what’s new in the content shop

Last week, we rolled out several exciting changes to the Content Shop for 2020! ? These changes included: More word count ranges on most of our services in the Content Shop A new content plan just for marketers launching new websites, brands, or software Updated social media plans Legal blog packages added Rate increases on our expert blogs and packages to continue to help us source and retain the best talent Read on to learn all about the improvements we rolled out that went live last week. Plus: a few words from yours truly on the state of content creation and hiring great content creators in 2020. What’s New in the Content Shop for 2020: Price Increase (& Why), New Features in Blogging Plans, New Products & More [bctt tweet=”Get to see what’s changed in our Content Shop for 2020 in this post by @JuliaEMcCoy. ?️Launching a new killer website? Need expertly-written legal blogs? We can totally help you right now! See what’s new. ?” username=”ExpWriters”] Here’s the lowdown on the changes in our Content Shop for 2020. 1. Our content rates increased for 2020. Not by a ton — by about $5-10 on our industry expert blogs, and $100+ on our blog packages and social media plans. We also added more word count ranges to our Content Shop offerings, which means you don’t need to get boxed in for large ranges. We noticed a need for customizing our ranges more. We also added some new services and refined our packages! (See a shortlist of updated prices and offerings on our Pricing page.) Why did we increase our rates? Well, that brings me to what it takes to hire a great content creator. Facts: Every year, recruiting content writing talent increases both in price and time. This is especially true for 2020. The bar for great content has risen, seriously, in the past few years. Just click to read more about my prediction for 2020 (and I’m not the only one predicting this): 1. Amazing, Niche, Expert Content Which Meets or Exceeds Google’s E-A-T Standards. TL;DR — Content is a powerful tool today for online marketers. Over 70% of ALL web traffic originates from a Google search, according to Backlinko/SparkToro. Your users are Googling for your content! Publishing content generates 67% more leads than NOT publishing content, says a HubSpot study. 71% of B2B buyers read blog content during their buying journeys (3-5 blogs is the norm). [bctt tweet=”Our content rates increased for 2020: about $5-10 on our industry expert blogs and $100+ on blog packages and social media plans. ? With this, you’re paying for the work, time, and training required to deliver you high-quality content. ?” username=”ExpWriters”] But content is only powerful if you’re building amazing content. More people, brands, and marketers in your industry are getting wise to how well it works, and so you’ll continue to have to hit a high bar to succeed in 2020. With the sea of content rising, the place to put your focus on is “amazing.” In 2020, it’s not just bad content that will fall flat. It’s mediocre content, the “not bad,” and the “good enough” content. To rank with Google and readers today, your content must go far into the “exceptional,” “amazing,” and “wow” territory. When it comes to content you publish on your website today, Google actually defines what “quality” looks like. Hit Google’s definition of quality. In their Webmaster Guidelines, Google references helping, being information-rich (comprehensive), and including the right words (optimization) in content. Source: Steps to a Google-friendly site Source: Webmaster Guidelines Not only that, but Google says you must — Prove you’re an expert in your industry and topic area. Google talks about the importance of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) in its Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines. Google itself called these guidelines a good indicator of how they define high-quality (and low-quality) content, in an article from August 2019 on the Webmaster Central Blog. Create & publish amazing-quality content consistently. Inconsistency in content is a recipe for catastrophe. Failing to update your content regularly (whether that means tweaking older articles or pages or posting new ones), as well as failing to maintain your quality standards, will ultimately hurt your search visibility. When it comes to hiring writers for great web content, all of these guidelines — which is a big component of our values at Express Writers to uphold and adhere to (why else would you buy content from us?) — are very difficult to hire, train, and retain writers for. I’ve found this true since the beginning. One other barrier here is that people that we hire — freelancers, content writers — think that they can graduate college with these skills. Writing skills that earn rankings in Google, engagement with online readers, and ROI from the business who hired you. A growing number of entrants to the content creation industry are disillusioned. Sadly, this only grows the more the years go by and college doesn’t get reinvented on this point. I have to un-teach many academically trained writers on how to be content creators. It’s one reason I launched an SEO writing course a few years ago. Back in 2011, when I started out, because of the way content was (less competition, less intelligence in Google’s ranking AI), you could get away with an Upwork writer to write a darn good blog for the price of a takeout meal or two. But not anymore. The writers you need to find today must have these six characteristics to be successful at creating your online content: Know the industry they’re writing for (now a requirement with Google’s E-A-T standards) Know how to optimize for Google Know how to write to engage online readers Know how to skip the fluff (because that doesn’t get read) Know how to find, source, and include the right statistics and competitor-free links Be open to ongoing critique and mentorship [bctt tweet=”.@JuliaEMcCoy says it takes these six skillsets for an online writer to succeed: 1. Know the Industry 2. Know SEO Optimization 3. Write to Engage 4. Skip the Fluff 5. Source and Cite 6. Be Open to Critique ? ” username=”ExpWriters”] I spend hours every week finding and retaining the right writing talent. … Read more