news - Express Writers

New for Spring 2017: Customized, Build-Your-Own Blogging Plans, Revamped Content Planning, & Content Consultation

December 31, 2020April 3, 2017 by Adam Oakley

You simply can’t be a self-serve menu, when you serve up content. One size does not fit all. We know this to be all-too-true, and it means that our Content Shop – and entire lineup of content services – change all the time. And the needs of our clients drive these changes. I love that this is one of our abiding principles, at Express Writers. We act when we see a demand – and learn, fit, and adapt to the changes necessary for progression in the industry, and to make sure the services that we sell to our clients are always one step ahead. Behind the scenes, it means a lot of work for our boot-strapped business. I’m constantly working with Tara, our Content Development Specialist, Katria, Tamila, Hannah, and our CTO to map out, create, and plan the changes – and adapt our entire sales and editorial management team to the changes. In the end: it’s more than worth it. We see real results from the hard work put into our improvements, and happy clients! Keep reading for all the changes out in the Content Shop this April. The Shortlist (TL;DR) of our Content Shop Changes: Biggest Changes, Biggest Benefits Don’t have a lot of time? Here’s a TL;DR (too long; didn’t read) list of the changes and the key benefits of the changes in our Shop. For a full in-depth list, scroll down for the per-product changes! Blog Plans: We’ve heard for ages now that “that package just doesn’t fit me,” so we completely rehauled our preset, three blog packages. Now, you get to completely build your own, by: 1) picking your writer level, 2) word count, 3) one (or both) of two addons for images/topic and SEO keyword planning, and finally, 4) quantity (telling us how many posts you want per month). Hit “add to cart.” Congrats! You’ve just configured your monthly blog plan! (If clients aren’t sure what they want, we can build a plan for them, starting at $280/cart. See more details in the sections below.) Content Planning: Biggest enhancement here? All blog titles are now analyzed according to Advanced Marketing Institute’s Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer, one of my favorite tools on this planet. (And to solidify that we’re on track, we use Coschedule’s Headline Analyzer, too.) When I implemented checking every headline on the EMV Analyzer by AMI, our blog shares and overall traction went up by 25%+ on every post with the analyzed title. In the planning service itself, you get a ready-to-go editorial calendar for the month, a list of best SEO keywords (researched using top tools), and a BuzzSumo topic analysis. Content Consultation: For $350 (a low, low price, considering the value of what this could bring you), we now offer a content consultation with one of our highest-level, most experienced Content Strategists (his bio is below!). The session comes complete with a Discovery Report including an analysis of what you can be doing better with your content, and an SEO and topic analysis report, highly customized to the findings in the consultation call. Price: The price of blogging plans and content planning went up a tad. (We discovered, especially in the blogging plans, after doing some math that we weren’t able to cover the payment for our high level, content-marketing minded editors and expert writers. The WordPress posting was far too cheap – below $10 per – in the plans. We couldn’t pay out at that rate.) But with content planning blocks still starting at $120, and blog plans as low as $280 at the first configuration, you’re still paying below average rates here – even after the small increase. Jump on our services! The industry keeps changing, and skillset expertise increasing. I’ll be upfront: we simply can’t retain quality or work at low rates. And now for the in-depth breakdown. 1. Content Consultation Call with Reports Built into the Content Planning service is a new variation: Content Consultation. I’ll be real: content consultation was a long time coming. There’s been a serious demand for it. We hear this a lot: “What should I be doing with my site? Can you analyze and tell me?” “Can I get a dedicated consultation?” “Can I get some keyword reports and talk to a Strategist about what I’m looking for?” “I know I need content, but I have no idea what I’m doing.” What’s more, we’ve noticed, for a steady eight months now, a major need in the content marketing industry: Customization. All the way from quotes at a unique, per-word level, down to increased requests for a highly customized, per-site analysis – revealing exactly what you need, down to new site page recommendations, blog title and headline ideas, to the best keyword opportunities and what your competitors are doing that you could be doing better. Then, ongoing content publishing – a customized content recommendation at an ongoing basis. So, FINALLY, content consultation sessions, complete with full content discovery reports, are live! I just finished building a behind-the-scenes workflow that will ensure success at every step of the way, and hand-picked one of our most successful Content Strategists for the dedicated consulting call and report creation. Check it out: I’ve even written the interview guide that my consultant will be using, with questions that are guaranteed to elicit the best information so we find your “sweet spot” in creating content that answers your audience’s (and customers’) biggest questions, and positions you as an authority in your industry. Meet John G, our dedicated team member who will be working 1:1 with every client that needs a guided consultation: John is awesome. He’s been such a team player at Express Writers, and I have no doubts that he’ll knock the ball out of the park handling our content consultations. Check out the Content Consultation page for a checklist of the reports that come with a consultation. 2. Blogging Plans: Customized to Your Online Presence & Needs Completely, 100% customizable, create-your-own blogging plans are now available! Let me go back a little to explain … Read more

