthy Content Join us for #ContentWritingChat on Tuesday, May 3rd at 10 AM CDT with guest host @simmonet! pic.twitter.com/NaBgYXMWPV — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) April 26, 2016 For this week’s chat, Grant Simmons joined as our guest host. Grant is the VP of Search Marketing at Homes.com, a speaker, author, and a frequent Twitter chatter and social media expert. He shared his insights with us on creating and promoting content that will get shared across the web. Q1: What are the key features of a shareworthy piece of content? What makes content shareworthy? How do you create something that you know your audience will love and share online? Check out these tips from the chat: A1. Core of shareworthy is ‘worthy’: “Deserving effort, attention, or respect.” not by accident. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/CP9qL3WO03 — Grant Simmons (@simmonet) May 3, 2016 Shareworthy: Does your content entertain, educate / inform / enlighten, or inspire? #ContentWritingChat — Grant Simmons (@simmonet) May 3, 2016 Grant kicked things off by sharing what “worthy” means. It’s important to ask yourself if your content entertains, educates, informs, enlightens, or inspires. These are great characteristics of a shareworthy piece of content! A1: Does it resonate with/interest your audience? Is it easy to share? #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/KR0pllx2SE — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) May 3, 2016 Sarah from ThinkSEM knows the importance of considering your audience. Before you start creating content, always ask yourself if what you’re writing will resonate with them. A1: Shareworthy content is: scannable, inclusive of visuals, and gets to the point quickly! #ContentWritingChat — Tara M. Clapper (@irishtara) May 3, 2016 Don’t ramble on in your blog posts! Tara says your content should get to the point quickly. Remember to make sure it’s scannable, which ensures it’s easy for your readers to digest. Visuals are a must, too! A1: I think a key feature of shareworthy content is that it stirs some emotion (joy, fear, sympathy, etc.) w/ audience #contentwritingchat — Andrew Dennis (@AndrewDennis33) May 3, 2016 Andrew says shareworthy content should stir up some emotion within your audience. A1: You always want to create value for the reader. Hit their pain points, intriguing headline, easy to skim, inspires. #ContentWritingChat — Ryan Clutter (@Ryan1SEO) May 3, 2016 Ryan’s advice: add value for your reader. How can you solve their pain points or help them with an issue? A1 Storytelling elements. Creativity. Authenticity and being thorough. How intriguing is the headline? Great visuals. #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) May 3, 2016 Our CEO, Julia, knows storytelling elements make for shareworthy content. Get creative! A1 It is relevant, informative, helpful or contain humor #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/UxUZLsvqxE — Varun Kumar (@varunkr842) May 3, 2016 To put it simply, shareworthy content is relevant, informative, and helpful for your audience. A little humor can be great too if it suits your brand and readers! Spot on, Varun! A1) Timely + Informative + Entertaining = Shareable Content! ? #contentmarketing #ContentWritingChat — Jim Carter (@MSLJim) May 3, 2016 Content that is timely, informative, and entertaining is sure to shareworthy. Great answer, Jim! #ContentWritingChat Different strokes for different folks. #Shareworthy varies. Lots of common attributes. #Value is constant — Grant Simmons (@simmonet) May 3, 2016 As Grant said, we all have different ideas of what constitutes shareworthy content. One thing that always remains the same is value. You should always add value for your audience. Aim to solve their problems and provide them with the information they want and need. Q2: Discuss strategies to discover and tune into your matching audience. How can you figure out who your audience is and how do you reach them with your content? Here are some great answers: A2. Key to audience discovery? Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen. #ContentWritingChat — Grant Simmons (@simmonet) May 3, 2016 A2. Find out what they click on, what’s shared & engaged with. Helps re/define your audience. #HorseCart #TestIterate #ContentWritingChat — Grant Simmons (@simmonet) May 3, 2016 A2 If you don’t understand what your users want it’s inevitable they won’t want it #Intent #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/RpkHwFbEeZ — Grant Simmons (@simmonet) May 3, 2016 Grant’s answers were spot on for Q2. His first piece of advice: LISTEN! If you want to get to know your audience, you need to listen to them. Find them on social media and see what they’re talking about. Also, you want to be tuned in to what’s resonating with your audience. Which pieces of content are they clicking on? What are they sharing and engaging with? When you understand what your audience enjoys, you can provide more of the same. A2: You really need to be part of your audience’s community. If your passion for the topic is genuine, it helps! #ContentWritingChat — Tara M. Clapper (@irishtara) May 3, 2016 Tara recommends being part of your audience’s community. This allows you to get to know them by listening and engaging in conversation. A2 #SocialListening, A/B testing and ask them #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/DHoL6Q9ylt — Varun Kumar (@varunkr842) May 3, 2016 Varun knows the importance of social listening! Tune into your audience via social media to see what they’re talking about and what they’re sharing. You can perform A/B testing to see what they respond to. If you’re still struggling, just ask them! A2: Nothing beats personal interaction w/ your audience. Be involved in relevant convos & know your topic. #contentwritingchat — Jamie Martin (@DavisJamie77) May 3, 2016 Make sure you’re taking the time to just talk to your audience. It’s the best way to get to know them. A2: Finding where your audience “lives” is key–find them w/articles, hashtags, or just ask 🙂 #ContentWritingChat … Read more

