quotes - Express Writers

110 Marketers Share Their Top Pieces of Advice for New Content Creators

June 19, 2024March 6, 2018 by Adam Oakley

In the last week of December 2017, I wrote a content-only LinkedIn post that reached over 20,000 people! In this post, I asked marketers to share their #1 piece of advice for new content creators. And I promised them they’d be featured in the very roundup you’re reading right now. It was a creative kickstart to a viral thread. Here’s the LinkedIn post I wrote that went viral. My initial goal was to achieve 50 comments. Within one weekI’d hit 14,000 views and 74 comments: WHOA. My LinkedIn post keeps exploding! 14,800+ views now! My goal was 3k views / 50 comments. We’re at 14.8k views / 74 comments. ? I’m SO excited about this organic achievement. Can’t wait to compile my blog all about it! pic.twitter.com/SCPwPZDRkp — Julia McCoy | #SXSW 2018 (@JuliaEMcCoy) January 2, 2018 It blew up at 116 total comments, and 20,000+ views in the next month! I’m still reeling at the results from this single post. Moral of the story: get creative and post great content on LinkedIn that inspires engagement! You’ll be surprised at the potential LinkedIn has today as an amazing social media platform for kickstarting cool conversations and collaborations. Now. Back to today’s nugget of gold from my experiment a few months back. Ready? You’re about to read from 110 pros and their pieces of advice on content creation. This is crucial wisdom from people who have been there. They know their stuff when it comes to content creation and marketing. So, without further ado, here are our 110 pieces of advice for new content creators. If you enjoy this, feel free to share this advice vault forward — then, let us know in the comments what your favorite quote was! Advice for New Content Creators: 110 Pros in the Field Share Their #1 Useful Tip 1. “Write on what you know, and what you know well. And perhaps even more importantly, write on what you care about, what feels meaningful to you, what you’re truly interested in. Connect with clients/brands that appreciate and utilize that subject matter. That’s the way to produce great content you can be proud of.” – Jeremy Pollack – Anthropologist, Organizational Culture Consultant, and Personal Coach at Pollack Peacebuilding Systems – @AMMScience Writing what you know, what lights you up, will get you far in content marketing, according to Jeremy, and he couldn’t be more spot-on. 2. “In terms of creating content: it’s all about empathy (you’ll get to used to saying that a lot). Emotional connection is the foundation of all great content. Whatever you produce, create it from the perspective of the end-user. If it doesn’t resonate with them, no one will care about it. In terms of becoming a professional: Keep an open mind and ask lots of questions. You’ll be amazed how helpful the established professionals in the industry are; don’t feel like you have to know everything up front right away. Just show your ambition to learn, soak up as much knowledge as possible, apply it, stay active in the online communities, offer to help others, and you’ll do fine.” – Jason Schemmel – Social Media Manager, HarperCollins Christian Publishing — @JasonSchemmel Jason says when you can emotionally connect with your audience, you’re going somewhere great. 3. “…my main piece of advice is to always keep learning, practicing and getting better. Inch by inch, you will achieve. It almost sounds cliche, but it’s real. Learn from the best in the biz, and truly put what you learn into practice, and you too will be operating and producing at a high level.” – Dave Reimherr – Founder of Magnificent Marketing – @DavidReimherr A great reminder from Dave – learning can be a slow process, so have patience and keep on keepin’ on. 4. “As an aspiring content writer, I say: ‘Perfection does not exist, get over your psychological uncertainty and ship it.’” – Bonnie David – Social Media Consultant for Wellness Practitioners — @bonnie_david There’s no such thing as perfect! Bonnie reminds us to get over ourselves and go for it. 5. “Concentrate on context. Excellent writing is not simply being good with words, it’s knowing where your work sits in a reader’s journey. What brought them to your work? What core messages do you want them to take from it? What’s the next step you’d like them to take after reading what you’ve created? Content is never standalone, so put it in context and rigorously question your work to make it great, not just good.” – Ellie Hubble – Content Specialist, Writer, and Creative Never forget to write for your readers and where they are on their journey, according to Ellie. 6. “Humor sells. If you can make a prospect/client/customer smile or laugh, you’re on your way to closing and getting paid. Keep ‘em laughing. Never fails. OK, sometimes it fails, but it’s still a good idea.” – Paul Lalley – Award-Winning Writer, Editor, SEO/M Pro, Media Developer, Site Designer, Marketing Consultant – @webwordslinger Paul nails this advice: When in doubt, make them laugh. 7. “Never stop reading. The moment you stop learning the moment you stop being able to create!” – Stephanie R. Caudle – Public Relations Consultant/Start-Up Founder Stephanie encourages us to keep reading and learning to stay inspired to create. 8. “Take the time to discover, uncover and understand your unique point of view and writing style and personality. Then dive in. Play with expressing your point of view in different ways, using different media. But always stay true to your style and your point of view. Learn from others, but don’t try to BE another.” – Ivana Taylor – Small Business Marketing Expert, Online Publisher and Influencer, DIYMarketers – @DIYMarketers Everyone has a unique point of view – know yours inside-out for better content, according to Ivana. 9. “I think mine would be only write when you have something worth saying. I think research and reflection is key, then when you have some original and helpful insights you can turn them into content. … Read more