November Update at Express Writers: Bidding Goodbye to Private Label, New Writing Industry Experts Added, & More

December 31, 2020November 23, 2016 by Adam Oakley

Today’s an awesome day! We’re super excited because our Private Label system, where you have to put down a deposit to activate a pricing level, is no more as of today! We’ve rolled out many other changes, all for the better of our quality and deliverables, listed below. What’s more, we made all this happen before Thanksgiving (Josh, my CTO, Josh’s development team and I worked on it for 24 hours straight yesterday, till about 5:30 am today). Coffee will be sorely needed today, to say the least. Without further ado, here’s a lowdown on what you can expect going forward with our services and pricing structure. Massive Changes for the Better this Thanksgiving at Express Writers Our Content Shop underwent all these changes last night, and was down for about 12 hours during the upgrade. Here’s a checklist of what went live as of today: It’s a consensus: many of our clients agree that Private Label + the two pricing tiers, with one dependent on a deposit, is confusing! We’re officially removing Private Label, doing away with two pricing tiers, and consolidating to one that makes sense and is equalized across the board. Former PL users, your Private Label deposit is going nowhere. And, you can still put down a deposit at any time! Your discount just doesn’t depend on it. You will still have all your funds in your account, within policy. Better cover rates will be in the Shop, as will better word counts and product presentation. It’ll be easier than ever just to buy what you need, at any time. I’m super proud of this one. I’ve gone through our rates with a fine-toothed comb and set better, cheaper cover rates than what we formerly had – that makes sense across the board. In some cases, we narrowed down our insanely long word range choices from 13 ranges to 8. Also, the layout of our Packages is so much cleaner! Pre-built carts (an easy way to quote out your custom content services) is happening! Have our team send you a pre-built cart at any time now. (Woohoo!)With a few clicks, you can check out with exactly what you need, with no rate levels to worry about – just one. For grandfathered rates, you’ll simply use a custom coupon our support team will hand you. Quick Customer FAQ What are the new rates? Here’s a few of the new prices. For a full list, see our Pricing page, updated 11/22. Blogs/Articles 350-500 $35 Word range costs: Up to 100 $10, 100-250 $20, 250-350 $25, 350-500 $35, 500-750 $55, 750-1000 $70, 1000-1500 $105, 1500-2000 $140, 2000-3000 $210 Level 1 Blogger $325/month: 8 blogs/month (2 weekly), 450-500W, SEO optimized + basic imagery + meta descriptions, published. Level 2 Blogger $500/month: 12 blogs/month (3 weekly), 500-750W SEO optimized content with custom branded imagery + meta descriptions, published. Level 3 Blogger $980/month: 16 blogs/month (4 weekly), 750-1000W SEO optimized content with custom branded imagery + meta descriptions, published. The new cover rates are lowered up to 15% from previous cover rates, and up from Private Label rates by a minimum of 15%. (To compare: Private label was $25/500w blog, cover was $45/500w.) On all our web-based content products (web pages, product descriptions, blogs): we’re now offering more variations on the lower word range, and a larger bracket to choose from on the other ends to allow our skilled writers to write with freedom and cut fluff more than ever. Can I have my Private Label rates? We are individually reviewing accounts and grandfathering those that fall into eligibility for discounts, for the next three months. For those who are missing the rates they had on Private Label, we’ve made cover rates the new standard, but lowered and equalized them across the board. If you need to inquire about keeping your Private Label rates, we are happy to review your account and approve if your current rates aren’t too cheap. Remember, our goal is quality, and we simply cannot staff quality at cheap rates. For review questions, get in touch at info@expresswriters.com. But we’d ask that you consider checking out with the new rates. The new rates, which are still on the low side of the industry if you do a comparison, with no added fees for editing and management, set a standard for us to retain stronger editors and writers, overall. Remember that not only do we retain writers, but we mentor and edit them constantly. When writers drop, it can be a full-time job in a week to field for new ones, since we never compromise and skip our personalized candidate testing process, which rules out sometimes 80% of applicants. We are the only writing team in the industry that offers exclusive mentoring content to our writers, created by our content marketing team – we stay on top of every standard and tell our writers when anything changes, down to the new meta length that Google announced. This is easily a full-time job, as well, and the new rates will ensure this mentoring continues to happen. Our new rates will allow us to: Pay editors a higher hourly wage Retain an HR person, trained by Julia on how to pick and find the best talents in the freelance writing world Provide us with the necessary bandwidth to make sure ongoing writer mentoring happens (extra management hours) We’re always rolling out better features. Coming up, we have a Loyalty program in the works, and in 2017 a brand new way to buy content online with a beautiful, coded-from-scratch system on the works! Get services sent directly to your inbox, it’s a few clicks to approve and checkout! Confusing deposits and checkouts, NO MORE. We now have the ability to send anyone a prebuilt cart, with a few clicks of the button, that includes a custom message from our team and all the services they need in one place. It’s a few more clicks for you to approve, review, and checkout with exactly what you need! Here’s what your email notification will look like, when you get a pre-built cart: And, services … Read more