25 Tips To Get You Started In Successful Content Marketing

December 31, 2020September 25, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Are you a business marketer new to content marketing? If so, you probably already know that your best audience is found online, and now you’re trying to find out the best ways to attract them. Content marketing is where it’s at today. Gone are the days of traditional advertising and outbound marketing. Paying for click ads is no longer a good idea either, the market is too thin and lean in PPC nowadays: you’ll likely overpay for a click and drive a great deal of traffic that ultimately doesn’t matter for your site. So what’s the solution? The answer is simple: content marketing. In order to stand out in the field of content marketing, however, it’s important to develop an “expert voice.” What is an expert voice, you ask? It’s the tone and style of writing that comes from having a deep knowledge of the field and being very aware of what’s going on in your niche. It means staying on top of niche-related current events, technological shifts and important trends in your market. Because today’s content marketing environment is so filled with great writers, being an expert voice is the only way to stand out. Not to worry, though, it’s easier than you think. Let’s Define Good Content Marketing According to Joe Pulizzi at Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is the “strategic marketing approach of creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience.” Content marketing is called by many the “marketing tactic of the future” due to the fact that it’s significantly less obtrusive and more efficient than outbound marketing, which relies on tactics like cold calling, email blasting and traditional advertising to gain customers. Content marketing, on the other hand, relies on creating useful, educational, helpful content that assists would-be customers in learning new things and solving problems. The theory behind content marketing is that customers appreciate great content and, if a company can establish itself as an authority in the field by creating helpful, useful, high-quality content, that company will be rewarded by more business and loyal customers. What’s more, it seems to be working: 57% of businesses have acquired customers through their company blog and 42% have gained readers through Twitter. This just goes to show that, in addition to being a more evolved way to market, content marketing is also a very effective way to market. What’s so Great About Content Marketing? Traditional forms of marketing, like advertising and direct mail, are becoming less and less effective. It’s been obvious for a long time that people don’t like aggressive advertising and, when you take into account that 84% of 25-34 year olds have left a website because of an “irrelevant or intrusive ad”, it becomes clear just how ineffective outbound marketing is. The reason for that is simple: outbound marketing seeks to push things on customers while content marketing seeks only to provide value. That said, outbound marketing casts a broad net while content marketing simply means creating great content and attracting already-interested customers through web searches, search engine optimization (SEO) and word-of-mouth. How Can I Start? Although content marketing may seem involved and difficult, it’s relatively easy to break into the field and begin creating your own killer content. I’m saying this because I was able to get into it, leave a med school career, and teach myself content writing—then start a writing agency where 95% of our marketing is through content! So, here are my top 25 tips to help you get started in content marketing: 1) Define Your Goals If you’re new to content marketing, the first thing you need to do is clearly define your content marketing goals. Are you seeking to build brand awareness? Gain email subscribers? Increase conversions? Increase purchases across the board? Regardless of what you’re setting out to do, you need to know where you’re going in order to ultimately get there. As you get started in content marketing, ask yourself if the content you’re creating will help support your defined goals. If it won’t, focus your energies on content that will. 2) Start a Blog—Now (And Stay On It) If you’ve already got a website, link it to a blog that will feature a great deal of your company’s content. Blogs provide 126% more leads for small businesses than pages without one so it’s well worth your time. 3) Define Your Metrics In content marketing, it’s important to be able to track the performance of your content. That said, you’ll need to establish some metrics to track things like the traffic your content garners, who is referring followers to your site, how long people are spending on your site and how many pages they’re visiting, what your bounce rate is and how many social shares your content is gaining. Implementing a set of metrics helps you better target your content and cater to customer wishes. 4) Calculate Resources Resources, in this context, mean more than just money. Do you have several great writers in your company? Would it behoove you to hire a content marketing agency? Who will be responsible for each piece of the content marketing burden? Deciding these things now helps you have a clear plan going forward. 5) Write a Mission Statement Every good company should have a mission statement. Like a road map, a mission statement defines where you are, where you’re going and why you’re going there. Each mission statement should answer one of these 4 questions: What do you do? How do you do it? Who does it benefit? Why is it valuable? Although a mission statement may seem unrelated to content marketing, writing one can help you clarify your direction and become an expert voice on the web. 6) Develop a Target Persona A target persona is incredibly important when it comes to knowing whom you’re marketing to. It’s tough to create great content without having a specific customer in mind and creating a target persona is a helpful way to … Read more