2017 Expert Predictions Roundup: More Than 15 Experts Predict the State of Content Marketing & Social Media

December 31, 2020December 30, 2016 by Adam Oakley

Before Christmas, I was lucky enough to sit down with more than a dozen experts in our online marketing industry for some insider predictions into the state of content marketing and social media in 2017. From entrepreneurs to leading consultants, speakers and authors, these experts each had something unique to add to the roundup below that offers us content creators serious guidance on how to create content in the New Year, and what to expect of the content marketing landscape as a whole. Our design team did a fabulous job taking the predictions and putting it into an infographic. Read below the image for the full expert quotes – the infographic is an abridged version. Quotes and experts are placed in no particular order. Feel free to link to and share our post with credit back to Express Writers and this link. 2017 Expert Content Marketing & Social Predictions Roundup: The Full Story “2016 was the year of BIG. Many content creators came out of the woodwork creating HUGE posts à la 715 and one third reasons why you don’t have enough time to write more content. But the majority of the posts lacked high quality content. So let’s say that in 2017 your competitors will do this too (if they aren’t already). But this time they will add the high quality part. How the heck do you stand out with your content? The businesses that will get the biggest ROI from content marketing in 2017, will be those who are able to: Produce content in their own voice (this is your #1 unique value proposition that your competitors can’t copy) Create high-quality content that actually solves the readers’ problem Focus on cooperating with influencers within your industry If you take the three bullet points above and add dominating Facebook Live, it´s like pouring rocket fuel on a bonfire. It will go BOOM! (in a good way).” – Tor Refsland Follow on Twitter: @TorRefsland Award-winning Blogger, Digital Marketing Strategist & Business Coach, timemanagementchef.com “Leading content marketers will be delivering 3 key things in 2017: 1) personalized, 2) visual, and relevant content in a 3) specialized niche that they can own. Visualization, personalization and specialization! “The marketing leadership mandate for 2017 is transforming the entire company culture. Consumers and buyers are tuning out (or blocking completely) self-serving promotion and ads. Leading marketers in 2017 will strive to create a culture focused on delivering value to their customers that translates into better marketing results. This is content marketing! The tip: focus on being human. Tap into your employees, customers and partners to tell THEIR stories. – Michael Brenner Follow on Twitter: @BrennerMichael Speaker, Best-Selling Author of The Content Formula, CEO of Marketing Insider Group “I definitely see a huge shift to visual storytelling over the last year and expect that to continue in 2017. Not only have visual social media sites like Snapchat and Instagram continued to grow, but we are seeing a clear shift in the way people prefer to tell their day to day stories, which is more visual. There is definitely a challenge for companies to see how their traditional marketing efforts will fit into a purely visual medium, but I think companies are going to have to get creative and get engaged, because I don’t see that trend going away anytime soon!” – Brent Csutoras Follow on Twitter: @brentcsutoras Founder, CEO at Pixel Road Designs, Speaker, Content Marketer, Managing Partner at Search Engine Journal “I predict there will be a backlash against safe, mediocre content. Five percent of all branded content attracts 90 percent of the engagement. That’s not only a sign that you can leave your competitors in the shadows if you create something great, but also a clear indication that mediocre, safe content doesn’t do much for you. If you’re not adding anything new to the world and telling a great story in 2017, it’s just not worth pressing publish. Also, distribution will be a much bigger focus. At many companies, content is silo’d away from social and paid media. As a result, there are a lot of brands creating content and just praying that people will magically discover it. That’s not how media works. Paid distribution will increasingly become a big buzzword this year. Tip: Don’t hire a career marketer to run your content program. Hire an editor or producer who’s built and sustained a large audience before. That’s the common theme I see across 99 percent of all successful content marketing programs.” – Joe Lazauskas Follow on Twitter: @JoeLazauskas Editor-In-Chief at Contently “My prediction is actually the exact same as last year’s. More companies then ever are investing into content marketing and it’s making it incredibly difficult to stand out from the crowd. The only way to do this is by creating high quality content. I call it epic content but it also goes by the name 10x content. In 2017 people are going to catch on and flock towards epic content.” – Sujan Patel Follow on Twitter: @SujanPatel Growth Marketer, GM at Web Profits, Entrepreneur “Business leaders are beginning to understand the necessity of holistic content marketing practices. They get that it’s not just about the perfect press release, but the entire approach. I credit this largely to the omnipresence of HubSpot’s inbound marketing principles and 2016’s push towards storytelling. As a result, I predict digital marketing spend will diversify in 2017, and we’re already starting to see that in sales at Express Writers.” – Tara Clapper Follow on Twitter: @irishtara Content Development Specialist, Express Writers Speaker, Writer, Editor “More and more data is collected through a brand’s digital marketing efforts. Brands and agencies will further personalize and customize offerings to their customers. With the trends of major e-commerce sites opening physical stores (Amazon, Warby Parker, Birchbox, etc.), brands need to accelerate the integration of the online digital experience with that of the offline physical experience. The challenge is to seamlessly integrate the online and offline experience by leveraging and hiding complicated technologies from your customers. It … Read more