Has Google Reinvented Meta Content? New Meta Title & Description Length

December 31, 2020May 27, 2016 by Adam Oakley

If you’re a writer, online publisher, or marketer, it’s likely that you know a thing or two about meta descriptions and titles. Used to improve SEO and help web pages earn more prominent Google rankings, meta titles and descriptions are short blurbs that help readers and search engines decide what content is about. While meta content may not be as exciting as Google algorithm updates or copywriting secrets, there’s been some big news in the world of meta content recently. Earlier this month, Google announced some major changes to their meta title and description standards, and these changes will influence how SEOs everywhere regard meta content. Read on to learn more. Google’s Changes to Meta Content Standards Google seldom releases news like this through loudspeakers and blow horns, so it’s not surprising that change was spotted on Twitter by a guy named Ross Hudgens. We heard about it through The SEM Post and Search Engine Journal, who reported on it later. Long title tags being tested again in the SERPs. Seeing 69 and 70 character results today. pic.twitter.com/esiKTctV96 — Ross Hudgens (@RossHudgens) May 6, 2016 As it stands right now, Google’s character limits for title tags had increased by about ten characters: from 50-60 characters to 70-71 characters, which allows for longer and more in-depth descriptions and the inclusion of additional keywords. What’s more, meta descriptions have increased to 100 characters per line and now allow for three lines in a description. Keep in mind, however, that this change is on a per-line basis and Google is still cutting off anything that runs over 160 characters, so it’s smart to stick to that limit for now. Title Tag Changes Currently, Google is allowing title tag lengths to be 70 characters. While it’s possible to push that limit to 71 characters by using small letters like “i,” Google generally truncates anything that runs over the limit. The new 70-character cap represents an increase of between 10-15 characters, which is huge news for savvy SEOs everywhere since the extra space can be used to include additional keywords or make a title tag more longer or more descriptive. While the specific length of this increase will vary depending upon the words used, many SEOs are managing to include 2-4 extra words in their title tags. While the desktop changes are big news, the mobile title tag increase is what’s causing most SEOs to do a happy dance. As you probably know, mobile search is exploding right now, and it’s clear that the mobile character limit increase is Google’s effort to make mobile search more relevant and detailed than ever. According to The SEM Post, Google bumped its mobile tag lengths up to 78 characters, which is a whopping 8 characters more than even the desktop limit. This longer mobile tag allows marketers to input additional keywords and reap the click-through benefits that the extended tag has to offer. What’s more, longer title tags on both mobile and desktop allow a search engine result to take up a larger space in the all-important SERPs, which makes it more visible and attractive to Google users. Meta Description Changes While many SEOs are jumping up and down at the prospect of longer descriptions (about 16-20 characters longer, to be exact, to a cap of 100 characters per line), it’s wise to remember that Google is still truncating descriptions after about two lines or 160 characters. Because of this, it’s wise to ensure that you’re sticking to the 16- character limit, at least until it becomes clear that these changes are here to stay. Should You Get Excited? Yes! This is big news for SEOs, copywriters, and marketers. Meta content has always been important, but it’s also always been tough to create. While we still aren’t entirely sure whether these changes are A/B testing that Google will reverse in the near-future or long-lasting improvements that are here to stay, the prospect of larger meta content character limits is exciting in a few different ways. Here are some of the main reasons we’re excited about the character limit increase: Meta content will be easier to write. Brevity is hard. Anyone who has ever tried to craft a super-insightful tweet knows that getting the point across in just over 100 characters is tough. While the character limit increases aren’t massive, they offer just enough room to provide additional value and meaning in meta content. Additional keyword inclusion. Right now, most SEOs are managing to add 2-4 words to title tags. This increase allows for additional keyword inclusion and more SEO-focused content. Just remember, never stuff your keywords in; a natural meta description is far better than a stuffed one, since you need a conversational, well-written meta in order to get more click-throughs on your piece from Google results. Increased visibility. Longer meta content means more targeted results and increased visibility for all online material. This is good for marketers, search engines, and Google users. What To Do Now Since nobody is quite sure whether or not the character limit is here to stay, SEO experts are recommending that marketers measure their click-through-rates (CTRs) beginning before May 4th (the day that the change to the meta lengths took place). While it’s risky to alter your SEO efforts to fit the increased character limits before we know that they’re permanent, searching for any recent positive or negative changes will give you an idea of how and if your site has been affected. In addition to monitoring your CTRs, you should also optimize your mobile and desktop title tags separately in order to ensure that they’re both adhering to their respective character limits. This helps ensure that your readers are getting the value they need from your content and that you’re getting the real estate you deserve in the SERPs. The Future of the New Meta Title & Description Length While there’s no telling whether or not Google will reverse the character limit increase, there’s also no doubt that this new change has the potential … Read more

Google & Twitter Team Up On A New Content Delivery Platform

June 19, 2024October 9, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Getting content and getting it fast is important in the world of the Internet, isn’t it? When you see an interesting article, you want to click and read without having to wait for several seconds. Facebook knew this way back in May, creating a new content delivery platform called Instant Articles. And now it looks like Google and Twitter are teaming up for something similar. What is this new content delivery platform? And how can you use it for your content? Avengers, Assemble: Google and Twitter Teaming Up for a Content Delivery Platform Back in May, Facebook announced a new content delivery platform called Instant Articles. The plan on Facebook’s part was to offer original content from companies directly on Facebook instead of third party sites. They’ve continued this with the revamp of Notes, creating a powerful long-form content platform. And Google and Twitter did not want to be left out. Recode reports that many Twitter users are noticing that articles load instantaneously now, instead of waiting for a few seconds for it to load. Are you seeing the similarity with Instant Articles? Once you get passed that similarity, you’ll notice a few interesting differences. This isn’t necessarily being hosted directly on Google and Twitter; in fact, both channels want to make this an open source service. This gives several tech companies the opportunity to use this and build on it for their own needs. This is a great opportunity for websites, and since this is based on cached websites instead of an individual content platform, it is open to everyone. And, you won’t lose out on ad revenue either. How is this Going to Compete With Facebook’s Instant Articles? The biggest way Google and Twitter’s new delivery platform is going to compete with Instant Articles is simply that it is open source. Instant Articles is only for Facebook and isn’t available for everyone yet. However, with this platform, every single publisher will benefit. When it comes to using Facebook, Mashable points out that it really is a difficult position for publishers. Instant Articles shows that people need to jump on the Facebook bandwagon or they could lose out. However, it could also get to the point where people rely too heavily on Facebook and forget other channels. This isn’t so with Google and Twitter, which is making this new option immediately attractive to many publishers both large and small. Is This Going to Drastically Changes Online Content Delivery? Thankfully, this new change isn’t going to be a drastic change. It just means that you need to focus heavily on content creation. And really, you should already be focusing on it. Creating excellent content pieces that people will click on is the biggest way that you can take advantage of this excellent opportunity. Content creation is an incredible way to deliver content your clients want to see, providing them with value. This can definitely help you stand out from all of your competitors, making you someone people will trust quicker. 7 Ways to Prepare for Google and Twitter’s Content Delivery Platform When it comes to creating excellent content and preparing to utilize Google and Twitter’s new setup, there are a few things you can do. I am going to take a look and help you create some awesome long-form content pieces that people will click on and love to read ASAP. 1. Prepare to Write More Long-Form Content for Social Media The biggest thing you need to do to prepare for the majority of recent changes, including Google and Twitter, is to make sure you are focusing on long-form content. Long-form content can drastically increase your website traffic, as well as making sure people stay, return, and share. Just take a look at this graph from Wordstream after they began to implement long-form content: When they began to create long-form content, they saw that more readers stayed on their site longer. This is great because it then opens it up to encourage people to go around your site and look at your products and services. Sujan Patel says that long-form content also gives you the ability to reach a wider audience base, helps you to talk about more topics, and helps you generate more leads. 2.Hire Not Only Social Media Managers but Copywriters As Well One of the best ways to prepare and get awesome content is to not only hire social media managers but copywriters as well. This will help you create great content consistently, helping encourage people to click the links on Twitter and read your article. Just imagine what the combined efforts of Google and Twitter with the power of a copywriter can do for your site. You’ll see some absolutely incredible results. Including, but not limited to, people sharing your content, engaging with it, and staying on your site longer. 3. Know How to Tailor Your Content for the Channel You should also know the tone you want to use when it comes to reaching Twitter. You may need to create some great blog pieces that capture that tone, and help you reach out to a wider demographic. It is vital to know, however, the difference between your brand’s voice and the tone you use. Your voice must always stay the same to help promote consistency. Buffer’s Kevan Lee powerfully states that, “Voice is a mission statement. Tone is the application of that mission.” You should already know the voice you want to have for your brand so use it when crafting content. And change up your multitude of tones to reach out to the right audience on Twitter. 4. Keep Up Your Business Site’s Blog With Facebook’s Instant Articles, you might start believing you don’t need to keep up your site’s blog. As I stated earlier, this is exactly what Mashable is afraid of. And you shouldn’t fall into this easy trap. With the new change between Google and Twitter, you will absolutely need to keep up your business’s blog. Don’t neglect it for … Read more